Jambo Kenya!

Ok, so I've arrived on the African continent! 21 hours of flights later ... via Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha - and now I'm in Nairobi. It was great meeting up with Anna again. We have also caught up with our friend Noriko who is working here for the UN - so it's been a Simeulue reunion, 2 years in the making!

We've already had a few adventures in Kenya, land of the eucalypts. We've been staying in Nairobi, and are very grateful for Solange allowing us to stay in her lovely apartment while she's not here! The city is not like I remember it 5 years ago; the main thing I remember is the central Masaai markets. But i have not felt anywhere near as unsafe as the Nairobbery tag suggests. The city seems pretty clean, but has a faded, 70's retro feel to it's CBD due to the type of buildings scattered around; it's a low-rise centre with the worst traffic congestion I've ever seen - Sydney, you're beaten hands down!

We visited a giraffe centre and elephant orphanage around Nairobi, both of which were great for interacting with these beautiful creatures. The giraffe centre breeds Rothschild giraffes for release back into the wild; the orphanage rescues baby elephants orphaned by poachers, drought, snares and falling in wells, and also rehabilitates them to go back into the wild. Such dedicated people undertaking such important work.

We've also spent a few days in Naivasha, about 2 hours north west of Nairobi. Watching a family of 12 hippos wallowing in the shallows of Lake Naivasha has been a highlight. The lakeside camp we stayed in also had a number of other interesting visitors, such as beautiful black and white Colobus monkeys, superb starlings, guinea fowl, herons and a number of waterbirds. The nearby crater lake also provided us with some beautiful hiking around the rim of the now extinct volcano, being watched all the way around by five giraffes grazing down in the crater.

The camp also was in close proximity to Hell's Gate National Park, one of the few parks where you don't need a vehicle to visit. Cycling leisurely past herds of zebra, warthogs, Thompson's gazelles, African buffalo and a stately family of loping giraffes made me really feel that I was in Africa. We hiked Njorowa gorge in the sun, and found the hot springs that form part of the vast geothermal reserves that led to a power plant being built IN THE NATIONAL PARK in 1981. Something wrong with this picture? Seeing the plumes of steam rising out from behind the ridges was quite surreal, as was the constant hissing noise of the released steam in the background. Apparently this has little impact on the park, but I'm not so sure - I would think the wildlife would be happier without it there.

Coming back to Nairobi was an interesting adventure ... we took a matatu (minivan) from Naivasha town and on the way we broke down due to running out of fuel ... so we sat there for half an hour or so, all the while the sun is setting and its getting dark, waiting for our driver and his able assistant to go for petrol, listening to the raucous Swahili conversation of the Kenyan women who had come from a hard day's work and wishing we could understand it! We even got entertained by Peter Andre thanks to 101.1FM - All Kenyan, All The Time! (insert deep breathy voice here). Radio gold.(I'm even listening to MC Hammer's Can't touch this as I type. Ha!)

 

By the time we hit Nairobi's insanely packed out bus and matatu station, which seems to take up a whole block, it was half seven and we had to somehow get home amongst the ridiculous crowd. Not the best place to be as a mzungu when you don't know where you're going! But luckily our saviour came in the form of Nancy, a young, strong Masaai woman who wasn't afraid of being mugged in downtown Nairobi, and after arguing with some motorbike taxis and refusing their high prices, she delivered us through the throngs to the right departing point. Not sure we would have made it without her! Thanks, good Samaritan .. although a 100 Kenyan shilling payment was requested, and granted. :)

So now, our next adventure awaits: a 4-day safari in the Masaai Mara and Lake Nakuru National Parks. Dammit - these safaris are EXPENSIVE - but I can't wait!