May 2005 Kenya/Tanzania, Africa Trip Report Part 2 Nairobi/Lake Nakuru At the Nairobi airport, Thomas from the company Naked Wilderness is waiting for us. We meet the rest of the group, all Americans and all on their first safari trip. We are driven in a Toyota mini van through the crowded rush hour streets of Nairobi. We see lots of folks walking to work and note how everyone appears to be dressed to the nines. The concept of "business casual" does not appear to have arrived here yet. At our hotel (Nairobi Safari Club) we get briefed in the lobby by our guides and then check into our room. The decor is very 1970's. We wander the streets and really are not harassed by anyone which is nice. We have a nice lunch at the Trattoria on the corner of Wabera and Kaunda St. They have a deck and we are surrounded by local businessmen on their lunch breaks. The arrabiata pasta is quite good! I had heard you need to watch out for crime on the streets of Nairobi but we had no issues. We only walked around in daylight and were careful not to carry any cameras or backpacks that would make us look too touristy. This is the van we traveled in for the Kenya part of our trip, it had a pop up roof. In the afternoon we are taken to visit the Karen Blixen house, she wrote "Out of Africa". I've never read the book so I found the tour of the house to be a bit of a yawner but I'm sure her fans would find it interesting. We also visit the Giraffe Rescue Center, a wildlife preserve in the suburbs of Nairobi where you can see and feed giraffes that were saved from the land that was being developed. You can stand on a platform and feed the giraffes by hand if you want. Feeding some giraffes at the Giraffe Rescue Center, Nairobi, Kenya That evening we have a very touristy dinner at The Carnivore (open-air meat specialty restaurant). If you like game meat this is the place for you. I don't so it really wasn't my cup of tea but I think most of the people in our group liked it. May 24 Tues We have a quick buffet style breakfast at the hotel before heading out to drive to our first park. We travel in a convoy of two vans. Our van includes the driver, us, and 4 other elderly Americans. The other van takes the rest of our group. This will be the travel arrangement for the rest of trip. I thought it would have nicer to mix up the people in each van every few days but that did not happen. The drive through the countryside of Kenya is very interesting. See lots of kids in their school uniforms running to class. Pass through the Rift Valley (a geographical and geological feature, approximately 3,700 miles in length, that runs from northern Syria in Southwest Asia to central Mozambique in East Africa). The Rift Valley has been a rich source of fossils that allows for some quite famous studies of human evolution (ever heard of Richard and Mary Leakey?). One of the passengers tells me how he didn't want to come on safari, he is just humoring his wife. For the rest of the trip I think he enjoys having a Tusker beer at the lodge after the game drives, he seems to doze off when we view the wildlife. We drift off into Ipod land for most of the long drive until we reach our first lodge at Lake Nakuru. I find that Casino Vs. Japan's album "Whole Numbers Play the Basics" is a good soundtrack for the rides. Lake Nakuru is one of the Rift Valley soda lakes and is located in Central Kenya, about 90 miles north-west of Nairobi. As we enter the park we see Cape Buffalo, Vervet Monkeys, Rhinos, Pelicans, and the star attraction of the lake: the thousands of Pink Flamingos that stretch as far as the eye can see. Just a few of the flamingos @ Lake Nakuru, Kenya This rhino was pretty excited to see us @ Lake Nakuru, Kenya Our van approaches a Vervet Monkey @ Lake Nakuru, Kenya We have a communal lunch, the food served at the lodges here seems to have an Indian influence, lots of curries and rice. There are plenty of vegetarian options too. I heed the advice of our travel doctor and avoid any uncooked food like salads and unpeelable fruits. As a result I am about the only the one in our group that doesn't any food illness issues during the trip. The atmosphere in the dining area is quite pleasant, there is a small waterfall outside and lots of windows. We do an afternoon game drive with our guide Leonard, the scenery here is spectacular. There are tons of birds everywhere. We see a leopard resting in a tree and a few giraffe. After dinner we crawl under the mosquito netting in our room and get some shuteye. In morning we depart for the Masai Mara park. It will be a long 5 hour drive and the road is very bumpy. We get the front seat in the van so we can ask the guide lots of questions. We see small kids herding goats and donkey carts carrying loads of coal. Pass through some rugged canyons that remind me of the Tatooine Beggar's Canyon scenes in Star Wars. See our first Lilac Breasted Roller and get some fuel in the crazy town of Narok. See some folks leading donkeys to the river to fetch water. As we get closer to the Masai Mara we start to see Masai kids in their distinctive red garb tending to cattle. The restroom breaks are always conveniently (for the driver as I'm sure some money is exchanged) at gift shops and my wife picks up some interesting jewelry. A couple of locals ask if I have anything I will trade with them, I think they are looking for wristwatches. In the town of Narok, Kenya (last major town when traveling by road from Nairobi to Masai Mara national park) We stop at a Masai village and pay $20 to enter. This part of the trip is optional and one guy decides to stay in the van and nap. The village girls come out and sing for us in beautiful voices. The men then come out and do a warrior dance for us. We are invited into the wooden walls of the village. There are families sitting around watching us and dogs running between the mud huts. The men tell us about their life herding cattle and show us how they start a fire using flint and wood when in the wild. They let us go into one of their dark and smoky huts which is fascinating to see. The men perform one of their traditional jumping contests. I notice many of the men wear 4 or 5 wristwatches and one asks if I have any to trade. Sadly I use a cellphone to keep time with so no trade is performed. Masai Women singing near Masai Mara, Kenya Masai men jumping near Masai Mara, Kenya Do you an extra watch I can trade with you? near Masai Mara, Kenya Masai village near Masai Mara, Kenya Showing how to start a fire near Masai Mara, Kenya Inside the hut of a Masai village near Masai Mara, Kenya We leave the village and head into the Masai Mara Park. On to Part 3 Masai Mara, Kenya Trip Report Index