Masai Mara

The four of us had a quiet morning and headed off at two thirty p.m. to the Masai Mara game reserve. I was excited, but expecting a similar experience to Amboseli. Even though Masai Mara is world-famous, I had my expectations set too low. Masai Mara is awesome!

Within five minutes of entering the park we had seen elephant, giraffe, zebra, gazelle and wildebeest. And the wildebeest! Present in the hundreds of thousands dotted all over the landscape.

And the landscape has more hills and valleys than Amboseli. It also seemed greener, but that is probably due to the time of the year. It was classic African savanna, and we were all very impressed. The vistas down the valley, with animals in abundance, really took our breath away.

We had Moses with us, a Masai guide who knew the park like the back of his hand. After all, it was his home. Moses explained after about an hour that the hardest animal to spot was a rhino, because they were extremely shy (believe it or not). Two minutes later, as we rounded a bend, we spotted two rhinos about 50 metres away. Moses could not stop telling us how lucky we were.

So, within an hour we had seen three of the “big five” – elephant, buffalo and rhino. We only had lion and leopard to go, and there was still 90 minutes left in our afternoon safari. To this list you can add topi, eland, eagle, vulture, ostrich, mongoose, impala, buffalo (pronounced Boofalo by Moses) and warthog. However, the cats proved elusive. We drove to all the places where Moses assured us lions lived, with no success. He showed us a tree where he said he had seen a leopard on five recent occasions. Still no success.

As we were heading out of the park we noticed an unusually large number of safari vehicles gathering around a certain spot on the creek. Moses was sure that it must be lion. He was right!

We had to cross the creek bed first, and thanks to Des’ good driving it was accomplished with minimal damage. On a rock 50 metres from the others was a young male lion, sitting alone. Then, closer to the creek was another three lions resting in the long grass. It was my first close encounter with the king of the beasts, spoiled slightly by the crush of vehicles and the fact that we had (illegally, we later learned) left the gravel road to get closer to the lions.

After taking our 60 second turn, we started heading back to camp. A torrential afternoon downpour began not two minutes after seeing the lions. The sky went dark and the rain came pouring down. Thunder echoed across the valley and it was our second awesome display of nature for the afternoon.

Three hours in Masai Mara and we had seen so much. Can’t wait for tomorrow, we still have to find that leopard.

Day Three

We have now left the park, but what an experience. Seeing the Mara River, where the wildebeest cross is amazing, even though none were crossing. The river was littered with the carcasses of wildebeest that had not survived the crossing. 

Driving along we also came across hyenas and vultures arguing over a fresh kill. They took no notice of us and we managed to take some good photos.

Over the three days we also spotted three separate prides of lions, managing to get very close on one occasion - as the photos suggest. They are amazing beasts who know that nothing can intimidate them - they watch calmly as twenty vehicles gather around their hiding place.

Leaving the park yesterday we had a stroke of good luck, spotting a cheetah sitting beside a mound of dirt not 20 metres from our car.

We also had a stroke of bad luck - two actually. Two flat tyres, one completely ripped and the spare which did not last three kilometres. It is interesting changing a tyre with the fear of being eaten!

If you ever get a chance to visit Masai Mara, do it! 

Here is my photo essay. Enjoy.

"Do you know how fortunate you are to see these?"

Yes, I fiddled with this to make it look "arty"

A lion dreaming about ...?

Which one is Harry the happy hippo?

A roller bird?

On the border of Tanzania and Kenya (inside Masai Mara)

Dead wildebeest - smelly and disgusting, but nature often is!

A boofalo - you don't get the sense of their huge bulk in this photo

Part of the 1.5 million wildebeest within the park

THE cheetah

This fella looked like he had just gone through liposuction - look at the loose skin

Quick, quick, the lions are coming!

What an amazing creation we live in. I do hope that these animals can be conserved for future generations.

Untying the Hands

August 7

It is our daughter's 22nd birthday, yet she is 10,000 km away. Happy birthday Elise, we love you inestimably.

But what a day. Our good friends Andrew and Sue Russell are visiting us in Kenya, and one of their missions was to visit their sponsor child in the South-West of the country, on the shores of Lake Victoria.

We drove down the day before, then set out from our motel at 8:45 and visited the offices of Plan International, the organisation through which the sponsorship is organised. Their offices are a two storey building, of conventional Kenyan design with lots of technology and at least ten friendly, dedicated workers.



Plan works through the sponsorship model, and in this district there are 10,007 children that benefit directly or indirectly from their work. We sat with Dennis, Nancy and Tom and they explained that Plan attempts to improve the living standards of people in the local communities. They teach financial planning and the need to save, they encourage farmers to diversify their production, they interact with students in the local schools and teach them about being safe and avoiding strangers. Child abuse is a big problem in the area. Plan has also built school rooms and in-serviced teachers in regards to child protection.

I was blown away with their attitudes - very un-Kenyan. Instead of the traditional "pole pole", their mantras included "giving up is what is not allowed" and "sitting back does not take us anywhere". They are eager to make changes and improve the lives of the people in their community. More Kenyans need to take on this twenty-first century attitude of immediate can-do-ness.
Dennis explained that in Plan's opinion the biggest problem facing Kenyans is that they do not have the knowledge to change. They are as capable as any group of people but have to battle against centuries of unhelpful tradition. He sees Plan's job as "untying their hands", and allowing them to move forward, fully utilising their natural talents. It was a very inspiring and uplifting visit.

After a quick coffee we were driven to the sponsor child's primary school. Asalama the driver plus Dennis and Nancy took us in their land cruiser.  In Kenya, schools love to receive visitors, especially ones from other countries. The head teacher (principal) took us into his office and explained how thankful he was for all the assistance provided by Plan. We met the chairman of the school management committee and then the whole committee! We had arrived in the middle of a management meeting. The principal took us on a tour of the school. Plan has built two rooms, including an ICT room that now contains 6 computers.

We visited the Stage 4 classroom of the sponsor child and Andrew and Sue were excited to meet the boy that they have sponsored for the past 9 years. There were only about twenty students in the class, but perhaps that was because it was the final day of term.  We gave each child a small sweet, took some photos and gave a quick message of encouragement.



Outside we were the guest of honour at a short concert put on by a small group of singers. Around us were all the other students, most interested in these strange white people that had visited their school.



As you may guess, the singers harmonised beautifully and all swayed to the music. They show no stage fright and looked as though they were really enjoying their performance.



Next, we loaded the sponsor child on board and headed for his home. It was a trip of about 10 minutes, along some fairly rough, bumpy tracks.
The parents were very happy to meet us, especially Andrew and Sue. Grandparents, neighbours, siblings, cousins and aunts were all introduced and we were invited into the sitting room. The house was about 3m by 6m, of wattle and daub construction, with a cow dung floor and a corrugated iron roof. Like most Kenyan sitting rooms, it was full of lounges covered with embroidered cloth. On one side of the sitting room was the cooking area, on the other one or two bedrooms.

Through a translator (although the father's English was reasonable) we exchanged greetings and talked about our pleasure at being able to visit. Plan had told us that the family wanted to provide something for us to eat, and out came soft drinks and biscuits. We were very happy about this, considering it to be quick, easy and reasonably western. Andrew presented his sponsor child with a soccer ball and pump.




The boy was quite fazed by the experiences of the day, including being given a seat of honour at his school's assembly. We were unsure whether he really understood the role Andrew and Sue had played in his life. Nevertheless, he was quite prepared to take the football outside and kick it around with Andrew.



I spoke to the sponsor child's father and learned that he was a farmer, growing maize, ground nuts and cassava. He explained that the soil is not good (quite rocky) and so yields are low. He had just finished harvesting his yearly maize crop.
We also took some basic food supplies for the family; sugar, wheat flour, maize flour and fruit juice.

As Andrew was kicking the ball outside, the women brought in another course of food; chicken stew, ugali and skuma (kale cooked with onion and tomato).
Andrew appears in the doorway and says "well, I suppose it is about time we headed off" and then saw the bowls of food on the table. The meal was very enjoyable. In particular, the chicken was surprisingly tender (going on past experiences).

As time came to leave, there were more speeches, translated by Dennis. The family was visibly happy to have been visited by us, and they asked if we would accept a small gift from them. We could not refuse their generosity. Small was definitely an understatement. Out came two bags of maize kernels, two bags of peanuts and two live chickens with their legs tied together. We felt like we should refuse this extravagant gift, but to refuse would have offended. Have you ever wondered what you would do if you were given two live chickens while visiting friends? No, it's not something that Australians consider very often.



The chickens were placed under the back seats of the land cruiser, we said our final good-byes, and headed back into town. As we entered town Nancy said "now we are going to take you out to lunch". Again, we could not protest, but we were all unprepared for another meal. The cafe was quite nice and we ordered chicken and chips or a chicken curry and rice. We have found that chicken is the safest and best prepared meat in Kenya. Although, sometimes the word "barbecued" seems to be confused with "scorched earth policy". Des was keen on trying fresh Nile perch, but on this occasion it was not available.

After a slow tour around town, including the jetty on Lake Victoria we were dropped-off at our motel at about 4 pm. We left the gifted produce (including the chickens) for the Plan workers to distribute to needy families. It was a lovely day, but quite emotionally draining.
Well done Plan International. You are a professional, well-organised charity that is doing very good things in rural Kenya.

Food Distribution #2

Thank you once again for all the donations from Australia. You have helped feed many people and also provided Des and myself with one of the most emotional experiences of our lives.

I was asked to be present at the church hall at 10:00 am on Saturday, as there would be another distribution of maize flour to elders from 13 surrounding towns and villages. There was first the obligatory cup of tea, along with buttered bread. Representatives from the 13 areas slowly trickled in.

An aside: I have learned two new African sayings that seem to be very important here.
1. "Slowly, slowly and you do not wear yourself out".
2. "In hurrying there is no blessing".

Needless to say, the distribution did not start until 11:45. There were 60 bags of flour each containing twelve 2 kilo packets. My basic maths tells me that this equates to 1,440 kg.

The elders were very thankful, and many in their home location will now have some food until the harvest comes in. My big question is how they will get the flour home? Most come on hired motor bikes or in a matatu (taxi van crammed full of people). I wonder what the driver says when you tell him you have 250 kg of flour to take with you?
My friend Sammy tells me that they are so glad to receive the food that "they will find a way".

Once again, here are some pictures so that you can share in the experience:

And all this came in the back of a small Toyota station wagon - although I think it was two trips (this is the first load). They punish the suspension in this country.

In typical Kenyan fashion, each elder was called out one at a time. They were given their flour which they placed in a strategic location on the grass. Some looked at me waiting for their photo to be taken - I obliged.

Very much like a prize-giving ceremony, although there was no hand shaking and no long speeches.










I suggested that perhaps they should write their names on their pile of flour. I was assured that everyone knew exactly which was theirs and everyone else's!

Mt Elgon

Mt Elgon is an extinct volcano, about a 90 minute drive from the school. We have been planning to go there all year, and last Saturday it finally happened. The area is a National Park, on both the Kenyan and Ugandan sides.

We are preparing (not very rigorously unfortunately) for an assault on Kilimanjaro, and we thought that a walk at altitude would be a good thing. The highest peak is at an altitude of 4321 m, but the summit was out of our reach on this day. Nevertheless we managed to do a strenuous hike up a rather steep path to the top of Enderbess Bluff, at a height of 2600 m.

Now that I have my Kenyan residency (Hooray!!) entry to the park only cost me $8. Des and Tabby had to pay $30 each. The car was $15 and we were obliged to take a ranger with us. He was designated a 'guide' and this cost an additional $35. So much for a cheap day out in the forest.

Here is a photo-essay of our adventure:

 Yes, it looks like North West NSW, complete with the eucalypt trees, but that is Mt Elgon in the distance covered with cloud. After a week of rain and coolish weather, it was a lovely day.

In the rural area before the entrance to the park there are a number of coffee plantations. Coffee likes altitude, and as you see, they grow their coffee as an under-storey. This is becoming increasing popular around the world although it takes more effort to produce. The coffee matures more slowly and develops a richer flavour (that is the theory anyway).



This is a wonderful tropical rainforest ... definitely more lush that Kakamega. The trees are massive and the canopy very dense in places. The above photo is a horizontal branch of a large buttressed rainforest tree.

Kitum Cave is the most visited spot in the park. It is huge, consisting of an ancient lava tube. I heard a rumour that the cave system reaches all the way into Uganda, but I think that may be an exaggeration.
We walked about 150 metres into the cave until it was pitch black.
Apparently the soils in the area lack certain salts and minerals. Animals come to this cave to lick these requirements from the soil and cave walls. There is certainly lots of evidence of animal visitation; bush buck, buffalo and elephant included.

This is the entrance to the cave. It is a place where the local Masai used to live up until  recently. It is thought that up to 1000 people used to shelter here. Fires were used to scare away animals that visited at night.

This is a terrible photo and I apologise. For some reason my flash won't work in the pitch dark (can any camera expert explain that to me: Matt??) Anyway, it is a fuzzy picture of the cave wall where elephants have scraped at the rock with their tusks. The loosened rock is then licked up. Our guide Boniface told us that they can see really well in the dark (something about a compound eye like a cat). It amazed us that elephants could negotiate the rocky, narrow paths in complete darkness. Unfortunately, there were no elephants around and apparently they would not even come close if humans were present - they have an exceptional sense of smell too. During this time of year they have wandered over the border into Uganda, but will return early in the new year.

From inside the cave, looking towards the light.

There were quite a few troupes (?) of baboons. I have heard that they can be inquisitive and, at times, downright aggressive. These were very timid and would not let us come within 30 metres before they scurried off into the bush.

Here are Des, Tabby and Boniface contemplating Enderbess,  the basalt hill that we are about to climb. This is Kenya and so the path is slippery mud and basically goes straight up the side of the hill. I can walk for long periods but the intensity of this climb really did me in. I am hoping that Kilimanjaro is not as steep ... at least until about day 4!



From the top the view is spectacular even though Kenya always seems to have haze in the air. It was also quite chilly at 2600 m. The hills in the distance and to the left marks the start of Uganda.

Right below us was the rainforest, and beyond that the cultivated fields of Western Kenya. This region grows a large percentage of the country's maize. The tops of the trees splay out like no other rainforest I have seen - truly African.

This also is truly African - the acacia trees covering the valley slopes. The elephants like these trees. Unfortunately, instead of grazing on the leaves and branches, they prefer to knock over the tree and make a complete meal of it. Boniface is philosophical, "there are only 600 elephants but millions of acacias".

Also in the distance we can see the traditional huts of local farmers. They have been won over by the National Park as clean water supplies have been provided and the Kenyan Wildlife Service has built 14 schools in the area. The locals are now one of the biggest protectors of the park, and poaching is almost unheard of.

As we drive to our last cave we scare a male water buck who was sitting by the side of the road. They are very large but amazingly agile and very quick. Within seconds he had disappeared up a steep, forested slope.

This is the entrance to Makengeni (Sp.?) Cave. It is not as large as Kitum Cave but the entrance is much higher and there is a permanent waterfall at the cave's mouth. This is not a salt lick cave and so fewer animals visit, but apparently buffaloes like to spend the night here.

The scale of these caves suggests the violent volcanic activity that must have occurred when Mt Elgon was active. As I have said in a previous blog, its caldera (which we didn't get up to) is one of the largest in the world - this was one massive volcano.

And the best news of all. On our way home we stopped in Kitale to buy groceries. Near the new Nakumatt supermarket/variety store there is a new cafe - with the best coffee West of Nairobi. Ah, bliss.

New Google Map

The Google map of our home in Australia is at least 8 years old. It still shows the greenhouse that we removed when we arrived 7 years ago.

However, the Google map of Kamukuywe, Kenya is brand-spanking new. It is very easy to find the school, including the kitchen that was only built two months ago.

You can find it yourself on Google Earth (just look about 1 km South-East of the market).

New girl's dormitory at left.
Our house - right of the dormitory at top.
New kitchen - right of the dormitory, below.
Teaching block on the far right.
Below the teaching block is the sports field.

Thank you Australia

Today was the day. The first distribution of food bought with the money donated by my wonderful friends in Australia. What an amazing feeling seeing people with little or no food in their homes being given a basketful of maize flour. It certainly is better to give than to receive!

The process was quite orderly and the 800 (?) 2 kg bags of flour disappeared very quickly. I don't know how quantities were decided but some people seemed to go away with a lot more. I am hoping that these were the most needy cases.

Here are some photographs so that you too can share this wonderful experience:

The stockpile of maize flour

Typically Kenyan - a line for the men and another for the women

She will make lots of ugali with this

The distribution in progress

10 kg is quite a  heavy load

Carrying it home the traditional way

Happy recipients preparing to leave