I'm back still not got enough time for any writing but i'll try and catch up with some reads.
I'm back still not got enough time for any writing but i'll try and catch up with some reads.
Member since:04.12.2003
Reviews:53
Members who trust:22
It was eight years ago that I went to Kenya but the memories are just as fresh as they were when I was there.
It was my honeymoon which did get off to a bit of a bad start (for more info on this see my op don’t let fear win) but the holiday did more than make up for it.
A couple of months before I went to Kenya I had to get so jabs. One for yellow fever my arm hurt like hell for about a week, one for typhoid and your usual tetanus jab I also had to have drops for polio. It’s just a couple of drops of brown liquid that is put on a spoon and you drink it. It is the most decussating thing I have ever tasted I now know why babies cry when they get it. After that I got all my packing done got married and off I went by myself.
I arrived at the airport in Nairobi and was met by my husband then we were off in a mini bus to our first port of call. The first thing I noticed when I stepped out of the airport was the heat. It’s rather strange getting on a plane on a cold February day in Scotland and getting off it 8 hours later to hot sunny day. Once in the mini bus we had a 3-hour drive north to our first of 3 destinations. Now I hate driving anywhere as I usually feel sick but because I was so interested in the beautiful scenery around me I felt not too bad I got a bit queasy towards the end of the journey. The scenery was wonderful as we left Nairobi the soil was a beautiful reddish orange colour but the further north we went the soil changed into the sandy colour that you would associate with a safari. There really strange thing about it was that as we passed local people there were all wearing cardigans or coats and we were all dresses in sorts and t shirts. I never
saw much in the way of animals on this journey. We eventually arrived at Ol Pejeta Rhino Reserve.
We had to go through a gate then we were in the reserve and that when I seen my first few animals zebras and giraffes to be exact I was so excited and they were really close to the bus it was wonderful I was taking pictures here there and every where. Then we arrived at Sweetwaters, which was a tented camp in the middle of the reserve. That’s when my heart sank my husband had forgot to tell me that we were staying in a tent. I’m not one for camping and the thought of camping in Kenya with lost of spiders (probably very big ones) was just one of my worse nightmares come true. At this point there wasn’t really much I could do except try and not cry. We checked in and was shown to our tent and to my surprise and relief it wasn’t anything like camping in this country not only did the tent have proper beds it also had it’s own toilet and a show and a great big fan on the ceiling. So now that I knew I wasn’t going to be sleeping rough it was time to enjoy myself.
We went for a walk around the camp to try and take it all in and looked at the scenery. It was what looked like miles of African plans the sort of thing you see on wild life programs it was breath taking. There was a little out door bar from which you could sit at night and watch lots of animals settle for the night. The zebras are very noisy animals they sound very much like donkeys and they tend to make a lot of noise just as the sun is setting don’t know why. Once it was dark you could see the bats come out and it was great to watch them darting around the sky. We stayed there for a few days but were unable to do much as I was unwell with a bad stomach in fact I’ve never had a stomach bug like this in my life it was dreadful I won’t go into any details, only to say that before I went away I was told not to drink the water and I didn’t. However I did eat salad which yes you’ve guessed it was washed in untreated water. I was ill for about three days. Before leaving Sweetwaters we did get a chance to see a tame rhino this was great we were allowed to touch it, it was a little nerve racking touching a rhino. It was massive but it just lay there and was happy to let us touch it we also had a close encounter with a tame warthog. We went to visit this warthog which is usually very tame and placid but on this day it decided that it was in love with my husband. I wouldn’t leave him alone it kept on following him and pushing him (see photo of the warthog below) it got to the point that the keeper had to hold it while my husband made his escape. I couldn’t move for laughing it was really funny and something my husband won’t forget in a hurry.
Next we were off to MountKenya Safari Club for an over night stay we only had one night there as it was very posh and expensive but it was a wonderful place to visit. While there we visited an animal orphanage where we seen some endangered animal or animals that couldn’t look after they’re self in the wild. We see white rhinos, which I think, don’t look that much different from the grey ones. We also seen one of the most unusual type of antelope I have ever seen it was called a bongo and there are very rare (see picture below). I also got to feed an impala (a small type of African deer) it ate right out of my hand. I wasn’t too happy as later that night in the restaurant my husband ordered impala stake for his dinner it wasn’t the same impala (well it better not of been). Then after a few drinks it was off for an early night as we had a long drive ahead of us.
The next morning we got packed lunched from the hotel and we were of on a five-hour journey north to Samburi Animal reserve. This was by far the best of the 3 locations it was total peaceful. It was close to a river and had monkeys and lizards every where you looked. You had to be very careful with the monkeys as if it wasn’t nailed down the monkeys would steal it. It had been known for them to go into people’s tents
Pictures of General: Kenya
Giraffes
and steal thing out of them. When in the pool you could just watch the lizard running about. It was like something out of a film you could hear the noise of the crickets all day. After we got settled in it was time for dinner which was great. The eating area was outside but it was still under cover. While I was eating my dinner about 2 or 3 feet away from where I was sitting was a praying mantis on a wooden post I actually got a bit of a fright but it was amazing to look at and it didn’t bother us. I spent the whole meal with one eye on it. After dinner we went to the bar for drinks and then watched a traditional masi dance (see picture below). Then it was time for bed as we were of on safari and the best way to see the animals is first thing in the morning before it gets too hot.
The next morning we were woken by a member of staff with a lovely cup of tea then we went for an early breakfast and off on our drive. We didn’t have a guide it was just four of us and a land rover (they other couple were a sergeant that my husband worked with and his wife). With in minutes of leaving the place where we were staying we ran into a pride of lions. It was about 3 or 4 females and there young, I tried to take a photo of them but the flash never went off. It was great they were just wandering by the roadside and didn’t seam too bothered by us. I think we were all somewhat excited and scared by this experience. We watched them in till they disappeared into the under growth. Then we drove of looking for more animals to see. We seen loads of zebras and giraffes and tones of ostriches we even had one that kept running in front of us. We also seen hyenas, monkeys (baboons now they are big monkeys), A variety of different types of deer and some elephant that were away in the distance. We didn’t see any thing that was as wonderful as the lions we seen that morning. We whet on another safari the next day and seen more of what we had seen the day before. One night we left our tent just after sunset to go and get something to eat and it was the same time as the bats come out they were every where one just missed hitting my husband. On our last day there we just vegged out by the pool and took it easy as we had a 7 hour drive down to the airport and then I had I long flight back home (my husband spent another 6 weeks out there working).
The only words I learned when I was there was Jambo which means Hello and Karibuni which means welcome. All the time I was there I only seen one spider and it was tiny and was disposed of very quickly. One thing if your going don’t forget to look up at night. The sky in this part of the world is amazing they have much more stars than we do and you could spend hours looking at them.
A few tips. Make sure you check with your doctor before going as to what type of injections you may need. DON’T DRINK THE WATER or eat salad unless it had been washed in bottled water. Kenya is a poor country, which means that you can’t take any money out of the country all exchanges must be done in Kenya. At night try to where long sleeved tops and trousers and put plenty of insect repellent on, as the insects will bit you. There is only one main road in Kenya going to the north all the rest are dirt tracks some of which reminded me of a roller coaster with all the dips in the road. The roads are very dangerous as clouds of dry dirt fly up ever time a car passes you and it’s almost impossible to see so please drive carefully.
This is the only holiday abroad I have ever been on and I loved ever minute of it I would love to go back one day and take my children this time.
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