out of africa

It took over 30 hours of travel to finally get to Nairobi but here we are. The traffic along the one main road in and out of town was unbelievable. It gives the hawkers at the side of the road plenty of time to try to sell you everything from peanuts to world maps. We were both amazed at the amount of people walking everywhere. Apparently since petrol has gone up, more people walk as they can't afford the local taxis/mini-buses [matatu]. After dinner we collapsed into bed and slept like logs. The following morning we were on the road to head into the central highland area. It doesn't take long to get out of Nairobi and into the 'suburbs', if you can call them that. Lots of buildings/houses that have been started and then for whatever reasons, the money runs out and the shells are just left. Again the roadside is filled with people walking. It makes you realize how few of us walk to get from point A to point B. Every few miles there would be a roadside market set up with fruit, then a few miles on and the stalls would sell bags of charcoal, a few miles more and furniture would be displayed. You would continually be passing pushbikes, donkey carts, wheelbarrows loaded with all sorts of produce. People that weren't involved in the walking would be sitting on the side of the road (probably resting after hours of walking) or groups would be gathered chatting. The vast majority of these people immaculately dressed and their clothes exceptionally clean for such a dusty place. We wondered where they were going to be dressed so well, and it not being a Sunday, We stayed in a beautiful former country club, called Outspan. You could breathe in the spirit of the good old days of croquet on the lawns, g+t's and cucumber sandwiches without the crusts, Gorgeous grounds, colourful flowers and other plants, many of which we recognised from our own gardens, parquetry floors in all the rooms. In the afternoon we saw a tourist 'village' show which was great fun as Sheryl got to fulfill a childhood dream and dance on African soil with Africans. A fantastic way to spend our 2nd day in Kenya. The following morning saw us take a drive to our first wildlife reserve, staying at the Sarova Shaba, in the heart of Samburo country. The countryside changed from lush hilly land with dark ochre coloured soils, to flat plains in the shadow of the impressive Mount Kenya, with yellow sparseness, which reminded us of Australia, with stands of Eucalypts, which we didn't expect. Again, many people walking, occasional stalls, the sheer madness of the townships we passed by, or filled up with fuel in; the constant wariness of hawkers trying to sell you something, beads, necklaces, wood carvings, salad spoons, etc. If you intend ever visiting Africa, be sure to bring along Australian pens, coins, badges, anything that you could trade; we were repeatedly asked for something from home. From yellowed plains to roads being built, kilometer after kilometer, a fine, white dust coating everything including trees, huts, people. We passed into Samburu country, which is where our next accomodation and base was, the Sarova Shaba Lodge, next to the Samburu Wildlife Reserve. What an incredible place, built next to a river, huge wooden beams with thatched rooves, an oasis; bar, restaurant, swimming pool, the lot, including a number of traditional Samburu men who hung around the restaurant, ready and willing to have a chat about themselves, their family and their culture. Red sarong-like garment, plenty of beaded necklaces, armbands and headwear, truly exotic and beautiful.
Our first game drive this afternoon and we didn't view an abundance of animals but when you came across something it still took your breath away and to see them in their land which stretches for as far as the eye can see is pretty specky. We came across many gazelles and antelopes, a rather startled warthog, an aggressive looking buffalo, one lonely zebra, this fantastic large bird called the secretary bird (think pelican size but skinny) and then a magnificent herd of 17 giraffes that majestically and silently moved through the bush away from our vehicle.
Sheryl's favorite thing - speaking Swahili to the locals and them understanding her! Pier's favorite thing was seeing the giraffes and chatting to the locals. The best question he has been asked so far from a local, "How many tribes are there in Australia?"
Accommodation has been excellent, food fantastic, weather great! Love to all

Message to 5/6TC

Hi grade 5/6TC,
I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to pop in last week to say good-bye. The little bug I had stuffed up everything. Anyway, I thought I would do my first 'post' on this blog to you guys. Hopefully all the technology works and you will be able to follow my adventures in Africa and you can make postings and let me know how good you've all been!!!! Be kind to Mrs. C & Mrs. F. and ask Mrs. F. to tell you about the blister bugs that I read about in Africa. Here's hoping we don't meet any of those.
Behave yourselves.....love Ms T

Two days to go ...

Yes, it's Friday, the end of the working week, a couple of days before we fly out to Nairobi via Dubai. Unfortunately Sheryl has come down with a horrible virus that threatens to hang on the next week or so, which will make for a very unpleasant flight. Fingers crossed all the various potions and pills we've been ingesting will save the day: allow Sheryl's head not to explode on the jumbo, and for Pier to remain as healthy as possible. Sheryl's week began with 2 sick days, followed by her regular Wednesday off, followed by 2 days LSL, all feeling sick. She was supposed to have had a lovely couple of days at school, with time to say goodbye to her class and colleagues, and tie up any loose ends at Eastwood PS. Sheryl was also supposed to have been relaxing, taking her time with packing and making sure all was beautiful at home, topped off by a massage today [Friday]. Sadly, not to be.
Meanwhile Pier was frantically going spare ensuring all of his deadlines were met, so was working very hard the last 2 weeks. It's all done and dusted now. Time to relax and do the final pack, making sure all the technology is working, that no cables are missing, etc. Gone are the days of just packing your SLR camera with rolls of film bought at the duty free. Now it's a digital SLR with all the various bits'n'pieces. We're going to a few third world countries, so nothing important can be left behind.
Thanks to all that have called or emailed to wish Sheryl well, and to wish us Bon Voyage, we very much appreciate it.
We'll miss our family and friends, our house and all our regular routines, but can't wait for the adventures that lie ahead of us: the places we'll visit, the animals and birds we'll see, the people we'll meet. Most importantly, being together and being eachother's best travel buddy ... awwwww ....
Ciao for now.

Itinerary

Here is a brief version of our itinerary.
Day 1 24 Aug Fly out of Melbourne, 19:20, bound for Dubai.
Day 2 25 Aug Arrive Dubai 05:10. Fly to Nairobi, arrive 14:50.
Day 3 26 Aug Aberdare National Park; visit Treetops, overnight there.
Day 4 27 Aug Shaba Game Reserve. Overnight at Sarova Shaba.
Day 5 28 Aug Shaba game Reserve, maybe Buffalo Springs Game Reserve. Overnight at Sarova Shaba.
Day 6 29 Aug Drive south, past Mt Kenya [5199m]. Overnight at Outspan Hotel.
Day 7 30 Aug Rift Valley, game drive around Lake Nakuriu National Park. Overnight at Lake Nakuru Lodge.
Day 8 31 Aug Activities based around Lake Nakuru Lodge. Overnight at Lake Nakuru Lodge.
Day 9 1 Sept Masai Mara National Park. Overnight at Keekorok Lodge.
Day 10 2 Sept Masai Mara. Overnight at Keekorok Lodge.
Day 11 3 Sept Masai Mara. Overnight at Keekorok Lodge.
Day 12 4 Sept To outskirts of Nairobi, overnight at Sarova Panafric.
Day 13 5 Sept Drive south towards Tanzania, to Voi Wildlife Lodge, overnight there.
Day 14 6 Sept Tsavo East National Park. Overnight at Voi Wildlife Lodge.
Day 15 7 Sept Leave Tsavo, past Mount Kilimanjaro [5895m], cross border at Taveta. To Arusha. Overnight at Moivaro.
Day 16 8 Sept Driving via Rift Valley, past Lake Manyara, to Ngorongoro Conservation area. Visit the School of St Judes. Overnight at Ngorongoro Wildlife Lodge.
Day 17 9 Sept Ngorongoro Crater. To Lake Manyara Lodge, overnight there.
Day 18 10 Sept To Kilimanjaro Airport, flight to Zanzibar. Overnight at Zanzibar Beach Resort.
Day 19–20 11–12 Sept Zanzibar. Tour of Stone Town, visit a spice plantation. Overnight at Zanzibar Beach Resort.
Day 21 13 Sept Relaxing morning, then leave Zanzibar, fly to Dar es Salaam. Fly to Dubai, arrive 23:20. Overnight in Dubai.
Day 22 14 Sept Sheryl's birthday. Historical excursion and orientation tour of the old city of Dubai. Visit the modern part of the city, visit the gold and spice souks. Overnight in Dubai.
Day 23 15 Sept Free day in DSubai. Dinner in a dhow. Overnight in Dubai.
Day 24 16 Sept After breakfast to airport for flight to Cairo, arrive 10:40. Half-day visit to the Egyptian Museum. Overnight in Cairo.
Day 25 17 Sept Early morning flight to Aswan, arriving 06:10. Nile Cruise. Visit the High Dam and the Temple of Philae, sail to Kom Ombo, visit the temple. Sail to Edfu and overnight.
Day 26 18 Sept Visit the temple of Horus in Edfu, sail to Esna, cross the lock, sail to Luxor and overnight.
Day 27 19 Sept Cross the west bank. visit the Necropolis of Thebes, Valley of the Kings, the temple of Queen Hatshesut and the colossi of Memnon. Free afternoon, overnight in Luxor.
Day 28 20 Sept Disembarkation after breakfast, day in Luxor. Return to Cairo with overnight train.
Day 29 21 Sept After breakfast, a full day at the Pyramids, Sphinx and Citadel. Overnight in Cairo.
Day 30 22 Sept Free day. To airport for 18:30 flight to Dubai.
Day 31 23 Sept Arrive Dubai 00:05. Hotel. Flight to Melbourne departs 10:10.
Day 32 24 Sept Return to Melbourne, arriving 05:30.