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The Kenya SafariBy Nilima Bhat 16th April 2000 We're just back from Kenya where we spent the most awesome 5 days! (The kids had their Easter break and as we rapidly ran out of ideas and time to do some nearby places, Vijay had the inspired idea of me and kids joining him in Kenya after his business trip there.) Given the short notice, we were unsure of what to expect and I must confess I didn't even feel the thrill of anticipation - what with becoming a trifle jaded with travel and being quite pre-occupied with our house extension here in London. But the moment we landed at Nairobi's Kenyatta airport and felt the fresh and balmy (19 deg C!) African morning, the difference from the cold and wet 4 deg C London hit me with a whoosh of excitement! (Some excitement had also started bubbling up when I started packing ... the lovely cottons stored away 6 months ago, stuff I'd forgotten I had, having lived since in boring thick jeans and sweaters during the winter months...) Vijay was there to collect us with his friend and colleague Andy Miller (head of O&M's Kenya office) who had most generously offered his 'place' to put us up for the two nights in Nairobi before and after our Safari. His 'place' turned out to be a luxurious colonial style bungalow complete with entourage (gardener, watchman, cleaner, cook and two dogs!). Since we were leaving for our Safari only the following day, Andy, his wife (Rosalind) and son (Tatsuro) drove us to the unique 'elephant orphanage' in Nairobi National Park. We watched a dozen or so little calves who are orphaned by Kenya's ivory poaching scourge that leaves their mothers dead with tusks hacked away and the calves facing certain death without their mum's protection in the wild. Each calf has his own human trainer 'mother' assigned to take care and to groom it until it is deemed ready to be sent back into its natural wild habitat. One has heard of India and Kenya's battle to ban ivory trade and lobby for support in international fora, but seeing this first hand brings home the sad reality like no news report can. Still, the sight of cute baby elephants could not be anything but charming - and they were the first 'animals' we saw in Africa, so our appetites were nicely whetted for the 'feast' to come. We left early the next morning for Wilson Airport. Most charming, since the biggest 'aeroplane' there was not much bigger than a small truck. Ours turned out to be a single-propeller 10-seater where the captain turned around to welcome us and passed the 'in-flight service' around (a box of sweeties). Our flight north to the Samburu National Reserve was to take an hour and we were to fly past Mt. Kenya, Africa's second highest mountain after Mt. Kilimanjaro (which is just across the Tanzanian border). The sighting of its twin peaks was quite spectacular, but the wind currents as we flew with such proximity to the mountain made the li'l plane bob up and down like a ping-pong ball on water and Shravan (and his mum and dad) turned quite green. Thankfully, Samburu 'airport' appeared quickly in sight - a short gravel airstrip with a single hut as control tower and duty free shopping area! Jumping off the two-step ladder, a few Land Rovers/ drivers were the only sign of civilisation - and all around us the yellow African bush with the blue ring of mountains as far as the eye can see... 'Jambo' (hello/welcome) said Joshua who introduced himself as our driver and guide from Samburu Intrepids, the lodge/campsite we were booked at. As we sat in the open Land Rover and set off on the dust trail, I looked at the typical baobab and acacia landscape and said to Shambhavi, "isn't this just like 'Lion King'?". She disdainfully replied, "this is the REAL Africa". (i.e. mum don't you know, this is the real thing, who needs cartoons) The drive to the lodge was in effect our first 'game drive'; we were to have 5 in all. We spotted our first dik-dik (foot-high deer like creature) and as we drove over the Uaso Nyiro river, our first zebra that had come to drink from the near-dry river on the banks of which our lodge was built. Much excitement. Only later did we realise that dik-diks and zebras are as common a sight here as the rows of Victorian houses in London! (We lost count of them over the next few days.) We arrive at paradise-haven in the middle of African jungle. Samburu Intrepids: wood and thatch lodge/tents built on stilts facing the river, monkeys on trees, glimpse of swimming pool (with a mongoose family running around), hammocks under the canopy of trees and a smiling committee of staff with cold towels and welcome drinks. The manager and asst. manager personally joined the orientation/introduction and a personal valet/butler then took us to our 'tents'. More like 5-star accommodation with four-poster beds and luxurious en-suite bathrooms furnished/constructed in local material. The 2 nights/ 3 days we spent there included spectacular dawn & dusk drives (our wake-up 'call' was our valet tapping gently on our tent flap with bed-tea at 5.30am) when the chances of sighting game are the best, nature walks and a visit to the nearby Samburu village/manyatta (8-10 very primitive oval huts surrounded by a bramble and thorn fence to keep out wild animals). The Samburus, like their more famous cousins the Masais, are cattle-rearing nomads and their life-style hasn't changed much in the last 2000 years. One friendly old lady, put on her best beaded necklace, held my hand and invited us into her dung-roof-stick-walled hut, where we squatted on a buffalo skin and saw her meagre belongings, including the 5 litre plastic can she walks 10 miles daily to bring back water in. Outside the rest of the village women set up a small market of beads and things for our sole browsing and we did the customary haggling for a beaded head-dress for Shambhavi and a lion-claw necklace for Shravan. And therein lies the best part of this tale. Shravan's sighting of a majestic male lion set the tone for the rest of our drives. There was the great beast, actually sitting on the trail blocking our path. Joshua shut off the engine and our OPEN vehicle just glided to a halt within metres of him. It was a private viewing just for us, our 'Private Lion' (Shravan: "like 'Private Ryan', get it?"). Ten minutes later, I spotted a magnificent leopard that walked within touching distance of us as we backed up for a better view. He stayed around for so long that we simply followed alongside overcome with awe, whispering and scrambling for pictures. The video footage we got! 
In all, we saw 49 different animals, birds and reptiles (not counting the insects!). Including giraffes, wild buffalo, 10-foot river crocodiles, a cheetah and another leopard stretched out on a tree just above our heads as we stood up in our Land Rover! Eeeeeee...! 
And every time we came back from these leisurely yet highly stimulating drives there would be a spread laid out on the deck for b/l/d with our personal waiter to wait on us and a security man with a catapult to chase the marauding monkeys away. Such last-word service was the theme of our stay. And for our final dinner, when a tropical thunderstorm broke over the parched savannah, my cup overflowed. There we were, being totally pampered in our camp, with wild and wet Africa all around us! I had a lump in my throat as we bade goodbye to Joshua without whose razor sharp eyes and instincts we wouldn't have seen anything. The return flight to Nairobi was calmer and it was amazing how the little Wilson airport back in Nairobi now seemed so much bigger and sophisticated, after the gravel strip at Samburu. 
But our holiday still wasn't over. We had a day and a half in Nairobi before our flight back to London. Luckily it was Tuesday and Vijay and I went to the weekly Masai market that overflows with Masai handicrafts, masks, batiks, wood-work galore. Lots of flavour and lots of bargains. The next and final day, Andy lent us his Range Rover and driver (Jotham) who drove us to the famed Rift Valley and Lake Naivasha, where we did a boat ride and spotted pink flamingos and herds of hippos and lunched at the more-Brit-than-the Brit Naivasha Country Club. Gosh. A long account of a short 5-day trip. Sorry if I've bored you, but I didn't know which part I could leave out. Absolutely no doubt that an African safari is a must-do, once-in-a-lifetime thing and I strongly urge everyone to try and make it there sooner rather than later. Also, I can't decide what I want more. To go back again or keep this one time as a memory to forever cherish. Cheers!
Nilima PS: If anyone wants prices/contacts of the Intrepid Safari Company, let me know. A safari is quite do-able and good value for money ... and contrary to expectations, much of sub-Saharan Africa isn't that hot at all. Being on a high altitude plateau, the average annual temp is 25 deg C. Most pleasant. Nilima |
