That night we were picked up at the hotel by Ben. He arrived in a new clean van and told us that this would be our van for the trip and that he would be our driver/guide. Serah told us that he had been selected for us because in our communications I let her know that Dusty was an avid birder and Ben was well versed in the birds of Kenya.
At the Carnivore Restaurant https://tamarind.co.ke/carnivore/ the servers come around with three-foot-long skewers with bits of roasted beef, pork, ostrich, lamb, and other meats. They keep bringing you more until you lay down the flag in the middle of your table indicating surrender. Kenya has excellent coffee, and Dusty decided to have a cup with her dessert. Unfortunately she was up most of the night because the coffee is also very strong.
The next morning we left the hotel and drove north out of Nairobi. The roads got worse and the scenery got better. We left the plains and drove through pineapple plantations, rolling hills and valleys, and across rivers. We started to see mango trees everywhere. And soon there were coffee bushes growing right up to the edge of the road. As it seemed that things were getting tropical we crossed over a ridge and things became flat and open. You could see for miles in every direction. Over all these miles of travel there was almost always foot traffic on the side of the road. Whether it was paved, gravel, dirt, or mud, there were people going somewhere everywhere.
A large black and yellow sign near a collection of about twenty little open-faced shops told us that we were at the equator and that this was a tourist stop. Since we were tourists we stopped. A young man with a bucket of water, a container with a small hole in the bottom, and a few sticks demonstrated the power of the equator. A few steps north of the equator and the sticks swirled clockwise. A few steps to the south and they obediently swirled counterclockwise. On the equator there was no vortex at all. The demonstration was so simple, but still impressive. After the demonstration we were asked to look at some of their wares. It was a scene to be repeated over and over. They would show you things and ask a price. The bargaining would begin, and you would pay too much for something that you didn’t really want. Every country with poverty has some means for the poor to make a living. In many counties those without beg. Here I did not see any begging. Even if it was just selling bananas or trinkets the people of Kenya maintained their pride. Soon we were on the way again and soon the climate and scene changed.
We were traveling through wheat field that stretched about twenty miles to both sides of the road. We found that this wheat was responsible for some excellent breads throughout our visit. This too passed behind us as we reached the edge of a steep slope that dropped some 2000 feet to the floor of a huge dry plain below. As we drove lower the plants became less green and the terrain more harsh. Still there were people walking along the roads. More and more of the people that we saw were wearing red coverings and carrying long sticks. These were the Samburu tribe members. They tended many of the goats and cattle that we saw along the way as we left the semipaved roads for dirt and gravel. No one looked hungry and few looked dirty. I notice that the men are tall and thin, like me. I also notice that they seem to bounce slightly as they walk, like me. Maybe I am part Samburu.
As we leave the last real city we begin to see the classic animals of Africa. The first is the tallest. The giraffe. One of the three types of giraffe we will see on our safari. This one is the reticulated giraffe. As we approach our lodge we see dik-diks. The dik-dik looks like a one-foot tall antelope with two-inch long horns. Our guide says that we will see many of them. Later we agree after seeing them at almost every turn in Samburu Reserve. As we approach the reception desk at Samburu Sopa Lodge we are met with a refreshing dampened wash-cloth and a glass of juice. This greeting is repeated at every lodge in Kenya. The hospitality is as refreshing as the cool towel. We see small balls of dried grass hanging on many of the trees. These are the nests of the weaver birds.
Porters take our bags to our little hut with a thatched roof where we get ready for our first game drive. Animals are not stupid and therefore are not very active in the middle of the day. For this reason the game drives are done first thing in the morning and late in the afternoon. When we meet Ben at the front of the lodge our van has undergone a transformation. The roof has been raised on four brackets by about two feet above the normal roofline allowing us to stand up inside and view game in every direction.
I ready my camera with extra lenses in each pocket. Binoculars are at the ready. Bring on the animals. Ben points out a bustard, a hornbill, and a barbet before we sight a large group of giraffes mixed in with impalas. I feel like I am a professional photographer and these are my models. They strut. They pose. They walk in tandem and cross necks as if on cue. A mother and child are walking together. Then male and female together. Then a group of seven all striding along together. It is amazing to be in the middle of all this as it unfolds in real life.
Soon we move on to be further impressed by what Kenya has to offer. Moving closer to the river that runs through this arid land there is more life to be seen. As if to show us that they can outdo seven giraffes we come upon at least a dozen elephants. I never really thought about the anatomy of an elephant’s ear, but as an audiologist I do know that old men get hair in the openings of their ears. So do elephants. The opening of the ear is in front of the ear, not behind it. It just makes sense. A mother elephant was nudging against her baby either to keep it from getting too close to us, or just to be affectionate. The baby eventually walked within three feet of the front of our van. Wow. I did remember to keep taking pictures.
We kept moving and saw more birds and some more elephants at a distance, as the sun was getting lower in the sky. Ben was always listening to the radio and he heard some other guides say they found a group of cheetahs. Ben moved the van into position near the sighting and I told him to stop. Coming out of the brush fifty yards in front of us was a cheetah. Then another. And another. Soon there were four of them within thirty yards of us and they were moving across the path in front of us. Lots more pictures. I thought it would be great to see one on the run. Then one obliged me with a streak of speed that I caught as he raced across the trail. A few more posed for close ups then we made back for the lodge before sunset. The guides prefer not to be out after dark if they can help it.
The end of our first drive and I had taken over 300 pictures. We ate dinner back at the main lodge where the walls are open to the night air that is beginning to cool after dark. A shower and clean sheets are welcome after a long bumpy drive and hours of sun and excitement. The generator is off at midnight, but we are out long before that. There is no phone in the room, no telephone, and there will be none at any of the lodges.
The inside of our thatched roof of our hut
For a wake up call they come and knock on the door. Long before any wake up knock I get up to see the stars of Africa. I brought along our spotter scope with hopes of checking out the night skies, but find that the lens has come loose in travel and it cannot be used. Even without the scope the night sky is phenomenal. The air is dry and the sky is clear and without any power on there is not a manmade light to be seen. You can see all of the stars between the stars and the mist of the Milky Way. I bring Dusty out to see it all. Wow. Then we hear a grunt nearby in the darkness and decide to get back inside our hut and close and lock the door.
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