This past weekend, I went to Nakuru with some of the folks that I met through the Hash. One of the hashers, named Hina, has an uncle who owns a flower farm in Nakuru. There are actually many flower farms in that region - flowers are one of the main Kenyan exports. He and his family were going to be away for the weekend, so they invited Hina (who then invited us) to stay at his house and tour the farm. We left on Saturday afternoon for the 2 hour drive up to Nakuru. When we arrived, I felt like I was being taken back in time - the house is straight out of the colonial period (see below). Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. Wood floors, all old paneling, open room structure. There was even a maid (in a uniform!) that was there to help us cook for the weekend. Needless to say, we settled right in on the porch and had a bit of an impromptu happy hour. Next up was a tour of the flower farm. We walked (well, some of us ran) between the rows and rows of greenhouses that hold the roses. Then it was back to the house for more Tuskers and relaxation. Hina had prepared a wonderful dinner of Indian foods - but as we were pretty busy with our happy hour activities, we ate very late. It was all very relaxed and homey - definitely just like being at my house. We stayed up waayyy too late, just talking and goofing off. Carol was teaching Lidia and I how to dance “African style”, and I broke out the Texas line dances - hilarity ensued. Round about two a.m., we started to wind down and head to bed. Some of the folks slept outside, under the stars...I opted for the very comfy beds in the guest house. No outdoor sleeping for this Hilton-lover!
The next morning we woke up and had a lovely breakfast of eggs, sausages, Kenyan bacon (never as good as American bacon), and toast on the terrace. The highlight for me was the spiced tea with ginger - I have definitely developed a tea addiction while I’ve been here. Then, we embarked on a “self safari” to Lake Nakuru National Park. I say “self safari” because we drove ourselves - well, to be specific, Jonathan (who owns a car here) drove us. It was definitely different than being on a tour - much more flexibility, which was great! Jon has a tendency to drive fast though...good thing there were no animals on the roads!
Lake Nakuru Park is one of the smaller parks in Kenya, but it’s the second most visited. The park is known for the lake in the middle that attracts all kinds of birdlife, especially flamingos and pelicans. There is also a very large rhino population - rhinos are regularly spotted here, which is rare - to give you an idea, I saw at least 8 rhinos in one drive in Lake Nakuru, and only one the entire weekend we were in the Maasai Mara. We saw lots of other animals as well - giraffes, zebras, buffalo, baboons and monkeys (terror!). Actually, we had quite a funny run in with the baboons - we drove up to the Out of Africa lookout point, and there were TONS of baboons around - one even climbed up on Jonathan’s car! Totally scary. The females aren’t too bad, but the males can get really aggressive and chase you! I sound like a total wimp, but if I can’t handle what was (probably) a tame dog on my last camping trip, I definitely cannot handle a baboon climbing all over the car!
After leaving the park, we met up with the rest of the group for dinner at a roadside cafe (chicken curry, yummy) and then made the evening drive back to Nairobi. As soon as I got back (around 10) I went right to bed, because I had to get up at 2am for SUPERBOWL MONDAY.
Below are some shots of the house that we stayed in - total colonial style. There was even a maid - in a uniform - who cooked all of our meals. This, my friends, is the life.
Here we are on the patio, enjoying a freshly cooked breakfast. No breakfast tacos, sadly, but amazing eggs, and sausage and spiced tea.
Rows and rows of greenhouses that make up the farm - each one filled with....
Rows and rows of roses! Every color imaginable...the smell was amazing! Not to get too nerdy, but the technology used to power these greenhouses is unbelievable - irrigation and connectivity and power - very cool.
Setting off on our safari - I'm pretty directionally challenged, so it's a good thing I was not in charge of the map!
First stop, lion hill. No lions (think it was too hot to see them) but we did get some great views and photos for our scrapbooks!
Here's one of our zebra friends - completely unfazed by the fact that our car is less than 3 feet away from him. I think zebras are my second favorite (behind elephants) - as Lidia says, they are totally "class"
Pelicans and flamingos on the lake - stunning
Jonathan, me, Jason, and Lidia next to the lake...can someone say bird flu?
Ah birds....not exactly my favorite, but I'm starting to learn to love them. Maybe the bird community and I will have a reconciliation, since I'm spending so much time around them in Africa...I'm not holding my breath, given our history
The color of the birds really comes out when they open their wings - this group of birds kept opening and shutting their wings, almost as if they were moving to a beat. Bird aerobics!
View from the Out of Africa lookout point. Stunning.
I told you these baboons are not to be trusted!! This one is climbing all over our car - I'm actually inside, in the backseat, quivering with fear. It reminds me of my disastrous Oklahoma camping trip a few years back - I do NOT like wild animals approaching me!
AHH! It moved to the front of the car! Go away, baboon!!
Okay, so I felt bad about all my negative comments about baboons. When they are little, they are actually kind of cute - this little guy was sitting on one of the picnic tables at the lookout and playing with a plastic water bottle. Even I had to admit it was entertaining...except for the big baboons (mama and dad) right behind him!!
Buffalos and flamingos together in harmony....singing "Circle of Life" in my head...
Look how long these birds necks are! Sort of like ostriches...wonder if I could ride them...
The pride of the park - the large number of rhinos. As you can see, we were able to get very close. This was definitely the highlight of the day, especially considering I only saw one rhino when we went to the Mara. In Nakuru, every time you turned around, another rhino was there. We even saw a mother with a baby...but they were too far away for a good picture.
Rhino buddies :)
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