A Hiking We Will Go!

This past Sunday, a few friends and I embarked on another outdoorsy adventure.  Pretty ambitious for a Sunday, but I did buy new hiking boots while I was home over Christmas, so figured might as well try them out.  We decided to climb Mount Longonot, which is a dormant volcano in the Rift Valley.  The elevation is nearly ten thousand feet, and the hike was about 12 miles in total - 3 miles to the top, then 6 miles around the rim, and another 3 down.  The caldera is perfectly intact, and the view over the 2 mile wide forest floor is amazing.  The guide books all said to look out for wildlife...especially buffalo...but thank goodness the only animal we came across was a lizard!

Another notable part of this adventure was that we rented cars and drove ourselves - we were all feeling pretty smug at figuring out the directions and such on our own.  Usually we have to hire a driver and a guide, but not this time!  Gives you a feeling of independence, that’s for sure.

We got back to Nairobi around 6pm, tired and VERY dusty - I think I brought about half the mountain back with me in my shoes!  I’m definitely becoming a LOT more okay with dust and dirt, which is a big step for me!

 Setting off - this doesn't look so bad!

Think again - this is the view from the TOP back to the place we started! Can you see the gravel road area from the first picture???

Wow, this is what we came for - the view around the volcano rim.  The rim is 6 miles long, and as you can see, the highest point is actually across from us at this point.  We walked the entire rim!

 More views around the rim - to the left of the same spot where the picture above was taken.

Aliya, Vicky, Hilary, Corey, and Jamie at the VERY top - the highest part of the rim!

 Steady as she goes.....don't fall!!

 As you can see, it's very lush inside the crater - a very big contrast to the Great Rift Valley (and all the dirt/sand) on the mountain face.

 Jamie and I on the path around the volcano rim....great views!

 Ed, Shane, and Mike - you don't see them in most of the pictures b/c they set a breakneck pace...we (the ladies) tried to keep up...but it was no use.  These guys are serious athletes!

 Who doesn't love a jumping photo??  This is me at the top of the rim...the highest point of the mountain!

 Of course...everyone wanted a jumping photo...so I had to get down and dirty to get the right angle...I'm not going to lie, it was nice to sit down for a bit!

Hooray for going down the mountain....so much easier than climbing up!!

Elephants and Giraffes and Cheetahs....Oh My!

This past Saturday, Vicky, Lidia and I did an “animal tour” in and around Nairobi.  First stop was the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.  The trust was established in 1977 to honor David Sheldrick, a famous naturalist and the founder warden of Tsavo East National Park in Kenya.  The trust takes in orphaned animals from all around Kenya, but they are most noted for their work with black rhinos and elephants.  The babies are raised at the trust, then most are released back into Tsavo National Park.  The trust is quite famous - many celebrities visit when they are in Kenya.  Every week, the baby elephants are shown to visitors.  They are in two groups - a younger group (1 year and younger) and an older group (1 year to 2 years).  The groups are kept separate - you see the younger ones first, then they are taken away and the older ones are brought out.  The elephants are led down the hill to their “play” area, where visitors can observe them.  There are no cages - all that stands between you and the elephants is a small rope!  All of the babies are given two bottles of milk, then they have play time in the small pond and surrounding area.  They are ridiculously cute - they definitely know it’s time to eat, and they come running down the hill to their bottles and GULP them.  It’s so fun to watch them play with each other - they aren’t quite big enough to step in and out of the water, so they have to get down on their knees and crawl.  Some get so exhausted that they just lay down on top of each other.  The youngest elephant was about 3 months old - he came to the orphanage in October.  At that age, their skin is very sensitive, so one of the volunteers had to follow the baby around with an umbrella!  The volunteer led the young one (named Naipoki) around, and I got to pet her!

Next stop was the Giraffe Center.  At the center, you can get up close and (very) personal with the giraffes.  There is a tall platform/building, and the giraffes come right up and you get to feed them!  To do this, you just put a few pellets in your hand...and the giraffe sticks out its long tongue and licks them right up!  They have really long tongues!  The very brave (including yours truly) can also get a kiss from a giraffe - you just put a pellet between your teeth, and the giraffe comes right up and licks your face!  It’s a very slobbery experience, that’s for sure - but giraffe saliva is actually antiseptic, so it’s probably one of the cleaner experiences I’ve had in Kenya!

Our last stop was the Nairobi Animal Orphanage, which is part of the National Park here in Nairobi.  Of our three destinations, this one was the most like a “zoo” - it was odd to see animals in cages, when I am so used to seeing them in the wild (and being very close).  We did get to see a leopard, which was very cool, as we did not get to see one on safari in the Mara (they are ridiculously hard to find in the wild).  Also, we got a bit of an “off the books” experience - if you bribe the guards, they will let you into the cages with some of the animals.  Definitely not the most ethical of activities, but pretty neat..and I got some bribing experience, which is a good thing to have here.  I was surprised by how coarse the cheetah’s coat was....I definitely forgot that it was a cheetah and started giving it a pretty intense scratch...he must have liked it though, because he started purring!

All in all...an incredible day!

Who Are The People In Your Neighborhood?

After a fun filled Christmas vacation in the States, I’m officially back in Kenya.  I was struck by how much easier it was this time around - Nairobi is starting to feel like “home”.  It’s the little things - like when I got off the plane, I was met by Peter, my driver, for my ride to the apartments.  When I first arrived in November, Peter was a stranger - now we’re friends, and he greeted me as such.  When I went to the gym yesterday morning, the staff all welcomed me back, asking where I had been and filling me in on events since I’ve been away.  Even the security guards at the Sarit Center Mall (which is where the gym is located, so I see and chat with them every day) stopped me to say hello, happy new year, ask where I’d been and the like.  Of course, it was wonderful to see my Accenture and Nairobi friends as well...the “intense” nature of ADP projects means that you build friendships very quickly.  It’s kind of what I think sleepaway camp must be like - you are thrown into a new situation, spend all your time with a relatively small group of people, and as a result become really close really quickly.   All of these relationships really make you feel like you belong in a place - I’m slowly realizing that this is the first “local” project I’ve had in my career - even though it’s far from home, it’s the first chance I’ve had to establish a living and working community in the same place.  Funny that I had to come halfway across the world to do it!

I’ve had some questions about the area around my apartment.  My neighborhood is called Westlands, and it’s one of the more affluent areas of Nairobi.  Many ex-pats live here, along with young professionals.  There are lots of restaurants within walking distance (which is really nice considering security concerns limit mobility here) and two malls (Sarit Center and Westgate).  There are a few photos below - I’m aware that the area probably looks pretty “rough” as compared to the USA, but it’s definitely posh for a developing country!

This is the outside of the apartment complex - as you can see, it's a lovely (and BRIGHT) shade of green.  There are two buildings that face each other.  The building next door is currently under construction, and the banging starts nice and early.  It's usually pretty easy to ignore - however, there were a couple of nights back in December when the crew was JACKHAMMERING between 2 and 4 in the morning.  That was a little upsetting - thank goodness it stopped!

The gate to our apartment - and the building across the street.  The guards have to check all people and cars that enter - standard procedure here.

 My apartment is on the second floor - the windows on the two right columns!

This is an ariel view of Sarit Center.  This mall is where the gym is - although "gym" is a very loose term - there are probably only about 20 cardio machines total, but there is a decent weight room, they offer some classes, and there is a pool on the roof.  It's definitely better than nothing - but it's quite expensive, because these types of services just aren't widely available in Nairobi.

School Lane - this is the road our apartment complex is on...Vicky was very kind and posed for a photo on our way to our "office" (aka Art Caffe at Westgate Mall).  As you can see, no sidewalks - we walk along the side of the road.  The more "major" roads tend to have sidewalks, but you still have to watch out for the random holes that seem to crop up everywhere.  The red dirt means that everything gets pretty dusty/dirty.  I'm constantly having to remember to look for cars coming from the "wrong" direction!

This is Westgate Mall - one of the posher malls in Narobi.  It has lots of shops, a food court, and movie theater. I couldn't get very close to take this photo - they do not like you taking pictures of the buildings, due to security concerns.  But, if you look closely, you can see the umbrellas on the first floor behind the trees - that is the outdoor section of Art Caffe, which is one of our preferred places to work!

Maasai Mara

This past weekend was a holiday in Kenya - December 12th (Sunday) was Independence Day (the day that Kenya was released from British rule).  Since the actual day fell on a Sunday, Monday was the official vacation day - so we decided to take advantage of the long weekend by going on safari to the Maasai Mara.  

The Maasai Mara is the largest and most celebrated game reserve in Kenya.  It’s located west of Nairobi, across the Great Rift Valley.  It’s approximately 580 square miles, and the amount of wildlife is astounding -  everything from your ‘standard’ safari animals (gazelle, giraffe, zebra, warthogs, eagles, birds, hyenas, etc) to the “big five”, which includes lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants, and buffalo.  These were called the “big five” because in earlier days, when hunting of big game was allowed, these creatures were the toughest and most feared animals to hunt.

This was my first safari, so I had to learn the ropes.  The way it works is - you rent a van (with a driver) that seats approximately 7 people.  The vans have a roof that pops open so that you can stand up and take pictures. That van is your best friend for the trip as you will be spending lots of time in it.  Our group got picked up EARLY on Saturday morning (6am) and drove to the Mara.  Once we got to the Mara, we checked in to the lodge (we had a lodge) and then settled into a routine - game drives in the early morning (6-9) and late afternoon (4-7) with time to relax (and recharge your camera) in between.  

We stayed at Keekerok Lodge, the oldest lodge on the Mara.  The hotel was very nice - there was a swimming pool, and a bar that overlooked a hippo pond.  After our evening drives we would head to the bar to watch the hippos come out of the water to graze.  On our second night, we even saw an elephant that came to the watering hole - that was simply incredible.  The lodge grounds were open (no fence around it) and there were signs warning that animals might enter - I kind of scoffed at the idea, but I took it all back when I walked to my room that night and saw a pack of zebras behind our cabin!  

I’m having trouble finding the right words to describe the Mara - beautiful and wild are the first two that come to my mind.  It’s definitely something that should be experienced by everyone - if anyone comes to visit me in Kenya, this is definitely something we’ll do.  The best I can do to explain is show pictures - I’ve tried to select some representative ones, and I have a LOT more on my hard drive!

My favorite animal is definitely the elephant - they are so intelligent looking, and seem to see right through you.   We saw a LOT of elephants on the Mara - this tusker was one of our closer encounters.

On our first game drive, we came across a group of ~15 lions.  There were 10 or so cubs (young ones, not babies, but definitely not fully grown) and two males - one was sleeping in what I would call a 'normal' pose - and this guy was just sprawled out everywhere.  He seriously looked dead.  Look how HUGE he is!

 This is called a sausage tree - it has seed pods that look like sausages dangling all over it.  I took this shot b/c it shows some of the many colors of the Mara - breathtaking views in every direction.

 This is another shot of the pack of lions I described above - we were there when the two older lionesses came back to the pack.  They walked up from across the plain - and the ~10 cubs ran to greet them, nuzzling and wagging their tails - really an incredible sight to see so many lions up and moving around. 

 This is the view from the hippo bar at our hotel - every night we'd get drinks and watch the hippos (who are nocturnal) come out of the pond to start grazing.  One night, an elephant even came to the watering hole to drink!  It took us by surprise - quiet one minute, elephant the next!  

 This is a buffalo - one of the "big five" and a dangerous creature.  They are very aggressive and even lions prefer not to hunt them. We saw many of these in herds on the plains.  This one was literally 5 feet from the car - and seemed to not like us much, as he stomped as made as if to charge!  We definitely got moving quickly after that!

 On our first morning, we tracked two male lions cutting across the plain - they were marking territory and moving FAST - our driver said that he had not seen lions moving that fast in quite some time.  They seemed not to mind us at all, and walked very near (see below) the vans.

 Wildebeast crossing the road in front of us - the migration lasts from October to early December as the animals head to Tanzania for the season.  Still, we saw plenty around.  These are really ugly creatures!

 This was a pretty rare sight - a hippo out of water, not yet back to the watering hole after his evening snacks.  I could not believe how massive he was.  Hippos are actually some of the most dangerous animals to humans - I believe they are in the top three 'killers' of man.

 Everyones favorite - the mischievous baboons!

 More elephants - I loved that the young one was holding on to his mom's tail...

 Pumba!  Not in front of the kids!

 This was a great find - we happened upon 3 cheetahs with a fresh kill.  They were brothers.  One was eating while the other two kept lookout - there was actually a lion about 50 yards away, waiting to finish what the cheetahs didn't eat!  They all had red faces - and when they were finished eating, they licked each other clean (see below).   Lots of folks want to see a kill when they come to the Mara - this was enough for me.

 Here I am hanging out of the safari van, looking for animals!  I was loving my safari gear!

We found another group of lions on our second day - there were many in the group, but these two lionesses caught my eye - I loved how they were sleeping all cuddled up. 

 Here is one of the (3) males from the second group of lions we spotted.  The males were lying here, and the females (pictured above) were probably about 100 yards away.  Now for the fun part - there was a safari van STUCK in between them.  That's right - it's the rainy season, so many of the 'roads' through the land are wet and muddy, and vehicles can get stuck, especially when drivers (who are working for tips and want to show their customers a good time) get overzealous and reckless.  There were several safari vans there to help - we formed a type of a barrier so that the males would not see what was going on as men were OUTSIDE hooking up the van to tow.  In the end, they had to tow from the front, and push the car from the back - and it was all engineered by one of they guys in our group!

 This may have been our most rare spot - a black rhino.  Endangered, there are fewer than 50 in the park.  Very shy animals, and aggressive.  I was struck by how prehistoric they look.

 Giraffe and baby overlooking the plains....

 On our way out of the Mara, we stopped by a traditional Maasai village - this was the welcome dance performed by the men.

 The women also did a welcome dance - and Vicks, Lydia and I all joined in!

 Hyena - very ugly creatures!

 Ooops....we got stuck...right next to a huge herd of elephants!  I think were were in more danger than our driver let on, but it seemed like good fun at the time.

 Lydia, Aras, and I in the safari van - behind us is the entrance to our lodge.

 We came across this mother and baby on our second morning - they were amazing, nothing else to say.  Elephants...definitely my favorite.

Hilary makes fire with the Maasai!