more adventures...

Jambo! Habari? (Translation: Hello! How are you?)
Because of difficulty in getting to a computer to email, probably best if we put things on this travelblog.
From Pier…
About a thousand photos later, and many unforgettable experiences in between. Where to start? It all seems to be a blur, and it's only been a few days since we added to our blog at the Shaba Game Reserve. According to our itinerary, the Shaba is located on the Ewaso Nyiro River. Looking at a map, find Nairobi, follow the main road north-east through Thika, Murang'a, Nyeri [on the outskirts of which Outspan is located, and Timbertops is not far from there], Nanyuki [and you get views of Mount Kenya to your right], Isiolo, and a little bit further on you'll find the Shaba. We crossed the Equator to get to the Shaba. Unlike Australia, where you'd find a plaque, statue or monument of some sort, the equatorial line was marked by a simple hand-painted sign, next to a dusty soil carpark, around which were about a dozen souvenir shops. As soon as you arrive you and your bus are quickly approached by hawkers, who introduce themselves to you and suggest you visit their shop once you've had your photo taken at the Equator sign. Here there isn't a fast-food joint, a huge petrol stop or boarding with tourist information, facts and figures. Men take it in turns with a small bucket, a funnel and a couple of matches, showing the phenomenon of how water spins in different directions as it pours out of a funnel, depending on which side of the Equator you are. 20 meters south, the water spins one way — anti-clockwise — at the Equator line it drops straight down, no spin; 20 meters the other side of the line, the water spins the opposite direction. We first saw this shown on the “Long Way Down Series” and we were thrilled we got to see the phenomenon for ourselves.
After 5 or 6 game drives we have now seen an abundance of furred and feathered beasties. At Shaba we saw klipspringer, gerenuk [Pier’s favourite], dik-dik [who are tiny, cute form of gazelle], Grevy’s zebra [a rare type of zebra who look grey, with thin vertical stripes that run 2/3 the way from their spines to their bellies with a pale underside], vulturine guinea fowl [amongst other types], black breasted bustard, northern red-billed hornbill, elephants, Rothschild giraffes, Grant’s gazelles, a troop of baboons, Maribou stork, squirrels, vultures, hares, an ostrich, 2 lionesses [fleetingly], crocodiles, African buffalos, grey heron, black breasted roller, impala, oryx, the common water buck, greater blue-eared starling [beautiful colours], etc, etc.
That was Pier’s bit – he’s frustrated with the computer’s cursor so I’ve taken over … I don’t put as many details in as Pier so apologies to all those that like to know the name of this creature and that. After our first full day games drive, we stopped off at a Samburu village and was shown around the village site (for a fee of course). Amazing to see the living conditions and the dancing (yes, I got to do another African dance). The highlight for me was going over to a group of about 20 children, many of them orphans from surrounding villages, that this particular village ’oversee’ their care. I suspect many of them are orphans due to the AIDS virus. Anyway, this bedraggled little troupe of children was sitting obediently with their ‘teacher’ and I asked if I could talk to them. The sea of little faces was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen and I taught them a song as they had sung one to our group earlier. The experience was pure magic and I could have stayed all afternoon. It was a top day.
After our stay at Shaba we went to a place called Treetops which is this strange place over a waterhole so you watch the animals all night (not a lot of action however). It’s a 4 level structure made almost entirely out of wood, tall and narrow, with observation decks, including one on the rooftop. The rooms were small and cosy, which suited us; with just enough room for 2 single beds, and a small table between them. Our windows looked onto one of the ponds. I had a great chat to the guide who accompanied us up the hill to our accommodation with his huge rifle and bullets to protect us from all those wild animals that didn’t show up. We talked about Kenyan politics and people. He then arranged for me to go and chat to these ladies who were having a ladies weekend away from their husbands. There were about 8 women from Nairobi, all grandmothers and the most welcoming, lovely women. Turned out that one of them was the wife of the owner of Treetops. Everyone else was looking at animals but I was more than content getting to know the locals.
I’m loving this sort of interaction – seeing the animals is a bonus. Scenery is quite amazing. Leaving for the Masai Mara tomorrow and a balloon flight the next morning – life’s tough!
[Pier again] We drove from Treetops yesterday morning back to Outspan for breakfast, then west from there to where we are today, Lake Nakuru Lodge, overlooking Lake Nakuru, famous for its enormous flocks of Greater and Lesser Flamingos, as well as pelicans. It was a beautiful drive, the countryside becoming increasingly lush and cultivated as we drew further away from grotty Nyeri. You could throw anything into the soil here and it would grow! Many tea, coffee, banana, wheat, maize and soy farms, the roads congested with men on every conceivable form of goods transportation: bicycles, motorcycles, donkey-pulled carts, vans and lorries, piled high with produce. We would often cover our eyes with our vehicles whizzing between oncoming traffic and maybe a man on a bike with extra wide bags of produce on the back … way too many close shaves! We had a stop at the edge of the Rift Valley, which is the world’s largest geographical formation, a crack on the Earth’s surface, running some 9000km [more than a ¼ of the Earth’s circumference] north-south from Israel to Mozambique. The view we had of the valley and the hills beyond was spectacular, beautiful! We stopped at Thomson’s Falls, discovered in 1880, when explorers were attempting to locate the source of the Nile. Then on to Nakuru, finally to Lake Nakuru National Park, passing black rhino, Thomson’s Gazelles and some baboons on the way up to the Lodge. Lunch, then a game drive in the afternoon. New animals and birds we saw were: Egyptian geese, Hammerhead bird, reticulated giraffes, Beisa oryx, cerval cat, white rhino, and of course, many lesser flamingoes and pelicans at the lake’s edge. The landscape here so very lush in comparison to the Shaba Game Reserve, which was quite dry and dusty, packed with the spiky thorn trees, except for the river, lined with lush green vegetation, trees and palms. No rocky escarpments here, just flat country and rolling hills in the distance.
We have trouble trying to remember the names of the animals, to tell the difference between the various gazelles, etc. There’s so much we’ve seen, it’s a bit of a blur. There are 12 of us, all from Australia, in our group, travelling in 2 4WD vehicles, each with a driver, Abraham and our tour leader, Lawrence. Each vehicle can seat 8, so we’re happy to have the extra space as we all have small bags and backpacks with us. The same stay in each vehicle, swapping drivers each day. One ‘group’ ‘is 2 sisters and a brother, with their spouses, forming quite a clique.
Observations: well, simply and plainly, Kenya is a third world country. Nairobi looks like a place that had money in the 60’s, but hasn’t progressed much since, major buildings and infrastructure-wise; not many ‘modern’ buildings that we could see. There is one major road through Nairobi, and it was clogged! Out of Nairobi there weren’t multi-laned freeways anywhere we have travelled to date. Main roads are at best 2 lanes wide, with no lane markings, posts at the edge of the road as we’re used to in Australia. Noone worries about passing on a curve or crest of a hill. The only time you use your indicator is NOT when you want to pass another car or turn somewhere; you use it to let the car behind you know ‘OK to pass’ — right blink — 'not OK to pass' = left blink. No highway patrols in flash brightly coloured and decorated cars here to fine you. Speed limit is 80 Kph, but here noone checks their speedo, or fears a traffic camera is nearby! Crazy, but it works.
Away from major towns there are police checkpoints every now and then, used to pull over trucks to check cargo [check for drugs we were told], or matutus to make sure papers and stickers are in order; safari vehicles let through without delay. Minimal roadsigns, or warning signs [eg, bend in road, koalas next 10km], or speed signs. Traffic chaos is generally accepted, no honking of horns, cursing or road rage … hakuna matata! In townships and villages off the main road, there are no traffic lights or street lighting. Buildings don’t have neon or lit signs; company names are named quite creatively, and all hand signpainted. Sometimes roundabouts have heaps of signs pointing to various companies, police, schools, government institutions, churches, etc. Heaps of signs for schools and churches of any and all denominations along the road. Apart from the main strip through a township or village, all other roads are dirt, so buildings are generally grubby. Shops can be made from whatever is at hand, and can be as simple as a piece of plastic on the ground or a bucket filled with fruit or veg. Most shops on the side of the road are made from wood, not so much stone and mortar; many painted bright, lurid colours. Massive advertising hoardings assault you every now and then, generally for mobile phones or skin creams, or other. Mobile phones are cheap, and it’s quite incongrous to see a fully laden cart going to a market, pulled by a donkey or two, with a fellow up front talking on a mobile. There are shopfronts or buildings painted lime green everywhere, the colour of the mobile company Safaricom, with their logos up top, and the actual shop name handpainted above the shop doors. You’d see many little shops no bigger than an old outback dunny, built of wood with a thatched saplings roof, barely hanging together, with a lime green Safaricom “Top up” poster above the door. It just looks wrong …!
I mentioned creative signs, here are some we've seen: Gender Equity Bar & Restaurant, By Grace General Store, Wonder Price Building, Hitman Cool Cabanna Pub, Two In One House, First and Last Butchery, Arise And Shine Cafe. And some school mottos: Let the vision motivate your life; Knowledge is light; Hard work and discipline leads to success; Strive for excellence and eminence; Knowledge, success and eminence for all; Unity and diligence for success.
And the conversations we've been having with people we've been meeting along the way, well, that's another story …
Till our next post or email, stay happy and healthy.
Kwaheri!