Category Archives: Kenya

The Gorilla Loop Part I – Lake Naivasha

21 Sunday Jun 2015

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Me on Lake Naivasha

Me on Lake Naivasha

I was sad to leave South Africa. This country had really gotten under my skin and I wished I had a little more time there. The two days of high level activity had left me very drained and also very sick, so I literally took the Baz Bus to Johannesburg and had them drop me off directly at an airport hostel.  I ate dinner at a posher hotel across the street (I ordered Malva pudding and hot custard for dinner…come on, I was sick, yar?) and then promptly went to sleep coughing and sneezing up a storm.

The following day saw me take a flight from Johannesburg back to Nairobi to begin the Gorilla Loop overland truck tour with the same company I did my 56 day Coast to Coast odyssey with, Oasis Overland.  I even had the same tour leader and driver as before. The day was arduous as my virus was now full blown and it ended up taking longer to drive to Karen Camp from Nairobi Kenyatta’s airport than the four hours flying time it took from Johannesburg. Apparently, torrential rains had caused some major flooding and road damage, so Smiley explained that the traffic had just been utterly horrendous. It was good to see Smiley again – he was the first person I met when I arrived here nearly 3 months ago and it was good to catch up. Since we were literally parked for much of the only 15 mile or so journey, we played good old rock ballads on the radio and I attempted to croak along in between coughing fits.

New crew on the bus including the wonderful Greg

New crew on the bus including the wonderful Greg

I briefly met my tour group before heading straight for the shower and after to find Pete and Tabby to get back in the truck and collect the things I’d had them drive back up to Nairobi with. I then re-organized my entire backpack for just what I’d need on this trip through Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda and put the rest into storage at the camp.

Our first stop on this journey was Lake Naivasha and on arrival at our campsite we were welcomed by a rare sighting of the mighty black and white Colubus monkey playing in the grass looking out over the lake and its mighty hippos that were honking behind the security fence.

That afternoon’s activities seemed mellow enough that I decided to haul my sorry sick ass along to them. They consisted of an hour’s boat ride on the lake where we saw lots of lovely colorful birds and some crazy men who were fishing not twenty meters from where five or six hippos were cavorting in the shallow water. It was a lovely sunny afternoon and I was looking forward to the afternoon tea I was promised at the former home of the late Joy Adamson, author of the “Born Free” series of books about her life in Africa raising wild cats domestically that she then later tried to let back into the wild.

Well, it was a bit disappointing on both counts. First of all, the tea was not a high tea, it consisted of “get your own tea” and ginger cake and cookies. Which is all fine, I wasn’t that hungry as I was snivelling everywhere. After wandering around the house and it’s attached museum we were ushered into a viewing room where we watched the documentary on Joy Adamson’s life.

Crazy fishermen busy working not more than twenty meters from the hippos

Crazy fishermen busy working not more than twenty meters from the hippos

Well, I’ll have to do a little bit of my own research, but frankly, I was quite horrified by this woman. Firstly, she kept getting married and then falling in love with a second and subsequently third man, each time divorcing the poor bastard she’d married before “till I love someone else more than you.” Then, she got to live this charmed existence in Kenya, financially supported by whichever husband she happened to be with at the time, and spent her days painting flowers while World War II was raging back in Europe. Finally, after her husband shot a lion during a safari, they decided to bring the cubs home and raise them at their house as pets. This led to her lifelong passion for wild cats, studying them and learning how to rehabilitate them back in the wild, which she then, of course, monopolized on financially by writing books about it all.

Frankly, she was very lucky to be doing what she was doing at that time, because nowadays she’d be arrested for what she pulled. “Born Free?” Yeah – they were, until your husband shot their mother and then they had to live with you pawing at them and pulling their tails (which you can witness on the video multiple times) and becoming rich as a result. I found her to be a most disagreeable woman and found her legitimizing the domestication of these wild lions and leopards to be quite disgusting.

It is probably a reflection of how times have changed, and I’m sure her foundation has actually done a lot of good in terms of protecting the cats here in National Park. That being said, “ugh” – what a horrible woman.

Fish Eagle above Lake Naivasha

Fish Eagle above Lake Naivasha

The following day I was well and truly in need of some solid rest and so reluctantly turned down the opportunity to go to Hell’s Gate National Park and partake in the only biking safari in Africa, for the chance to try and get healthy again.
I was sad to miss out on that experience, especially since it sounded like a great workout too.

Instead, I had a lovely afternoon talking to Greg, one of the passengers on our truck, who at 75, was mightily impressive in all he had done in his life and all the vitality and energy he still showed for his continued adventures. I write this recollection with sadness, as Greg tragically died of a heart attack a few days later during our Gorilla trek in Bwinde Impenetrable National Forest.

Hippo strolling through camp

Hippo strolling through camp

He made quite a distinct impression on me, and in the short week or so our group knew him, he became well liked and a team favorite. He had the most amazing stories that would start off, giving just one example, like “Well, you know…I was working in Papua New Guinea when Saigon fell….” – and you’d just shake your head and marvel at him.
I was very saddened by his death, as we all were, and my heart goes out to his family.

Nothing else really exciting happened at Naivasha other than me feeling utterly sorry for myself, having a good cry and getting nicely drunk with two of the girls in the bar next door who kindly listened to my stories about how this trip was supposed to be mending my broken heart.

Which it wasn’t, but by now, has definitely started to.

Africa: The Journey Begins

16 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by in Africa, Kenya, Tanzania

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And so it begins...Day 1 of the 56 day Nairobi - Cape Town Adventure

And so it begins…Day 1 of the 56 day Nairobi – Cape Town Adventure

I know. My last post was not quite what you were expecting for my first entry on this trip. It was sort of whiny and oddly reminiscent of the first few chapters’ of Eat Pray Love. I do apologize for the wilful complaining about my lot in life. I shall endeavor to keep the mood a little lighter in this entry. Promise.

I landed in Nairobi at around 8:30pm on a Friday night. Nairobi is not a safe place. I’ll be the first to admit that, despite the fact that I’m usually the person spouting about how safe international travel is for single females. So I was a little nervous when I emerged from the temporary terminal building only to find that among the sea of names on signs being vigorously waved by drivers, mine was not among them despite multiple assurances by my tour operator to the contrary.

Eventually, my driver, who goes by the name of Smiley, appeared with a small sign for the camp outside Nairobi where I’d be staying for one night, before embarking on the Oasis Overland 56 day tour down to Cape Town.

I’ve been to Kenya before, back in 1998, about a week after the US Embassy building had been bombed. It hadn’t changed much, but as usual, I did enjoy the wonderful warm breeze that enveloped my being as we walked towards his cab and I imagined the adventure that lay ahead.

My group consists of 13 individuals, a tour guide, and a driver. There are 4 women and 9 males ranging in age from 18 to 46. Spending this much time with such an eclectic group of individuals will be an interesting exercise in and of itself, but my first impression of my travel companions is positive. I already have a sweet affinity for the 18 year old from the U.K who goes by the name of Jerrick. He is so sweet and looks uncannily just like Keira Knightly. I’ve encouraged him to claim her as a sibling as a great pick up line.

So far, all that has transpired has been in the course of journeying out of Kenya and south to the town of Arusha – the gateway to the roof of Africa – Kilimanjaro. At least, that’s all that has happened physically – but here are some firsthand observations of the trip thus far:

– Dust is part of life in East Africa. We have been fighting sand and dust since leaving Nairobi, and here at the campsite in Arusha, I’ve learned the importance of leaving gear in the truck overnight rather than bringing it into the tent. My clothes had a 1/2 inch layer of red dirt by the morning.

– Border crossings are going to be an entertaining experience. Our guide tried to argue my case for a transit visa, since my travels will bring me back to Tanzania to try Kilimanjaro in June. After arguing for over 20 minutes, the manager of the border office finally agreed to the slightly cheaper visa. Unfortunately, he then went on his lunch break and his subordinate swiftly refused to comply with the agreed upon exchange, and charged me an additional $20 which he swiftly put in his pocket rather than in the till.

– Our truck is pretty damn cool. It can seat up to 24, though I am very grateful for a slightly smaller than maximum capacity tour. It has tarp-based windows which can be rolled up, so the whole driving experience is open-air, and the countryside whizzes past us in a very pleasant breeze. People and small children wave to us from their farms and market stands. Masai warriors stroll down village streets carrying their staffs, women balancing baskets on their heads as large as themselves.

The bus also has a sort of napping area in the front part of the cab. I have re-named it the sauna because it is at least 10 degrees hotter up there than on the rest of the truck.

– SInce we have a smaller group, and there are so few females, I get to enjoy my own tent. However, this also means that I’ll be setting it up and taking it down alone. Each tent has it’s own name, and the tent that was handed to me was aptly called “Love”. Unfortunately, love was a little broken. But only in the doorway. The doorway to Love is temporarily blocked.

– Our first campsite has a very cool bar called “Ma’s” and there are t-shirts from every corner of the earth hanging from the ceilings and walls. That first beer I drank after my first jet-lagged day on the truck was an godsend.

We are now heading into the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater for a 3 day safari. I am looking forward to it. We are having a somewhat relaxing morning and I decided to write an entry. Unfortunately, my computer has decided that Day 1 of this trip is an appropriate time to die on me. I sat there turning it on and off, willing the black screen to show any signs of life. Since I am so jet-lagged and have yet to have a full night’s sleep, I’m also pretty emotional and this put me over the edge.

Our driver, Pete, took pity on me and leant me his laptop so that I could write. I am choosing to stay optimistic about my laptop. It will start working again.

Otherwise, i’ll have to think up a range of non-sexual favors that I can emply to borrow other traveler’s laptops during this journey.

Going to Africa – Feeling the Fear and Doing it Anyway

15 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by in Kenya

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First day of Safari in the Serengeti

First day of Safari in the Serengeti

2014 started out in a very promising manner.   By mid-April, I would have said I had almost everything I’d always wanted – A great job where I was appreciated, challenged, earning a decent living and enjoying fantastic colleagues and a boss I admired and respected.  I was in a committed relationship that seemed to have real, long-term potential.  I was singing regularly with my band and learning how to climb in a year-long mountaineering course that I’d started in January.  I was a new homeowner since the prior Thanksgiving and was loving my townhouse and that sense of ownership.  I had great friends and was loving life.

My good-bye dinner at Nue in Capitol Hill

My good-bye dinner at Nue in Capitol Hill

All of that changed abruptly in May .  Life has been a series of tough emotional challenges ever since.  My job and relationship ended.  I travelled to South America for a few months to clear my head.  I caught Dengue Fever and was sick for the better part of a month.  I met someone in Colombia and foolishly started a relationship that ended in the kind of painful and explosive drama that Lifetime movies are written about.  I started a new job at a small firm in October, only to be let go on New Year’s Eve (for unclear reasons, oddly enough – especially to my employer), suffering through three months of one of the most isolating, self-esteem crushing  office cultures of my career.  My father’s twin brother suffered a stroke and died in a prolonged and agonizing way on Christmas Eve.  My adopted “family” in Seattle, The Zimmermans, moved to Florida and I was left to spend the holidays without them.

Yeah. December was particularly rough.

At Check-in at Sea Tac

At Check-in at Sea Tac

And thus, I found myself with long, empty days of job searching nothingness in January of 2015.  A kind of numbness set in.  I tried very hard to establish a sort of routine to keep me sane.  I would try to go to the gym every morning, and then follow it with breakfast and a few hours’ of job searching.  I would then try to make sure I had at least one social contact per day with a friend, or perhaps a date (online dating and job searching are eerily similar in many respects, and it made sense to apply my skill set to both pursuits simultaneously,) or at the very least, go to a coffee shop and work if I had no other social engagements.  Days when I didn’t want to leave the house ended up just compounding the sense of isolation, failure, and ambiguity that my life had become.

In fact, ambiguity seems to be the order of the day at the moment and I’m trying to learn how to embrace it instead of allow it to choke me in it’s paralyzing vice.  Why events have played out the way they have is a source of daily mental vexation.  Wondering and fearing what might lie ahead has had the effect of pulling me closer to those little things that feel safe and comfortable.

Like my couch, for example.  My couch is a five foot square space of safety.  I am drawn to it and it has become increasingly difficult to leave it.  My gym, my car, my local Trader Joe’s – these have all become my emotional crutch that help me cope with the overwhelming  amount of change that I’ve experienced these past nine months.

The inside of our Oasis Overland Tour Truck

The inside of our Oasis Overland Tour Truck

Which is why, after two months’ of job searching, I feel it is time to remove the safety wheels.  Rip off the band aid.  Stir things up again.  I’m becoming too comfortable in my own space – its time to go travel again.  That, along with my belief that it’s going to be too difficult to secure employment in my industry over tax season is the reason I started thinking about going to Africa.

However, my emotional ties to routine, to my couch, to not having things “change” again – have also resulted in horrendous indecision when it comes to trying to make plans for this trip.  Since mid-January, I’ve probably booked and cancelled 4 sets of flights.  I was all set to take this 3 1/2 month odyssey on February 16, only to receive a call about a very promising job interview on the 14th, and I cancelled again.

The truth is, I have had this trip to Africa in the back of my mind for the better part of the last decade.  My plan had been to take a sabbatical in my 40th year (fast approaching) and travel from Cairo to Cape Town.  My logic with my employer a few years’ ago, was that I could take maternity leave, but just not have the baby:-)  They found that amusing, but also workable.  Life is so funny.  I would never have imagined in my early twenties that I wouldn’t be married and with a family of my own by the time I was 40.  The “when will it happen” has morphed into “IF it will happen”.  This trip was going to be my consolation prize.

And so it begins...Day 1 of the 56 day Nairobi - Cape Town Adventure

And so it begins…Day 1 of the 56 day Nairobi – Cape Town Adventure

If I couldn’t have what I want most in life, I’ll take travel.

And so, finding myself yet again glued to my couch, I made the decision last weekend, to make my dream a reality, and put my faith in my long held desire to go to Africa .  Despite the intense fear I felt, I had to believe that I’d be glad I made the choice once I got on the plane.  I thank my friend Jerri who literally made me stay with her through midnight on Saturday so that I wouldn’t go home and cancel my flights again.

I got on that plane on Thursday and now find myself writing this in a bar at a campsite in Arusha, Tanzania.  I am horrendously jet-lagged and still haven’t adjusted my head space to where I am and what I am doing here.

But it’s too late to turn back.

It’s time to turn inwards.  To let go of fear.  To embrace change.  To embrace ambiguity.  Focus on my most important relationship.  The one I have with myself.

I hope you will enjoy the journey with me.

(Incidentally, my laptop decided that after working ok for four years, it was going to stop functioning on my first day of this trip.  I am going to be forced to borrow computers and/or use internet cafes, so the posts will be limited and might not contain photos – sorry!)