waynehazle

<font color="blue">Well it has been over six months since my trip to Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania (October 2005). I think of the trip every day. Even more than that because of the wonderful exposure to all of you I have had on this board. it is a neat little family here. I truly love this group.

When I came back, I was still getting hooked on the Fodor's group and the idea of posting a detailed trip report wasn't as big as deal to me. So I posted a quick 5 minute trip report. But after months of salivating over all of your great reports and checking the report index, I feel like I want to be part of the party.

I typically create my own trip reports in the form of a journal in MS Publisher and it is at my web site, (thanks to those that read it) but I still think the text should be here. So during this week I will post most of that text here, bit by bit. </font>

<font color="red">With the power of color and <b>obnoxious formatting</b> I hope you enjoy following along on a <i>Hazle Family Adventure...</i></font>

matnikstym

will it be the same as your web-page or are you going to change it any? It was a great read the first time! (I still crack up when I think of your mom and the cheetah!!!)

waynehazle

OK, I am putting the first few entries in the journal in one LONG POST.

&lt;CENTER&gt;Editor’s Desk&lt;/CENTER&gt;

<font color="RED"><i>&quot;India was piece of cake compared to East Africa&quot;</i></font>

Welcome to the latest edition of the Hazle Journal. ... (some text deleted)

My African Safari was truly the trip of a lifetime and I am glad to be able to share it with you, both the agony and the ecstasy of it all.

This trip rapidly brought me to thrilling heights of joy, and then just as quickly, hurled me into pits of anguish. Then, just before I could give up the last drop of hope, it once again lifted me to the heavens. I now have an emotional whiplash that I will probably never recover from.

I struggled in trying to come up with a title for this edition. India was a fiery test and the toughest trip I had ever been on, therefore, it became “The Crucible”. You will soon see that India was a piece of cake compared to East Africa. As we were going through this whole experience, I tried to find a word that would summarize the whole thing. Perhaps there was some Swahili word that would capture the highs and lows of what we were experiencing. And there it was, that word again. Every time something happened good or bad on this trip I thought <font color="GREEN"><i>“Well this is definitely an… <u>experience</u>”.</i></font>

Hearing the word “Africa” can invoke your wildest dreams and your darkest nightmares. It is a land filled with promise, hope and beauty. It is also a place of despair, corruption and endless suffering. On our journey we were awed by the beauty of God’s creation, and chilled by the evil that men can bring forth. The trip was long and arduous. However, when you survive a difficult journey you are changed forever inside. That is how we all felt at the end. I hope that <b>“The East Africa Experience”</b> does the same for you.

========================================
&lt;CENTER&gt;Making Plans&lt;/CENTER&gt;

In all my journeys, the one trip that had always eluded me and yet had been my greatest desire was an African Safari. The very term “African Safari” combined with Kenya or Tanzania conjures up many thoughts and feelings of rugged adventure and classic natural beauty. We’ve all seen those nature shows with a lion chasing a zebra or a herd of elephants trampling across the savannah or a sole rhino standing proudly in high grass. It is nature the way God intended it to be!

Perhaps you’ve heard the names Masai Mara, Tsavo, Kilimanjaro, Tangire, Lake Victoria, Amboseli, Serengeti, Samburu, Ngorongoro. They are stuff of legend whether it is Ernest Hemingway writing of a great hunt, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford falling in love (the movie <b>Out of Africa</b or Marlon Perkins on Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom tracking down an elusive predator. But the more I read about Africa, the more I learned about countries like Botswana, Zambia, South Africa, Rwanda and Uganda. And each had their own areas and legendary names, including Kruger, Chobe, Okavango, Virungas, Bwindi, Zambezi, Queen Elizabeth Park, Victoria Falls. My head would spin whenever I tried to make plans because I wanted to see everything, which of course is impossible in one trip. So each time, I would give up in confusion and travel somewhere else.

For a wedding present, my friend Linda Herd from Washington, gave Mary Ellen and I, a painting of a lone elephant in silhouette, standing by a lake, with the sun setting behind it. That painting is in our bedroom. This elephant view from the African wild, calls out to me every morning when I wake up. I had to make this painting become real.

Last year, I started doing research again, and then my dear sister Elain passed away. So everything went on hold. Early 2005, I decided it was now or never to make this trip. Once Mary Ellen and I started a family (yes we are thinking, stop asking ) exotic travel would get traded in for Chuckie Cheese, Disneyland, etc. So I started scanning the web again. I found a “Best of Kenya and Tanzania” tour with AfricaPoint Travel that hit some of the major parks and was reasonably priced. But by this time I had also done research on the famed mountain gorillas popularized in Diane Fossey’s book <b>Gorillas in the Mist</b>, and the movie of the same name. So with a second company R&amp;NXplorer, I planned an 8 day excursion to Rwanda to see the gorillas and to visit the genocide memorial centers. Mary Ellen always said she would travel the world with me and so she was game. (Though she always hinted that Italy would be just fine too )

But the part of the trip that really changed everything began to take form sometime in May. I thought how wonderful it would be to have my parents come with us! My Dad watches wildlife/nature shows religiously and could probably run his own game park. I thought it would be a wonderful pick-me-up given how rough the last 12 months or so have been for the family. There was a bit of hemming and hawing in the beginning about flying overseas, fears of terrorism and just the unknown in general. But with the help of my sister Sara, we nudged them along through wiring money to Nairobi, buying international airline tickets and getting shots for diseases you don’t even want to think of getting. Mary Ellen and I decided to fly to Georgia and meet up with my parents and then we would all fly together. So on Wednesday September 28th Mary Ellen and I boarded a plane to Rincon, Georgia.

As always, I had my Lonely Planet guidebook with me. Ironically, I had done the least reading for any trip I had ever taken. More than 10 years earlier I had bought version 3 of the Lonely Planet East Africa and I read it cover to cover, and then proceeded to let it collect dust for a decade. So I dutifully bought version 6, but somehow never felt as driven to read it. (<font color="RED"><i>I sure hoped that wouldn’t come back to haunt me…</i></font

I always like to bring good reading material on a trip. I had recently heard about a book entitled <b>A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks In The Conquered City</b>. It is the true life diary of an anonymous woman, living in Berlin during World War II as the city crumbled and Hitler faced defeat from the advancing Allied army. Starvation and disease ran rampant through the beleaguered city, as well as the rumors of the horrible things the Russian soldiers were doing to women in cities they conquered…. no light reading for me. I also packed two murder mysteries from my favorite authors Sue Grafton (<b>R is for Ricochet</b and Patricia Cornwell (<b>Unnatural Exposure</b. I dug out my old Banana Republic™ photojournalist vest that I have worn around the world since 1989. Last and certainly not least, I donned my trusty brown fedora.

It was great to see my parent’s new home in Georgia. They had settled in nicely and were enjoying their retirement. Sara drove down from Atlanta and the whole family was together…almost. It was something that remained between us all, often unspoken. Without our sweet Elain, there will always be this huge void in the family. Sometimes just looking at an empty chair and wishing she was sitting there, is enough to make me gloomy. Yet, somehow, we know that while we miss her terribly, we have to find some measure of happiness in our lives and do our best to go forward. Elain would want that for us.

So we spent a few casual days making sure we had everything together and readied ourselves for the journey of a lifetime.

waynehazle

will be the same as what is on the web page, so nothing new if you have read that already

waynehazle

<b><i><u>Saturday October 1st – Beginning the Flights</u></i></b>

On Saturday evening we headed to the wonderfully clean Hilton Head Airport in Savannah. Sara helped us get our suitcases out of the car. For weeks Mom had been giving her the “If anything happens to us…” information. You hate to be morbid when leaving for a trip, but things had changed in our family, we couldn’t avoid talking about the worst anymore. I looked at my not-so-little-anymore-sister. I was so proud of Sara and wished she could be coming with us. But she had school to finish. Plus, she isn’t the biggest nature fan. “Nature is what you pass by, on the way to the shopping mall.” I looked at my beautiful sister, all grown up and doing so well and was filled with pride and happiness. I hugged Sara and told her we would see her again soon and that we would email her when we got there.

We were going to fly Delta from Savannah to JFK in New York. From there we were flying Emirates Airlines, the official airline of the United Arab Emirates. We would fly into the city of Dubai, spend the night there and then fly to Nairobi, Kenya the next afternoon. At the ticket counter in Savannah, the lady told us that at JFK we could go directly to the Emirates gate and check in there and get our boarding passes with seat assignments. At 5:30 PM our plane took off for JFK in New York. We landed at JFK and rather than pulling up to a gate, we got off the plane boarded a shuttle and drove what seemed like five feet to a door to enter the airport. (It was like something out of a Marx Brothers movie!)

We went through international security. I love when you cross that zone, because your U.S. driver’s license becomes meaningless. Your passport is everything. Also the English/U.S. measurement system disappears and you have to deal with that annoying metric system. So pay attention, this is the one primer I will give you and then you can expect most everything to be in metric after this and without any help.
1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
1 centimeter = 0.3937008 inch
1 mile = 1.6 kilometers
1 kilometer = 0.6213712 mile
1 yard = 0.9144 meter
1 meter = 3 feet
1 pound = 2.2 Kilogram
1 kilogram = .5 pounds
1 sq. mile = 2.59 sq kilometers
1 sq Kilometer = .39 Sq mile
1 gallon = 3.79 liters
1 liter = .26 gallon

We had more than 3 hours to kill before our 11:30 PM flight. I started <b>A Woman in Berlin</b>. What a fascinating book! Our unknown woman struggled to find some measure of dignity. The German people were battered and disillusioned. Hitler refused to surrender, and told German men to fight to the death. Berlin was cut off as it was bombed by Americans, while Russian troops advanced block by block. We think of all Germans at the time as fanatic Nazis, yet their feelings were complex, most were not card carrying members of the Nazi Party. They bought into the promises of prosperity from the Third Reich. These madmen had thrown the world into chaos and Germany into utter destruction. Once they spoke the name Adolph Hitler with the reverence reserved for a deity. Now he was only referred to in disgust as “that man”.

Everyone else was getting anxious, ready to get flying. I looked around with a Zen-like calmness, nonchalance, almost indifference. Why be anxious about anything? What will be, will be. Perhaps my calmness was due to all my experience with international travel. Who knows?

Finally, I looked up and saw the counter agents setting up the Emirates desk. I sauntered over to them casually. I showed them the tickets. The agent told me that we needed to check-in at the counter all the way back out front… and that we should hurry, they were boarding in a few minutes and he didn’t want us to miss the plane! Aaaarrrggghhhh! I dashed over to the group and told them we needed to run back out to the main counter and get seats and that we had very little time! We scooped up our stuff and went running through the airport, back upstairs and to the Emirates desk. We showed the attendant our tickets. He said “I’m not sure we can get four seats on this plane. I’ll try.”

What?!?! I can’t believe this! All the Zen calm was gone. We waited while he typed and typed and typed. This might end up being the shortest safari in history. Thoughts started rushing through my head. What if they could only get two tickets? Should we send my parents ahead and then Mary Ellen and I catch the next flight tomorrow? We would just meet them in Africa. Or should Mary Ellen and I go… my head was aching! Finally, he found four seats, in different parts of the plane. He printed out boarding passes. We took them and dashed back across the airport, through security and made it onto the plane just in time. Sweat dripped down my face as I collapsed in my seat.

Yep. What will be, will be.

=============================
Text from flight deleted
=======================

<b><i><u>Monday October 3rd – Dubai</u></i></b>

<font color="RED"><i>...waking up in Dubai</i></font>

We arranged for a city tour of Dubai, which would finish with plenty of time for us to board our 2:30 flight to Nairobi.

<font color="RED"><i>... blah blah blah on Dubai deleted</i></font>

Our few hours in Dubai was quite enlightening, but we were ready to move on to the main event: Africa. So we went back to the airport and boarded our flight to Kenya.

The flight to Kenya was also smooth. As we descended, we saw the African savannah, acacia trees covered the brown soil landscape. Now I could almost exhale. I was landing in Africa! Jomo Kenyatta Airport in Nairobi is a little less “gleaming” than the airport in Dubai, but we were excited to be there. One of the greatest sights of the whole trip was after we went through baggage claim and customs, stepping outside and seeing a man waiting with a sign that said “Africa Point Wayne H. Family”

Simon Mwanza would be our guide and driver for the next 17 days. Simon helped us through the gamut of young men waiting outside the airport wanting to help us with our bags.

He drove us to the Panafric hotel. There we found Sara online and Instant Messaged her, letting her know we were OK. She had been going crazy after not hearing from us for three days.

We settled in for the evening. Tomorrow would be a big day.

waynehazle

<b><i><u>Tuesday October 4th – Nairobi Tour</u></i></b>

I woke very early the next morning, unable to sleep. I was anxious to get the day started. As the sun came up, I looked out at the street and could see the masses of Kenyans heading off to work, like any other city.

We checked out of the Panafric and started our tour of Nairobi. Our first stop was the Kenya Bethel home. This is the headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the country. We received a wonderful tour of the facilities and learned of the work going on there.

Then we went to the Daphne Sheldrick Animal Center. This was an orphanage for elephants. Their mothers may have been killed by poachers or they may have gotten separated from their herd. After this we went to a giraffe center. We were able to feed giraffes by hand. Both places were closer to zoos than safari parks, but it was a nice warm-up to get us used to seeing animals. Also in both places, local Kenyans were able to explain the conservation work that they did.

For lunch, we went to the world famous Carnivore Restaurant where we were able to try exotic meats like ostrich, alligator and camel. (<i><font color="GREEN">and none of them taste like chicken<font color="GREEN"></font></font></i After this we saw a dance production, drove through the city center and checked into the Nairobi Safari Club hotel. Starting tomorrow our safari would begin with our drive to the Masai Mara.

From my previous worldwide travels. I learned that the most important item in the world is water. In the States, many drink bottled water because they don’t like the taste of tap water. In other countries clean drinking water is a life and death issue. So stocking up on bottled water was essential. In most hotels each guest is typically given one complimentary liter bottle of water each day. Anything additional must be purchased. A one liter bottle was approximately 200 Kenya Shillings. (FYI $1 US = 72 Kenya Shillings.) And we would need to use that water for drinking and for brushing our teeth.

I knew that tomorrow we would be on the road all day and we needed extra water. The thought of paying that ridiculous price for water irritated me. It was evening time. Mary Ellen was catching a nap. I thought certainly there <b>must</b> be a place close by, outside of the hotel, to purchase water!

So now we come to that regularly scheduled part of my trips where I ignore the advice of my guides who say don’t wander out on your own. I have often found the part of my journeys where I wander around and try to blend in like a local the most exhilarating. Here in Africa I had a better chance of blending in than in Cambodia. However, I often read of Nairobi’s horrible reputation for crime. It is jokingly referred to as <b>Nai-Robbery</b> or <b>NightRobbery</b> in some tour books.

But undaunted, I went down to the lobby and asked the doorman if there was a market close by. He told me there was a place called Nakumat’s about 3 blocks down. I took a deep breath and let my feet hit the pavement. It was the end of the work day on the busy streets of Nairobi. I mingled in with the crowd. At Nakumat’s I got SIX 1½ liter bottles for 300 shillings. Yes, it was a satisfying feeling. I could wax on and on, and dislocate my shoulder patting myself on the back. But really, all I did was walk three blocks to a supermarket and buy water. Yet, I felt like Alexander the Great.

<i>I sure hope the rest of the trip goes this smoothly…</i>

waynehazle

this is where it gets good

<b><i><u>Wednesday October 5th – Big Trouble in the Rift Valley</u></i></b>

We were up again early for our buffet breakfast. Then we checked out of the Nairobi Safari Club and left for the Masai Mara. The drive would take about 4 hours. It was more than 200 kilometers. (Come on, do that math!)

We were going to drive through the Rift Valley. The valley is literally a tear in the earth’s surface, a geological fault line that stretches 6500 km across the African continent. The entire rift system is marked by diverse topography including calderas, volcanoes, mountains, lakes, ravines, etc. When we reached the road at the top of the valley, we saw a sign saying “Welcome to the Rift Valley”. We also hit our first store. Thus began the typical travel tradition of going into stores and dealing with aggressive merchants trying to sell you stuff. For many tourists, aggressive merchants and peddlers can ruin the spirit of the vacation. I have learned over the years to take it with a grain of salt. You are coming to their country. They are businesspeople and as an average American, the camera equipment you are carrying on your body is almost certainly worth more than the yearly income for many people. So of course they’re going to work extremely hard to make a sale with you.

The view looking out over the valley was beautiful. It stretched as long as the eye could see. Slowly, we started making our descent. As we made our way down we were all silently thinking the same thing: “I wonder if we will see a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses anywhere along here?” Mary Ellen spotted one when we hit the base of the valley. We all screamed out and told Simon he had to stop. We pulled up to the Hall and honked. A Sister, who was also a special pioneer, came out and welcomed us. She and her husband lived in a tiny home on the premises. It was wonderful to see her and to hear how the evangelizing work was going in the Rift Valley!

We drove onwards, feeling excited. Now somewhere in this area, something changed, something that would have a profound effect on the rest of the trip. We left the smooth city roads we were used to in Nairobi and hit the bumpy unfixed roads of Kenya. I had been warned that the roads in Kenya were horrible, but horrible is the understatement of the millennium. The roads are so bad they are <i><b>soul-killing</b></i>. Yes they <u>actually kill the soul</u>! So for kilometer after kilometer, we jarred and bumped along on rocks and dirt, our teeth and bones rattling.

At some point, I noticed that the van was feeling a little funny. I saw Simon looking out the window and down at the tires. He stopped the van and got out. At this point we were on a dusty hill waaaaay out in the valley. Simon looked at the rear right wheel and saw that the springs for the suspension had broken. The rear section of the car was resting on the tire and rubbing against it. All that bumping had taken its toll. Now what? As Simon tinkered under the van, other safari jeeps would pull up and stop. There is an unwritten code that all the guides try to help each other, since one week someone else breaks down, and the next week it could be you. Simon figured out that if he borrowed the smaller spare tire from another driver and put that one on the van, it would leave room for the tire to turn and we could hobble into the next town and get the spring fixed.

So a few minutes later we were bumping along on the road, albeit at a much slower pace. Within a few more minutes Simon was looking out the window again. With the weight of 5 passengers and multiple suitcases on the broken suspension, the car was struggling to move. We all got out this time. Simon spent the next hour or so trying to rig together a MacGyver-like contraption of wood, rubber and metal, to hold the suspension together. At some point, he realized it wasn’t going to work. So he arranged for another driver passing by to pick us up, take us to the next town and drop us at a local restaurant where we could eat and wait. Simon could then drive the much lighter vehicle into town slowly.

We arrived in the next town and waited. Eventually we saw Simon arrive with our van. The mechanic shop was right next to the rest area where we sat. Mary Ellen and my Dad took lots of time preaching and witnessing to the local townspeople. By the way, when you go overseas to developing nations (the term “Third World Nation” is out), you’d better be ready for much “sparser” accommodations, especially as you get further away from the city. I think from this time on, we rarely saw a toilet bowl in the restrooms. Instead there was a simple hole in the ground. Time to use those leg muscles ladies! The only question was would it be a “nice” porcelain covered hole in the ground or an “ugly” hole in the ground?

After about 2 hours, the car was fixed and we were on our way again. By this time it was late afternoon/early evening. We were supposed to have arrived at the Masai Mara midday, have lunch and have a game drive on our way to the hotel.

It was getting dusky when we got onto a “private toll road” that would take us on a shortcut directly into the Masai Mara. I swore this private road was even bumpier than the regular road. Soon, we saw a few scattered antelope and other animals. Suddenly, I noticed Simon was doing <i>“that looking thing”</i> again. He stopped the van. Unbelievable, but we had a flat tire! Here we were in the middle of the ‘jungle’ getting out of the car and changing the tire. Simon told us not to worry, that there weren’t any predators in this area. We just couldn’t believe how this day was going. We were so anxious to get to our hotel and just lie down. But I did feel a tiny tinge of excitement standing at the side of the road with nothing but African grassland on every side of us! Simon changed the tire and we climbed back into the car.

Soon it was pitch black outside. I couldn’t wait to get to the hotel, the Ilkena Lodge. We would sleep and start our safari in the morning. Eventually we reached a spot and Simon stopped the car. ‘Here we go’ he said. We looked around. I didn’t see any hotel, or any sign for a hotel, just lots of bushes. Suddenly the car was surrounded by about a dozen young Masai men with machetes and spears! Simon got out and opened the back of the van. Soon all our luggage was being lifted out. Simon said, ‘Ok, everyone out here.’ We were all totally confused. <i><font color="BLUE">What is going on? Where is the hotel?</font></i> We got out slowly and followed the men (and more importantly our suitcases) down a path through the bushes which seemed like we were heading to the Batcave. Meanwhile, I was still looking around for the hotel we would be staying in. Mary Ellen, Mom and Dad were looking at me like <b><font color="RED">“What is going on?”<font color="RED"></font></font></b>

We arrived at a large tent structure. There were several chairs and some tables. A woman sat at one of the chairs. People gave us juice and hot wet towels to wipe our faces and hands. She invited us to sit. We sat, still very confused. She welcomed us to Ilkena and gave us some very brief background information. I barely heard a word, except the sentence <i>“The guides will show you to your tents now.”</i>

There are moments in your life where time simply stands still, where everything in the present gets frozen and your entire life flashes before your eyes. Did she just say tent? Mom, Dad and Mary Ellen looked at me. <font color="GREEN">“You didn’t tell us we were sleeping in a tent!”</font> I said nothing. I was paralyzed. My heart sank to my feet. I thought back on the months of planning this safari and carefully looking up everything on Internet. I remember seeing plush lodges with grand dining rooms, Internet connections, and workout rooms. The bedrooms were luxurious colonial and African styled. <i>Didn’t I see that? Did I just imagine looking everything up? Did I just become the victim on a bait and switch? They show lush rooms on the Internet, but once you fly out they change everything on you?</i> My legs were trembling. My insides were in knots.

Now unfortunately in this story, I must ruin it a little and skip ahead to the ending for a second, only because some of my African hosts may read this, not get some of my American sarcasm and feel offended. My stay at the Ilkena TENTED Lodge turned out to be one of the greatest staying experiences I have ever had on any trip. I just wasn’t expecting a tent.

<font color="BLUE">Now back to our story:</font> The hostess explained that the whole lodge was solar powered and that the power was on from 6AM – 10AM and again at 6PM – 10PM. Each tent had its own sink, toilet and shower. She told us how to get the hot water. Masai guards (with spears!) would guide us to our tents. They would stand guard outside our tents at night. Sometimes, animals wandered through the campsite, but we were perfectly safe.

After a few other bits of info, she asked if we had any other questions. I wanted to raise my hand and say <font color="PURPLE">“This is a joke right? The Four Seasons is down the street right?”</font> But, I decided against it. Somehow, my legs supported me enough to follow the guide to our tent. Another guide led my parents to another tent. I could barely look at them. I didn’t want to answer any questions. Mary Ellen didn’t say a word. (And guys, you know it is usually even more trouble when the little lady is so silent.)
:'(

The guides zipped open our tent. Just to clarify, this wasn’t a little pup tent, but what is called a permanent tent, sometimes also called a luxury tent. There was a large queen sized bed, space to hang clothes and plenty of room otherwise. There was an enclosed toilet, a sink and a shower. But it was still a tent! amp;

After the guides left, Mary Ellen started looking around. Her jaw dropped down to the floor. Then it happened. She began laughing. Not little chuckles, but a maniacal laughing unlike anything I have ever heard on this earth. She then took out her flashlight and began shining it in every crevice and corner. Of course my wife, deathly afraid of spiders and other insects, managed to find every insect possible. She dashed from one corner of the tent to the next shining her flashlight and laughing and cackling uncontrollably. All I could do is stand there helplessly. I think I feebly mumbled something like “This isn’t too bad!” I must say that many wives might have started screaming <font color="GREEN"><b>“You brought me out into the middle of *&amp;^% Africa to stay in a $#@! tent!”</b></font> and demanded to go back home immediately. I’m glad Mary Ellen didn’t do that… though I am sure that somewhere in the middle of all that laughing those words were being subliminally sent. :-? When I couldn’t take it anymore, I realized I needed to go over and see how my parents were doing. We had the Masai bring us to my parents’ tent.

As soon as my Mom and Mary Ellen saw each other they started laughing and laughing… I mean loud earsplitting laughing that brought them to tears! I could barely speak. I was thinking, <font color="PURPLE">I just made my parents spend a couple thousand dollars of their retirement money to come to Africa and sleep in a tent! </font> My Dad mentioned that on the itinerary that they gave us when we first arrived he noticed the word “tent” next to this lodge, but he never really thought about it. I said, I never looked at that itinerary because I read the one they sent me weeks ago. (No, I didn’t remember what it said.) I looked up all the places we were to stay the next two weeks and they were all luxury lodges. My Mom asked if I was sure and if we were just going to spend the next two weeks in tents. I was so weak and dizzy at this point I barely got any words out. I needed to talk to someone from the tour company <u>ASAP</u>.

We decided to try to make the best of everything and go to eat. We had the guides lead us to the dining room, which of course was another large tent. (Just to make sure it is clear here, there was nothing but tents everywhere. No buildings at all!) We stepped into the tent and saw two women at one table eating. We joined them.

Linda and Belinda were from Australia. They had been in the Mara and at Ilkena for a few days. They welcomed us and began to tell us how wonderful a time they were having. They regaled us on the wonderful service at the lodge and how great the accommodations and the food were. They said of all the places they stayed in Africa, this was the best. There was personal attention unmatched. They ranted and raved to the point that I wondered if they secretly worked for the lodge, but they assured us they weren’t getting a kickback. I must say that the appearance of Linda and Melinda was just short of divine. It was like two angels had been sent to comfort us in our hour of need. My stomach was still deeply tied in knots. I sat there mostly quiet and Mary Ellen talked to the ladies. They also talked to my parents, assuring them that they were going to have a wonderful time. They told us that at night we could hear the hippos at the river right next to the camp. They also said you can hear lions roaring at night. It was now close to 9PM and soon the power was going to go out. Linda and Belinda told us not to worry; they had torches in the room that we could use for lighting.

I kept thinking to myself, <font color="BLUE"><i>“Man those animals better be good tomorrow so I can be redeemed in everyone’s eyes!”</i></font>

Simon stopped by just to check in on us. I pulled him aside privately and said, “I, um, didn’t realize this place was going to be tented.” He chuckled and said only the first place was tented, the rest were lodges. WHEW! A load came off my mind and heart like you wouldn’t believe. It was just a relief to know that I didn’t imagine all the lodges I saw on the Internet. I knew I wasn’t crazy… at least not because of this reason.

I went to my parents’ tent and told them what I had discovered. I just had to admit I messed up a bit and didn’t notice the first place we were staying was tented. They were relieved, even though they were starting to settle in to their accommodations. I went back to the dining room where Mary Ellen and Melinda were still talking. I told Mary Ellen what I found out from Simon. I sat down and sipped some tea. My nerves were still frayed, but I was feeling much better. It was getting close to 10 PM and the power was going to go off. We hadn’t showered or unpacked. Linda and Belinda reminded me that we had torches in the room. Then Mary Ellen told me that Australians refer to flashlights as “torches”. The floodgates opened. I started laughing uncontrollably, and then I started crying. I mean full scale tears like a little girl. All along I had been thinking <i>“Oh great on top of everything else I need to go light a torch like in one of those Mummy movies.”</i> I sat there laughing and crying for a good ten minutes, till I soaked the front of my shirt. Tiredness, delirium, hunger, nausea, relief and pain racked my body. NOW I could slowly come back to normal.

Mary Ellen and I went to our tent and showered by flashlight. The staff gave us hot water bottles to help us stay warm in bed. I told Mary Ellen to imagine that we were missionaries, sent from the States to preach the Good News in Africa, this was our first night in our assignment. We had to pray to Jehovah for strength and be optimistic.

I listened to the sounds of Africa at night. Only a thin sheet of plastic separated us from whatever creatures were moving around. Well, this was the African Safari I had dreamed of for 15 years. <font color="GREEN">Those animals better be good tomorrow or I’m in deep you-know-what!</font> I laughed and cried myself to sleep.

OnlyMeOirish

Wayne, You are sadistic.... I have just spent all evening reading your report and then real all Panecots report and looked thru' her photos and was just off to bed when now I find.... you have posted another installment... sadistic

cynstalker

<b>Wayne</b>: Oh I am so glad you did this - I admit, I'm too lazy (and my dial up is too slow) to go to many other pages, so I have not read your report - and I am laughing out loud at your predicaments. When you wrote the line about starting the torches like in those mummy movies, I literally snorted!

Thank you!

<font color="green">Cyn</font>

LyndaS

This was a great idea Wayne, I am glad you did it! I, of course, read your whole trip report cover to cover from your web site, but am enjoying reading it a second time! (and as I printed it out in colour, I still have it, it's even bound)
I had to call the computer expert over (Jim) in order to get your report from your web site, so this is good -the people who have dial up can now read it here!
And, I will link this new link into the trip report index, I have gone through it and re-organized it in Word (according to date order) and made sure that all camps and lodges were named. So, I will add this thread into yours, and then, once I catch up on the reports from Feb onward, I will repost the whole NEW &amp; IMPROVED index under a new thread.

Favor

Wayne - Great writing coupled with a good story, thanks!

waynehazle

<b><i><u>Thursday October 6th – Redemption: The Masai Mara</u></i></b>

<font color="blue"><i>&quot;Hey Simon was doing that looking that again!&quot;</i></font>

The sun was just starting to peek out when I woke up. We slept great. The bed was warm and comfortable. I hadn’t heard any lions or hippos, but I thought I would peak my head outside the tent. I zipped it open a little, pushed my head out and I saw, just a couple of dozen yards from me, a bunch of giraffes slowly and majestically walking through the brush! Their heads gently bobbed as they walked. <b><font color="purple">OK, this is working for me!</font></b> This is the Africa that Hemingway wrote about.

My parents also had a great night’s sleep. We were all in high spirits. Though I admit I did have another laughing/crying spell. The breakfast that was served was wonderful and the staff was great. We also finally got to see the grounds of where we were staying. Simon came to get us and we headed off to our first day of safari on the legendary Masai Mara.

The Masai Mara is the reason many people come to Kenya. This is the classic African savannah that you see in magazines and in movies. Virtually every type of wildlife you could dream of seeing is somewhere in the Masai Mara. In one morning it is possible to see all of “The Big Five”. These are lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and elephant. Yet the greatest attraction on the park is the annual wildebeest migration. In July and August millions of wildebeest and zebra move north from the Serengeti in Tanzania in order to finder better grass and water in the Masai Mara.

As we entered the park we saw zebras and wildebeest and far as the eye could see. We “oooh and aaaahed” and started snapping pictures. Simon told us that soon we wouldn’t even take pictures of zebras anymore since there are so many of them. We slowly moved along gazing.

We came up to a group of hyenas. They were all fighting over something in some high grass at the edge of the road. Simon edged our vehicle closer. As we got closer, I detected a damp musky smell in the air. Suddenly the lead hyena stood up and tilted his/her head back. In its mouth was <b><font color="red">a bloody spinal column!</font></b> This was probably a zebra or wildebeest killed by a lion. Hyenas are scavengers that will eat what the lion doesn’t. The hyena shook its prize back and forth. <b><font color="red">Blood and little chunks of flesh dripped from it.</font></b> Revolting and yet incredibly fascinating at the same time. This was the African wild!

We also noticed that when we saw hyenas, all the impalas, antelope, etc. in the area stood perfectly still, watching every move that they made. Hey if you had the chance of being eaten, you would be paying attention too. But this became a good indicator to help us know if predators were in the area. If the impalas, antelope, zebras and wildebeests were grazing and looked relaxed, then you knew no carnivores were close by.

We continued our trek and saw a lone giraffe walking among trees, and then a second came by.

Just a few minutes later we saw a herd of elephants! They were so majestic slowly walking through the grass with the sun blazing behind them. Two years ago I read a book called <b><i>The White Bone</i></b>. It told a story of a group of elephants trying to survive, but it told it from the point of view of the elephants, actually letting us into how they think about their world. As I watched this group slowly make their way past us, I felt like I understood them on a different level. Simon wanted us to get a front view of these magnificent creatures. He drove our car around and parked not quite directly in their path, but close enough that we could see their faces. But we were also close enough to tick off one of the large matriarchs. She pulled away from the group and headed toward us, letting us know we had taken quite enough pictures. Simon quickly pulled us away. A few more seconds and she would have charged.

We continued our drive, getting more confident and excited by the minute. We looking several hundred yards ahead and could see several minibuses and jeeps gathered around an area. People were looking up into a tree. Simon told us there was probably a leopard there. We rushed over, looked up and there she was. Nestled in the tree resting was a beautiful leopard! Leopards are excellent climbers. In fact they spend a great deal of time in trees, even dragging their kills up there to keep them away from lions and hyenas.

I was feeling redeemed! Everyone was smiling. I felt like one of the great military generals who had just led his troops through a successful battle. Now the men were confident and celebrating. But as happy as we were, we know that no African safari is complete without seeing lions. Nothing represents the splendor of Africa like a beautiful maned lion. After seeing the leopard, my Dad said “Now all we need is to see some lions.” Simon said he would try to find us a lion. We drove and drove, peering and peeking into high grasses where lions would lurk. It was getting hot and close to noon. Animal activity slows to a halt as it gets hot.

But just before it was time to turn back, Simon drove us to an area of high grass and trees. We pulled right into it. There resting on the ground were three young male lions! Their manes were still forming. They were doing what lions do best: <b>absolutely nothing</b>. But even still, being with 10 feet of them was a heart racing experience. They looked at us with extreme indifference. <i>‘Bunch of humans want to watch us sleep, so what?’</i> We watched for a while and then drove off.

We headed back to our lodge. I was so excited! We had done it. We saw so much in our first morning of safari, anything else after this point was gravy. And to think we had 2 more weeks off… <font color="blue"><b><i>Hey Simon was doing that looking that again!</i></b></font>

Believe it or not we had another flat! I was still high from the lions, so it really didn’t faze me the way it should have. Simon quickly patched it up. But before we could even get going, he was doing the looking thing <b>again</b>! (And I’m not making this up) One of the other tires was also flat. Now we had no more spare tires. One more flat and we were stranded.

We continued heading back to camp. We told Simon to drive carefully please. Thank goodness we didn’t get the flats while we were next to the lions! On the way back we saw another herd of elephants, but didn’t get in their way this time.

We returned to Ilkena as victorious conquerors. Our tents felt like home now. In half a day we were seasoned safari vets. They served us a magnificent lunch with chicken salad, beef soup and tilapia. We napped and then did some laundry, by hand of course. We also had a serious talk with Simon. We simply could not endure any more vehicle problems. We wanted new tires on the vehicles before we made our drive to Lake Nakuru tomorrow. Really we would have liked new tires before we headed on our afternoon game drive, but they just didn’t happen to have a Goodyear store in the middle of the Masai Mara. Simon told us he was confident that we would be fine on the afternoon game drive and that we could make it to the nearest town and get new tires. This calmed us a bit. We said we would go on the afternoon game drive &amp; hold our breath.

So in the late afternoon, as it started to cool, we headed back out to the Mara, this time to a different section with high brush. Soon we came upon another group of cars watching something. This time it turned out to be a lone cheetah sitting in the grass. We all gathered around in hushed excitement. Eventually the cheetah jumped up on the hood of one of the jeeps. We were all delirious with excitement, though I suppose the people in the jeep the cheetah jumped on were just a bit concerned. The hood of their jeep was open. But the cheetah wasn’t looking for human flesh. She was watching a group of impalas far in the distance. Eventually the cheetah got off the hood of the jeep and started inching her way closer to the impalas. We licked our lips in anticipation. <i><font color="green">Were we about to witness the cheetah’s incredible burst of speed which can reach up to eighty miles per hour?</font></i>

But the impalas weren’t fooled for a minute. Every time the cheetah crawled forwards a foot, they moved twenty feet. Once a cheetah makes its incredibly fast run, it has to rest for hours, so she didn’t want to waste a good run. Eventually we saw that the impalas were so far away that the cheetah would never catch them. We moved on. We came upon a pride of lions. There was a male and female in full heat. We were “treated” to them mating less than ten feet away from us.

We returned to rooms quite “full”. We had seen so much in just one day. Tonight we had our last glorious dinner at the Ilkena Lodge. The next morning we would be moving on.

waynehazle

<b><i><u>Friday October 7th – Lake Nakuru</u></i></b>

<i>I wanted to jump up and down like a ten year old and scream <font color="purple"><b>“This is the place I saw on the Internet!”</b></font></i>

We were up bright and early this morning. We had a very full day ahead of us. Our itinerary had us doing a game drive in the Masai Mara as we left. Then we were to drive about 4 hours to Lake Nakuru. There we would have lunch and then do a game drive through the national park around the lake. Then we would drive to Lake Naivasha (another 2 hours or more) to sleep for the night. But, because of our tire issues, we wanted Simon to stop at the first town, once we left the Mara and get brand new tires… in fact we <b><i>insisted</i></b> on it. We were worried that we would break down again before we even left the Mara.

We bid a truly fond farewell to the Ilkena Tented Lodge. We all got one more chuckle out of the whole experience. As we left the Mara, we were treated to more beautiful landscapes. Giraffes were everywhere, picking from the tops of the acacia trees.

We got out of the Mara without a flat. We returned to the town where we had spent a few hours, two days ago. While Simon worked on the car, we mingled in the center of town. It had an untamed outlaw sort’ve feeling to it. We fended off more hawkers selling necklaces and other items. Of course we preached to people while waiting.

After I think, two hours (no they didn’t build the tires from scratch), we were on our way. We bounced and shook and bumped our way across Kenya. At least we knew we had good tires and the suspension was all checked out.

All along, I had been cringing whenever we stopped by a merchant’s store. I really hate haggling and even more so I hate haggling over little, tiny knick-knacks. I had resolved myself to do none of that on this trip, if I could help it. However, there was one item that did grab my eye: a five foot tall giraffe made out of one solid piece of wood. With Mary Ellen’s fine negotiating skills we got a good price for him and arranged for shipping back to the States. I think I will call him “Leonard”, after the store manager. His Swahili name will be “Umar&eacute;”, meaning “peace”.

It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that we arrived at Lake Nakuru National Park. The park was established in 1961 and covers approximately 180 sq km. After the Masai Mara, it may be Kenya’s most visited park. It contains hippo, rhino, African Buffalo, warthogs, gazelles, baboons and even a leopard or two. But the real claim to fame of Nakuru, is the thousands and thousands of pink flamingos that settle around the shallow soda lake on the inside.

We went right to a lunch buffet inside the park. We got there just before 2PM, when lunch was to end. We ate quickly and then got on the road for the safari. The pink flamingos were breathtaking. Groups would fly in formation. Others would walk in a synchronized pace on the ground.

Then we drove around the park and saw the final two of the Big Five that we were missing. First we saw a white rhino munching on grass. As you may know the rhino was nearly wiped from the face of this earth by poaching. Rhino horns were once prized by trophy hunters. In some Asian countries the ground up powder from a rhino horn is considered an aphrodisiac. So being able to see one of these endangered creatures in the wild is a rare privilege.

Then we saw some Cape Horn Buffalo. These creatures are known for being the meanest animal in all of Africa. More people are gored by buffalo every year than are attacked by lions. Simon told us that the chance of seeing one of the few leopards in this park, was pretty much zero. Though there was much more to see, we knew we needed to leave the park. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get rooms in the hotels inside Lake Nakuru, so we were going to stay at Lake Naivasha. We had a couple of hours (!) drive to get to our destination for the night.

So kilometer after butt numbing kilometer we jostled and shook on the Kenya roads. You may be thinking <font color="red"><i>“We get it already the roads are bad, move on!”</i></font> But I really can’t emphasize to you enough how stunningly awful it all was. It seems that many of the highways were built to handle vehicles up to 40,000 kilos, but they are allowing trucks through that weigh 100,000 kilos. So the roads are just being massacred in every way. Soon it was pitch black outside and we were still driving.

At some point we turned through a gate that said Lake Naivasha Sopa. We didn’t really see anything as we pulled in. My Mom said <font color="green"><i>“Oh, is this another tent?”</i></font> Everyone laughed. This was of course now the running joke of the trip.

But as we pulled up, we saw a building! We stepped inside the lobby and saw plush exotic d&eacute;cor. <i>I wanted to jump up and down like a ten year old and scream <font color="purple"><b>“This is the place I saw on the Internet!”</b></font></i> Our rooms were huge. There were steps that led down from the bedroom to a sitting area by large windows. It turns out that the hotel is very close to the lake and that often during the day, hippos come out of the lake and walk around the grounds. You can sit on the couch in your room and watch them. Sometimes they will even walk around at night.

But it was also a good news/bad news thing. We were only spending the night at this hotel. Tomorrow morning we were checking out and heading to Aberdares National Park and the famous Treetops Lodge. Simon told us that at Treetops, we should only each bring the tiniest amount possible. The rooms were very small, it really was a treehouse. He would hold on to most of our things and pick us up after we left the hotel Sunday morning.

A tree house hotel? I’m sure this will be an… <i><font color="pink">experience…</font></i>

----------------------------------

<font color="blue">Addendum, I left Nakuru thinking, <i>'OK the flamingos were nice, but I would never come back here again.'</i> Since then I have seen wonderful pictures from many of you. Apparently EVERYONE got to see beautiful leopards at Nakuru, except ME

But I should also be grateful that we went to Nakuru, because this was the only way I would have completed the Big Five. All my views of rhino were in this park. Now if ever I was going back to Kenya I would go to Nakuru, but I would make sure I stayed within the park.</font>

waynehazle

<b><i><u>Saturday October 8th – Treetops</u></i></b>

The next morning we were on our way by 10AM. I got up a few times in the night, but there were no hippos anywhere.

As we jostled along, we continued the game of who could spot the Kingdom Hall first. Within a few minutes of leaving the hotel we spotted a sign for another one. Of course we asked Simon if he could pull into the village and take us to the Hall. In a few minutes we were at the Lake Naivasha Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses. A brother, who is an elder, was working on the fence. He also lives in a tiny caretaker’s home on the property.

We stayed less then ten minutes because we knew we had another long day of driving ahead of us. We crossed beautiful Kenyan countryside with fields of corn, wheat, coffee, potatoes and many other types of vegetation. As we drove along, little kids came out and waved to us.

The road suddenly got smooth enough that I could read. I finished <u>A Woman In Berlin</u>. What a magnificent and fascinating book! The heroine had survived the destruction of Berlin. We are so used to the World War II images of the German people fanatically saluting Hitler. People were taught during that time, that whenever anything good was provided for them they were to say <i>“And for <b>this</b> we thank the F&uuml;hrer.”</i>

When he came to power, <font color="GREEN"><b>“that man”</b></font> promised that his Reich would last a thousand years. There was to be prosperity and world domination for Germany. Twelve years later, most German cities were in shambles. American, British and Russian troops had occupied most of the country. Germany was to become a world pariah. In Berlin, starvation as well as typhus, and other diseases ran rampant. It seemed like the vast majority of Berlin women young and old had been raped by marauding Russian soldiers. And for <b><i>this</i></b> we thank the F&uuml;hrer. :'(

I picked up <b><i>Unnatural Exposure</i></b> by Patricia Cornwell.

The Treetops Hotel is one of the more unique lodging facilities in all of Africa. Its first visitors were in 1932 when it really was a 2 room tree house nestled among some fig trees. In 1952 a young English girl, Princess Elizabeth, climbed into the tree house one afternoon. When she came down the next morning she was a Queen. Her father, King George VI died during the night. Since then, the tree house has been upgraded significantly to a large lodge nestled among trees, but also supported by strong wooden beams.

By early afternoon, we arrived at the base site and reception area for the Treetops hotel where we would eat lunch. The actual hotel was another 30 minutes away inside the Aberdares Park. We would need to be driven there by their private shuttle since no cars were allowed inside. We kept our tiny bags with us, Simon took care of the rest of our luggage. The shuttle would take us up to the hotel at… I could swear they said 4PM.

By the way, as we were pulling up to the gate for the reception area we saw a sign for a Kingdom Hall! We figured after we finished eating, around 2ish, we would have time to walk to the Hall, visit and come back and get the shuttle. So after a quick lunch, the four of us walked back to the road and then headed down the road that led to the Kingdom Hall. This was no simple road, but a steep, rocky, long hill. Someone told us that the Kingdom Hall was several hundred meters away. We soon realized this walk was way too much for my Dad. So Mom and Dad decided to head back to the reception area.

After a GREAT deal of walking &amp; passing many houses, Mary Ellen and I found the Kingdom Hall. The Service Meeting had just a few minutes to go. By this time it was after 3:30PM, the meeting would end a little before 4PM. At first Mary Ellen and I figured we would stay about 5 minutes and then slip out. However, we were so caught up in the meeting, even though we couldn’t understand a word of the Swahili being spoken, that we stayed right to the end. We hugged and kissed our Brothers and Sisters and then quickly headed back up that steep road.

We walked into the lot for the reception area at about 4:15 and saw nothing. The bus was gone. I guess we were hoping things would run on Africa time and be ½ hour late, but not this time. I thought to myself, well at least my parents went ahead to the hotel and are there relaxing. Just as I thought that, my Mom and Dad stepped outside. They explained that the bus had left at 3:30. So no matter what, we missed it. Sigh… The next bus was due at 5:30PM. It was also the last one, so we knew not to miss it. We waited patiently and soon enough we were on a shuttle heading through Aberdare National Park.

This park was established in 1950 and has a wide variety of animals. Primarily there are elephants, buffalo, black rhinos, various types of monkeys, antelopes and hyenas. Somewhere in there, is allegedly an elusive black leopard.

Before long, we checked into our tiny room and we then sat before the lodge host and he explained how it all worked. There was a salt lick as well as a pond, very close to the base of the hotel. Animals of all kinds would come up to the salt lick day and night. We could sit on the top of the hotel and watch for them. Also, at night, you can turn on the alert system in your room which buzzes if an animal came to the salt lick. 1 buzz was a hyena, 2 buzzes was for a leopard, 3 for buffalo, 4 for rhino and 5 for elephant. I really only wanted to wake up at this point for a leopard.

We had a nice dinner in the dining room and then sat upstairs for a while. It was pretty much all elephants and buffaloes that came to the lick. We were bombarded with all kinds of mosquitoes. Yet there was still something nice about sitting there and looking out at Africa. I sat with my Dad for a while. At one point he said “Who would have ever thought that in my lifetime I would have seen Africa?” I will admit to getting a little misty-eyed about that later on. :-S It was good to feel that despite all the difficulties, the trip was worth it.

During the night I heard one buzz for a hyena. I didn’t even look out my window

<i>I was getting spoiled…
</i>

-----------------------------------

<font color="BLUE">I have had some Aberdares fans show me some great pictures of the park and slightly raise my opinions about it... slightly. I haven't heard from the legions of Treetops Hotel fans though </font>

dssxxxx

TreeTops Fan.............

Had a few drinks at the &quot;lodge&quot;, I said that lightly. I am 6'4&quot; and at that time weighted 235.

Well the &quot;beds&quot; in the rooms were meant for the African pygmy.

It was the only night that we stayed awake the whole night. Also, one shower and communal at that...

Thank goodness for the breakfast and shower at the country club the following morning.

waynehazle

<b><i><u>Sunday October 9th – Drive to Amboseli</u></i></b>

It was time to hit the road again. This time we were headed to Amboseli National Park. It was to be another long day of driving. (Thank goodness everyone in the car liked each other )

I must say that most of this day was a blur to me. In fact, looking in the notebook I kept while we traveled, I see that there is virtually nothing there for this day. Of course we saw a Kingdom Hall just a few kilometers from our hotel; of course we stopped.

We actually headed back to Nairobi and had lunch at the Panafric. Then we headed on to Amboseli. Kilometer, after kilometer, bump after bump, pothole after pothole we soldiered on. In time we noticed the ground was hardened. Dust was flying everywhere. There were little cyclones of dust in the distance. This land was barren and empty.

Now just repeat those last four sentences for about four hours and that will cover the rest of the day, except for the brief and heavy rain shower that engulfed us as we drove in the middle of nowhere. We were glad it was raining, the land needed it.

We arrived at the Amboseli Sopa just as the sun was going down. At least we got a tiny glimpse of our surroundings as we checked into our rooms, which seemed so far from the main building that I thought we crossed the equator.

I know I know, whiny Americans…

waynehazle

<b><i><u>Monday October 10th –Amboseli</u></i></b>

We rose early for our safari in Amboseli. We were so glad that we didn’t have to change hotels again.

At 392 sq km, Amboseli National Park is much smaller than the Mara. While it has a variety of animal life, people go to Amboseli for the elephants.

As we headed to the park, we saw a family of giraffes. We also saw something new: <font color="green">ostriches</font>! These gallant, huge birds were a beautiful sight. Due to incredible erosion, Amboseli is horribly dusty and bare. This can make it is easier to see animals, if they are relatively close to the road. But, most animals stayed close to the few water holes, which were further from the roads.

We kept seeing hippos, but the watering holes were so far from the road, that we could only see the tops of their backs. After another hour or so, we saw a lone hippo, far from his waterhole right at the side of the road. As we headed back to our hotel, we saw a lone baby hyena. It was cute in a hideous hyena sort’ve way. It quickly scampered across the road and into its hyena den, under some rocks.

We went to see a Masai Village. We were told our safari wouldn’t be complete without seeing the lifestyle of this tribe which dominates Kenya. When people see pictures of the “primitive tribal” Kenya, they are most certainly looking at pictures of the Masai. The Masai are a nomadic people that herd cattle. They are noted for being tall and lean and are often dressed in bright colors.

When we first arrived outside the village, they performed a traditional dance and welcomed us. The village itself is a group of huts, made of mud and cow dung. The entire place is enclosed with thorny brush for protection. The enclosure is large enough that their cattle can be brought inside at night. We followed our guide, one of the group leaders, into the village. They showed us how they are able to quickly make fire and then explained a great deal about their style of living.

We went inside one of the homes. It was dark, but the mud and other materials kept it from getting hot inside. The Masai life is a tough one, especially so for the women, who even have to build the homes themselves!

Then we got to that point at the end, where they wanted us to go through their “market” and purchase beads, necklaces, sculpture and assorted knick knacks. I always dread this. The way that they <b><i>want</i></b> it to work is that you go around the huge circle, where each person sits with their wares. You point to whatever you want to buy and your handler picks it up. At the end, they take all the stuff you are interested in and you go to the village center and negotiate. They made the process seem like such a big deal, you’d think you were ‘negotiating’ peace in the Middle East. I prefer to look at everything quickly, and then decide if I want to buy anything. I had already decided I really didn’t want anything, except to go back to the car.

But eventually, all of us picked out a few minimal things: a bracelet or two, a necklace or two and a little wooden animal of some kind. About ten (!) of the village men gathered around us. “OK, let us go to the center and negotiate.” So we walked and walked. We got to the center. The men all gathered together and mumbled among themselves. Let me just emphasize again <u>this was not the Hope Diamond we had picked up</u>. They came back with a price that was just astronomical. The gulf between our price, where we thought we were generous at $10 and what they wanted, over $100 was too big. I guess they were a bit insulted when we counter-offered. We were hot and tired and angry too. Yes, I know we are the <i>“rich Americans”</i>, but I am not paying $100 for <font color="purple">four pieces of string</font>! So, we bid them adieu.

At the end of the day we went back to our rooms covered with dust. It was great to jump into the shower. We again packed up our clothes. Tomorrow, we would not only change hotels, but we would change countries. By mid-day, we would cross the border for Tanzania. The Serengeti and the Ngorongoro Crater still lay ahead of us!

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<font color="blue">Did I mention that Amboseli was dusty? I did get a great shot of a hippo that came out of the water all the way to the road, and yes the elephants were great but... I would need to come back hear during the rainy season.</font>

waynehazle

<b><i><u>Tuesday October 11th –Just When You Think You’re Out of the Woods….</u></i></b>


<font color="PURPLE"><b><i>“HUH? I thought she was with you!”</i></b></font>

I got up at 5:30 AM in order to see Mt. Kilimanjaro. By mid-morning, clouds would cover up the magnificent view of Africa’s highest peak. A feeling of peace came over me as I stared at the snow-capped peak. I remembered the Hemingway short story, <b>“The Snows of Kilimanjaro”</b>...<i>OK, I’ve never read it, but now I felt like I needed to.</i>

As we drove through Amboseli, we saw a lone lion guarding a kill. A jackal and a hyena hovered nearby, hoping to get leftovers. We bumped and bounced as we continued through Amboseli. We were going to bounce our way all the way to the Tanzania border in a few short hours. We were already covered with dust again. Amboseli wasn’t nearly as exciting as the Masai Mara, but it was one more part of the experience. I thought about the—

Hey wait, <font color="RED"><b><i>Simon is doing the looking thing again!</i></b></font> The car was feeling funny, like it was losing power. Simon checked underneath and basically something for the clutch was bouncing loose. No, I can’t explain it exactly, but it was bad and it was because of all the shaking. We hobbled along in the lower gears, and I do mean hobbled until somehow, by God’s grace we got to the exit for Amboseli. Simon got out to see if he could fix it. Now here is a tip for someone who wants to make money. Set up a mobile repair center around these parks. The shops can be at the gates, and if you break down inside, they send someone to fix you up right on the spot.

We stood by the gate waiting. I really wasn’t even sure what to feel at this point. I did feel bad for Simon. He had been trying to show us a great time and I am sure even he was frustrated by all of this. We were bombarded by more peddlers and those just asking for money.

Simon soon realized our vehicle was finished for the day. He knew he had to keep us going to meet our contacts at the Tanzania border. So he talked to some other jeep drivers who had clients and were taking them to the border. Mary Ellen and I would hitch a ride with one vehicle. Mom and Dad would go in another. We quickly packed our suitcases into our new rides. I barely saw Mom and Dad as I screamed out “See you at the border!”

Our new ride was a Land Rover and this thing was built for these horrible roads. We moved along faster and smoother than ever before. We met Alistair a young med school student from the U.K. He told us that he was doing a program where he would spend several weeks at different areas throughout Africa helping to take care of the sick. We griped to him about all the roads and he told us the roads were even worse in Botswana! He also told us that in Tanzania, the road leading to the Ngorongoro Crater was built by a Japanese firm and is the best road in all of Africa. I salivated as I thought about that road.

It seemed like no time at all before we were at the Tanzania border. Mary Ellen and I jumped out when the car stopped. We thanked Alistair and his driver for helping us and got our bags out. I didn’t see Mom &amp; Dad’s jeep but I was sure they were right behind us. The Kenya-Tanzania border had a Wild West feeling to it. I couldn’t quite place it, but there was something in the air. Mary Ellen and I decided to get stamped at Kenya customs while we waited for my parents to arrive. The process was very quick. We came back outside and saw my Dad getting out of a van. He looked at us, smiled and said “Where’s Mom?”

<font color="PURPLE"><b><i>“HUH? I thought she was with you!”</i></b></font> Dad said that they got put in different cars. Her car was AHEAD of his, so she should already be here. We walked around a bit and didn’t see her. Hmmm… <font color="ORANGE">Don’t panic yet, don’t panic…</font> We walked around the area as all kinds of characters milled back and forth. There was no sign of Mom. I said to my Father are you <i>sure</i> your jeep didn’t pass hers? He told me that his jeep never passed anyone the whole time they were driving. We even saw the arrival of a vehicle of Korean tourists who were behind my Dad’s jeep. They arrived at the border a few minutes after my Dad did. <i>What is going on? </i>

Now I could feel myself getting anxious. For split second I imagined my Mom being ‘held’ in some Masai village and becoming one of the Chief’s wives. With the way that Mom likes to, ahem, <u>express her opinions</u>, she would not do well. Masai men aren’t known for their support of women’s lib.

OK, we were starting to get a little panicky. I swear I’m not a girlie-man or anything, but I was about to run around crying <font color="RED"><b>“They took my Mommy!”</b></font> &gt; Just before I could go into my breakdown, a jeep pulled up and there was my Mother. I’m not the least bit ashamed to say tears flowed from everyone as we all hugged. It turns out my Mom’s jeep was ahead of my Father’s. But they pulled way off the road because someone had to go to the bathroom. While in his vehicle, Dad didn’t see my Mom’s jeep pull off the road. So they drove to the border thinking Mom’s jeep was just further ahead. (<i>Got that?</i To top things off, none of the other passengers in my mother’s car spoke English. So the whole ride she couldn’t even talk to anyone! Well we thought, this is just one more experience and one more entry in the Journal.

<b>The Beatdown</b>
Once we were all checked out of Kenya, we went to the Tanzania side for entry. We waited outside while one of the women processed our passports. Suddenly we heard a loud commotion and screaming. A crowd was forming around the entrance to the Tanzania center. I could sense anger in the commotion. Uh oh…. This is just the type of situation you get warned about in those State Department travel advisories. <b><font color="GREEN">Were we about to get caught up in some sort’ve angry mob demonstration or a violent coup d’etat? </font></b> quot;&gt;

A group of people dragged a young man from inside the building. People were slapping him on the head, shaking him and kicking him. Everyone was joining in. A few people took the man to a building back on the Kenya side. It turns out the man was a pickpocket. He was caught trying to pick some tourist’s pocket and the locals were beating him silly. Then they dragged him off to the Kenya police center where they would… well let’s put it this way, there would be no defense lawyers, no reading of rights. The Kenya police would take him to an enclosed room and ‘educate’ him on the error of his ways.

<b>A New Beginning</b>
We met Ali of Leopard Tours, the sister company to Africa Point Travel. For the next several days, he would be our guide and driver. So we said a fond farewell to Simon, packed into our new jeep and entered Tanzania. Our new vehicle was a Land Rover 4WD, there was a little less storage space for our bags, but, <i>oh the suspension</i>! This was a great safari vehicle. I felt better already. The road leaving the border and heading to the town of Arusha was awesome.

Tanzania definitely had a different feel than Kenya did. I can’t quite place my finger on it. Soon enough we arrived in the town of Arusha. Arusha is the gateway to all Tanzania safaris and therefore it is the tourism centre of the country. We ate lunch and then met with the representatives from Leopard Tours. Looking at our itinerary, we were going to drive to Lake Manyara and stay at a hotel there for the night. The next morning, we would check out, do a game drive through Lake Manyara, have lunch and then make the long drive to the Serengeti. We probably wouldn’t arrive in the Serengeti till night time. If there was one thing we couldn’t take more of was arriving at hotels late at night and not even being able to see where we were. So I talked to my group. I was sure Lake Manyara was beautiful, but we already saw Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru. The Serengeti was going to be a highlight. So we decided that in the morning we would drive straight to the Serengeti and be able to get there during the day. At first the Leopard Tours people were a little confused, <i>“Why don’t you want to see Lake Manyara?”</i>. I assured them it was no insult to their country and explained our feelings. In the end they understood and agreed.

We stocked up on more water at a local market and then drove hours more to the Lake Manyara Serena Lodge. The rooms were romantic and lush. The view overlooked the beautiful lake. There was a mosquito net over the bed and it wasn’t just for decorations. Tomorrow, I knew I would be heading to the Serengeti. Back in the early nineties, I bought a book entitled simply “Serengeti”. It was filled with incredible photos from this legendary park. I have paged through that book dozens of times over more than a decade. I couldn’t believe I was finally going to see it. &gt;&lt;

So what exactly is this “Serengeti” I am babbling about? The word is taken from Swahili meaning “endless plain”. It covers 14,763 sq km and is the largest national park in Tanzania and one of the largest in Africa. It connects with the Masai Mara in Kenya and shares the wildebeest migration. The opportunities to view all kinds of wildlife here, are said to be unparalleled by any other place on earth.

<font color="GREEN"><i>Yeah, I was, ready for that…</i></font> 8-)

waynehazle

<b><i><u>Wednesday October 12th –Drive to the Serengeti</u></i></b>

<font color="GREEN"><i>Who stole the Serengeti? </i></font>

<b><font color="BROWN"><i> How fitting that my Crusade to travel the world should end here</i></font></b>

I had an excited, yet serene feeling as we got on the road the next morning. We kept joking that this could have ended up being my Mom’s first day as a Masai woman if someone had decided to hold on to her. When we passed by women on the road, carrying things on their heads, we said “See Mom, that could be you right now.”

I was extra thrilled that we made the decision to skip the morning game drive and make our beeline for the Serengeti. We bumped along on the road from Manyara. We passed through a few townships. Then, something truly spectacular happened… <font color="RED">we reached the Japanese road</font>! This was the road that led to the Ngorongoro Crater area. The road was smoother than most roads in the States. If I could have gotten out of the car and kissed the asphalt, I would have. We praised ‘the Japanese’ many times as we glided along. =D&gt; I felt like a great military general, full of bravado, leading his troops off to battle. (I know, not good Christian imagery.)

I was more than halfway through <b><i>Unnatural Exposure</i></b>. An evil mastermind was threatening to release a smallpox like virus across the country and our heroine has trying to track him down. Yes, I know it is quite bizarre to read about Nazis and smallpox serial killers, while seeing the beauty of nature.

We reached the entrance to the Ngorongoro Conservation area and bid adieu to our smooth sailing. The road through the conservation area was back to being bumpy… though as our guide Ali told us, not like the horrible ones in Kenya. A conservation area allows people to live inside, while a reserve is for animals only. So as we drove through the Ngorongoro Conservation area, we would see Masai villages. People were not allowed to live in the Serengeti. We stopped at a lookout point and got our first view of the crater. It was magnificent! The entire Ngorongoro Conservation area is over 8300 sq km. The Crater is about 20 km wide. It is one of the world’s largest volcanic craters. It is teeming with a huge variety of wildlife.

As time went on, my confidence and bravado began to ebb. quot;&gt; It wasn’t the bumpy roads, it was the return of our friend from Amboseli: Dust! Horrendous unbelievable amounts of dust showered down upon us. A double portion came whenever a car drove past us in the opposite direction. Back in Georgia, my Mom bought those face masks because she heard the roads were dusty. I said “Oh Mom, you’ll never need those.” Well you know the saying, Mother is always right. Soon, we were all wearing our face masks. I tried to keep everyone’s spirits up, but I was down in the dumps. Finally we left the Conservation area and reached the border of the Serengeti. I was able to crack a smile when I saw the sign.

There was a picnic area at the entrance. We stopped, grabbed a table and ate our boxed lunches. We tried to cough up and blow out as much dust as possible, though it was tough with all the dust still blowing around us. I looked around at the dusty barren land. This didn’t look like the picture book. After eating, we donned our masks and got back in the car. We continued our drive across desolate, empty wasteland. A huge knot was growing my stomach. Each time a car was coming toward us, we rolled up our windows quickly and yet somehow dust seemed to just pour in.

I felt like someone had taken my insides and was just wringing them, the way someone wrings a washcloth to get the water out. I brought my wife and parents out here to see this desert and to swallow a gallon of dust? I know the sign said “Welcome to the Serengeti”, but where were the plush fertile lands teeming with animals? There was nothing here. <font color="GREEN"><i>Who stole the Serengeti? </i></font>

Now I felt like one of those military generals who leads his troops into a disastrous battle where they are hopelessly outnumbered and get wiped out. I didn’t say a word to anyone. Ali, our guide and driver noticed how quiet we were back there, except for the occasional coughing spasms. He went off the road and down one path. He found a tiny watering hole with some antelope around it, perhaps hoping it would raise our spirits. No offense, but we have antelope back in the States.

<b><i>Reversal of Fortune</i></b>
Mile after mile… excuse me kilometer after kilometer we drove. NOTHING. We weren’t even looking anymore. I think Ali was just trying to hurry us to the hotel at this point. Suddenly, Mary Ellen called out “Is that a lion?” Ali stopped quickly. We all looked to the far left. Yes, way off in the distance, was a lone female lion walking along lazily. We stopped the car and watched her. Eventually, she made her way across the huge field and crossed the road five feet in front of us. Blood was on her face and at least one of her paws. She had just recently had a kill. She went over into the higher grass on the other side. We watched her for several more minutes.

<font color="PURPLE">It is amazing how the sight of a lion changes everything!</font> I was all charged up again! Mary Ellen had saved the day. I wish we could have teleported to the hotel at that moment. I could have ended the day on that high. We decided to drive on. But, less than a quarter mile away, both Mary Ellen and Ali spotted something in the far grass: <i>another lion</i> under a tree! It was hard to see, then we realized why: it was <font color="ORANGE"><b>a baby</b></font>. About 100 meters away we could see the same female lion we just passed. Aah A mother and child. The mother sat down and waited for Junior to come over to her. We watched as the little tyke skipped over to Mom and lay down and nursed. Ali told us we were very lucky to see that. I could feel the blood flowing again to all my vital organs.

A little further Mary Ellen saw a lone hyena with a vulture close by. The hyena was chewing on the carcass of a gazelle. Most likely this was the leftover kill of a lion.

As we drove along, the land started to get more fertile and green. There were watering holes, lots of trees and beautiful color. This was what I had looked at in that book for the last decade! \/ Some of my bravado even returned as I told everyone “That first part was only the entrance, this is more like the stuff we’ll be seeing tomorrow, with lots of animals.” I then whispered to Ali, <i>“That’s right isn’t it?”</i> He told us all not to worry, that we would be seeing plenty of virtually every animal tomorrow. There were tons of lions in the Serengeti. It’s so funny, you have to remind yourself on safari, that the space in which you are doing things is on a gigantic scale, and it is unpredictable. Can you imagine going to a zoo, seeing a “Welcome to the Zoo!” sign and then driving another thirty miles before you see a thing?

Soon enough, we were deep into the heart of the Serengeti. We arrived at our hotel The Serengeti Sopa. We checked in and washed off some dust. The view from our room was magnificent. But I wanted to go down to the observation deck and sit there for a while.

<b>Journey’s End</b>
An unbelievable tsunami of emotions overtook me as I sat in one of the chairs on the deck and over looked the magnificent Serengeti Plains. It was like when I was sitting on a deck looking at the Taj Mahal in India, only greater. I felt myself getting choked up, and no it wasn’t the dust. <font color="BLUE">Somehow, it was as if all my dreams, all my travels in life had led me to this very spot.</font>

<b><font color="BROWN"><i> How fitting that my Crusade to travel the world should end here</i></font></b> , not in some man-made temple of marble or stone, but in a monument of Nature carved by the very finger of Almighty God Himself. I was moved, beyond my control, but I fought off the tears this time since there were a bunch of other tourists around. What is with all this crying? I realized what an emotional basket case I was after this day. I ordered a whiskey sour and stared out across the land, with the beautiful sun ever so slowly setting behind it. It was certainly not that I would never travel again, there are so many places I would still like to tick off the list: the Great Wall, the Amazon, the Forbidden City, Gibraltar, Easter Island, Tokyo, the Great Barrier Reef, the hills of Tuscany, the Parthenon, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Mt. Everest Base Camp, Hong Kong, St. Petersburg, the Grand Canyon, Zanzibar, Egypt, Mecca, Mongolia, Katmandu, Prague, Morocco, Tibet, Vietnam, Madrid, Red Square, Jerusalem and Petra. But no other trip would be as <i>necessary</i>, as urgent. If any of them happened then fine, if not, life goes on.

One of the people sitting close to me told me they had been out yesterday and saw an incredible amount of animals. I got excited, but also tried to temper my hopes just in case.

We all cleaned up for a wonderful dinner and then called it an early night. <i><font color="ORANGE">You know, I forgot to check the tires on this new vehicle….</font></i>

--------------------------
<font color="PURPLE"> Addendum:
There is a thread right now on favorite pictures of ourselves in Africa. Just might be this one:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/PhotoVie...vfolderid=2005
Here I was looking at the place I was destined to be my whole life.

This one is also good:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/PhotoVie...olderid=0&amp;
After any great epiphany it is nice to have a good drink. </font>

waynehazle

<b><i><u>Thursday October 13th – <font color="BROWN">TRIUMPH</font>!</u></i></b>

We started our big safari day with muted anticipation. I hoped for great things, but I was afraid to hope at the same time.

For the first hour we saw many zebras, gazelles, antelopes, giraffes, etc. Ali would constantly ask us if we wanted to stop and take pictures. We kept saying “No”. I could see the confusion on his face. <font color="ORANGE"><i>“Don’t you want to take pictures of my country’s beauty?”</i></font> We told him we had been at this over a week and had seen plenty of these animals already. We told Ali to only stop for lions, leopards and cheetahs.

We drove another hour and saw the tell-tale signs: a group of more than ½ dozen jeeps in one area gathered around something. We raced over there and saw a few female lions, with their cubs lying under a tree. Cool! But it got even cooler. The more we looked around the area, the more lions we saw. It was a pride of easily a dozen females and multiple young ones. Quite a few were sleeping. Some young ones were playing with their mothers. It was so exciting we could have watched them for hours. Out of the corner of our eyes, we saw another group of jeeps gathered around something, they were about a couple of hundred meters away. Ali told us it was probably the male lion. Of course we asked him to head over there right away.

We pulled up to the second group of jeeps. Everyone stared at a large tree just a few meters away. There were hushed oohs and aahs in the air. <font color="PURPLE">There he was in all his regal glory and splendor, <b>the King himself</b>. </font> A mature male lion rested in the shade. This was one of the most splendid things I had ever seen in my life. He would open his eyes once in a while glance at us with indifference, then close his eyes again. He knew that his pride was just a short distance away and he could quickly be over there in case another male tried to fiddle with his ladies-in-waiting. He was so gorgeous we wanted to run our fingers through his mane. If the trip was to end at that moment, I think we would have all been satisfied. In fact I almost <i>wanted</i> it to end on this high note, before anymore low ones could hit us.

After this, we saw several groups of hippos in a swamp. Then, we saw a huge herd of Cape Horn Buffalo, possibly numbering 300. They surrounded us on both sides of the road. We drove through the midst of the group. For the most part, they shied away from our jeep. But if they ever wanted to stampede us, we wouldn’t have stood a chance.

We saw a herd of elephants including young ones nursing. The matriarchs watched us carefully, but never seemed threatened. We saw several large giraffes galloping. Even the zebras and antelopes seemed more interesting now that we had seen the lions! \/

We saw some people photographing something in high grass. It was a cheetah and the photographers were from National Geographic. It turns out we couldn’t get close enough to see it. Unlike the Masai Mara, in Tanzania parks you are not allowed to go off the designated road. A little birdie told us this is why Tanzania parks are so much better than Kenya ones. &gt;-

At lunchtime, we stopped at a picnic area inside the park. We were assured that wild animals weren’t going to attack us in this area. We talked about whether or not we should continue much longer. Perhaps we should just accept that we had done well, and head back to the hotel early. We hadn’t had a vehicle break down in Tanzania and so maybe we shouldn’t push it. But the taste of success was in our mouths and we decided to do a full afternoon safari. Let’s get out there and see what we could find. And boy oh boy, did our eyes get filled!

We saw elephants, giraffes, hippos, buffalos and yes, more lions. We marveled at the sheer beauty of the land itself. But the highlight of the afternoon was when we could see people around another tree. This time, they were looking up… a leopard must be there. We pulled up to the rest of the jeeps and there she was, sitting in the tree relaxed as ever. We could see the spots of the leopard bright and clear. But we noticed something next to the gorgeous animal… an impala it had recently killed. A little birdie also told us that in Kenya if you see a leopard in a tree with an impala, the park rangers probably shot the impala then put it in the tree. The leopard then goes up the tree. This is just a setup for tourists. But if you see a leopard in a tree in a Tanzania park, you know it’s not a setup; <font color="BROWN">everything is real in Tanzania!</font>

We drove back to the hotel like conquering heroes. This had been the greatest day yet. <font color="PURPLE"><b>The Serengeti fulfilled my fifteen year dreams.</b></font> I was sad to be leaving tomorrow. I wish we had a few more days here. I felt so satisfied that I thought maybe we didn’t even need to go to the Ngorongoro Crater. I figured anything else that we saw at this point was gravy.

<i><font color="GREEN">Little did I know how much gravy was coming…</font>
</i>