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It rained all night and morning came, decidedly cool and cloudy. We have seen people here with parkas on, which makes us laugh because it certainly isn't that cold!
It turned out that the safari would be just the four of us, a driver/guide, and a cook. We didn't know whether to be sad or glad; sad, because it's nice to be with other people; or glad, because then we'd get more input into each day's activities.
We left Nairobi at about 9:45 am and headed toward Amboseli with Joseph our driver/guide and David, our cook. After a quick stop for lunch, we arrived in the National Park. On first glance, it was a little disappointing because the park was not as green and wide open as Maasai Mara, but as we approached various waterholes, Amboseli's magic became apparent. Less food meant tighter living quarters. Surrounding the lush green water holes were a kaleidoscope of animals. All side by side. We were delighted with the effect. Some "new" animals included the Southern Oryx, one that Joseph hadn't seen at this park before, the white bearded wildebeest, and a yellow baboon.
Supper was great and we camped beneath 2 massive acacia trees in tents we'd set up ourselves. We had a campfire and listened to many new night sounds. There was also a couple from Belgium in the campground who we visited with briefly, but, before we knew it, everyone was yawning so we called it a night in order to be ready to get up at 6:00 am (the best time to see animals).
October 9, 2007
Sure enough, Amboseli does wake up at 6:00 am so by 6:20 am, the campground was filled with a symphony of sounds. Mount Kilimanjaro decided to make a rare appearance for us and we headed off, hopeful for more rare appearances. We were not disappointed. First, we saw a cheetah and before long, we ran into a large family of elephants. They crossed the road right in front of us and Joseph timed it so that Barry caught a great picture of Kilimanjaro rising above them. After the morning's game drive, we headed back to camp, where David had made us a breakfast of crepes and toast. While we ate, the sun headed for a spot directly above us. It seemed strange to have the sun directly overhead, instead of in the south horizon, as in Canada.
After breakfast, Joseph suggested we go to the Maasai Mara village. We talked about it and agreed, even though it cost 3000 shillings to go. The drive was a long one but along the way, we came across an amazing sight. The hippos had decided to leave the safe haven of deep water and wade into the lush green vegetation at the water's edge. When Joseph turned off the truck, we could actually hear the hippos munching their way through the soaked grass. Elephants were grazing belly deep and we loved getting a close-up look at these water loving creatures. At last, we made it to the village and were greeted by the chief's son, another Joseph (many people in Kenya take an English name, as well as their tribal name). Joseph's father, the chief, had five wives and 20 children, 12 sons and 8 daughters. The villagers greeted us with a song and welcomed us in. We enjoyed the tribal dancing, even participating when the jumping portion began. This was followed by a tour of a hut and a fire starting demonstration. As usual, Barry and Margaret asked many questions and we all learned a lot. The kids have probably completed the equivalent of a social studies unit! They learned about traditions, marriage, school, roles, economics, housing, food and more. Tessa even bought a key chain to remember the afternoon by.
We were late returning and David had made us a massive lunch. When we returned from our 4:00 pm game drive, he had made a massive supper, which we were all too full to appreciate. However, we had a nice visit that evening with Joseph and David, showing them our pictures of Kenya on the laptop and learning even more about this incredible country.
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