Kenya and Tanzania, Africa Adventure! August 28-September 10, 2018
When I decided to take my sabbatical from work, I thought it might be a good time to travel out of the country. It seems most people go to Europe when they have a significant amount of time to travel. My wife and I are more into roughing it!
My friend Monica has lived in Kenya for about two years, and plans to come back to the States in 2019. An African safari has been on my bucket list for years. I mentioned to Candace the possibility of going to Africa for a visit while Monica is there to help support us. She answered my question as if an after thought, “sure”, she says, seeming a bit disinterested at first.
Planning for this trip was more intimidating than any other trip I’ve planned. We both needed to go to a travel medicine doctor for a consultation. There, we received the yellow fever vaccination (required for entry in the country), as well as the typhoid vaccination. Candace also had to receive all of her shots she did not receive as a baby; seven shots total that day! The bill for the travel vaccinations was in excess of $700. We also received malaria prophylaxis medication, which we both had to take for the length of our trip and for 28 days after our return. We treated our clothing with permethrin spray to repel disease-carrying mosquitoes. We picked up over the counter meds, and prescribed antibiotics, to treat traveler’s diarrhea if the worst were to occur.
After three flights and 21 hours in the air, we arrived in Nairobi. Monica had a ride waiting for us at the airport, holding a sign she made declaring “Karibu” (welcome) and “Jambo” (hello in Swahili).
Monica’s place is amazing! She has a huge private yard, a welcome retreat. Monica’s wife, Betsy, works for the US embassy, the reason for their move to Kenya. Their house lies behind a gate, and a guard watches the property and pounds in numbers on a security panel on an hourly basis. There are bars on the windows, and a secured door in the hall that gets locked at night, keeping their bedrooms as a safe house in case of terrorist attack.
Our first day, we toured a lovely tea farm. We got to watch the workers picking and weighing the tea in large sacks. We also had an amazing lunch, the highlight for me was home made ice cream from their cows, wow. Best ice cream I’ve ever had. While we were sipping our tea after lunch, we could hear some exclamations outside, “There’s a monkey on the roof!” This was our first look at the abundant wildlife.
Monica had another couple visiting from Seattle at the same time, which made our visit even more dynamic. The next day we all took a downtown tour of Nairobi, not the type of tour I expected as a westerner. Our guides greeted us, one guide per guest. They each started telling us their life stories. My guide lost his father at age 7 and was abused by his mother. This precipitated him to leave school and his home at a young age to live on the streets. He told me how he learned to steal to survive. Each guide had a similar story. The downtown streets were dangerous, not a place for muzungu (white people). Crossing the streets was difficult, as there are no traffic rules. We were warned that if a car struck us, we would be left in the streets. Our guides held onto our arms gently each time we crossed. We were taken into a market, which was closed in, by heavy canvas and seller’s goods on each side. We watched the women sewing the sandals and purses with old fashioned sewing machines. I watched their feet working the pedals. We walked briskly the whole time, and Monica clocked our walk at 5 miles.
Afterwards, we ate traditional Kenyan food, consisting of bean dishes and ugali, a filling cornmeal dish that the locals use in lieu of silverware, to sop up the rest of their meal. This tour changed me, I thought about it for days afterwards. Still in culture shock, I was having trouble making sense of everything I had seen and heard.
We also learned quickly, that the plumbing in Kenya is unreliable! Something happened to the power or water while Candace was showering and she was left soapy in the bath with no water. She waited patiently while water was boiled and poured into a bucket to complete her bath. This was luxury, compared to what was coming next. On safari, rarely will you find TP in the bathrooms, and the toilets didn’t always flush. Sometimes the showers only ran ice cold water. I got accustomed to squatting to pee in a ceramic hole in the ground. The locals told me that they might go for weeks without water, despite the fact that they paid for it. On our downtown tour, we saw an array of barrels and buckets the locals use for storing water.
Our final day in Nairobi concluded with a lovely breakfast in an outdoor restaurant in the forest. The waiter brought us blankets to place on our laps. Nairobi sit about 6000 feet in elevation, so the temperature was mild, in the mid 60s. Some of our group decided to walk back to Monica’s after breakfast, which allowed me the opportunity to run back home. I took an extra loop or hill up and back to stay with the group. I had so much fun greeting the Kenyans as I jogged by, a smile and “Jambo” as my greeting. I even got thumbs up and hand claps from some of the guards, this from a culture of very fast runners. I was in my glory.
That evening, Monica and Betsy drove us to our camp, where our safari was to begin that next morning. The Wildebeest camp is a permanent tented camp, and a sanctuary in the bustling city. While we were settling in, we could hear scurrying on the roof and we embraced one another laughing. More monkeys jumping on the roof! One monkey and baby actually started jaunting towards me as I was making eye contact with it, causing me a fright despite its small size.
Our first day of safari was busy! We visited the Giraffe Centre first, where the giraffe ate pellets right out of our hands. The highlight was the giraffe kiss. Placing a pellet between your lips, the long, aseptic, giraffe tongue reaches out to lick the pellet from your lips. I had to do this more than once!
Next was David Sheldrick Elephant Sanctuary, a haven for orphaned baby elephants. The babies came out in two groups for feedings while the naturalist introduced each elephant by name and described how they came to the sanctuary. We learned it can take 5 years to reintroduce the elephants back into the wild, taking elephants herds this length of time to accept the new comer. The Naturalists fed the elephants with large bottles of a milky formula. If the elephants walked near the area where you were standing, you could reach out and touch them. Candace and I did get the brief opportunity to do just that, grazing the tough wrinkled skin of one baby elephant.
We then made our way to the camp at Lake Naivasha in the Rift valley. We quickly learned how to set up our thick, canvas tents. With only a brief moment at camp, we left and took an optional tour to Crescent Island, a place where you can walk amongst the animals. We had a fantastic guide, who took us for a walk with the zebras, gazelles, wildebeests, impalas, and other types of antelopes.
Then we were off for an evening hippo cruise on the lake. I’d image this would be the only opportunity to see the hippopotamus, but we saw these great creatures throughout our safari. We also saw many birds and came to an area where the antelopes were grazing near the water. Our guide threw a fish in the water so that we could witness an eagle swoop down to retrieve it.
Once we returned to camp, we were orientated to the group dining process and met our fellow travel companions. Luckily, we had a cook, John, throughout our trip. The meals consisted of cooked vegetables in a stew, chicken, sausages, pastas and such. When I met another group on our last day, I was told that their group did all their own shopping and cooking, although they were on the 72-day trip. We were required to bring our own cutlery, bowls and plates, which we washed after dinner and placed in a large Tupperware with everyone else’s wares for the next meal. Breakfasts consisted of sausages, toast, eggs, fruits and instant coffee.
I hit the sack as soon as dinner was over, not having the energy to congregate at the fire with our new group. During the night, the hippos come to shore to feed. It was an active night of wildlife sounds, although I couldn’t discern what exactly I was listening to with so much activity. Others in the group heard the hippos grunting during the night.
With an early start, we learned to take down our tent and got on the overland bus. This is a huge bus, high off the ground with large windows to view the sights. Only drawback is that the bus is a slow way to travel, due to it’s large size. And the roads in Kenya are poorly maintained, so it was a bumpy ride as well!
We made the long drive to the Masai Mara, our first National Park for safari. On the way, we stopped in Narok to buy snacks, as we were responsible for our own lunches. Pizza still being a theme of my travels, we consumed 2 trays throughout our journey. And lots of samosas!
On our way, we stopped at a Masai village, where the locals collected a modest fee. The men danced and sang for us, jumping up and down, grunting guttural sounds in tune with the others singing their traditional song. We then entered the village, where the women sang and danced, and invited the ladies in our group to join them.
There were children running around everywhere. The woman I was standing next to had a baby strapped to her back, 2 black flies fixed near the baby’s inner eye, not seeming to bother the child. This reminded me of the commercials I watched on TV as a young girl and made my heart ache.
The Masai men demonstrated to us how to make a fire using traditional tools of wood and good old fashion muscle. Then, they sold their wood tools to one “lucky” person afterwards.
Candace and I bought crayons and notebooks in the States and decided to drop them off at this village, allowing us each to have a special moment with an individual from the tribe.
We arrived at the Masai Mara in the evening, with just enough time to hop in a smaller, more versatile safari vehicle. That evening was incredible! The highlight was watching a lion, who seemed injured or otherwise sick, walking the plains. Our driver, Nick, stopped the vehicle in front of the lion’s route, and the lion stopped and roared about 10 times! I wish I got out my camera to film this sight, but I didn’t want to take my eyes off him. Nick told us we witnessed a rare sight.
The next morning we arose about 4:30 am to get ready for our balloon safari. We drove into the Mara in the dark and we were the first vehicle to arrive. We all snoozed a little while the sun came up with activity now all around us. There were rigs bringing in the balloons, and in the early morning hours, we could appreciate the light from the fire used to inflate the balloons.
After a brief safety talk by our pilot, I was a little frightened of the upcoming ride. The baskets were placed tipped over on its side, which translates to us crawling in with our backs towards the ground. As the balloon inflated, the baskets lifted to its upright position and the thrill was soon replaced by a calm flight over the green plains.
I watched a gazelle run, saw a herd of zebra and antelopes from above. This was an experience of a lifetime. After about an hour in the air, we landed smoothly and were driven to an outdoor dining area. We were treated to a delicious breakfast of bacon, omelets, pancakes, coffee and exotic fruits. I think we all helped ourselves to seconds. There was even an outdoor bathroom with a view. A wooden box covered by a canvas tent, with the door facing the Great Plains, complete with TP!
After breakfast, we meet the rest of our group for an afternoon safari drive. We watched a pack of hyenas circling, when our driver realized there was a lion nearby guarding his kill. The hyenas were waiting for a free meal.
We saw an abundance of wildlife this day. Zebras are ubiquitous here, as well as wildebeests, gazilles and many types of antelope. We watched giraffes and elephants roaming the plains. We even saw the elusive leopard!
Nick was so awesome, he took us on roads that were difficult to navigate. At one point, our vehicle got stuck in the mud. We required some assistance from other drivers to set us free. The Masai men, dressed in colorful shirts with blankets around their shoulders, were using a wench and a thick wire coil to tow us out of our predicament.
Our adventure in the Masai Mara was one of the best days I’ve had in my lifetime. Beneath my sunglasses, I had shed some tears while standing on the seats in the safari vehicle, my head poking out of the roof with the others to watch the animals graze.
Day 4 of our safari was another early arousal for a morning game drive to hopefully watch the animals hunting. We did see a cheetah that morning, make a chase down the plain, but he was unable to take down any prey at that moment.
We returned to Nairobi, the perpetual tiredness lingering under the surface. Several of us in the group, including Candace and me, upgraded to a room with a bed, a bug net hung from the ceiling. We did not feel too proud to do this, despite only camping for 4 days.
We stayed in a gated campground and I was able to run the main road off the camp. I ran to a guarded gate, and made sure the guard would open this for me on my way back. I ran through a lush neighborhood, until I reached another guarded gate and turned back. I did this about 4 times, enjoying some solitude.
That night, we all hopped into taxis for a night out in Nairobi. We went to a fancy restaurant called Carnivore, and ate the delicacy, Nyama Choma. The servers came around to the table with a slab of meat, and cut it right onto our plates. We tasted the beef, pork and chicken. Then, we did get adventurous and try crocodile, which I liked. The motto “Take great risk with love and food” swirled through my brain when the Ox balls were presented on my plate. The server would not serve me one ball, but insisted they came in pairs! I did not like this dish, and had a good laugh watching others displeasure in the taste. It was reminiscent of liver. Candace did like the ox balls, although she too could only eat one :)
After an early breakfast at camp, we boarded the overland vehicle and made our way through the border to Tanzania. After clearing customs, we stopped off for provisions at the local market. The locals were more aggressive in Tanzania attempting to sell us their wares. Dangling bracelets and necklaces in our faces persistently in hopes that we would buy their objects. Not knowing if we should ignore the vendors as the best strategy to be left alone, one young woman in our group, Coral, was able to engage these vendors in conversation with her knowledge of the language. With her fun loving sense of humor, she also received several marriage proposals during our short 9 days with her!
After a full days drive, we made it to the town of Arusha. We awoke the next morning to the sound of a male’s voice chanting from a distance, seeming amplified through a speaker or megaphone. The chanting ended before we even got out of bed, around 0600. We were instructed to pack for 3 days, as we were now getting on a safari vehicle and making our way to the Serengeti.
Another very long drive, we passed through the upper portion of the Ngorongoro Crater on our way into the Serengeti. We stopped for lunch at a rest area where we sat on logs to rest. We stepped over old animal excrement, which was everywhere, not off putting, just part of the package. Baboons and storks were visiting our lunch spot when we arrived.
Our drive to Simba camp in the Serengeti took all day. We saw some animals on our way to camp, but did not venture down the side roads like we did in the Mara. This caused frustration for some in our group, who paid for this 3-day journey as an optional trip ($600). These traveling companions were touring Africa for 59 days. We arrived at camp during dusk, and had the nice surprise of popcorn appetizer waiting for us before dinner. The stars were the brightest I have ever seen in the African wilderness, a site to behold.
We toured the Serengeti the next morning, this park much larger than the Mara, with the animals more spread out. The temperatures were also much warmer and the African sun was starting to take its toll on me, shining through the roof, it was hard to find relief. We drove back to camp for a hearty lunch. Hoping to linger at camp longer in the shade, we got back into the safari vehicle for a drive to our next destination, the Ngorongora Crater camp. Our vehicle was not running properly, so our driver stopped at a fixit shop on the way. It was very hot, and most of the group got out of the car and stood in the shade of a shanty. Some others and myself sprawled out in the vehicle to nap. Breakdowns are common here, and just part of the adventure.
When we were ready to head off, the others in the group entered the vehicle abruptly, disrupting the serenity I achieved despite the circumstances. I was the oldest in the group of mostly 20 something’s, and perhaps need more quiet time than the others. I felt myself triggered from some of the conversations about designer drugs another couple had on a daily basis. I am an alcoholic and marijuana addict, and I have been clean and sober for over 5 years.
Knowing I could never participate in these activities, and sensing intrigue from Candace, I felt threatened and retreated into myself for the rest of the drive. That being said, we did travel with an excellent group and I could not ask to be trapped in a vehicle for days with anyone else! My insecurities just got the best of me that afternoon, and I had to sit with those feeling during that long drive, my head spinning into dark places of untruth.
When we finally arrived at the Ngorongora Crater camp, it was just about dusk. I needed my coping mechanism of running, and was told by Kip, our overland guide, that this camp was good place to run. Although, our safari driver told me it was unsafe to run up the road we drove in, because of the elephants.
I saw all the villagers on our way to camp, and figured a little run up the road would be okay. I was also feeling unsettled and thus less frightened of my surroundings (not smart). So I made my way around camp, unknowingly running past the other group that we would merge with tomorrow. I ran up the road a little ways, and turned back when I saw a safari vehicle, not wanting to be too bold, and returned to run around camp, stepping over large piles of old excrement, as if on an obstacle course, in the grasses of camp. I made my way up the road a little ways again, and was stopped by a car with 4 guards wearing camouflage. “What are you doing?” They asked. I explained I was with Absolute Africa and they told me running here was dangerous. I was only steps from camp.
As I made my way back, I heard some rustling in the bushes near our tents. When Marco, our new friend from Croatia, saw me giving a wide birth to this being, he asked me what I was seeing. I assumed hyena, as we saw many of them near our last camp, their eyes glowing when my headlamp hit their glare. This time, my headlamp was shining on the eyes of a different beast, these eyes spread wider apart on a larger skull. A much bigger animal, the African buffalo appeared from the bushes.
The wildlife here was abundant. Candace had to wait for a zebra to pass by in order to use the bathroom. We were kept safe at this camp by armed guards carrying rifles. My few moments of solitude and adventure were enough to ground me again from the head-trip I experienced earlier. And we were treated to more popcorn before dinner, my new favorite appetizer!
Needing to strengthen my marriage after my retreat into myself earlier gave me the gift of vulnerability. Luckily, I have the best wife in the world. She has the gift of communication. This was a difficult trip, physically at times due to a lack of movement, and emotionally at times, due to lack of solitude. I was forced to see the contrast of myself to others, and wondered if my blaming of other’s conversations as a trigger was just a scapegoat for some deeper insecurities in myself.
The other half of our group on a different safari vehicle had not arrived at camp until dark, and our driver had gone out searching for them. When they arrived, we heard the story of their driver going a bit too fast for the conditions (not uncommon) with a bald back tire. They skidded off the road, and luckily no one was injured. They were on a side road when the accident occurred, and had to hope another vehicle would drive by timely for assistance. I’d imagine this entire group felt vulnerable too, standing outside the shield of their vehicle in the African wilderness, waiting.
Another clear night of bright stars, you could see the Milky Way. Even on the horizon, the stars were visible; I didn’t even have to look up, I could see the stars looking straight ahead.
We awoke before dawn to make our way into the Crater. This was the highlight I was waiting for since I booked the trip. A knowledgeable friend of ours, Jerry, who introduced Candace and I and also officiated our wedding, told me about the crater. He said that all the animals are stuck in there and they can’t get out.
The concentration of animals in this area was incredible! A highlight was watching hundreds of wildebeests cross the road in front of us, stopping all the safari vehicles in their tracks. In the distance, I watched them running through the nearby lake.
We saw pink flamingos in the distance. We stopped at a lake and watched hippos float by. This place was surreal and surpassed what I could have imagined. We drove around to find the rhino, the only animal of the African big 5 Candace and I did not see.
The big five include-the lion, the African elephant, the African Buffalo, the leopard and the rhinoceros. These animals are coined by hunters to be the most difficult animals to hunt on foot, and are among the most dangerous animals in the park.
This was our last safari drive, and then we made our way slowly back to Arusha. Some of the gang were playing word games to pass the time. I was disinterested and choose to look out the window to take in the last day of travel instead. Although not bothered and enjoying the others delight, this was perhaps another sign of our age differences. A highlight did come from this drive, when a women from the UK, Coral, made fun of American accents. Her England accent now steady saying things like “where’s my sweater” and “peanut butter and jello” will stay with me forever.
The people of East Africa are amazing. I witnessed the idyllic picture of women carrying baskets and buckets on their heads, filled with substances and traveling distances unknown to me. The colorful shanty markets were always bustling, with well-dressed men, women and children perpetually walking the sides of the streets. The children waved as we pass by. Plastics littered the roadways, some areas with small fires of plastics burning. Goats herded along the sides of the streets with men and boys holding wooden sticks to keep them in line. My culture shock is completely gone and this is life here in Kenya.
My last run in Africa was a figure eight around the Arusha camp. My headlamp was becoming dim over the 10 laps, stringing together 3 miles inside the security of the compound. We all enjoyed a hot shower that night, which was a nice surprise. I tried to shower here just days ago, and was still traumatized by the ice cold water I never did succumb to. Because of my tardiness, my groups’ table was full at dinner. Instead of trouble shooting that, I joined the other group and met some new people, with was refreshing despite my fatigue. I felt like a rock star there, as my reputation unknowingly preceded me. One woman knew me by name and said “You’re Jen, we saw you running at the crater.” Cool! The people I spoke to were awesome, but I did slip out after the meal to rejoin my group. During the briefing by their guide, I was a witness to their interpersonal conflicts. These strangers had been living together for 25 days now and there was some obvious discord between the 20 of them. I felt like I was at a work meeting, hearing about how to troubleshoot phone chargers on the bus. This lead to an argument with one women interjecting in a loud voice “I’m talking now, so you listen to me”. That’s the moment I slipped back into my group, realizing how good we have it.
Our group sat quiet at times after dinner, catching up with their home life via cell phone wifi. We interjected into conversations easily at will. This was the type of silence I was wishing for earlier. More a calmness really, that settles over a group of strangers who know just enough about one another making silence comfortable, to retreat into their own.
Meanwhile, the new group was interspersed in the camp bar, blowing off some steam by playing loud music and dancing. I couldn’t help myself and went into the bar to check it out. Only 2 people danced, while the others commiserated on the couches or at the bar, the others probably in their tents. Ready to leave the next morning for home, I couldn’t hide the smugness of my grin, thinking about how these groups will merge. A part of me wishing I was staying to be part of and witness the merge.
After brief goodbyes with our tired group, some up late due to the music, we boarded a car, then a shuttle, for the drive back to Nairobi. It was a local shuttle, which had a small TV monitor playing music videos in Swahili. We were flying out around midnight, and wanted to driver to take us to our hotel near the airport. Instead, we were dropped off on the side of the highway. A little reluctant, I followed the phrase I learned from Monica early on- “Let it happen”. As our luggage was removed from the roof of the shuttle, another car was waiting to take us to our hotel. The shuttle driver and taxi driver where arguing in Swahili, but settled on a fair fee to take us to our hotel, sharing the taxi with another woman from our group.
Everyone I met in Kenya went out of his way to help us. The driver had to park on a side street to call our hotel, as we watched cows walking down the sidewalk. It was a run down shanty area with dirt sidewalks. A gentlemen sitting on the curb gave our driver directions and just a few feet away was our hotel. Honestly, I was afraid to leave and venture outside, not knowing the neighborhood. We cleaned up and ate dinner before heading to the airport and giving our last driver the rest of our shillings for a tip too large for the services.
This was an adventure of a lifetime and I am so thankful to have had this experience. It started as a whim, and turned into one of the best trips of my life. I look forward to following the rest of our group’s adventures on Facebook and hope that they get a little downtime. As one of our companions, Sasha, stated “this is not a vacation, it’s travel”. Yes, it is. And to quote our upstairs neighbor, who is from Kenya “You’re a different American now”. Yes, I am.
Next up: Utah, USA!!