About to jump on the plane to head home- can’t believe it’s all over. So summing up…..

Total distance travelled (in Kenya Kenya): 2800km
Total number of photos: Ryan 6000+; David 3000, Naomi 100, Roger 6 ( but beautiful).
Total species of wild animals (that we could remember): 42
No. national parks visited: 7

Highlights
Roger – flamingos
Ryan- hot air balloon over the Masai Mara
David- seeing the animals congregating at the water holes in Amboselli
Naomi- can’t choose (of course she can’t) – every day bought something wonderful

What did we learn?

1. We all really like travelling together – even after three weeks in the confines of a 4WD
2. You can buy bottled water literally anywhere in Kenya and good food is easy to get.
3. The beauty of living in the moment
4. How lucky we are to have the chance to experience this.
5. How much wastage of food and other resources there is in our day to day lives at home (very sobering)
6. The long road trips while tiring are a great way of getting a sense of ‘the real Africa’.
7. There’s nothing quite like the taste of dust.
8. And of course, Cyrus is “The Man”

What would we do differently next time?Nothing stands out in particular it’s all been pretty perfect:
1. Travel lighter- we have only worn three sets of clothes.
2. Do a bit more research about each of the areas we are visiting before coming (David was on the ball but the rest of us could have done more).
3. Bring a dust mask for safaris (unless you’re Roger who wouldn’t be seen dead in one in which case a light scarf will do)
4. Bring lots more pencils for the village children- they can’t go to school unless they have pencils and books.
5. Don’t bring any plastic (ie bags for shoes etc) – plastic is illegal in Kenya – a great initiative to clean up the environment but coupled with a USD 20,000 fine.

Sad to leave, as it should be after a great holiday. What to do over the 21 hour flight home?- plan the next one of course- unless we win tattslotto, in which case we’ll be on the first plane back!

Cyrus picked us up at 7.15, after a hearty buffet breakfast and we headed off on our day tour of Nairobi- determined to pack in as much as we could.

First stop was at Karen Bloxen’s house (of Out of Africa fame). It is a beautiful stone building designed by a Danish architect and made from stone imported from Sweden. Only The exterior of the building was used in the filming.
The gardens are beautiful with views of the Ngong Hills. I could almost hear Robert Redford’s gramaphone echoing through them.

From there we went to the Kazuri bead factory. This factory was established in 1975 by Lady Susan Wood and two African women to offer a way for African single mothers to support themselves. It now employs 300 women. The beads are ceramic. The clay is processed and the beads are rolled, fired and decorated/glazed by the women. Absolutely beautiful (both the beads and the women). We toured the workshop, it was lovely to see the women chatting and laughing away as they worked. I did feel the need to make a few small purchases – David forced me ?

We then headed to Giraffe Manor- where the Rothschild Giraffes (currently only 500 left in Africa) are being preserved. They are just magical creatures- I can now say I have been kissed (slobbered on) by a giraffe! They did assure me that giraffe saliva has antiseptic properties…..

On the way to our next stop we heard an almighty clunk as something in the car snapped. David and six other guys pushed us the couple of hundred metres up the road to the mechanic. I sat up in the back like the Queen of Sheeba. Now sitting in the car while much debate is going on about the root cause….stay tuned.
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Plan B- Cyrus organised transport to our lunch venue -Carnivore.

A bit of a local icon this restaurant serves meat of every imaginable origin. A bit like yum Cha of meat- they bring around racks of meats straight off the charcoal grill.
Meats consumed (by us): lamb, beef, pork (in a number of variants), rabbit, ox tail and ox “balls” (not sure if they are what the name suggests but the tasted like offel). Also had ostrich, crocodile, chicken and turkey. All in small portions, but as you can imagine we came out of there feeling much rounder than we went in.

Returned to our hotel in an absolute food coma- knowing that we should be using their gym but opting for sleep and a G&T instead.

Now for the big task of packing….

Sitting at Zanzibar airport waiting for our flight to Nairobi. The boys are checked through to Hong Kong, so our last couple of hours together.

A very rudimentary coffee shop- where would we be without Pringles- the universal airport food.

With two hours to kill, time to generate some lists, so here goes – in no particular order…..

1. Animals we have seen: Lions, Cheetah, Leopard, Rhino (black & white), Giraffe (3 types), Zebra (2 types), Wart hogs, Buffalo, Elephants, Bush babies, Hippos, crocodiles, Every type of deer you could imagine)- impala, dicdic, water bucks, bush bucks, oribi, kudu, oryx, garanek gazelle, Thompson gazelle, Elan, heartbeest, Wilder beast, Jackal, Hyena, Squirrels, Baboons, Velvet monkeys, Chimpanzee, Gekko, Monitor lizard, Bats, Red ants, Mongoose, Rock hyrax, tortoise, mosquito, fly
2. Birds: almost Every bird known to man: Ostriches, Flamingoes, Vultures, Sea eagles, (other) Eagles, Owls (we only heard these), Pied Kingfisher, Go-away bird, Crows, Corny bustards, Marabou Storks, Curlews, Herons (lots of different types, Pelicans, Superb Starlings, African Darter, Guinnea fowl (2 types), Peacock, penguins (not really- just checking if you’re still reading),Egyptian geese, secretary birds, spur winged plover, horn bill,
3. Domestic animals-which Cyrus won’t let us count: Donkeys, Goats,, Sheep, chickens/Roosters, cows, Camels, Cats (literally thousands in Zanzibar), and Dogs

So from here on in, we are down to the Big 3- David, Cyrus and I. Nairobi here we come!

Four very tired little tourists.

Headed off early this morning on a little motorised canoe aptly named “Tom and Gerry” to Prison Island, where they used to incarcerate anyone who was suspected of having cholera.

The island is now a sanctuary for the giant tortoises, which are surprisingly endearing creatures with loads of personality. They seemed to lap up the attention and were certainly being well fed despite signage to the contrary.

This big guy was purportedly 158 years old (not sure how accurate their tortoise birth records are though). Note we had to be careful tip toeing through the tortoise deposits- tortoise poo would give a cow pat a run for its money!

Then went round to the other side of the island while N&D snorkelled around the coral reef while R&R (aka the whimps) sunbaked on the deck.

Came back in time for a late lunch at our now favourite coffee house (Zanzibar CH) and then strolled the streets until our legs would carry us no further. It is Saturday here so the atmosphere is very different, more relaxed “feel” today.

We are now inhaling a multicultural feast of Thai spring rolls, Indian samosa, Chinese fried rice and Club sandwiches ( we’re nothing if not eclectic), sitting under an enormous tree in a cafe on the beach, with a local musician playing African jazz- perfect.

It’s a beautiful balmy night, food’s yummy and we’re feeling a tad melancholy that tonight’s our last night together. The boys head back to Honkers tomorrow and David & I head back to meetCyrus for our last couple of days in Nairobi.

Hired a car and driver and ventured a bit further afield today. Headed north west to the spice farms

They walked us through each of the spices- amazing that we eat all these products but have no idea where some of them come from- or of their medicinal benefits.

They grow all spices for export and interior consumption. Almost all are introduced species coming from India and Asia. The cinnamon tree is the “queen of the spices” – every part of the plant is used- bark (cinnamon sticks) & leaves (curry), roots (Vicks Vapor rub) & trunk (burn as insect repellant). After the tour we were sung the welcome song from the coconut tree and presented with new adornments…..

After a spice and food tasting, we made a quick detour to the slave caves- where the slaves were housed after abolition so that the Arab nations could continue the slave trade.

Home and quick turnaround to head to the other side of the island (about 1 1/2 hours drive) for dinner at The Rock restaurant. A magical little shack perched on a rock about 100m from shore.

Paddled out through the waves but could walk back as the tide went out. Beautiful full moon, gorgeous food, great ambiance- would have been a great spot for a wedding ?

Zanzibar is beautiful. It feels like we have stepped into the set of “Death in Paradise”. Palms fig and mango trees, white sands and crystal clear blue sea.

The day started with a walk through the narrow, winding streets of Sonee Town. Stone Town is gorgeous. Population is mostly Muslim so prayers ring out throughout the day.

Stone Town is a rabbit warren of very narrow streets, shared by pedestrians, motorbikes, bicycles and cats alike. For a gorgeous seaside town it is interesting that we haven’t seen or heard a single bird.

There is a mix of restored and derelict buildings so we are seeing the potential for renovation everywhere and dreaming of life change. We opted to navigate ourselves rather than take up one of the many (aka hundreds) of offers from local guides. All greet you with handshake and introductions, and Rogers name seemed to catch on – so after our 6 hours walking round town they were greeting us like long lost friends as we turned every corner.

Our walk very quickly turned into a bit of a shopping spree- basketry and rush mats were stunning (there is a little place in Hong Kong that will be looking much brighter).

The weather is incredibly hot but dry heat so not too draining (at least not for the first 4 hours) nonetheless we were forced to take refuge in numerous coffee houses- it’s a tough job but someone has to do it……

First stop (round first corner from the hotel) was in a beachside cafe where we sat under a massive fig tree on the beach, feet in the sand, watching the local boatmen repair their boats and touting for business.

Zanzibar Coffee house was our absolute fave, best coffee and possibly the best pizza we have ever eaten.

Visited the old Slave Markets. We had a guided tour from a lovely young man (uni student) who reminded us that slavery is still prolific in the world today albeit with a different face- a sobering thought.

Returned to our rooms at 4pm utterly exhausted, to hibernate for a few hours before visiting the night markets in the relative cool.

After much scientific discussion (on my part) the three boys agreed to eat in a restaurant rather than partake in the pre-cooked delicacies from the street stalls.

Tomorrow will tell if that was a good decision….

Well the time has come to say goodbye to Kenya (temporarily for David and I) – can’t believe how quickly the time has gone.
We left the beautiful Ngulia Lodge early after watching the sunrise and keeping an eye on the waterhole all night, and safaried our way back to Nairobi, just in the nick of time to catch our late evening flight to Zanzibar.

Arrived in Zanzibar late. Hotel is a fantastic old ‘Arabic’ style hotel. The rooms are absolutely beautiful and right on the beach – we need to find out more about the building, it’s incredible.

Writing this blog at midnight in a cafe right on the beach surrounded by old style fishing boats one of which has a sign in it “ladies free”.

Arrived in Ngulia Lodge at about 1.30pm, having travelled through Kyulu (chewloo) hills, sheathed in large expanses of Sheteni lava.

Had our first flat tyre of the tour on the lava -the team pitched in to change it (well Rog supervised).

Just got back on the road, literally 10 minutes later and we had another flat – the replacement tyre had jolted off the car earlier in the week and must have been damaged. This time Cyrus and David did the tyre change while Ryan, Rog and I stood watch for “anything that might eat us”. With me armed with a machete, Ryan armed with his camera tripod and Roger ready to kill with his bare hands.

Both spare tyres now used, so fingers crossed we don’t have another flat tomorrow!
Ngulia Lodge is set on a hillside with spectacular views of the valley below (which is a rhino sanctuary). The lodge is built on the edge of a busy water hole with a steady flow of animals day and night.

At 6.30 each night they leave meat in a tree and leopards come down to feed. Tonight one leopard came and stayed for over an hour gnawing away – all within a few metres of us- huge, healthy, handsome, sleek and just a bit scary.

As I’m writing this, sitting in the open pavilion, two enormous buffalo are grazing within 10 feet of me. I don’t think we will go to bed tonight- too much to see.
Feeling just a little bit sad that tonight is our last night in Kenya. Still some game to see on the way back to Nairobi and flying to Zanzibar tomorrow

Sitting at the bar having watched the sunset, exhausted after a fantastic full day out on the volcanic plains of Ambossili. Animals galore and masses of elephants.

Road blocks of a different kind today


We all fell in love with little ‘Elvis’ (as we have called him) the baby elephant. He was within a few feet of us- Mum seemed pretty relaxed but we stayed firmly on the ‘right’ side of him- I’m sure we’d be pancakes if we’d tried getting between them.

Had picnic lunch on top of ‘ Mini Killi’- a short climb to the observatory which revealed fabulous views of the plains dotted with animals.

Being so close to so many animals and so many types of animals is an extraordinary experience.
The landscape is fierce here- a dust bowl with dust tornadoes (ambosellis) with lush oases around which the animals gather and elephants, buffalo and hippos wallow.

We left our Nairobi hotel at a respectable 7.30 and headed east towards Kilimanjaro. Traffic was quite light and roads were tar sealed!!!!

Our first bathroom stop was 5 minutes down the road (one might ask why the culprits didn’t go before they left). After that had few stops.

The first stop was at a police road block – these have made for interesting experiences over the last couple of days- licenses get checked and requests for ‘compulsory donations’ are made- Cyrus is a tough nut to crack and successfully declined all offers to ‘donate’.

Stopped at a Masai village at the foot of Kilimanjaro – they put on a real show for us with welcome ceremony (with Rog & I invited to participare!). We couldn’t quite jump as high, but gave it our best shot. Roger had the facial expressions off pat. The medicine man introduced us to natural cures- including one for snoring (so I might slip some into David’s tea tonight). We also met the chief who told us he had two wives and seven children. They live in round mid houses that are constructed by the women (it takes about a month to build a house).

We had a sumptuous lunch at our lodge (Senterim Amboseli) then finished the day with a safari through the plains at the base of Kilimanjaro. When we arrived we could only see the very top of the mountain peeping above the clouds. By sunset the clouds had cleared. Sunset was exquisite.

Birds and elephants are the main feature of this park – we saw flocks of ostriches and large herds of elephants and their babies.

Tomorrow we climb the mountain (well a little way).