My Next-Door Neighbors

We were riding a Piki Piki from Kimbo School the other day when I looked to the left and saw two camels grazing in the bush beside me. Camels?! Christine always reminds me, TIK... This is Africa. (Expect the unexpected!)

And two nights ago, the three dogs at Bush Ventures were barking away all evening and looking at the river. A bit later, one of the staff called to me to go to the river and look- a hippo! I had heard that the girl staying here before me, Anna, had met a few hippos during her trip, but wasn't sure I'd see one in Bush Ventures during the wet season.

A Small World

Most of the clothing shops here in Gilgil sell secondhand clothing. The market is full of vendors selling jeans, shoes, and household items. There are a few shops that sell new clothing, but that is a treat for most of the local people here. I’ve seen two Kenyans in town with Cubs t-shirts, one with a Bears hat, and a few with Green Bay Packers jackets… Sorry, Bears fans!

The other day, I was taking a taxi through town early in the morning and when I looked out the window, there was a man riding his bike through this little town of Gilgil wearing a blue jacket with white embroidery on the back that read, “Sewickley.” What in the world are the chances that I would see a man in this small town wearing a jacket with the name of the small town I am from in the Pittsburgh area. It’s a small, small world!

Lake Nakuru National Park

From 7/23/2011

Today, John and I took a trip to Lake Nakuru National Park. What a treat for me! It was about an hour trip to the park, and even the drive into Nakuru was full of surprises.

When we arrived, we were immediately greeted by dozens of monkeys in the parking lot of the main gate. The monkeys see tourists all the time, so they are not afraid of approaching people near the front of the park. In fact, we were told to be very aware of our open car windows when driving through any of the monkey and baboon areas, as they would enter the car to get any food that was in it! In the video below, a small monkey was very curious to find out what was going on inside a car in the parking lot!

First, we went to the lakeside to see the spectacular view of pelicans and flamingos. The entire shoreline is dotted pink and white- millions of birds. We were able to exit our car and trudged through the muddy shores to get close to the shore. The sight of all of these birds is truly indescribable, and my pictures really don’t capture the experience.

After that, we continued through the park in the car (Nakuru National Park must be explored in vehicles due to the dangerous animals there) in search of rhinoceros and hippopotamus. To our surprise, a rhino was near the shore, and we could see several safari buses moving in on it.

We decided to take our smaller Nissan car off the road to catch up with everyone else, but to our dismay, as we set off on our adventure, we came to a pretty quick halt, stuck deep in mud and grass just off the main road. John and Ben (our driver) were kind enough to spare me the dirty grunt work as they carried rocks and dropped them into the muddy grounds by the car wheels. I was given the job as the driver, and although we were not successful in our efforts, we laughed throughout the experience.

After about 15 minutes, a white Kenyan man who looked quite a bit like Indiana Jones (picture the hat, rope, and clothing…) came to our rescue in a big green land rover. He opened the trunk of his car, took out some metal locks and chains, and pulled our car out of the muck and onto the main road. He spoke English and Swahili, but the only words I caught were, “Adventurous spirits, yes?” Later on, when we had to leave the park temporarily for fuel due to our “stuck in the mud” situation, the park rangers asked who helped us. When we told them it was Indiana Jones, they laughed and seemed to know exactly who we meant.

Phew! Well, while Ben went to fill the car with more gas, John and I were required to wait at the Flamingo Restaurant and Gift Shop. We ordered some lunch and enjoyed this little group of baby monkeys as we waited. They were playing on the restaurant porch and having a grand old time! I was a bit more amused than John and the restaurant staff, but since we were the only two patrons in the restaurant, everyone humored me, and the monkeys.

I insisted we continue searching for rhinos when Ben returned from the gas station. Along the way, herds of zebra (“my friends” according to my Kenyan friends/colleague), and many baboons and monkeys graced our paths.

Buffalo were starting to head towards the shoreline as well, but to be honest, from a distance, I really couldn’t tell if they were rhinos, buffalo, or hippos.

Later in the drive, it was obvious when we saw buffalo, and when we saw rhinos!

A bit later, I had a pleasant surprise when we saw four giraffes eating just off the road. They were beautiful with their long slender necks and legs. I could have watched them for hours.

Even better, as we neared the south end of Lake Nakuru, we were treated to an unusual sight- 2 lionesses sleeping under a tree. Supposedly, they were guarding the pond from monkeys and such, but they were in a deep enough sleep not to be woken by 4 safari minivans just beyond their tree/pond. I wish I could have gotten a good picture, but the tall bush grasses sufficiently hid them while they slept.

All in all, an absolutely wonderful day…  No hippos and no elephant sightings yet, but there have been so many surprises and beautiful animals, I really can’t complain. After today’s sights, I can only imagine what my safari to Masai Mara will be like. Stay tuned…