Crossing Kenya

(Navyn) We have spent two weeks in five different settings all over Kenya, from Nairobi to the Maasai Mara. My dad, (Papa) and his fiancé, Anar are traveling with us for our final weeks. We were even lucky enough to get a cameo appearance from our best friend Annie for a week out in the bush as well. Here is a little recap.

#1 Giraffe Manor

Giraffe Manor is a vine-covered, old stone estate taken straight out of an English Home & Garden magazine and dropped into a suburb just outside the bustling, traffic-filled city of Nairobi. Here, the giraffes reign supreme. They had plenty of space on the property where they gracefully browsed for acacia tree lunches but also had the option to visit the manor house for treats. The girls each grabbed a handful of pellets and called out to our new giraffe friends, Ed, Stacy, and Kelly. Ed was the first to cautiously saunter over to give us an inspection. His twitchy ears, long black tongue and bulging eyes peered down on us from above. He slobbered all over our outstretched hands as we tried to keep a steady supply of pellets at the ready. The brave girls even put pellets in their mouth tempting Ed with a few kisses. Every window seemed to open, so we fed them from our second story bedroom window, straight from the breakfast table, or wherever they would wander. To have the chance to interact with these amazing animals before heading out to the safari lands of Kenya was a truly special experience.

#2 Sarara Camp

The Samburu are a proud warrior race of nomadic pastoralists. In the remote highlands of northern Kenya, just 3 degrees north of the Equator, the arid land is not suitable for agricultural so instead the Samburu people herd cattle, goats and camels in search of water and grasses. As a result, their diet is strictly milk, blood and meat. The family works together, as young boys no more than ten are in charge of herding, the young elder men perform the tough manual labor of harvesting water for the herds and the women take care of food preparation, building houses and looking after the children.

We went on an hour’s walk through the bush until we arrived at the Singing Wells. This is the center of it all. Villagers walk 15km from all directions to reach this point, where sharing of information, and most importantly, a water source resides. In the dry season, wells are dug up to six meters deep and human chains are formed to bring the water bucket by bucket to the surface. It hasn’t rained in several months so the water table is fairly low. As you peered over the edge, you could see a man down below filling a bucket with water then handing it up to the next man precariously perched on a ledge above him, who then passed it to another man standing above him who reached up over his head and tossed the water into a wooden trough. While watching a chain of three was impressive, some wells have been known to go as many as six men deep. Six cows at a time came to drink water, gulping by the gallon. The men sang songs to both encourage the cows to drink as well as keep the skillful rhythm and marked pace of the buckets. The strength and endurance of these men was admiral as this routine often carries on for up to four hours. Once the cattle were watered, then came the camels and then finally the goats got their turn. The truly backbreaking work means survival for all in these harsh living conditions. (No photos were allowed since the men are completely naked so you have to use your imagination.)

Animals are the currency of the Samburu people. The goats are the small change, “like ATM” our guide Phillip tells us. A donkey is worth 3 goats, a cow is worth 12 goats and a camel is worth 24 goats. Later that afternoon we drove the 15km to visit a Samburu village, where we could see the money in the bank growing with interest. Literally. Two baby goats were born right next to us, minutes apart. As the wet, furry baby goat legs were pulled from her mother followed by a bloody placenta, the girls watched in shock, followed by Maya passing out. After she was settled in the jeep for some rest, I wandered back into the village. Phillip was looking for a volunteer to milk a goat and since everyone ran for cover, I decided to volunteer. I finally got the goat’s back leg tucked between my knees and am trying like heck to milk this goat but no milk was coming out. Something didn’t seem quite right so I told Phillip to have a go. After watching me struggle for quite awhile he finally started laughing and said – you can’t milk the male goats Navyn. He got me. Nasty bush trick!! I finally found a female and successfully produced a cup of milk, but I am still not speaking to Phillip.

Early the next morning, we had the chance to bottle feed two 6-month old baby giraffes, Twiglet and Mara, who were rescued and being rehabilitated. They lived in the horse stable along with the other horses and looked quite funny as they stuck their long necks out for some food and attention. Both giraffes will be stuffed into our suitcases and brought home as we thought they would be way more fun pets than a dog.

#3 Lattitude Adventures “Fly Camp”

We are still packing up and moving every three days. Every location we visit offers something incredibly unique, keeping our interest level on steroids. It is day 200 and it’s impressive that we can still experience many “firsts” each day. We moved to our first “fly camp” today, which is essentially a mobile safari camp that is on the move all the time. Situated next to a dry riverbed was a mess tent for all of our meals, and chairs set out for relaxing. Our beds looked like army-green ER stretchers with a pop-up tent attached on top for a malaria-free night of blissful sleep under the stars (apart from Papa’s infamous snoring). They have managed to set up a flush loo, a bucket shower and even a temporary water well that runs on solar. The only traffic here is small herds of goats led by some small mischievous boys, an occasional group of camels and a few curious baboons.

Dune buggies are the preferred mode of transportation. To see Maya with her driving goggles on handling this machine like a pro at 11 years old is quite a funny sight. It is straight out of a video game, my only concern as her passenger is how many “lives” I have left. The Super Mario Sisters raced down the dry riverbed trying to avoid large, deep holes that were once wells, small elephant herds and prickly bushes. This place is like camp for families. We take the dune buggies to a new spot each day and play baseball in the river, or play French Cricket or Nagori – all games you can play with a large wooden spoon, a tennis ball and some rocks. In the afternoons it is too hot so we siesta under the trees and listen to the wooden bells of the goats passing by, waiting for a cool breeze to come our way.

#4 Sirikoi

At Sirikoi Camp we met up with Annie to let her in on some of the fun. Just outside of our camp there was a mama cheetah and her four cubs. We were lucky enough to watch them play for hours. The proud mother sat majestically on a hill overlooking her cubs as they crept quietly through the tall grasses, stalking their pretend prey before pouncing on their siblings which resulted in a mad tangle of spotted fur balls. They wrestled with chunks of elephant poo, chased birds and provided us with hours of “African TV” entertainment. At one point mama cheetah used our car for shade and was so close I could hear her breathing.

In order to make sure Annie got a good taste of life with the Salem Explorers, we kept her busy in between game drives, as we hiked to waterfalls, cliff jumped, walked along bridges amongst the treetops, picnicked in a tree house, visited a primary school and got mobbed by 612 enthusiastic students, visited a rhino orphanage (including 4 month old), toured the organic gardens, worked with the special ops team and their bloodhound dog to catch some poachers on the run (Paul & Maya), and last but not least, Jolie and I took her horseback riding through hills and valleys, waterfalls, giraffes, a dozen waterbucks, warthogs, buffalo, hyrax, and an eagle. Jolie spent her afternoon siestas setting up croquet on the camp lawn and had three zebras and a giraffe watch her play every day. She barely noticed them. I guess that is when you realize you have been in Africa for nearly two months.

#5 Mara Plains

We finished strong with a Kenyan finale – The Great Migration – as hundreds of thousands of animals proceeded north from Tanzania to Kenya on a 1,200 mile never ending search for sustenance. While we have seen so many species of animals, the Maasai Mara is known for the sheer quantity of animals, specifically, the wildebeests, with a population of around 1.4 million. They are on the run, following the rains en masse with 250,000 of their zebra friends in search of fertile grasslands. Predators lurk at every turn as we watch lions and cheetahs prowl in the tall grass. Crocodiles sunned themselves on the riverbanks, happy to have full bellies. Our goal was to see them make a crossing over the Mara River safely, escaping the lethal jaws of the crocodiles awaiting patiently in the murky waters. In order to see this spectacle you must also put up with the sheer numbers of tourists. The jockeying for a good viewing spot was nearly as competitive as who had the largest camera lens. Nearly a hundred cars lined up trying to get the best angle – a stark difference from the quiet safari drives we have become accustomed to.

A far more peaceful way to see the migration is by hot air balloon. One morning, we headed out for a sunrise ride over the expansive Mara Plains. The view from above of the endless acres of grasslands was so clear we could see straight into Tanzania where the Mara ends and the Serengeti begins. Zebras, Thompson’s gazelles, and of course, more wildebeests, ran in all directions as they watched our balloon sweep over their heads. This was a first for Papa, Anar and Annie. For the Salem Explorers, we now have enough experience to get our pilot’s license yet still enjoy the thrill like it’s a first every time. “It’s A Small World After All” took on a new life when we realized our pilot, Elly, was the same one we had in Myanmar back in March. We remembered her cheery Aussie spirit as much as she remembered that chatty guy Paul with the four daughters.

The camp we stayed at in the Mara had loaner cameras so large they each needed a suitcase. The girls were thrilled to have the chance to be a National Geographic photographer and give their biceps a workout. Fausto held court, teaching them about aperture, shutter speed and depth of field as they tested their newfound knowledge out on the local pride of seventeen lions just outside our doorstep. I loved hearing their new conversations packed full of Fausto knowledge. Jolie asked, “Mom, do you think that is bird over there is an ox pecker or a lilac breasted roller?” Or “Maya, you cannot use that ISO at this time of day, it will be too dark. I would recommend changing your white balance.”

And now, we take another deep breath, and bid farewell to our Kenyan friends and head out to our final destination, Tanzania. We all grapple with the bittersweet emotions upon us as we drink up every last minute of adventure as our minds start to wonder what life will be like once we are at last home.

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