Kenya Safari

Wanting to go on a safari, Larissa and I selected Kenya for its variety of geography and climate: semi-arid (Samburu), mountain tropical rain forest (Mount Kenya), alkaline lake (Nakuru), freshwater lake (Naivasha) and savannah (Masai Mara). Once again we placed ourselves in the capable hands of Smartours and were well-rewarded. It was truly an amazing experience.

Kenya is a country with an extremely poor population. Parts of it are very fertile, parts barely suitable for grazing scrawny cattle. The infrastructure has completely deteriorated since independence in 1963. Smartours kept us under very close supervision, for which we were grateful. You really don’t want to be on your own in Kenya.

The roads are the worst I have ever been on. So bad, in fact, that our drivers often elected to drive on the dirt beside the road rather than on a pot-holed paved surface. (As much as I believe you have to travel the roads of a country to really see it, I’d suggest that anyone with a bad back or respiratory problem who wants to go on a Kenyan safari should make sure that you fly between game reserves whenever possible. The roads got to even Larissa and me – we bailed out on the last 7 hour drive and flew from the Masai Mara back to Nairobi in a monoplane. We justified it by figuring that travel by bushplane is an integral part of the African experience. The views of the Masai Mara were breath-taking!) Most Kenyans have to walk (often up to 10 km each way from the suburbs to the city) or take matatus (independently owned buses whose drivers drive as fast as they can in order to make as many trips with as many people as they can. Despite new restrictions on speed and passenger numbers, you wouldn’t catch me on one. These drivers make Boston drivers look good.) Traffic jams are endemic, not to mention dangerous. You need to lock your doors and windows to prevent thieves from grabbing what they can while you’re stuck at a standstill.

Our hotels were outstanding. The Safari Park Hotel, where many international organizations hold meetings, is a huge self-sufficient complex on the outskirts of Nairobi. It has several restaurants, many bars, a casino, 3 stages, and an entire shopping village. People who stay there have neither the need nor the desire to actually go into Nairobi. The other hotels were all well-located within the parks, each with a spectacular view of wildlife from the rooms.

In Samburu we could watch elephants bathing in the river; at Lake Naivasha impalas roaming the yellow fever acacia trees. The hands down favorite, however, was the Serena Mountain Lodge on Mount Kenya. All rooms (as well as the bar and, for those who want to get really close, an underground tunnel) face a watering hole which is visited by an ever-changing array of animals throughout the day and night. It was fascinating to watch the elephants parade out of the jungle to oust the Cape buffalo, the waterbucks test their horns, and the monkeys wreak havoc wherever possible. At night, you can request a wake-up knock in the event an animal you want to see arrives. I wake for genets!

The food was much better than I’d anticipated. We had one “typical” nyama choma Kenyan meal, consisting of meat of all varieties sliced off skewers at your table. The days of zebra and wildebeest roasts are over; the most exotic offerings were crocodile (don’t ask), ostrich and camel. For the most part, we had buffets at the lodges. There was usually a wide variety of Western and Indian dishes, lots of delicious fresh fruit, and an occasional Kenyan dish made of maize, arrowroot, or beans. We were glad to find that the local beer, Tusker, is quite good.

The countryside is fascinating. .Kids (often in school-uniformed groups) wave at everyone passing by. Women work in the field, gather huge loads of firewood, do laundry in streams. Heavily beaded Samburu and Masai herdsmen wearing traditional red shukas and carrying ball-ended rungu clubs tend cattle and goats. The Equator runs through Kenya, as does the Great Rift Valley -- a long gash in the earth’s crust that will eventually split the continent of Africa in two as it continues to widen. Lest we forget that we were in a geologically active zone, we were awoken several times at night by minor earthquakes that shook the building and rattled the windows.

We were extraordinarily lucky in our game sightings. The bush telegraph is very effective, and driver Ricardo made good use of it. We saw countless antelope of assorted varieties, including impala, tiny dikdiks, long-necked gerenuks, Grant’s and Thompson’s gazelles, topi, waterbucks, duikers, bushbucks, oryx, and elands. There were mongoose, warthogs, hyrax, hyenas, and jackals. We came across many herds of elephants – at one point, a large juvenile took exception to us and charged our van, getting much closer than any of us were comfortable with. In the Masai Mara we caught the first day of the wildebeest migration (right on time: July 16) – endless columns of wildebeest and zebra galloping over the hills, spilling out onto the plain to form vast herds. From afar they look like ants swarming.

Reptiles included monitor lizards, crocodiles, and even a python (ugh.) The birds were spectacular -- some gem-like (the superb starling is, indeed, superb), some regal, some hideous (the marabou stork). We saw a million flamingos turn Lake Nakuru a delicate shell pink.

 Monkeys, baboons, Cape buffalo, zebras and giraffes were common sightings; rhinos and hippos less so. (When we went hippo hunting, our boat’s motor dropped overboard into Lake Naivasha. Fortunately, the hapless guide had his cell phone with him!) Best of all, baby animals were exceptionally numerous this year, and July is a great month to behold them.

No surprise, the big cats were my favorites. I think the image that will stay in my mind’s eye is that of a mother cheetah, standing alert atop a tall termite mound while her 4 juveniles sit at attention in the tall grass, all keyed in on the same impala. Or it might be the leopard slinking down a tree, or maybe the leopard cub asleep in the fork of a tree. We witnessed lions engaged in activities ranging from sleeping and guarding kill to mating.

Oscar, our tour leader, was very cooperative in arranging some extra excursions for us. Larissa and I particularly wanted to visit Olorgesailie, where the Leakeys discovered Paleolithic stone tools, many of which they left in situ. More recently, remains of homo erectus 900,000 years old were found there. Hell’s Gate was another extracurricular activity we had our hearts set on. Our persistence was rewarded with an at times strenuous hike through a stupendous gorge (parts of Out of Africa and Tomb Raiders 2 were filmed there) where hot springs yield water almost too hot to touch. Elsewhere in the park, water superheated by underground volcanic activity issues forth in great clouds of steam from fissures in the ground. The park is aptly named.

Some experiences bordered on the surreal. A nature walk on Mount Kenya culminated in a very elegant tea and brandy break in a forest clearing, complete with china cups and saucers. This might have been charming had we not been eaten alive by ants on the way there and were all afraid to sit still. In the Masai Mara, we went on a dawn balloon ride (wonderful view and wonderful sensation, though one elephant showed his displeasure with us by knocking down a tree.) We landed at an acacia tree in the middle of the savannah where a full champagne breakfast awaited us, surrounded by topis, zebras, and gazelles.

We had the opportunity to visit a typical Samburu village. It consisted of several dung huts enclosed by a fence of loosely piled thorn branches. There were pens for animals, a men’s hair salon, and day and night “parliaments” where elders make decisions, all also bounded by acacia branches. The Samburu did several traditional dances, then we split up and each group went inside one of the huts (yes, the stench was over-whelming) where we had a chance to ask questions. I was astounded to discover that, although Christian, the Samburu still practice polygamy (when they can afford it) and female genital mutilation. Only the males talked to us. The visit was a real eye-opener.

In many ways, this was a very troubling trip. We left caring deeply about the people and the land. Kenya is a country struggling on the edge of a very dangerous precipice, and it’s not at all clear what the future will bring.

 Mimi Santini-Ritt 2007