Safari Day 1

26 Dec 2019

Today we were up at 6 with the chickens and roosters. We had a quick shower (5 minutes of hot water split between two!) And then went for a breakfast of fruit, eggs, pancakes, toast, beans, veggies, fruit and juices, teas, hot chocolates and coffees. A young couple from Japan joined us on our way out of camp because their driver had gotten stuck on his way in. He was currently working to pull his vehicle out of the mud (we know that feeling oh so well) We made it out of the camp and into the Masai National Park however the dirt paths were basically mud baths because of the consistent rain. David explained that these rains reminded him of the ones in April and October. During those two months safaris aren't scheduled because it's too wet and muddy. December is supposed to be the dry, hot time of the year. Go figure. Multiple jeeps were stuck in the park, including ours, and it was a big pileup.

We ended up having to turn around because the roads were inaccessible, because of the vastness of the park however, all was not lost. We still saw TONS of animals. 18 to be exact. I COULD NOT BELIEVE how close the animals got to us and how close we were able to get to them.

Initially, Mark and I would spot an animal, like giraffes or elephants in the distance and we'd ask David to stop so we could use our binocs. He was patient with us, because what we didn't realize was  that while seeing them that far away was cool, it wasn't nearly as cool as it was going to be when we saw them up close (and believe me, we did see them up close!)

First, a herd of gazelle (topi) ran across the road right in front of our jeep.

Later, a momma, aged 19, and her two baby elephants, 6 and 2, crossed the road right in front of us. David explained that female elephants mature around age 11, and then start having babies around 14. Females in the wild live have a lifespan of 60 years. Males impregnate the females, but then do not stay with their family.

Giraffes were munching on trees right next to our windows, towering over us, and right across the way, laying in the grass was a lioness. She was staring right at us while lazily opening and closing her eyes. (I don't think I ever closed my eyes, not even once, the whole time we were there)
























Similarly, we found a hyena sleeping in the grass, just feet from the lion.
Finding the crocs and hippos were the most exciting because instead of staying inside the jeep we were allowed to get out and hike with Sheila, a guide within the park. Sheila was no ordinary park ranger however, because she was carrying a rifle. She explained that it was for protection because hippos are the most dangerous animal to humans. I obviously then asked if she'd ever had to shoot one, with which she responded "yes". During her two years working in the park she'd shot one buffalo and one hippo, both because they were running at her. AHHHHH! Well... she survived both so at least we know she's a good shot. We found two GIGANTIC crocs first, lazing in the sun on the bank of the water. We then had to walk along the river to find the hippos. Usually, there are seven or eight hippo families spanning the banks, however because of the rains the water level was incredibly high and the hippos were hard to find. We eventually found a family of three along the farthest bank. THEY WERE HUGE (and I couldn't even see their whole bodies!) Sheila explained that hippos are vegetarians who spend all day in the water and then come on land at night to graze. Hippos can spend 5 minutes underwater before they need to come up for air and can run 40mph. To top it all off, hippos are vegetarians, so when they kill other animals (or humans) they leave them for dead to be scavenged by other meat eating predators. Hippos mark their territory with huge mounds of poop, which we found on land near the water. Sheila explained that's how to know where the hippos enter and exit the water. There were signs saying "stop. do not pass" and skulls of hippos and crocs, yet tons of tourists were hanging out on the other side of the rocks. Shout-out to David for and setting us up with Sheila who would've surely kept us safe!! She was 3USD well spent.

After enjoying boxed lunches and some sunshine (finally!)

we found the animal we had worked hardest for. David would chat with the other drivers almost every time he passed one, usually asking about road conditions or animal spottings. He got a tip that there were cheetahs in the bush, so we circled round multiple times. We staked out with the binocs and looked every which way but couldn't find them. We then saw a HUGE herd of gazelle so we changed our location. Surely the cheetahs would want to be near their next meal. We watched and watched and watched and finally we surrendered. I had to go to the loo so we drove down the path to turn around. On our way back there they were, in plain sight in the grass: two cheetahs! Were they going to pounce? No. David explained they usually travel in hunting packs of five but wouldn't eat until much later in the evening. He also explained why it looked as though the gazelle were standing on top of one another. When they eat they create a hunting mound so that one or two gazelles keep watch while the rest graze and then they switch. Amazing.

Using the toilet in the middle of the savannah was a bit unnerving but David's been driving for 26 years so he promised to find me a safe spot ("away from animals that may eat me", I kept stressing to him!) I'm behind the bush, trying very hard not be in the bush, or around the bush or touched by the bush and all of a sudden David's yelling in Swahili. Gahhh. Quick. Finish. Run to the jeep. David's laughing his pants off. His driver friends drove by thinking he was stuck so offered to help. When he said no they thought he'd seen an animal so they tried to bring their cars over. He then had to explain the real reason for being in the bush. Bahahhaa. I wasn't exactly the animal their passengers would be expecting so they drove off- thank god! On our way out of the park we saw tons of pumbas but they were incredibly camera shy and ran from the jeep every time it came near. They were so cute though! Same with the group of mongoose--- such tiny little creatures that started to run across the road but then backtracked just as quickly into the grass. We wouldn't have known what to do without a little afternoon rain and sure enough the African Plains did not disappoint. Right as we were pulling up to our campsite, around 615, the rain started. We quickly shed our mud caked safari clothes and headed to the main tent for local Kenyan beers! Cheers to a great first day on safari 🍻

We enjoyed dinner around 8-again more delicious foods I'd not tried before and music too! After, we played cards with some of the workers. We learned a few new games, like AK47 and kanga. We also taught the boys speed, which they seemed to really like. Sure enough, when we exited the main campsite there was a man waiting to escort us via flashlight to our tent. What a sweetie. Overall Ekenrok was a wonderful experience and I would highly, highly recommend anyone safari-ing in Masai Mara to consider glamping there.

26 Dec Video Compilation

Merry Christmas Minus the Safari

25 Dec 2019

Up and at 'em at 530. But it's ok because today's SAFARI DAY!

We had a delicious breakfast with eggs, toast, beans, fruit, fresh squeezed juice and tea before being picked up by David, our safari driver. Mark, David and I then set off on our 6 hour drive to Masai Mara. Don't worry, I made sure David knew that if he got tired I was happy to drive his 8 seater off roading jeep on the other side of the road while using the steering wheel on the opposite side. That's what Christmas families do for one another, and David was our Christmas family. You're welcome, David. Unfortunately, even though the roads became quite muddy, quite wet and quite filled with holes, David did just fine and never once needed my assistance. Anyway, I thought we saw some slum parts of Nairobi yesterday but as we drove out of town today I saw the real slums. Even when living in absolute poverty, slum children still learn three languages, their village dialect, Swahili and English. So many people from so many places want to come to America for the opportunities it offers yet it doesn't offer its own youngsters the opportunity to learn more than one language in school. Instead of other countries wanting to be like America all the time, maybe America should want to be like other countries every once in awhile.

Anyway, the drive to Masai Mara was mostly on paved roads that were heavily trafficked because everyone was heading out of the city and into the country for Christmas. Most people would be gone through New Year's visiting their families in various villages. We stopped twice during our 6 hour excursion, once to enjoy the view of the Great Rift Valley (minus the dinos) and another so David could check in with the other drivers regarding road conditions of the mud and clay paths we'd be taking once the paved roads ended. Both stops included small shops with lots of handmade trinkets and lots of Christmas wishes. Again, my biggest takeaway is that all of the Kenyan people we meet are so friendly!

While off roading we came across some beautiful views, in addition to herds of sheep (they all came upon the jeep at once!), cattle and kids chasing after us. However, the best sight had to be the giraffes, gazelles and zebras grazing along the sides of the road. We were so close to a giraffe that we could've reached out and touched it! Wow. If this was a preview for safari I was definitely excited.

We arrived at Ekenrok Camp and were greeted with warm hand towels and a glass of fresh juice from Santa Claus 🤣 We wished everyone a Merry Christmas and then were shown to our tent. Glamping at it's finest (if camping were always like this I'd go every weekend!) Jackson showed us to a semi permanent tent with a four poster bed, a small porch with chairs overlooking the savannah and a bathroom, complete with toilet and (5 minute hot water) shower.

After ooohing and awwing over the views from our tent we went to the main campsite for lunch. There was a delicious buffet with new foods, like cassava root and three tomatoes (not spelled right I'm sure!) in addition to a variety of hot and cold dishes.

It started pouring rain right as we were finishing lunch so Mark and I spent some time in the oversized, thatched roof camp before making a run for our tent. When we arrived nothing inside was wet (which was nothing like any camping trip I've ever been on!) We watched the rain fall on the savannah and enjoyed the calming sounds of Kenya from the shelter of our tent. Mark had some work to do and and a nap was calling my name so we were both startled when one of the campsite workers showed up to our tent with an umbrella and told us it was time to go. We quickly gathered our things for a game drive and met David near the van. Unfortunately there had been a miscommunication. "Where've you been?" He asked. We tried to find him after lunch to ask about a night drive but we couldn't find him so we figured we weren't having one or he'd find us when he was ready. Instead, he had told one of the workers to let us know to be ready for a drive at 4. Well, no one had found us and told us that. It was now 445 and raining, but we were ready. David then asked, "Do you have your passports?" Ummm no. So away we went back through the rain to our tent to get our passports. By this time it was 500 but we were still ready. We barely made it past our campsite when our jeep got stuck in the mud. And not a little stuck. Like majorly tipped sideways hunkered down for a long winter's nap stuck. The tires weren't even rolling when David laid on the gas. Never fear. This must happen often because our driver just stepped out of the truck and out of thin air (it seemed like) appeared 3 or 4 big Kenyan men and a group of little boys. The little boys were mostly interested in Mark and I but the older boys got right to work. Mark and I tried to help with the pushing, pulling and lifting, but it was no use. All the men went as quickly as they'd come. One of the other safari drivers came to get Mark, David and I to drop us back at camp. Then they headed back out with chains or a tractor or something (lost in translation) to get the jeep unstuck. We offered to help but David just shook his head. Silly Americans. David made sure to confirm with us that we needed to be ready for a game drive, with our passports, at 730 the next morning before taking off. I guess we'll find out tomorrow if the jeep ever made it out of the mud....

With nothing but time on our hands (and mud on our clothes) Mark and I decided to do some exploring around our campsite. We gave the binoculars a try and managed to find a person running between the trees in the distance. Not exactly the species we were expecting, but at least we learned how to focus the binocs. Back to our tent we went to open up our complimentary Christmas wine that had been left for us. Cheers to all and to all a good night. 🥂

At 720 there were flahses of light and knocking on our tent. We unzipped the flap to find a young man with a toothy grin and an umbrella offering to walk us to dinner. It was POURING rain. Mark and I huddled under his umbrella. He dropped us at the main camp and then went back out, I'm assuming to collect more people from their tents. There was a big buffet, complete with a meat carving station. During dinner we had the pleasure of listening to one of the boys play guitar and sing covers of English songs. After dinner, 8 local Kenyans from the Masai tribe, dressed in traditional clothing, came in and celebrated with us by singing/chanting and dancing. They even pulled up members from the audience to join in the fun, and Mark was chosen.

Mark Dancing with the Masai

After their performance, one of the waiters, Elijiah, came to our table to talk with us. He is from the Masai tribe so was able to explain what many of the dances and chants meant. For example, when the boys jump up and down again and again it is practice for their wedding. Higher jumps=less dowry paid so in effect a free wedding. When the Masai move in lines about the room they must follow their leader. The leader of the line is the one who has killed the lion, which is a very special honor. Elijiah went on to explain that in Masai culture each year all of the 10 year old boys from the village are sent into the wilderness for 40 days. They must survive, but they must also kill a lion and return wearing its skin. Only the bravest are able to slay the lion, because the weapon used is a spear. Elijiah admitted that he was not brave enough to kill the lion, but that out of his 5 siblings he was the smartest, so he was able to attend school and learn to write poetry in English and Swahili. He continued through high school and is now attending University in Nairobi. He is studying to become a doctor. So far he is two years into his education, with five to go. Currently he is back in Masai working to make money for his next term. He explained that Masai does not have a doctor, only a medicine man, so he plans to be the first in his village, no matter how long it takes him to finish school. His parents are very proud. He then explained that a medicine man travels to many villages with basic remedies to help those who are ill, one of which is cow's blood (please don't let me get sick here!) I couldn't believe how fun our evening turned out. Traveling at Christmas is bittersweet- I miss my family at home so much, but somehow I've always managed to stumble upon someone or multiple someones who want to make my Christmas special and become my home away from home family. In Thailand it was New who organized a Christmas Eve grab bag, decorated our hostel with a tree and sent us on an elephant excursion, while in Budapest it was the young couple we met on our beer tasting cruise who then joined us for dinner afterwards and here it was the staff at Ekenrok Camp who dressed up as Santa, decorated the main campsite, gave us complimentary Christmas wine and sang and danced the night away with us. It'll be a Christmas to remember for sure! 

Merry Christmas Eve

24 Dec 2019

It was 6.5 hours to Abu Dhabi 

and then 5 hours to Kenya

Yay Nairobi! We landed around 2pm, got our visas and then took a car to Khweza Bed and Breakfast.

It's located in a non touristic area, so wandering around was great. We were the token foreigners. Everyone on the street was so friendly! One of two takeaways-- signs and ads are all in English and everyone speaks English. I was shocked. After speaking with some locals we learned that Swahili and English are both national languages and school children learn them both starting in their earliest years of school. We were told that we could safely wander to the roundabout to the right and to the corner market on the left. So we did. Although we couldn't cover a lot of distance we were able to spend a lot of time out. The locals were SO friendly. We came upon a 79 year old Indian man in a spice shop who had been to America multiple times and shared with us about his experiences in Iowa touring the John Deere tractor plant. We kept wandering and came across three young men selling shoes. We told them we didn't want to buy anything, so they moved on and just started chatting with us.

After we finished wandering in our allotted space, we went back to the B&B where Zede was. He offered to walk us to the market so we could get water which meant we had to go outside of our allotted space. While Nairobi is definitely built up, there are incredibly poor, slum areas, that are muddy and filled with trash. It's definitely a culture shock, especially when there are skyscrapers in the distance. I was glad to be able to drive by those areas on the way home from the airport, and walk through the very outskirts on our way to the market, but we knew we had to head back before dark.

Apparently Nairobi gets dangerous in the evenings, and tourists shouldn't be out and about alone, so, Mark and I opted to taxi to Carnivore, an all you can eat meat restaurant. It was festively decorated for Christmas and there was even a gospel choir singing. We got to try ostrich and crocodile, among some other more common meats, like turkey, chicken and pork, with more sides than any one human could ever eat. At one point during our meal we were invited to get up to dance and sing with the choir, so we joined in during a rendition of hakuna matata. We also tried dawa, a signature vodka drink muddled with honey, sugar, lemon and lime. Mmmm. Our taxi driver, Charles, waited for us during our meal which was so sweet, so we got him a dessert to enjoy with his family.

Meat Carving at Carnivore Restaurant

Live Choir Music at Carnivore Restaurant

We got dropped off at our B&B (normally I'd allow a taxi to drop us across the street but there was a median and it was dark and we were on the left side, apparently the unsafe side, according to Zede, so I made him drive us straight to our door) Merry Christmas Eve to all and to all a good night.