Africa Journal Day 33 to 35

Wednesday, May 25, 2005
Day 33
Amboseli National Park, Kenya

Tonight we are at the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro surrounded by elephants, lions, giraffes, wildebeest, and gazelles. We are on a safari and very much enjoyed our first day. Besides sighting most of the animals here, the plains in front of Mt. Kilimanjaro are very scenic, and the sky and sunset were very dramatic. Toward evening the clouds lifted enough for us to see the snow-capped summit.

Our flight into Kenya yesterday was without a hitch and our safari driver met us at the Nairobi airport. We spent last night in the Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi, a hotel with a long history and lots of class. Our driver picked us up after breakfast, and we spent the morning driving from Nairobi to Amboseli. The last stretch of road to the part of wash board and very rough.

We are staying in the same lodge where Cathy and I stayed in 1982. The architecture is to resemble a Masaii village. All kinds of memories are being stirred here. Wish she were with us to enjoy it again.

Tomorrow morning we will go for an early morning game drive. I hope we will get to see some lions on the prowl, maybe even a fresh kill. And I hope we get up real close to some elephants; we saw lots today, but all fairly far away.


Thursday, May 26, 2005
Day 34
Amboseli National Park, Kenya

We had a great day enjoying the sights and sounds of the African wilderness. Our early morning game drive began with a pride of six young lions that had obviously just finished devouring an early morning kill. Their tummies were full and they were slowly making their way to a watering hole to drink. They were in no rush, and they just ignored the gazelles and wildebeest around them; obviously they were no longer hungry.

This evening, with the sun setting, we stopped to watch a large herd of elephants. One group, a family of four with a very young baby (our driver estimated a few weeks old only), stayed close together, and went for a drink together. I think I have some neat pictures and video footage to demonstrate this family’s cohesion and closeness—a lesson for us. The older offspring in this family was probably about six years old, and elephants apparently often nurse that long.

Other sightings today included hyenas, hippos (in and out of the water), warthogs, jackals, waterbuck, and of course, lots of wildebeest, zebras and gazelles.

This has been a great way to end our time in Africa. Tomorrow evening we fly for home after driving back to Nairobi and some last minute souvenir shopping. And a last meal at the Carnivore, a famous restaurant with all the meat you can eat. Cathy and I have fond memories there as well, so I’ll be sure to take some pictures.


Friday, May 27, 2005
Day 35
Nairobi Airport, Kenya

We are stuffed after our all-the-meat-you-can-eat at the Carnivore—beef, chicken, pork, ostrich, camel, crocodile, and some more. It was as I had remembered it—hot cast iron plates on which they slice slabs of meat from huge skewers of barbecued meat. A huge open grill in the centre of the restaurant keeps the meet grilling and a little flag at your table to take down when you have had enough. It was busy tonight, reservations only. Some live entertainment and the atmosphere was quite festive.

Our drive from Amboseli this morning was uneventful; we had a wonderful driver/guide on our safari. In the afternoon we did some souvenir shopping, followed by a visit to the Nairobi Museum and adjacent snake park. We actually got to see the Black Mamba the kids were trying to catch at ABC in Malawi. It is Africa’s most feared snake, maybe unfounded, as it is not really that aggressive with humans.

Kenya is very tourist friendly and I was struck by the helpfulness of the airline and airport staff, as well as our safari company, Vintage African. Nairobi is a very modern city of three million with many high-rises, although they are struggling with the heavy traffic; they will need a public transit system to keep cars out of the downtown area. Our driver said they are considering a subway.

Five weeks has passed rather quickly and I have a lot of food for thought. We met a lot of interesting people, renewed acquaintances for old friends, and had time to read and reflect as well. I have seen a direct correlation between social cohesion and psychosocial health; urbanization and modernization are likely to cause social decay with subsequent rise dis-ease and dis-stress. African leaders will need to anticipate these trends in order to lead Africa into the future.