We left Sunday morning, July 22nd to fly to an airstrip somewhere near the David Livingston Lodge. May I add that "near" is a relative term. I have no idea where the airstrip is in relation to the lodge. It could be half a mile for all I know. We were taken on a three hour "game drive" on our way to the lodge. I am not complaining...just describing. But before I get into that I have to mention that at the air strip there were two interesting structures. One looked very much like a park shelter house and it had a sign indicating that it was the "Arrivals and Departure Lounge." Nearby was a shed with some bleached animal bones outside and a sign that said "Duty Free Shop." Oh, I forgot, there was a toilet.
We saw numerous animals that morning...zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, a couple of different kinds of antelope. One of the best decisions I made on this whole trip was to enjoy the moment and let others take the pictures.
The animals that we saw were absolutely amazing. Seeing them in the flesh and moving freely about is utterly unlike the movies, TV, or the zoo. I have to admit to being a tad disappointed because the migration from Tanzania had not yet started so we didn't see the huge herds of zebras that I had hoped for. They are still incredibly beautiful creatures. On the contrary, the wildebeest (the zebras' almost constant companions) are incredibly ugly.
We arrived at the lodge at straight up noon and had time to check into our rooms before lunch on the lawn at about 12:30. The food at Livingston is reputedly wonderful but I liked the soups and the breakfast omelets the best. Otherwise what we had at Kolping Guesthouse in Nairobi was better.
The lodge is located on a bend in the Mara River. You can sit in the outdoor bar and see (and hear) about 50 hippos in the river about 20 yards away. You definitely don't go down to pay them a visit, however. There is an electric fence and two crocodiles between the lodge and the river. I don't think I realized how noisy hippos are. You could hear them snorting and bellowing even when you went to bed at night. The bellow reminded me of an old man's very low pitched "Har har har" type laugh. As I sat on a bench watching the hippos a three foot monitor lizard appeared in the grass and several spider monkeys ran along the wall. A Masai in full regalia walks around the bar and dining room with a sling shot to keep the monkeys out of the people areas.
I shared a room with two other women...Jen, a delightful and beautiful project manager for Sprint out of Chicago and Jodi, an equally delightful and beautiful lawyer from Colorado. Both are at least 30 years my junior but they were very tolerant of me. Our room was tiny. There was room for the three twin beds with about ten inches between them and perhaps three feet at the foot. Shadrach was our assigned housekeeper and after the first night we had hot water bottles in our turned down beds when we got in. I found the shower to be fairly reliable but unfortunately, the toilet was not. Oh, well. You win some and lose some.
We went on an evening game drive from 3:30 until almost 7:00 on Sunday. Then we saw a mother cheetah and two cubs and 23 lions. The lions were in two groups not far apart so we assumed they were part of the same pride although that seems really
huge. Our driver, Teddy, had never seen so many that close together. As we were watching the second group of 16 when a large tusker (elephant) came strolling in from stage left, soon to be followed by another. We were spellbound.
Of course we saw more antelope (Thompson's, Grants, impala, kopi, and eland), zebras, giraffes, baboons, ostrich, and wildebeest on that afternoon. I cannot describe how awful the roads were. They made the road on which we returned from Lake Nakuru seem like a super highway. But more about that in Monday's episode.
Monday morning we went on another three hour game drive starting at 6:30 a.m. More lions and cheetahs as well as their prey (ho hum). I don't mean the ho hum part, of course.
When we set out on the Monday afternoon drive it looked a little threatening in the far distance. We asked the drivers if it was going to rain. They said no and we believed them. No reason not to. About 45 minutes into the drive it started to sprinkle and within minutes there was a deluge. Within a few more minutes the roads (such as they are) had turned to something slicker than any icy road I have ever experienced. Teddy (our very competent driver) tried driving on the grass when he could but sometimes the boulders were just too big. We got stuck in a nasty mud hole and were dragged out by a passing Land Cruiser (painted with zebra stripes, by the way). We went a little further and got stuck again. I should say here that we were in a rear wheel drive Nissan van while our companions were in a 4 X 4 Toyota van. They pulled us out and we made it back to the lodge three hours later still at the end of their tow rope. Some people in other vans were still out there at 11 p.m. I wasn't sure if it was an adventure or an ordeal. We decided that if nobody was hurt it must have been an adventure.
We cancelled the Tuesday morning game drive.
Mid-morning Tuesday I started feeling a little unwell so I headed back to our room and slept for three hours. Only two of our number chose to go on the afternoon game drive...my intrepid friends from Joplin, Jim and Brenda.
Wednesday morning we set off after breakfast for another game drive on our way back to the airport. It was on this trip that we saw a herd of nine elephants and spied a black rhino through the binoculars Betty had sent with me. Teddy had spotted the rhino from about a mile away and asked for the binoculars. He dragged my backpack out of the back of the van and I dug them out. He was quite excited to see the rhino and we "sped" off (probably 10 mph instead of our usual 5) to get a closer look. Unfortunately we couldn't find it.
Somewhere along the way we stopped at a Masai village and were allowed to visit a home inside for $20 each. Pretty interesting.
Finally back at the Arrivals and Departures Lounge, we ate the huge box lunches that had been sent from the lodge. Then we visited the Duty Free Shop. My plastic water bottle from Walmart was traded for a necklace for Jen and somebody else traded one of my bandannas for earrings, I think. Brenda brought back a handful of stuff in exchange for her $18 watch and a baseball cap. I traded a pair of beaded flip flops that I had bought at a market in Nairobi (and which hurt my feet to wear) for a carved statue of a Masai family and a small beaded basket. I gave Teddy the binoculars. I don't think I have ever given anyone a gift who was more appreciative.
When we got back to Kolping Guesthouse in Nairobi Helen and Gordon had prepared a wonderful feast for us. The tables were set on the lawn and there were streamers and balloons. Our Kenyan friends, Nelson, Kym, Kwami, Obayou (Emmanuel), Gloria, and Marcus were there to eat with us and then accompany us to the airport. Saying farewell to Kenya was really, really difficult. God willing, I will get back there somehow.
I am glad to be back home.
We saw numerous animals that morning...zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, a couple of different kinds of antelope. One of the best decisions I made on this whole trip was to enjoy the moment and let others take the pictures.
The animals that we saw were absolutely amazing. Seeing them in the flesh and moving freely about is utterly unlike the movies, TV, or the zoo. I have to admit to being a tad disappointed because the migration from Tanzania had not yet started so we didn't see the huge herds of zebras that I had hoped for. They are still incredibly beautiful creatures. On the contrary, the wildebeest (the zebras' almost constant companions) are incredibly ugly.
We arrived at the lodge at straight up noon and had time to check into our rooms before lunch on the lawn at about 12:30. The food at Livingston is reputedly wonderful but I liked the soups and the breakfast omelets the best. Otherwise what we had at Kolping Guesthouse in Nairobi was better.
The lodge is located on a bend in the Mara River. You can sit in the outdoor bar and see (and hear) about 50 hippos in the river about 20 yards away. You definitely don't go down to pay them a visit, however. There is an electric fence and two crocodiles between the lodge and the river. I don't think I realized how noisy hippos are. You could hear them snorting and bellowing even when you went to bed at night. The bellow reminded me of an old man's very low pitched "Har har har" type laugh. As I sat on a bench watching the hippos a three foot monitor lizard appeared in the grass and several spider monkeys ran along the wall. A Masai in full regalia walks around the bar and dining room with a sling shot to keep the monkeys out of the people areas.I shared a room with two other women...Jen, a delightful and beautiful project manager for Sprint out of Chicago and Jodi, an equally delightful and beautiful lawyer from Colorado. Both are at least 30 years my junior but they were very tolerant of me. Our room was tiny. There was room for the three twin beds with about ten inches between them and perhaps three feet at the foot. Shadrach was our assigned housekeeper and after the first night we had hot water bottles in our turned down beds when we got in. I found the shower to be fairly reliable but unfortunately, the toilet was not. Oh, well. You win some and lose some.
We went on an evening game drive from 3:30 until almost 7:00 on Sunday. Then we saw a mother cheetah and two cubs and 23 lions. The lions were in two groups not far apart so we assumed they were part of the same pride although that seems really
huge. Our driver, Teddy, had never seen so many that close together. As we were watching the second group of 16 when a large tusker (elephant) came strolling in from stage left, soon to be followed by another. We were spellbound. Of course we saw more antelope (Thompson's, Grants, impala, kopi, and eland), zebras, giraffes, baboons, ostrich, and wildebeest on that afternoon. I cannot describe how awful the roads were. They made the road on which we returned from Lake Nakuru seem like a super highway. But more about that in Monday's episode.
Monday morning we went on another three hour game drive starting at 6:30 a.m. More lions and cheetahs as well as their prey (ho hum). I don't mean the ho hum part, of course.
When we set out on the Monday afternoon drive it looked a little threatening in the far distance. We asked the drivers if it was going to rain. They said no and we believed them. No reason not to. About 45 minutes into the drive it started to sprinkle and within minutes there was a deluge. Within a few more minutes the roads (such as they are) had turned to something slicker than any icy road I have ever experienced. Teddy (our very competent driver) tried driving on the grass when he could but sometimes the boulders were just too big. We got stuck in a nasty mud hole and were dragged out by a passing Land Cruiser (painted with zebra stripes, by the way). We went a little further and got stuck again. I should say here that we were in a rear wheel drive Nissan van while our companions were in a 4 X 4 Toyota van. They pulled us out and we made it back to the lodge three hours later still at the end of their tow rope. Some people in other vans were still out there at 11 p.m. I wasn't sure if it was an adventure or an ordeal. We decided that if nobody was hurt it must have been an adventure.
We cancelled the Tuesday morning game drive.
Mid-morning Tuesday I started feeling a little unwell so I headed back to our room and slept for three hours. Only two of our number chose to go on the afternoon game drive...my intrepid friends from Joplin, Jim and Brenda.
Wednesday morning we set off after breakfast for another game drive on our way back to the airport. It was on this trip that we saw a herd of nine elephants and spied a black rhino through the binoculars Betty had sent with me. Teddy had spotted the rhino from about a mile away and asked for the binoculars. He dragged my backpack out of the back of the van and I dug them out. He was quite excited to see the rhino and we "sped" off (probably 10 mph instead of our usual 5) to get a closer look. Unfortunately we couldn't find it.
Somewhere along the way we stopped at a Masai village and were allowed to visit a home inside for $20 each. Pretty interesting.
Finally back at the Arrivals and Departures Lounge, we ate the huge box lunches that had been sent from the lodge. Then we visited the Duty Free Shop. My plastic water bottle from Walmart was traded for a necklace for Jen and somebody else traded one of my bandannas for earrings, I think. Brenda brought back a handful of stuff in exchange for her $18 watch and a baseball cap. I traded a pair of beaded flip flops that I had bought at a market in Nairobi (and which hurt my feet to wear) for a carved statue of a Masai family and a small beaded basket. I gave Teddy the binoculars. I don't think I have ever given anyone a gift who was more appreciative.
When we got back to Kolping Guesthouse in Nairobi Helen and Gordon had prepared a wonderful feast for us. The tables were set on the lawn and there were streamers and balloons. Our Kenyan friends, Nelson, Kym, Kwami, Obayou (Emmanuel), Gloria, and Marcus were there to eat with us and then accompany us to the airport. Saying farewell to Kenya was really, really difficult. God willing, I will get back there somehow.
I am glad to be back home.
1 comment:
Edna,
What an adventure!!! We are also glad you are home, and from this most recent post it would seem that your are rested up!!
Post a Comment