Solo female, safari rookie, and now a member of the Porini family
Jan 5th, 2011, 01:36 PM
#41
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 133
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
annah58, YES! I got a great astronomy lesson from Harry; I really think it was one of the highlights of my stay (I'm a nerd like that). I was actually going to mention it in my next post, which I hope will happen sooner rather than later. I definitely want a follow up lesson, too, and I just hope I can get back to Africa sometime in 2011 or 2012. If I go back to Kenya, you can bet I'll be looking at Porini again. I'm jealous of your planned return trip already.
lovetotravel_2010, you're going to have a wonderful time! In the category of "things I was glad I brought", sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, lip balm and conditioner for my hair ranked pretty highly, as did wool socks and a journal. I probably could have left behind some of the insect repellent and shampoo (they provided plenty at the camp), and I didn't need my raincoat. I would have liked to have brought more moisturizer (it got pretty dry in some of the camps), but it wasn't terrible to go without. And with regard to the black and navy clothes, keep in mind that it's fine to wear them after dark -- I tended to wear black fleece on the chilly evenings. I felt more safari-ish when I was dressed in the khakis and browns, etc., but if you're buying new stuff, just know that the dark colors are only a problem in the day. Here's a link to a lot of the questions I asked before I went on my trip; the thread's pretty long, but people here had some great advice: http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...safarigoer.cfm
Cateyes555, I agree, not having to worry about makeup was a nice change. But I still have to laugh at how drab I felt in the midst of all the Maasai!
I'll try to get my next installment up this evening (fingers crossed) ...
lovetotravel_2010, you're going to have a wonderful time! In the category of "things I was glad I brought", sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, lip balm and conditioner for my hair ranked pretty highly, as did wool socks and a journal. I probably could have left behind some of the insect repellent and shampoo (they provided plenty at the camp), and I didn't need my raincoat. I would have liked to have brought more moisturizer (it got pretty dry in some of the camps), but it wasn't terrible to go without. And with regard to the black and navy clothes, keep in mind that it's fine to wear them after dark -- I tended to wear black fleece on the chilly evenings. I felt more safari-ish when I was dressed in the khakis and browns, etc., but if you're buying new stuff, just know that the dark colors are only a problem in the day. Here's a link to a lot of the questions I asked before I went on my trip; the thread's pretty long, but people here had some great advice: http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...safarigoer.cfm
Cateyes555, I agree, not having to worry about makeup was a nice change. But I still have to laugh at how drab I felt in the midst of all the Maasai!
I'll try to get my next installment up this evening (fingers crossed) ...
Jan 5th, 2011, 07:48 PM
#42
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 133
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
When he dropped me off at camp the night before, Emmanuel assured me that I’d wake up bright and early for the day’s game drive — I wouldn’t have a choice, he said, because the noise from the francolins would wake me up. In the end, it wasn’t francolins that woke me, it was impala. Who would have thought something in the antelope family could make such a racket? They seem to grunt, I guess that’s the best I can describe it, and almost as loudly as hippos! Anyhow, it was interesting hearing them moving around just behind my tent that night. It wasn’t scary (even though I didn’t know what it was at the time), it was just <i>interesting</i>. And I was awake and ready for my morning coffee and “biscuits” (cookies) when the Maasai moran brought it to my tent in the morning.
We got an early start on our game drive that morning and headed for Amboseli. Along the way, we saw more gazelles, zebras and giraffes, and we added a few more things to the mix. One of the first things we saw was some gerenuk browsing at the greenery. These long-necked antelope are called “little giraffes” in Swahili, and they’re utterly bizarre. We watched them standing on their hind legs to get at their preferred food, and I thought they looked like something out of one of those old <i>Far Side</i> comics, where so many animals wore overcoats and carried briefcases to work. Strange as they were, they were also fun to watch.
We also started seeing wildebeest in the conservancy. I hadn’t known whether I’d see many wildes (or zebra, for that matter) since I knew the big migratory herds would long since have moved on to Tanzania at that time of the year. But quite a few stayed put year 'round and I caught a couple of them fighting. Those wildes didn’t fight for long — they seemed more interested in us than each other — but it was cool to see their brief tussle.
We continued our drive through the conservancy, past the big wild cucumbers I’d seen growing all over the place and bored looking black-backed jackals. We saw several black-bellied bustards leaping into the air in courtship displays, but I didn’t get any photos. The courtship displays were pretty entertaining, actually; the male bustards would cry out (to get the attention of the females), then leap straight up into the air. They’d plummet back down to the ground without spreading their wings until the very last second before they hit; the higher they went and the closer to the ground they got, the more impressive it was to the females. The courtship display reminded me weirdly of the jumping dances I’d seen in the Maasai manyatta the day before; it’s not really the same at all, but I had to smile at the slight parallel between the two.
We entered Amboseli about an hour or so after leaving the camp, passing some Maasai ostrich, a lot more gazelles, and more birds than I could hope to name along the way. Amboseli is known for two things in particular: its views of Kilimanjaro and its elephant herds. Well, “Kili” was still sleeping, as the locals say — “hidden in the clouds” would be another way of putting it — but the eles were out in force. We came across some bulls pretty quickly and sat watching them face off against each other for a while. Interestingly, it was the larger of the two that seemed to be the coward of the day, walking off before putting up any real show of force.
We spent the day in Amboseli, having a picnic lunch near one of the swamps that sheltered numerous elephants. Kili was playing hard to get and would only peek out of the clouds a little at a time, but it was an impressive backdrop for the hundreds of elephants we saw. Among the other animals I saw that day were social weavers (who were making quite a racket next to our vehicle as we watched the eles), gray crowned cranes, a secretarybird, more Maasai ostrich (the way they move always makes me think of the tauntauns in <i>Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back</i
, a poor giraffe has no tail (Jonah told me that sometimes hyenas chew them off of young giraffes - yuck!). One of Amboseli’s lodges was a nice place to wash up after our picnic lunch, and there were some yellow baboons exploring the area near the road as we left.
One of the more impressive sights I saw that day was a pair of mating elephants. It seemed like that would be hard to top, but almost immediately after, we saw another pair. Oddly enough, that one featured two males. My guides were quick to tell me that they weren’t <i>gay</i> elephants, explaining that female elephants won’t have anything to do with the males until the bulls are around 35 years old, so the younger males establish dominance amongst each other. And, as Emmanuel said with a somewhat sly grin, “Sometimes they just have some fun”. Ha!
I got the sense several times that Emmanuel and Jonah were apologizing to me for how little game we were seeing; it’s good to know that they were concerned with whether I was having a good time, but I can’t say that I would have noticed anything odd, myself. Since it was my first safari, I would hardly know whether the game levels were normal or not (although comparison to what I saw later in Ol Pejeta and Olare Orok and the Maasai Mara made it clearer what they were talking about). Anyhow, coming from DC, there was no question but that I’d see more game in Amboseli than I did in my part of the US, and when they explained the relative “lack” of game I actually thought it was kind of a good thing.
Amboseli is in a pretty dry area and, as noted by others here, suffered some pretty terrible droughts in recent years; it’s dusty and hot, and even though the park has some swamps (which is why the elephants love it), you don’t see a lot of standing water. In the dry seasons, Emmanuel and Jonah told me, any animals that <i>are</i> in the region tend to flock to Amboseli, because it’s one of the only places with <i>any</i> water; it’s what makes the game viewing there so concentrated and popular with visitors. They told me that if I’d come during the dry season, I would have seen hundreds of animals in every direction as opposed to the scattered animals I was seeing throughout the park. Since I was visiting in early December — during what was normally the tail end of the “little rains” — the area was green and had a relative abundance of water; this allowed the animals to scatter and wander away from the park more than usual.
Personally, I thought that it was a good thing that there had been enough rain to allow the animals to move away from the park a bit. I only hope that the rains continue to be sufficient for the area, because climate change is a worry. If the snows of Kilimanjaro continue to recede, the major source of water in the area will be lost. I’m not sure Amboseli would survive if that happened.
We left Amboseli in the early afternoon, and the clouds parted just enough to allow me a glimpse of what’s left of Kili’s vanishing snow.
(I guess the Astronomy lesson will have to come in the next installment, annah58!)
We got an early start on our game drive that morning and headed for Amboseli. Along the way, we saw more gazelles, zebras and giraffes, and we added a few more things to the mix. One of the first things we saw was some gerenuk browsing at the greenery. These long-necked antelope are called “little giraffes” in Swahili, and they’re utterly bizarre. We watched them standing on their hind legs to get at their preferred food, and I thought they looked like something out of one of those old <i>Far Side</i> comics, where so many animals wore overcoats and carried briefcases to work. Strange as they were, they were also fun to watch.
We also started seeing wildebeest in the conservancy. I hadn’t known whether I’d see many wildes (or zebra, for that matter) since I knew the big migratory herds would long since have moved on to Tanzania at that time of the year. But quite a few stayed put year 'round and I caught a couple of them fighting. Those wildes didn’t fight for long — they seemed more interested in us than each other — but it was cool to see their brief tussle.
We continued our drive through the conservancy, past the big wild cucumbers I’d seen growing all over the place and bored looking black-backed jackals. We saw several black-bellied bustards leaping into the air in courtship displays, but I didn’t get any photos. The courtship displays were pretty entertaining, actually; the male bustards would cry out (to get the attention of the females), then leap straight up into the air. They’d plummet back down to the ground without spreading their wings until the very last second before they hit; the higher they went and the closer to the ground they got, the more impressive it was to the females. The courtship display reminded me weirdly of the jumping dances I’d seen in the Maasai manyatta the day before; it’s not really the same at all, but I had to smile at the slight parallel between the two.
We entered Amboseli about an hour or so after leaving the camp, passing some Maasai ostrich, a lot more gazelles, and more birds than I could hope to name along the way. Amboseli is known for two things in particular: its views of Kilimanjaro and its elephant herds. Well, “Kili” was still sleeping, as the locals say — “hidden in the clouds” would be another way of putting it — but the eles were out in force. We came across some bulls pretty quickly and sat watching them face off against each other for a while. Interestingly, it was the larger of the two that seemed to be the coward of the day, walking off before putting up any real show of force.
We spent the day in Amboseli, having a picnic lunch near one of the swamps that sheltered numerous elephants. Kili was playing hard to get and would only peek out of the clouds a little at a time, but it was an impressive backdrop for the hundreds of elephants we saw. Among the other animals I saw that day were social weavers (who were making quite a racket next to our vehicle as we watched the eles), gray crowned cranes, a secretarybird, more Maasai ostrich (the way they move always makes me think of the tauntauns in <i>Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back</i
, a poor giraffe has no tail (Jonah told me that sometimes hyenas chew them off of young giraffes - yuck!). One of Amboseli’s lodges was a nice place to wash up after our picnic lunch, and there were some yellow baboons exploring the area near the road as we left.One of the more impressive sights I saw that day was a pair of mating elephants. It seemed like that would be hard to top, but almost immediately after, we saw another pair. Oddly enough, that one featured two males. My guides were quick to tell me that they weren’t <i>gay</i> elephants, explaining that female elephants won’t have anything to do with the males until the bulls are around 35 years old, so the younger males establish dominance amongst each other. And, as Emmanuel said with a somewhat sly grin, “Sometimes they just have some fun”. Ha!
I got the sense several times that Emmanuel and Jonah were apologizing to me for how little game we were seeing; it’s good to know that they were concerned with whether I was having a good time, but I can’t say that I would have noticed anything odd, myself. Since it was my first safari, I would hardly know whether the game levels were normal or not (although comparison to what I saw later in Ol Pejeta and Olare Orok and the Maasai Mara made it clearer what they were talking about). Anyhow, coming from DC, there was no question but that I’d see more game in Amboseli than I did in my part of the US, and when they explained the relative “lack” of game I actually thought it was kind of a good thing.
Amboseli is in a pretty dry area and, as noted by others here, suffered some pretty terrible droughts in recent years; it’s dusty and hot, and even though the park has some swamps (which is why the elephants love it), you don’t see a lot of standing water. In the dry seasons, Emmanuel and Jonah told me, any animals that <i>are</i> in the region tend to flock to Amboseli, because it’s one of the only places with <i>any</i> water; it’s what makes the game viewing there so concentrated and popular with visitors. They told me that if I’d come during the dry season, I would have seen hundreds of animals in every direction as opposed to the scattered animals I was seeing throughout the park. Since I was visiting in early December — during what was normally the tail end of the “little rains” — the area was green and had a relative abundance of water; this allowed the animals to scatter and wander away from the park more than usual.
Personally, I thought that it was a good thing that there had been enough rain to allow the animals to move away from the park a bit. I only hope that the rains continue to be sufficient for the area, because climate change is a worry. If the snows of Kilimanjaro continue to recede, the major source of water in the area will be lost. I’m not sure Amboseli would survive if that happened.
We left Amboseli in the early afternoon, and the clouds parted just enough to allow me a glimpse of what’s left of Kili’s vanishing snow.
(I guess the Astronomy lesson will have to come in the next installment, annah58!)
Jan 7th, 2011, 06:43 PM
#45
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 133
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nikao, it was definitely cool to see the eles; they were really impressive. When do you go back?
atravelynn, I looked and I don't have any photos of me wearing beads. I did find one one of me in the midst of the Maasai in all my drab attire; it's not flattering, but it's amusing. I think I saw one where I'm wearing some British tan, too, but I need to flip back through things. I'll consider (gulp) adding a link once I get my things organized!
atravelynn, I looked and I don't have any photos of me wearing beads. I did find one one of me in the midst of the Maasai in all my drab attire; it's not flattering, but it's amusing. I think I saw one where I'm wearing some British tan, too, but I need to flip back through things. I'll consider (gulp) adding a link once I get my things organized!
Jan 7th, 2011, 06:47 PM
#46
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 14,440
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You can always use some software to add many strands of beads or some color to your British tan. If downloading photos, not to mention altering your fashions in the images, is overwhelming, you can come back to this months later and stick in a link.
Jan 8th, 2011, 02:44 PM
#49
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 129
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Bummer about the beads, we will have to settle for British tan. Because of my work schedule, I have always had to travel to Africa from mid-November thru March and each trip has been fabulous with loads of animals, so I just pretend that these are the best times to go! Someday, maybe I will be able to visit during the June-August timeframe. Looking forward to your next installment.
Jan 9th, 2011, 10:10 AM
#50
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 234
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I'm so enjoying your detailed and well-written report. Many memories are coming back -- plus you had experiences that my husband and I have not had. Always something new to look forward to -- maybe in 2012.
About Tom and the beads, could his "sheepish" comment have been a compliment as in, "Such a beautiful lady as you should be wearing lots of beads"?
Looking forward to the rest of your report.
About Tom and the beads, could his "sheepish" comment have been a compliment as in, "Such a beautiful lady as you should be wearing lots of beads"?
Looking forward to the rest of your report.
Jan 10th, 2011, 09:49 AM
#51
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 133
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
atravelynn and scruffypuma, I'm still experimenting and playing with my digital photos, but I'm sure I'll start posting links at some point. Although I have to say, some of the photos I've seen from other trip reports on this forum are enough to give any casual snapshot-taker pause; they're all so amazing, I could develop an inferiority complex if I thought about it too hard!
Nikao, I'm jealous of anyone who already has plans to visit/return to Africa in the near future; I'm still crossing my fingers that I'll be able to afford a return trip there in the next year or so, myself. I'm looking forward to hearing about Selous and Ruaha when you get back. I had such a great time in Kenya that I really want to return there, but hearing about areas elsewhere in Tanzania (or anywhere in Africa) will certainly spur my interest in those regions, too.
Leely, you're right, and I really did feel good about the situation in Amboseli. I know I saw relatively few animals while I was there, but there was still a pretty good concentration of eles, birds, giraffes, gazelles, and wildes; I wasn't disappointed. And one of the things that made me happy was how healthy the animals looked (at least to my untrained eyes). The zebras, in particular, looked very fat!
samcat, thank you! I think the best thing about writing this report is going back and mentally re-living the various parts of my trip; I'm glad it's triggering memories in you, too. (And while I didn't interpret Tom's comment the way you did, I'm happy to put that sort of "spin" on it now. It really was just a funny, funny, exchange.)
Nikao, I'm jealous of anyone who already has plans to visit/return to Africa in the near future; I'm still crossing my fingers that I'll be able to afford a return trip there in the next year or so, myself. I'm looking forward to hearing about Selous and Ruaha when you get back. I had such a great time in Kenya that I really want to return there, but hearing about areas elsewhere in Tanzania (or anywhere in Africa) will certainly spur my interest in those regions, too.
Leely, you're right, and I really did feel good about the situation in Amboseli. I know I saw relatively few animals while I was there, but there was still a pretty good concentration of eles, birds, giraffes, gazelles, and wildes; I wasn't disappointed. And one of the things that made me happy was how healthy the animals looked (at least to my untrained eyes). The zebras, in particular, looked very fat!
samcat, thank you! I think the best thing about writing this report is going back and mentally re-living the various parts of my trip; I'm glad it's triggering memories in you, too. (And while I didn't interpret Tom's comment the way you did, I'm happy to put that sort of "spin" on it now. It really was just a funny, funny, exchange.)
Jan 10th, 2011, 10:06 AM
#52
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 133
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
When I think back on my trip, there are a lot of highlights that come to mind. Each place I stopped at left me with memorable moments, and there are two in particular that I should mention from my time at Amboseli Porini. We stumbled across one of them in Selenkay Conservancy on our return to camp from Amboseli National Park: a zebra foal that Emmanuel thought was not more than two days old, at most.
I was actually a bit worried upon first seeing that little guy; my attention was focused initially on the numerous other zebras in the area, and I didn't see him sleeping under a bush until Jonah and Emmanuel called my attention to him. When I looked down, I wasn't quite sure he was alive; the way his legs were sticking out, it almost seemed like he might have been dead instead of just sleeping. Happily, we were close enough that I was able to see that he was breathing. Emmanuel pulled the truck around to the other side of the bush, and it gave us a better view of the sleepy boy. I had never been so close to a zebra before; we were probably only four or five feet away. I know my mom thinks zebras are ugly, but I think it's fair to say that even she might put the foals in a different category. I think they're adorable. My favorite thing about them is how long their legs are in relation to their bodies. And they're so fuzzy! All told, we probably spent a good ten to fifteen minutes with the little guy. He was pretty shy and ran back to his parents quickly once he woke up, but it was just precious to be able to watch him for all that time. We got back to the camp not long after seeing the baby zebra, and it's probably just as well, as it would have been hard for me to top it just then.
One final bonus to our sighting of the zebra foal? Taking it as a measure of the overall health of some of the region's animals. Zebras have a year-long gestation period, and the guides pointed out that the animals starving during the droughts from earlier in '09 would not have been healthy enough to bring offspring to term. The fact that we were seeing a newly born zebra foal was, in their opinion, an encouraging sign of recovery, since it meant that at least some of the animals were healthy and strong enough to begin breeding again toward the end of '09.
Following my afternoon tea and sundowner drive (including another gorgeous sunset and a sighting of a genet cat on a tree near camp), I sat down to dinner with Harry, the Amboseli Porini guide with whom I'd driven from Nairobi. During dinner, I told him what I'd mentioned to Emmanuel and Jonah earlier that day: that one of the things that most excited me about the trip was knowing that I'd be able to see so many stars. In reply, Emmanuel told me that the safari guides pick a "specialty" when they study for certification, something like orinthology that supplements the wider spectrum of safari knowledge, but that gives each guide an opportunity to focus on something worthy of additional attention. He also told me that Harry's specialty was astronomy.
I had really liked stargazing when I was younger and used to spend my summers at week-long camps; I especially liked sitting out at night and counting falling stars during the Perseid meteor showers that occurred each August. I was enough of a nerd that I liked reading classic Greek and Roman myths, and that made it more fun to look for the constellations and such that shared their names. Unfortunately, it had been years since I'd had a chance to stargaze (or reread my mythologies); there aren't a lot of opportunities to see stars when you live in the DC metro area. The light pollution around here is so terrible that you're going to be lucky if you can see major constellations like Orion and Canis Major on a good night; never mind seeing the fainter stars of the Pleiades or the Milky Way.
When I told him that, Harry offered to give me an astronomy lesson. We finished our dinner and headed out of the tent. The skies were clear, and there were stars every way I turned. The Equatorial skies were a bit different from the Northern skies I was used to and (naturally) included some Southern constellations, but we started the lesson with Cassiopeia, a familiar body. Harry told me he'd chosen his specialty in part because he liked the stories behind the figures in the night skies, so I was treated both to an astronomy lesson and a badly needed refresher on some classic myths. How badly needed? Well, when Harry threw me the "softball" question of what the name of the winged horse was, my mind correctly answered Pegasus, but what I actually blurted out was "Perseus!" (I redeemed myself slightly later when I identified Castor and Pollux in Gemini. I caught Harry by surprise with that bit but, hey, at least I still know who Leda's sons are!)
We had a great time walking through the night sky. If (when!) I get another chance to visit Kenya, I'm going to request another astronomy lesson from Harry. He showed me how to use several of the stars in Orion as pointers to other heavenly figures; I even managed to find Canis Minor, which I'd never been able to identify before. I was introduced to the river Eridanus and other cool new (to me) constellations like Lepus and Auriga. Harry also showed me the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, which aren't really clouds at all (they're distant galaxies). They were seen and used as navigation points by early sailors, including Ferdinand Magellan on his trip around the world.
Unfortunately for me, the trip around just a sliver of the night sky was enough to tire me out, coming as it did on the heels of a full day of game drives. I fell asleep almost immediately after returning to my tent, having experienced a truly memorable final day at Amboseli Porini.
I was actually a bit worried upon first seeing that little guy; my attention was focused initially on the numerous other zebras in the area, and I didn't see him sleeping under a bush until Jonah and Emmanuel called my attention to him. When I looked down, I wasn't quite sure he was alive; the way his legs were sticking out, it almost seemed like he might have been dead instead of just sleeping. Happily, we were close enough that I was able to see that he was breathing. Emmanuel pulled the truck around to the other side of the bush, and it gave us a better view of the sleepy boy. I had never been so close to a zebra before; we were probably only four or five feet away. I know my mom thinks zebras are ugly, but I think it's fair to say that even she might put the foals in a different category. I think they're adorable. My favorite thing about them is how long their legs are in relation to their bodies. And they're so fuzzy! All told, we probably spent a good ten to fifteen minutes with the little guy. He was pretty shy and ran back to his parents quickly once he woke up, but it was just precious to be able to watch him for all that time. We got back to the camp not long after seeing the baby zebra, and it's probably just as well, as it would have been hard for me to top it just then.
One final bonus to our sighting of the zebra foal? Taking it as a measure of the overall health of some of the region's animals. Zebras have a year-long gestation period, and the guides pointed out that the animals starving during the droughts from earlier in '09 would not have been healthy enough to bring offspring to term. The fact that we were seeing a newly born zebra foal was, in their opinion, an encouraging sign of recovery, since it meant that at least some of the animals were healthy and strong enough to begin breeding again toward the end of '09.
Following my afternoon tea and sundowner drive (including another gorgeous sunset and a sighting of a genet cat on a tree near camp), I sat down to dinner with Harry, the Amboseli Porini guide with whom I'd driven from Nairobi. During dinner, I told him what I'd mentioned to Emmanuel and Jonah earlier that day: that one of the things that most excited me about the trip was knowing that I'd be able to see so many stars. In reply, Emmanuel told me that the safari guides pick a "specialty" when they study for certification, something like orinthology that supplements the wider spectrum of safari knowledge, but that gives each guide an opportunity to focus on something worthy of additional attention. He also told me that Harry's specialty was astronomy.
I had really liked stargazing when I was younger and used to spend my summers at week-long camps; I especially liked sitting out at night and counting falling stars during the Perseid meteor showers that occurred each August. I was enough of a nerd that I liked reading classic Greek and Roman myths, and that made it more fun to look for the constellations and such that shared their names. Unfortunately, it had been years since I'd had a chance to stargaze (or reread my mythologies); there aren't a lot of opportunities to see stars when you live in the DC metro area. The light pollution around here is so terrible that you're going to be lucky if you can see major constellations like Orion and Canis Major on a good night; never mind seeing the fainter stars of the Pleiades or the Milky Way.
When I told him that, Harry offered to give me an astronomy lesson. We finished our dinner and headed out of the tent. The skies were clear, and there were stars every way I turned. The Equatorial skies were a bit different from the Northern skies I was used to and (naturally) included some Southern constellations, but we started the lesson with Cassiopeia, a familiar body. Harry told me he'd chosen his specialty in part because he liked the stories behind the figures in the night skies, so I was treated both to an astronomy lesson and a badly needed refresher on some classic myths. How badly needed? Well, when Harry threw me the "softball" question of what the name of the winged horse was, my mind correctly answered Pegasus, but what I actually blurted out was "Perseus!" (I redeemed myself slightly later when I identified Castor and Pollux in Gemini. I caught Harry by surprise with that bit but, hey, at least I still know who Leda's sons are!)
We had a great time walking through the night sky. If (when!) I get another chance to visit Kenya, I'm going to request another astronomy lesson from Harry. He showed me how to use several of the stars in Orion as pointers to other heavenly figures; I even managed to find Canis Minor, which I'd never been able to identify before. I was introduced to the river Eridanus and other cool new (to me) constellations like Lepus and Auriga. Harry also showed me the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, which aren't really clouds at all (they're distant galaxies). They were seen and used as navigation points by early sailors, including Ferdinand Magellan on his trip around the world.
Unfortunately for me, the trip around just a sliver of the night sky was enough to tire me out, coming as it did on the heels of a full day of game drives. I fell asleep almost immediately after returning to my tent, having experienced a truly memorable final day at Amboseli Porini.
Jan 10th, 2011, 10:42 AM
#53
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 129
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Windowless- I understand completely about being intimidated by the photos that are posted on this site!! I still have not posted about my trip in Dec. 09 for two reasons: 1)I am not a clever storyteller and 2) I have that inferior thing going on about the quality of my photos!! A great story about your astronomy lesson, it must have been a wonderful evening! Thanks once again.
Jan 10th, 2011, 05:36 PM
#54
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 14,440
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Great point about the zebra and the recovery of Amboseli after the drought.
No worries about the photos. If you got 'em, post 'em. It's not a contest. Whatever the quality it will let others know what you saw where at certain times of the year.
No worries about the photos. If you got 'em, post 'em. It's not a contest. Whatever the quality it will let others know what you saw where at certain times of the year.
Jan 10th, 2011, 05:51 PM
#55
When there's so much bad news, just so much about which to despair when contemplating East Africa, every bit of good news, of bright-side thinking is welcome. So thank goodness for healthy zebras.
(Your mom think zebras are ugly?!?)
Any pics are welcome whenever you have the time. You too, scruffypuma.
(Your mom think zebras are ugly?!?)
Any pics are welcome whenever you have the time. You too, scruffypuma.
Jan 10th, 2011, 08:14 PM
#56
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 133
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
<i>(Your mom think zebras are ugly?!?)</i>
I know, it's hard to fathom. She was seeing my (rough) photos of zebras alongside of photos of warthogs, hyenas and Nile crocs, but the <i>zebras</i> were the ones she commented on.
I do plan on posting photos eventually (truly!); the days just seem to have been getting away from me lately.
And please, scruffypuma, do post whatever you can of your trip and your photos. It's such a delight to read up on other people's reports!
I know, it's hard to fathom. She was seeing my (rough) photos of zebras alongside of photos of warthogs, hyenas and Nile crocs, but the <i>zebras</i> were the ones she commented on.
I do plan on posting photos eventually (truly!); the days just seem to have been getting away from me lately.
And please, scruffypuma, do post whatever you can of your trip and your photos. It's such a delight to read up on other people's reports!
Jan 11th, 2011, 07:57 PM
#57
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 10,509
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thank you for writing this trip report. 
It's hilarious and it's really making me want to go! I'll have time off again next year in mid-late December and this sounds like so much fun that I think you just decided my next trip for me. The details are fantastic and so much more help than just a rough itinerary.
I can't wait for the rest of the story and the photos.
It's hilarious and it's really making me want to go! I'll have time off again next year in mid-late December and this sounds like so much fun that I think you just decided my next trip for me. The details are fantastic and so much more help than just a rough itinerary.I can't wait for the rest of the story and the photos.
Jan 12th, 2011, 08:45 AM
#59
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 133
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks, guys! I'm hoping I get some time to sort out the photos during this upcoming three-day weekend. If so, I'll post a link.
Iowa_Redhead, I highly, highly recommend Gamewatchers and the Porini camps. They took great care of me, and I loved the way they were run. One thing I'll mention: depending on your safari/Kenya history, you might want to look at some of the itineraries allowing you longer stays at the camps. I knew even before I left that most of the experts in this forum recommended more than two nights in the Mara, but I had a limited amount of time and a limited budget. On balance, I decided that I wanted to see the variety of camps and locations, even if it meant less time at each. That worked out well for me, and I'm glad I got to see the different environments and animals on my "introductory" trip to Kenya. If/When I do a return trip, though, I'd definitely agree that more time in the Mara would be preferable. Depending on what your primary interest is (and for most people going to Africa, it would be the game viewing), you might want to consider whether maximizing your time at some of the better game-viewing areas like the Mara would be a better fit for you ... although everyone was so great at Amboseli and at Porini Rhino that I can't imagine skipping them, either!
Iowa_Redhead, I highly, highly recommend Gamewatchers and the Porini camps. They took great care of me, and I loved the way they were run. One thing I'll mention: depending on your safari/Kenya history, you might want to look at some of the itineraries allowing you longer stays at the camps. I knew even before I left that most of the experts in this forum recommended more than two nights in the Mara, but I had a limited amount of time and a limited budget. On balance, I decided that I wanted to see the variety of camps and locations, even if it meant less time at each. That worked out well for me, and I'm glad I got to see the different environments and animals on my "introductory" trip to Kenya. If/When I do a return trip, though, I'd definitely agree that more time in the Mara would be preferable. Depending on what your primary interest is (and for most people going to Africa, it would be the game viewing), you might want to consider whether maximizing your time at some of the better game-viewing areas like the Mara would be a better fit for you ... although everyone was so great at Amboseli and at Porini Rhino that I can't imagine skipping them, either!
Jan 13th, 2011, 02:39 PM
#60
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2010
Posts: 133
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I slept like a rock after my day in Amboseli and my astronomy lesson; had there not been so much still to look forward to, I wouldn't have wanted to get up, even for the delicious coffee and breakfast that awaited me. (The mangos the staff served with breakfast were so delicious, I remember biting into them and feeling like I'd never really tasted them before; it was a revelation, like, "Oh, <i>that's</i> what mangos are supposed to taste like!")
Following breakfast while we prepared to leave for the Amboseli airstrip, Jonah gave me a little lesson on the types of animal skulls that were gathered out in front of the mess tent; I was able to guess some of them based on size or the configurations of their horns, but not many. I felt like there was never a wasted moment; there was always something to discover at these camps. I said my goodbyes to most of the staff and expressed my sincere hope of returning at some point, then Jonah and Emmanuel and I headed out for the airstrip. The animals were pretty quiet that morning; we saw some more courting bustards, helmeted guineafowl, zebras, and gazelles, but not too many of them. We also saw a martial eagle when we reached Amboseli; Emmanuel blew my mind a bit when he told me that they tend to hunt big birds like the guineafowl and even small antelope(!) from time to time. Almost before I realized it, I was saying goodbye to Emmanuel and Jonah and boarding my SafariLink plane.
When I mentioned that I'd be flying between camps instead of transferring by car or truck, my mom predicted that I'd be taking some of those little twin-prop planes; it was probably tempting fate for someone with my slight tendency to develop motion sickness, but oh well. In retrospect, I'll say two things about those SafariLink planes: (1) motion sickness was — surprisingly — not a problem and (2) with one exception, I wasn't on twin-prop planes … I was on single propeller planes. Heh.
Anyway, there's something to be said for flying over Kenya at only a few thousand feet; you can see so much of the landscape — the red dirt and waterfalls — when you're looking out of the windows. You also see the wildebeest racing across the dirt airstrips just seconds before you touch down; it certainly adds to the sense of adventure.
I landed in Nanyuki early in the afternoon and met the driver and spotter Porini Rhino camp had sent; their names were James and Benjamin, respectively. We had about an hour/hour and a half drive to Ol Pejeta Conservancy, and we stopped along the way at the Equator since I'd never crossed it before. There are a number of little roadside Equator stops, and there are always a number of people there eager to demonstrate how water swirls through a funnel one way in the Northern Hemisphere, the other way in the Southern Hemisphere, and not at all when you're standing on the Equator. It's interesting enough if you've never seen it before (or if you're wild about Coriolis forces, I guess), but beware of the roadside vendors who descend on you in droves as soon as the little demonstration ends. I think my favorite was the incredibly persistent vendor who responded to all of my "no thank yous" with a rote recitation of, "Please-support-my-business-no-pressure." If you're in the mood to shop, this is fine, just come prepared to barter. One of the vendors traded me a small carved rhino for my bandana … and a small fee.
We arrived at Porini Rhino in mid-afternoon and started seeing animals right away. Some of the first things I saw were reticulated giraffes and Grevy's zebras. I had never gotten a very clear sense of the differences between giraffes when I looked at photos in books but, in person, the reticulated giraffes look really different from the Maasai giraffes. Their coloring is so obviously differentiated and their spots are so much more clearly defined and distinct. Same goes for the zebras. Grevy's zebras are easy to recognize; their much narrower stripes than the common zebras, their height and their more rounded ears, all of these set them apart. I also saw more eles, birds, gazelles, etc.
I had another nice welcome from the camp staff when we reached the camp that afternoon; Amos brought me a cool towel for my face and some fresh juice to drink, and the relief camp manager Ben checked me in. Once again, I was the only visitor at the time — lucky me! I had arrived in time for lunch, which I had in a gorgeous shady area just outside the mess tent. Regarding the food, I can say once again that it was excellent. In particular, the mango ice cream that followed my lunch was to die for; I was grateful for the opportunity to digest for a while after that. While unpacking a few things, I saw additional gazelles, impala, waterbuck, giraffes, warthogs and more just across the way from my tent.
I went on another nature walk with the Maasai late that afternoon; Benjamin accompanied me and told me about Ol Pejeta as we walked. It's the largest private conservancy in Kenya (consider: it's twice the size of our Acadia National Park) and, unlike the other conservancies I visited, it is surrounded by electric fences. The presence of those fences — I primarily noticed them on my way in and out of the conservancy — was a little jarring at first; they made me feel as though I were on a huge ranch instead of out in a "natural" African landscape, but the fences are actually there to assist with conservation efforts (i.e. protecting the highly endangered rhinos) and you're not often near them. There are access corridors in the fences at intervals, too, allowing animals smaller than rhinos to wander in and out at will. Elephants can also wander at will, as they have figured out how to use their trunks to lift their calves over the fences and/or grasp unelectrified portions of the fence to create their own passages through. The Maasai treated me to another spear throwing demonstration, and they let me examine one of the spears once they were through. It was heavy; I was glad I wasn't responsible for carrying it around all day.
James came to pick us up at that point, and we headed out on another game drive. I have to say, those drivers and guides really earn their pay. We were driving along a gravel road in the conservancy when James suddenly slammed on the brakes and grabbed his binoculars, looking at a spot somewhere off on the vanishing point of the horizon. A second later, he had put his binoculars down again and said, "Cheetah. Two of them." My first big cats! It was a pair of brothers who were walking along the road. We drove up to them and watched them stroll along the road; they'd stop to lie down and relax every now and again. Benjamin and James told me that the cheetahs liked to hunt along that electrified fence, because they knew their prey had to avoid running into it. Smart boys, for sure. We watched them for quite some time as they groomed one another and stared back at us, but they eventually lost interest in us and walked away from the road (probably in search of dinner) while we drove off deeper into the conservancy for our sundowner.
Now that I was seeing game at Ol Pejeta, I started to understand Jonah's and Emmanuel's references to the relative quiet at Amboseli; there was definitely more activity at Ol Pejeta. Even before we had our sundowners, I saw more common zebras, a common eland, another black-backed jackal, plenty of warthogs, some Jackson's hartebeest, and any number of birds, including a gray heron, some tawny eagles, greater blue-eared starlings, white-bellied bustards, and a huge kori bustard. The kori bustard was particularly impressive. It can catch you by surprise when you're sitting on a chair watching a sunset to suddenly realize you're eye-to-eye with a bird that's walking along the ground. We also caught sight of another gerenuk, which I thought was particularly cool because Benjamin had never seen one at Ol Pejeta before (they're much more common in Amboseli). It's pretty great when you have the opportunity to see the guides get excited about things, because it reminds you that even they don't take these sights for granted.
We sat looking at Mt. Kenya and the Aberdares and watched the sun setting, then headed back to camp. The day had one final surprise left for me: during our night drive on the way back to camp, I saw my first spotted hyena. Another exciting end to another exciting day.
Following breakfast while we prepared to leave for the Amboseli airstrip, Jonah gave me a little lesson on the types of animal skulls that were gathered out in front of the mess tent; I was able to guess some of them based on size or the configurations of their horns, but not many. I felt like there was never a wasted moment; there was always something to discover at these camps. I said my goodbyes to most of the staff and expressed my sincere hope of returning at some point, then Jonah and Emmanuel and I headed out for the airstrip. The animals were pretty quiet that morning; we saw some more courting bustards, helmeted guineafowl, zebras, and gazelles, but not too many of them. We also saw a martial eagle when we reached Amboseli; Emmanuel blew my mind a bit when he told me that they tend to hunt big birds like the guineafowl and even small antelope(!) from time to time. Almost before I realized it, I was saying goodbye to Emmanuel and Jonah and boarding my SafariLink plane.
When I mentioned that I'd be flying between camps instead of transferring by car or truck, my mom predicted that I'd be taking some of those little twin-prop planes; it was probably tempting fate for someone with my slight tendency to develop motion sickness, but oh well. In retrospect, I'll say two things about those SafariLink planes: (1) motion sickness was — surprisingly — not a problem and (2) with one exception, I wasn't on twin-prop planes … I was on single propeller planes. Heh.
Anyway, there's something to be said for flying over Kenya at only a few thousand feet; you can see so much of the landscape — the red dirt and waterfalls — when you're looking out of the windows. You also see the wildebeest racing across the dirt airstrips just seconds before you touch down; it certainly adds to the sense of adventure.
I landed in Nanyuki early in the afternoon and met the driver and spotter Porini Rhino camp had sent; their names were James and Benjamin, respectively. We had about an hour/hour and a half drive to Ol Pejeta Conservancy, and we stopped along the way at the Equator since I'd never crossed it before. There are a number of little roadside Equator stops, and there are always a number of people there eager to demonstrate how water swirls through a funnel one way in the Northern Hemisphere, the other way in the Southern Hemisphere, and not at all when you're standing on the Equator. It's interesting enough if you've never seen it before (or if you're wild about Coriolis forces, I guess), but beware of the roadside vendors who descend on you in droves as soon as the little demonstration ends. I think my favorite was the incredibly persistent vendor who responded to all of my "no thank yous" with a rote recitation of, "Please-support-my-business-no-pressure." If you're in the mood to shop, this is fine, just come prepared to barter. One of the vendors traded me a small carved rhino for my bandana … and a small fee.
We arrived at Porini Rhino in mid-afternoon and started seeing animals right away. Some of the first things I saw were reticulated giraffes and Grevy's zebras. I had never gotten a very clear sense of the differences between giraffes when I looked at photos in books but, in person, the reticulated giraffes look really different from the Maasai giraffes. Their coloring is so obviously differentiated and their spots are so much more clearly defined and distinct. Same goes for the zebras. Grevy's zebras are easy to recognize; their much narrower stripes than the common zebras, their height and their more rounded ears, all of these set them apart. I also saw more eles, birds, gazelles, etc.
I had another nice welcome from the camp staff when we reached the camp that afternoon; Amos brought me a cool towel for my face and some fresh juice to drink, and the relief camp manager Ben checked me in. Once again, I was the only visitor at the time — lucky me! I had arrived in time for lunch, which I had in a gorgeous shady area just outside the mess tent. Regarding the food, I can say once again that it was excellent. In particular, the mango ice cream that followed my lunch was to die for; I was grateful for the opportunity to digest for a while after that. While unpacking a few things, I saw additional gazelles, impala, waterbuck, giraffes, warthogs and more just across the way from my tent.
I went on another nature walk with the Maasai late that afternoon; Benjamin accompanied me and told me about Ol Pejeta as we walked. It's the largest private conservancy in Kenya (consider: it's twice the size of our Acadia National Park) and, unlike the other conservancies I visited, it is surrounded by electric fences. The presence of those fences — I primarily noticed them on my way in and out of the conservancy — was a little jarring at first; they made me feel as though I were on a huge ranch instead of out in a "natural" African landscape, but the fences are actually there to assist with conservation efforts (i.e. protecting the highly endangered rhinos) and you're not often near them. There are access corridors in the fences at intervals, too, allowing animals smaller than rhinos to wander in and out at will. Elephants can also wander at will, as they have figured out how to use their trunks to lift their calves over the fences and/or grasp unelectrified portions of the fence to create their own passages through. The Maasai treated me to another spear throwing demonstration, and they let me examine one of the spears once they were through. It was heavy; I was glad I wasn't responsible for carrying it around all day.
James came to pick us up at that point, and we headed out on another game drive. I have to say, those drivers and guides really earn their pay. We were driving along a gravel road in the conservancy when James suddenly slammed on the brakes and grabbed his binoculars, looking at a spot somewhere off on the vanishing point of the horizon. A second later, he had put his binoculars down again and said, "Cheetah. Two of them." My first big cats! It was a pair of brothers who were walking along the road. We drove up to them and watched them stroll along the road; they'd stop to lie down and relax every now and again. Benjamin and James told me that the cheetahs liked to hunt along that electrified fence, because they knew their prey had to avoid running into it. Smart boys, for sure. We watched them for quite some time as they groomed one another and stared back at us, but they eventually lost interest in us and walked away from the road (probably in search of dinner) while we drove off deeper into the conservancy for our sundowner.
Now that I was seeing game at Ol Pejeta, I started to understand Jonah's and Emmanuel's references to the relative quiet at Amboseli; there was definitely more activity at Ol Pejeta. Even before we had our sundowners, I saw more common zebras, a common eland, another black-backed jackal, plenty of warthogs, some Jackson's hartebeest, and any number of birds, including a gray heron, some tawny eagles, greater blue-eared starlings, white-bellied bustards, and a huge kori bustard. The kori bustard was particularly impressive. It can catch you by surprise when you're sitting on a chair watching a sunset to suddenly realize you're eye-to-eye with a bird that's walking along the ground. We also caught sight of another gerenuk, which I thought was particularly cool because Benjamin had never seen one at Ol Pejeta before (they're much more common in Amboseli). It's pretty great when you have the opportunity to see the guides get excited about things, because it reminds you that even they don't take these sights for granted.
We sat looking at Mt. Kenya and the Aberdares and watched the sun setting, then headed back to camp. The day had one final surprise left for me: during our night drive on the way back to camp, I saw my first spotted hyena. Another exciting end to another exciting day.
