| Submitted by: Gopal VenkatUnited States |
| Submission Date: 04 February 2005 |
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Pretty Cheap when you consider the amount and the quality of food I had (Name/Address of the Restaurant) On stepping out o the restaurant, I had the Guard hail a Cab for me, to take me the 500 Yards to the Hotel. The Fare was KSH 200 ($3.50) The Guard and the Taxi driver exchanged a Short/all-knowing Guffaw. I presumed that this was somehow related to the dumb 'tourist' taking a Cab ride for 500 Yards. If so, I was not about to let my ego takeover on the issue of safety. I reached the Hotel Safely !!
Wrote some Post Cards to my friends before turning in.
I leave the Hotel around 9:30 AM tomorrow for the drive to Mount Kenya.
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Had a much better sleep last night. (Probably getting over the Jet lag). Since the GPO opens at 8 AM, I decided to mail the Cards I had written to friends and family. I followed this up with a visit to a chemist (Pharmacist) to get a Mosquito Repellant. (The Incense Burning type, as opposed to the Body or room Spray). Nairobi is extremely lively even at 8 /8:30 AM. Almost every Shop is open and bustling with activity. Returned to the Hotel for breakfast (which is included in the room charge) and packed up stuff for the Mt. Kenya / Samburu / Masai Mara Trip. The Shuttle finally arrived at 10:15 AM. Concepts of time are quite different from the western notions of Keeping time. (I shouldn't be Complaining about it. The Same thing happens in India)
Dumped my Suitcase the Best Camping Offices, bought an extra Bottle (3 Litre) of water, gave my return Air ticket for re-confirmation (they'll do it for you) and prepared to leave for Mt. Kenya. Initially I was to be accompanied by 2 Dutch Couples in a 9-seater mini-van. At the last minute we were joined by a couple of medical students from France. 7 People in a van was a pretty tight fit. We'll probably be getting in each other's way during Photo Opportunities.
As one of the Dutch Couples will be leaving us after Samburu, we'll be able to manage the rest of the Safari, without Interfering in each other's picture taking. (As it turned out, we got along quite fine. There was no problem whatsoever)
We passed a number of small towns along the way. The road was Good. Around 1 PM we pulled into a tourist trap area for our picnic lunch. The Shopkeepers out there were none too pleased with me for not showing any Inclination to Purchase trinkets. A Couple of them took a look at my Swiss Army (SwissChamp) Knife and promptly offered to trade some trinkets for the Knife. I declined. After spending an hour there, we left for Naru Moru located at the foot of Mt. Kenya. We were to spend the night in a Hotel there. We arrived at the Hotel around 3 PM. The Hotel is called the Mountain Rock Hotel and was formerly known as the Bantu Lodge. It is a GREAT Place. A perfect Log Cabin atmosphere set amidst lush forest at the foot of Mt. Kenya. I was not expecting this kind of Luxury. All of them are Cottages with en suite shower/toilet and a fireplace !!
Since dinner was around 7:30 PM, we took up the offer of a local guide (arranged through the hotel) to take us around the surrounding forest (on foot) on a bird-watching trip. The Cost was Ksh 200 (US $3.50) per person and the trip was for approximately 2 hours. The Guide (John) was able to spot a lot of birds, monkeys / baboons but did not seem to have all the facts in his head like Peter (Our Amboseli Driver/Guide) did. The again, Peter (who is probably in his 50s) has years of experience as Opposed to John (who is in his 20s). I managed to get some pictures and we were able to kill some time. I was, however, disappointed to find out that
Mt. Kenya could not be seen (even on a clear day) from our Lodge. I was told we could probably glimpse it during our drive to Samburu tomorrow morning. I hope so.
Although the Brochure advertises that Mt. Kenya as part of the Safari, all we do is see Mt. Kenya from far. There is no National Park here (Like Amboseli lying at the foothills of Kilimanjaro). Mt. Kenya is merely intended as an Overnight Stop. Nothing More. The Lodge arranges treks for people wishing to Climb Mt. Kenya. All equipment can be rented here. (e-mail/Phone/Address)
All the members of our group met an hour before dinner at the bar and got to know each other better. At dinner, the menu (save for fruit salad) for completely non-vegetarian. When I explained to the waiter that I do not eat meat, the cook prepared some minestrone soup and some spaghetti for me. My travel companions found it extremely hard to believe that one could live on Vegetables alone and started a round table discussion on the most odd things (needless to say, meat related) they have eaten in their lives. They ranged from Dogs/Cats, to a rooster's Crown to Shark Soup !!! After dinner I returned to my room to update my diary before turning in. I lit up a Coil of the Mosquito repellant before I went to bed. Hope it helps me sleep better
Wrote some Post Cards to my friends before turning in.
I leave the Hotel around 9:30 AM tomorrow for the drive to Mount Kenya.
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After breakfast, we left the Lodge at Nanyuki around 8:30 AM. After a Couple of Kilometres we were able to Spot the peak of Mt. Kenya without any clouds. We pulled to the side of the road to take our (obligatory) pictures. Then we set off towards Samburu. After driving around 10 Km or so we reached the Equator. There is a Sign Post on the Equator that Proclaims it as such. Along with the altitude (6900 metres approx.) and the town (Nanyuki)
We were treated to a demonstration of water flows on the southern, northern sides of the equator and at the equator itself. It flows clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere / Anti-clockwise in the Southern and drops straight down at the equator. Pretty Cool stuff. The Demonstrator of this experiment will also sell you a Certificate costing K. Sh 200 (US $ 3.50) indicating that you were at the equator on this Day. I took some pictures from both sides of the equator but did not buy the certificate. In simple terms, Nairobi is south of the equator while Samburu is North of the Equator. We set off towards Samburu with a couple of stops en route to pick up supplies for our
Stay at Samburu (Food / Coal etc.) The road from Nanyuki to Samburu is quite good. Well paved and passing through lots of farms set amidst lush valleys. Quite Picturesque. The Last Major town before Samburu is Isiolo. After this the road reverts to its usual self (Horrible). Isiolo has a lot of People from Somalia and is at least 50% Islamic. They have apparently transported their civil strife into Kenya as well. We were told that they have robbed tourists just to make a living. They haven't shot / Killed anyone, YET! Before leaving Isiolo, John (the driver) told us to hide our wallets and cash. Though we all followed his advice, I was a bit perturbed. The Kenyan Army is Providing a whole lot of people to police the park and its environs. Not a very comforting feeling.
The road from Namanga to Amboseli was a pure Mud track and the driver (Peter) drove slowly over the bumpy road. The road here (called the trans-african!!!) is strewn with rocks / stones / pebbles and bumps. Due to the security issue, our driver (John) was Ayrton Senna for the Day !!
Thankfully, I was sitting alongside him. Helped me marginally, perhaps (than sitting in the back over the wheels!). Once inside the park, it is the mud road with the usual Bumps. (which is not too bad) We reached Samburu around 1 PM. Loitered around the Camp for a while, until lunch was served around 2 PM. Since the game drive was to start at 4 PM, I decided to sneak in a short siesta.
We left for our evening game drive a little after 4 PM. Saw a pair of reticulated Giraffe quite soon. This Species is unique only to Samburu. Since there were 7 of us in the van, John stopped for a while at each of the wildlife sightings to enable all of us to take pictures. Spotted a couple of smaller mammals and drove along the river bank for a while. Saw a Solitary Crocodile taking a siesta. As it was on the far bank, I did not bother taking a picture. Even a 300 mm zoom doesn't help. We drove a bit more (quite randomly, it seemed to me) and finally spotted a group of elephants in the distance. Though I had my fill of the Grey Mammal at Amboseli, when we reached the Elephants, they were quite CLOSE to our Van. Not More than 20 Feet. As a result, I snapped some more Elephant Pictures. We did not see any animals after that and returned to our camp. I was not too thrilled about this game drive. I guess Peter and Amboseli have spoiled me!!
We are to have 3 Game drives tomorrow. I hope I get to see more of the Big Five (Apart from the 2 I've seen so far Elephant and Buffalo) The Other Three being Lion, Leopard and Rhino.
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Had difficulty sleeping last night. Had to get used to the new Ambient sounds. We left for the Morning Game drive around 7 AM. Though we drove for 2 Hours, we did not spot a Lion (Our Primary Goal). We did Spot the Giraffe-necked Gazelle called the Geremuk. This is another Species Unique to Samburu. A Wonderful Product of Evolution. Also Spotted a Zebra with Much Narrower Stripes than usual. (?) This Species is again unique to Samburu. Over the past 2 game drives, we have managed to spot those species native to Samburu. We returned to Camp around 9 AM for breakfast and a short rest before setting off again around 10 AM for the second game drive.
This was to be an exclusive Lion Search drive. After an hour or so of futility, we gave up and went to a Samburu Village. The Samburu and not as colourfully dressed as the Masai. Further, their houses are made up of odds and ends (Plastic sheets / Cardboard / Cowdung the type you can find in an east Asian Shantytown) instead of Pure cow dung as the Masai Houses. I did not feel like forking another Ksh 500, so I opted to stay in the Van. While my 6 other Campmates spent an hour visiting the Village, I day-dreamed a bit. Nothing focused / note-worthy or Spectacular ! Returned to Camp around 1 PM. Lunch was done by 1:30 PM. Tried to have a siesta till the next game drive at 4 PM. My tent was like a Furnace and no breeze was blowing in the direction. After trying to catch a sleep for half-an-hour, I gave up. Cleaned the Camera and the Accessories. Despite one's best efforts, a fine layer of Dust seeps into everything. Expensive equipment like Cameras / Binoculars should be frequently dusted.
We left for our final game drive at 4 PM Drove along the river bank for a while. Spotted a Big Crocodile sunning itself and a couple of Hippos cooling off (by staying submerged). The Main Purpose was again, SIMBA. (Swahili for Lion) We did not see any. On our return to Camp, we spotted a couple of reticulated giraffes (took some Insurance Shots) and a Good sunset. Unlike the Sunset at Amboseli, where the sun descended on the plains, the sun descended between a pair of hills at Samburu. Hope all of them Come out well. Even with engine shut off, the movement of people (in the van) does cause a bit of shake. A high shutter speed (125 +) should hopefully solve any Camera Shake Problems. |
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