Best Kenya & Tanzania Day 4
Best Kenya & Tanzania
Day 04 - Friday, September 18, 2008 - Nairobi/Lake Naivasha/Crescent Island Sanctuary/Elsamere Conservation Centre
Today was overcast and a bit cooler; it was 69º and 78% humidity. There was some confusion with the bills and checking out so we were not able to get out at 8:00 as planned.
It was 8:30 by the time we left the hotel and traffic was unusually heavy. We saw many people wearing academic regalia and Leonard told us it was graduation day at the University of Nairobi.
We were in two safari trucks; we were with Leonard today. John from NYC was riding shot gun in the front, Maxine and Aaron from California and Beth and Phil from Portland, Oregon were in our truck.
We drove past the university, then out of the city to the favella area, where over a half a million people live in the second largest slum in the Africa; the first being in Johannesburg in South Africa.
As we got further away from the capitol we saw larger homes with very nice gardens and banana groves. The dust from the dark red soil gives every thing a rusty brown color. It is obvious that there has not been significant rain for quite awhile.
There were two lanes of traffic as we climbed to the high ridge of the Rift Valley. We traveled North West overlooking the valley used mostly for food crops and in drier areas for grazing of sheep.
We had a brief stop at Limuru, a 7,875 foot overlook of the immense Rift Valley that runs from north to Jordan and south to Mozambique. While I took pictures, Gennie made friends with John, a vendor and Barack Obama fan.
Our nephew Christopher and his girlfriend Lauren were kind enough to send us postcards, stickers, buttons, and other Obama memorabilia to give away while we are here in Africa. For a post card of the new president and a few dollars, she bought a necklace and contributed to the Kenyan economy.
The highest point of our climb was 8728 feet and then we started our descent. The many plots of different vegetable fields gave a patchwork quilt look to the valley below.
We entered the town of Naivasha where thriving vendors and entrepreneurs sold anything and everything in stalls along the main street. Just outside of the city our first learning and discovery of the day was at Crescent Island.
This wildlife sanctuary is over 1000 acres of preserve. We met our guide Moses, and began our walking safari over the dry hills flaked with obsidian.
Several movies were shot here including parts of Out of Africa and Tomb Raiders II. The crater lake formed a crescent shaped Island, but now because of the drought, the water has receded and it is really a peninsula.
As we walked Moses told us African fables and tales of the animals. Our favorite was the one about God creating the wildebeest or gnu out of all the leftover parts of the other animals.
We saw many birds and animals, such as dik dik, wildebeests, a python, impalas, Thompson’s gazelle, waterbuck, giraffe, zebra and an African hare. There were many birds but one of the most impressive and noisiest was the African Fish Eagle.
Just as dark clouds were rolling in over Crescent Island, we thanked Moses and then boarded two small motor boats for a trip out on to the lake. We were able to get very close (about 20 yards) to a raft of hippos cooling themselves in the water.
There was one huge male with his harem of females surrounding the babies. The mothers have to protect the young males because the bull will kill them to avoid competition.
Just as we were getting close to see them yawn at us, a defensive signal, the sky opened up and it started to pour. We were pelted by heavy rains and everyone did their best to shield their cameras and binoculars.
The boatmen immediately took us across the lake and to the shore where we took shelter in a grass hut to wait out the rain. Baraki and the boatmen decided our hippo expedition was over and he and Leonard brought the trucks to rescue us.
We drove directly to the Naivasha Simba Lodge and had lunch at 2:30. After lunch we received our keys and found our very spacious rooms.
Our bags were already in the room so we unpacked a few things we would need for the next two nights. At 4:00 we met at the parking lot of our next learning and discovery.
The Elsamere Conservation Centre was a special treat for those who remember the movie Born Free. We visited the former home of the author Joy Adamson and saw a museum dedicated to her honor and that of her efforts with lion conservation in Kenya.
The beautiful home on the banks of Lake Naivasha is a perfect setting for the rescue center. Now a retreat and educational center, there were several groups taking in the cottages.
We were served tea, crumpets and cakes and then watched a video of Joy and George, her husband and the famous Elsa, the lioness. We left the center at 6:30 to go back to the Lodge.
Baraki talked to us for a few minutes about our itinerary. We were able to go to our rooms to freshen up for dinner.
Gennie went to the gift shop to get on the internet to check our mail after dinner. At 30 shillings a minute, she did not linger and just wrote a quick note to our son, Eduardo.
We wanted to get to bed at a decent time tonight because we have a very early game drive tomorrow. We caught up on the journal, sorted photos, had our showers and then finally turned off the lights at 10:30.
Accommodations: Naivasha Simba - - - Meal: B, L, D
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Comments
Village Roadside Market
Gennie & Rift Vendor w/ Obama
Rift Valley View
African Fish Eagle
Wild Hippos
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