Day Fourteen: Lion Around

For our second full safari day we rose early and headed out to be on the plains for sunrise. We passed many hot air balloons lifting off, and generally had the roads to ourselves. With three of the Big Five under our belts, our goal for the day was simple: we wanted to see a kill. At times we felt guilty for our morbid wishes, but our desire for action won out.

Within our first ten minutes we came across a lone car parked beside a field of tall grass. A single wildebeest stood in the field and the riders were all staring at it with interest. Sensing there was more to the scene than we could see, our driver parked a ways away. As we watched, the face on a lion appeared through the grass directly behind the beast. Our hearts races with anticipation then the wildebeest turned, saw the lioness, and raced off across the field. To our disappointment, the predator didn't chase. We moved on feeling exhilarated.

Shortly after, we came across another lioness walking purposefully through the grass. A small herd of wildebeest stood close by this time. With no other cars around, we settled in to 'be patient'. A car eventually approached, and we cringed as it interfered unknowingly with the scene. Sadly few other drivers seemed to have the same sense as ours. They had not seen the lion yet. Undeterred, she soon continued stalking closet focusing in on a youngster that was wandering away from the rest. It wanted to cross the small creek and join the animals on the other side so it kept whinnying and galloping in that direction. The lion took the opportunity and emerged from get hiding place. The others saw her and began running in the opposite direction. The lioness gathered strength and started running but was more in it for the chase than the kill and she let the baby run right past her without much of an effort to bring it down. Lucky wildebeest, disappointed us.

The rest of the morning continued with little more excitement till we spotted birds rising up from the grass, squawking with annoyance. we knew there was something there. We waited patiently and were rewarded with a female cheetah who strut through the grass to a tall mound. While we watched the elegant creature our driver told us how last month a similar thing happened. All the other cars drove close to her as they were doing now but he kept his distance. Disturbed by all the people, she eventually got down of the mound, walked towards his car and leapt up into the roof. Cheetahs aren't dangerous to people and she was only searching for a good viewpoint to look across the Mara, so those passengers received quite the treat! Today we had no such luck, but were happy with such a great vie of the regal cat.

Once again we ended the night by burning a few trees (that we were assured came from far away from any conservancy area) and went to bed nice and toasty.

Day Thirteen: Getting Lucky

For our first full day of safari, we got up and ate a delicious breakfast prepared again by our talented cook, Joseph. Then we headed off for a full-day game drive.

 In our beloved army car, with the roof down, we were all able to stand on the seats and stick our heads out the top, holding onto the sides for dear life. We rocked and bumped our way down rough 'roads' and through river crossings, our bodies slamming against the sides of the roof openings. At times we nearly had the wind knocked out of us, but there was no comparison for how free we felt with the breeze on our faces and the open plains in front of us.



The company we were with was called Gametrackers and our driver insisted he could 'smell' out the action (though he did seem to spend a lot of time on his cell phone talking to other drivers). What was fun was that he encouraged us to spot things even if he knew what was where. He was also passionate about animal conservation and respected the animals' space. He lectured us on patience and tried to read the animals' movements so he could predict where they would be, so we often waited in spots away from other cars and the animals walked right to us.

We saw lots of the same animals as the previous day, but enjoyed the giraffes, elephants, and zebras (especially the babies!) all the same. We were rewarded early with our first lion guarding a kill, then many more followed. We saw the kill of a leopard hanging in a tree, but sadly, no leopard.

One of the goals for the day was to see a 'crossing', where the wildebeest and zebra cross the Mara River. We arrived at the steep banks of the river, wildebeest amassing on the other side and crocodiles waiting in the water. After a half hour of slow progress to the river the wildebeest got spooked and stampeded away from the river. Our consolation prize was a large group of Hippos hanging out in the sun. But we hadn't given up yet and it was off to another spot to be 'patient' again.

We arrived at another point of possible crossing, the river teeming with the corpses of fallen wildebeests, a reminder of the dangers to any that would attempt to cross. The wildebeests had two paths to choose from, the tourists had two places to watch from. Each time the animals changed their minds a herd of vans would stampede to the other vantage point. After about an hour of this dance some zebras got brave and ran across the water leaving a young one behind braying across the gulf. The wildebeests started to line the shore, it was finally going to happen. The animals were place, the vans all lined up, the first wildebeests began to cross, others following close behind in a line, it was happening. Or so it seemed. Apparently some vans thought they could improve their view just a bit; they all started their engines to move forward five feet, one honking its horn. That was all it took to halt every wildebeest not already half way across the river and send them thirty feet back from the edge. Another ten minutes went by before they started to cross again, this time they all went. It was quite a sight, but sadly (happily for the wildebeests and zebras) the nearby crocodile did not even flinch.

We ended the day on a high note when driving home we came across three male cheetahs stalking wildebeest in a gorgeous field of grass.

And if a fantastic day of gaming wasn't enough, we went home to a hot dinner and a bonfire that had logs so big they were also our footrests!

Day Twelve - Into the Wild

We waited anxiously for our vehicle to pick us up for our four day safari in the Maasai Mara. We did not know what to expect, would we be in a minibus? a land cruiser? a giant overland truck with 20 other people? What we had not thought to guess was a huge (super cool) army truck, "Acmat," converted to carry 10 passengers that we only had to share with 2 other people. This was definitely a great start to the safari!

Acmat and our expert driver Karioke

The great start ended up getting delayed, as it would seem, when our ride entered the parking lot to pick us up, it broke the barrier arm. The security guards would not let us out of the parking lot unless our driver paid 10,000 KSh (~$125) to fix it. The discussions did not progress, with neither side budging, until finally a trip to the police station cleared everything up and we were on our bumpy way.

Our two awesome companions on this adventure, Mary and Kaitlin (both from Canada), met each other volunteering in Western Kenya for 3 months. Having finished their stint they had moved onto the 'touring' portion of their trip.

As the drive wore on (our 35 year old truck had trouble with hills, but its unique look turned lots of heads) our excitement dramatically increased when we started spotting animals like zebra, Thompson's Gazelle, and a herd of Masai Giraffe on a forested hillside. After passing through the park gates we spent a few meandering hours looking for game along the way to our camp. We had an amazing time seeing all the animals that would become commonplace over the next few days: Gnu, Elephant, Topi, and a Spotted Hyena.

When we booked our safari we had expected to be camping in small cold tents, using squat toilets and bucket showers. So we were again very pleasantly surprised when we arrived and were shown to our 'bandas' (small cabins w/solar powered electricity), then to the hot (read scalding) water showers. Next, the camp manager had us walk a little further, past the outhouse, to the flush toilets. We ended up almost never using the flush toilets because they were farther, and our camp, we were told, hosted a variety of other guests occasionally: elephants, baboons, lions, and the odd hippo.

We ended the day with a delicious dinner, gluten-free for Erin, and with a beer for Craig. We were very excited for the next day after such a terrific start!

Day Eleven: An Intro to Animals

Feeling refreshed, we hit the road (again on our good ol' Matatu 46) and went back downtown to find a bank. With dismay we realized that it was Sunday and no banks were open (and we were turned away from the Hilton being told they only exchanged with their guests! Not sure how they knew we weren't staying there...). Outside the hotel, the doorman caught wind of our predicament and nodded us in the direction of a nearby security guard. He told us not to worry, that he would change our money for us. Hoping that we weren't breaking any laws, we completed the transaction on the street corner, and were on our way again.

The Elephant's trunk is chasing away a women that wanted
nothing to do with touching an elephant.

Our first stop was the David Sheldrick Rescue Centre dedicated to saving orphaned elephants, raising them to good health, then reintroducing them to the wild. We learned the story of each elephant, usually that their mother had been the victim of poaching, and they were found beside her dead body close to starvation. We watched them being bottle fed by their beloved trainers, and they played a bit in the dust and waterhole provided. The most exciting part was when the trainer led one (by holding out tasty leaves) along the fence line and Erin got to pet it. It was super hairy and prickly!

Next, we moved on to the Giraffe Centre where they breed the endangered Rothschild giraffes and reintroduce them to the wild. There are only 50 left in the world currently, so this centre is very important for their survival. There are three areas of Kenya where they can be found (we'll be going to one area next week, so fingers crossed!). At the centre we got to hand feed them from a platform, and even pat one's head!

Then we stocked up on snacks and drinks, and made our way back home, Matatu 46 failed us again by taking a detour around where our road is, but after a good walk/workout, we found our way.

Now (Day 12) we're all ready for our safari today! We'll post again in a four or five days with hopefully tons of amazing animal photos.

The Giraffes had a very large forested grounds to wander.

Day Ten: Jambo! Third Times a Charm

Today we flew to Kenya, at the fantastic hour of 4am. Not feeling challenged enough on four hours sleep, we decided to attempt getting to our hostel via public transportation. This proved simple enough at first - we found the downtown shuttle, gloated over our saved cash, and found our next bus with little difficulty. But things started to fall apart when the ticket taker told us to get off too early. Thinking we had actually gone too FAR, we caught the bus in the opposite direction (this ticket guy also nodded that he knew where we were looking for). Before we knew it, we were back downtown again! Feeling discouraged, we weighed our options, but again got back on Matatu 46 hoping that this reassuring ticket taker actually knew our road. Thankfully, he did, and on the third attempt found the "Upperhill Campsite."

Our Delux Safari Tent awaited us...thick canvas with a tiny lamp inside that barely lit the corner. But the bed had a frame and was comfortable, so although cosy, we were glad to be in our new home. We enjoyed a relaxing day and even better, the best sleep we've probably had since we've been here. Yay!

Day Nine: Saying Good-bye to Ethiopia

Lasting Impressions:

* Ethiopians are very friendly and welcoming to tourists. We always felt safe walking alone through town.

* Even knowing we were going during the rainy season we were surprised by how lush and green the landscape was.

* The poverty in Ethiopia is heartbreaking at times. Some salespeople know to appeal to our guilt for tips and to entice purchases. Our taxi driver in Addis told us he was struggling in order to get an increased fare (after convincing us he knew where he was going and then we had to ask for directions). Another girl when she failed to convince Craig to buy a scarf through

Our Route in Ethiopia

flattery said, "You are a beautiful man, but you would be more beautiful with this scarf." Then she said outright, "I know you don't need this scarf, but I am a student and need books, please help me."

* After many feeble attempts at bartering, we were so pleased with ourselves to negotiate our taxi fare down from 400 Birr to 150!

* Anytime that power, water, and internet are all working is cause for celebration. Sending emails from a hot shower is difficult though...

* Like in many countries, men commonly hold hands, and show affection physically. We were surprised by how clingy and one sided this sometimes seemed. But it was cute when due to pedestrian traffic they would be forced to seperate and then reach for each other once past the obstacle.

Just a picture to break up the text.

* The division is labour is unequal along gender lines, with women doing the majority of the work for less pay. This was highlighted when we walked past a construction site and three men stood watching three women shovel gravel.

* We never did get the hang of pronouncing anything in Amharic. Although Craig did get to use the one phrase he could remember. Aznalo Yelem. It was not clear when we were taught "I'm sorry, I don't have" when we would use it. Then Craig had a child beg for candy, so happy to use the only phrase he had the child must have thought he was an evil man the way he took such pleasure in depriving a child of a treat.

Another picture

Day Eight: Over the Edge

With Erin and Craig both fighting off colds, they were happy to wake up to the sounds of a downpour on their roof. Thus absolving them of any responsibility to do anything to make the most of their day.

After a leisurely morning Craig felt confident enough to hike out to the Blue Nile Falls, while Erin made the wiser decision to recover further (Craig is now worse). The falls were as impressive as the food Craig and Erin shared for dinner was terrible. Dinner consisted of 3 thin slabs of lukewarm, overcooked, tilapia from the lake; along with cold crispy potatoes, and chilly rice.

On our last non-travel day in Ethiopia came to a close we realized we had maybe set too ambitious a pace and were ready for a reset in Kenya where we will hopefully be able to take things more slowly.