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fun in serengeti my 1st safari with my friends language school i spent a hectic week in nairobi. though this city is not without it's charms it definitely gets old quick. my african friends always take good care of me but since our interests are so dissimilar it can be a bit hard at times. probably the highlight of the week was when i successfully pulled off a front flip with a little help from a rastaman named "Daddy". however, the need to get out of the city became overwelming & so i signed up for a 3 day safari to Masai Mara National Reserve, the epicenter of african wildlife. this park is the northern tip of the serengeti ecosystem. it's position so close to the equator gives it 2 rainy seasons & thus allows it to sustain more big game than any other place on the continent (& therefore the planet). to top it all off, during july, august, & sept. millions of wildebeests & zebras, having exhausted their supply of grazeable grass in tanzania coming streeming across the border (& rivers) into kenya, often in single file.
unfortunately, my buddy shuji was completely out of funds (pricetag: $210) so this 1 ended up being a solo mission. i found a relatively upstanding tour company & booked myself a reservation for the next day. since departure was to be early sat. morning they invited my to spen the night in their hostel in downtown nairobi. it sounded like a good idea & when i showed up there around 9pm i met another member of my tour group, a friendly Korean named Min-tek. it was his 1st night in nairobi & after the safari he was heading straight to the coast for 3 weeks of volunteer service. i figured it would be too much of a shame for him to miss out on nairobi's wild nightlife so 1st we hit taco bells (that's a club, not a fast food restaurant. though the logos are strikingly similar...) & then we went next door to Florida 2000 & danced with the locals till 3am. but after they played my favorite swahili song (nonini by nyotandogo, i have no idea what she's singing about but it sure sounds epic) i figured he'd had enough & we headed back to the dorm.
i was woken up @ 9am to some bad news. 1 of the $100 bills i had used to pay was printed before 1996 & ,therefore, valueless in kenya. i tried explaining it still had plenty of value back in the states but they would have none of it & i was forced to use emergency funds to keep the process moving along. Shortly after we met the remainder of our group. Mez & Rose were english college students & Ariana was a canadian about my age. next thing i knew we were bumping our way across the great rift valley towards the wilderness mecca which was responsible for my interest in africa in the 1st place.
even before we reached the park itself we found ourselves passing zebras, ostriches, & masaii shepherds with their strange, ox-like cattle. our camp was exactly like you might imagine it; canvas tents with thatched roof huts built around them. the periphery of the camp ground was a thick, thorny hedge which, theoretically, would give even an angry bufflo pause. after we dropped off our gear we hopped back into our 4wd van, this time sans roof, & headed to the park gate.
my 1st view of the mara was seemingly inspired by renaissance painters & the silver lined clouds parted just enough to allow infinite crepuscular rays to paint a patch work of light & shade across the great plains-like scenery. the tall grass that the herbivores covet is a dull golden cover & broken now & then by thorny acacia & even palm trees. & milling about aimlessly, everywhere were the fabled wildebeests. so many of them that in the distance they appeared to be just endless small groves of trees. but then, when the mood struck them, they would suddenly move in great numbers. sometimes just a few meters, othertimes they would get going & never stop. their strange faces and bow tie horns made me want to laugh a loud. but their zebra compatriots appeared to have been painstakingly painted by the most diligent of artists, no 2 the same. the sight of these large beests milling about or thundering through the grass brought images of the the great herds of buffalo from the wildwest to mind. all that fell to the wayside though, when i saw my 1st family of african elephants poking around in the trees looking for the choicest leaves. the whole life cycle of the species was represented, by the massive adults, robust youths, & babies who probably weighed 3 times more than a professional wrestler. none of this, though, could prepare me for what happened next. we found a lioness (almost the size of a st. bernard) apparently idly sitting in the middle of the road watching the tasty herbivores do their thing. it was our driver/guide who spotted the ithe female on the other side of the herd, which was beginning to look noticeably edgy. then the 2 of them both took off with surprising speed & headed into the thick of the mixed group of wildebeests & zebras. they all got away, but it was then that we noticed the 6 cubs coming up from behind & we realized that it was all just a training exercise for their benefit. by this time the sun was setting & it was time to get back to camp.
the next morning we were back in the park by 9am & once again made our way through the wildebeests & co looking for new faces. these we soon found nibbling leaves 4meters off the ground. the giraffes odd, awkward bodies had me feeling like they were the result of skillful special effects rather than living flesh & blood. every step they took looked sure to result in their falling over but obviously this never happened. from there we visited a luxury hotel & then, while viewing some more lions in a creek bed our van got stuck on an ant bed & we were forced to get out & push! getting out w/out an armed guard is officially a no-no anywhere in the park except, apparently, along the kenyan tanzanian border where we, along w/ dozens of other tourists, got out & took that ceremonial step across the border into Serengeti NP. after that we headed down to the river where, this time with an armed soldier, we strolled along the hippo covered banks & even got to see a couple of huge crocs. after a monkey tried to steal our spare tire during lunch we spotted 2 male lions & learned that, yes, they are everybit as lazy as i'd always imagined. the drive back across the park produced grat views of many various herbivores but there were to be no cheetahs, leopards, or hyenas for us that day.
that night our masaii guards kept a close watch on the perimeter & the next morning our guide was 30min late picking us up & we missed out on the prime hunting time but still managed to witness a couple of cubs munching on a poor wildebeests who apparently hadn't been qhite quick enough.
sorry if this seems rushed but the internent cafe is closing so i've gotta go. tomorrow i'll be rock climbing in Hell's Gate NP & then mon. i'll be off to finally climb mt. kenya!
fight the power,
rob
ps. my phone was stolen by a pickpocket today...
unfortunately, my buddy shuji was completely out of funds (pricetag: $210) so this 1 ended up being a solo mission. i found a relatively upstanding tour company & booked myself a reservation for the next day. since departure was to be early sat. morning they invited my to spen the night in their hostel in downtown nairobi. it sounded like a good idea & when i showed up there around 9pm i met another member of my tour group, a friendly Korean named Min-tek. it was his 1st night in nairobi & after the safari he was heading straight to the coast for 3 weeks of volunteer service. i figured it would be too much of a shame for him to miss out on nairobi's wild nightlife so 1st we hit taco bells (that's a club, not a fast food restaurant. though the logos are strikingly similar...) & then we went next door to Florida 2000 & danced with the locals till 3am. but after they played my favorite swahili song (nonini by nyotandogo, i have no idea what she's singing about but it sure sounds epic) i figured he'd had enough & we headed back to the dorm.
i was woken up @ 9am to some bad news. 1 of the $100 bills i had used to pay was printed before 1996 & ,therefore, valueless in kenya. i tried explaining it still had plenty of value back in the states but they would have none of it & i was forced to use emergency funds to keep the process moving along. Shortly after we met the remainder of our group. Mez & Rose were english college students & Ariana was a canadian about my age. next thing i knew we were bumping our way across the great rift valley towards the wilderness mecca which was responsible for my interest in africa in the 1st place.
even before we reached the park itself we found ourselves passing zebras, ostriches, & masaii shepherds with their strange, ox-like cattle. our camp was exactly like you might imagine it; canvas tents with thatched roof huts built around them. the periphery of the camp ground was a thick, thorny hedge which, theoretically, would give even an angry bufflo pause. after we dropped off our gear we hopped back into our 4wd van, this time sans roof, & headed to the park gate.
my 1st view of the mara was seemingly inspired by renaissance painters & the silver lined clouds parted just enough to allow infinite crepuscular rays to paint a patch work of light & shade across the great plains-like scenery. the tall grass that the herbivores covet is a dull golden cover & broken now & then by thorny acacia & even palm trees. & milling about aimlessly, everywhere were the fabled wildebeests. so many of them that in the distance they appeared to be just endless small groves of trees. but then, when the mood struck them, they would suddenly move in great numbers. sometimes just a few meters, othertimes they would get going & never stop. their strange faces and bow tie horns made me want to laugh a loud. but their zebra compatriots appeared to have been painstakingly painted by the most diligent of artists, no 2 the same. the sight of these large beests milling about or thundering through the grass brought images of the the great herds of buffalo from the wildwest to mind. all that fell to the wayside though, when i saw my 1st family of african elephants poking around in the trees looking for the choicest leaves. the whole life cycle of the species was represented, by the massive adults, robust youths, & babies who probably weighed 3 times more than a professional wrestler. none of this, though, could prepare me for what happened next. we found a lioness (almost the size of a st. bernard) apparently idly sitting in the middle of the road watching the tasty herbivores do their thing. it was our driver/guide who spotted the ithe female on the other side of the herd, which was beginning to look noticeably edgy. then the 2 of them both took off with surprising speed & headed into the thick of the mixed group of wildebeests & zebras. they all got away, but it was then that we noticed the 6 cubs coming up from behind & we realized that it was all just a training exercise for their benefit. by this time the sun was setting & it was time to get back to camp.
the next morning we were back in the park by 9am & once again made our way through the wildebeests & co looking for new faces. these we soon found nibbling leaves 4meters off the ground. the giraffes odd, awkward bodies had me feeling like they were the result of skillful special effects rather than living flesh & blood. every step they took looked sure to result in their falling over but obviously this never happened. from there we visited a luxury hotel & then, while viewing some more lions in a creek bed our van got stuck on an ant bed & we were forced to get out & push! getting out w/out an armed guard is officially a no-no anywhere in the park except, apparently, along the kenyan tanzanian border where we, along w/ dozens of other tourists, got out & took that ceremonial step across the border into Serengeti NP. after that we headed down to the river where, this time with an armed soldier, we strolled along the hippo covered banks & even got to see a couple of huge crocs. after a monkey tried to steal our spare tire during lunch we spotted 2 male lions & learned that, yes, they are everybit as lazy as i'd always imagined. the drive back across the park produced grat views of many various herbivores but there were to be no cheetahs, leopards, or hyenas for us that day.
that night our masaii guards kept a close watch on the perimeter & the next morning our guide was 30min late picking us up & we missed out on the prime hunting time but still managed to witness a couple of cubs munching on a poor wildebeests who apparently hadn't been qhite quick enough.
sorry if this seems rushed but the internent cafe is closing so i've gotta go. tomorrow i'll be rock climbing in Hell's Gate NP & then mon. i'll be off to finally climb mt. kenya!
fight the power,
rob
ps. my phone was stolen by a pickpocket today...
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