We departed from New York on Swiss Air at 6:30 to Zurich and then a 2 hour wait for the Swiss Air flight on to Nairobi, arriving in Nairobi at 7:30pm. We were met at
the airport by the local tour operator, Private Safaris, and whisked away to our hotel. Our room is great, canopied beds with netting and a verandah that looks over a lagoon. What more could one ask for? The bed felt like a cloud! Of course, we were so tired that the bed could have been the floor and it would have felt great.
I woke at 3:00am Kenya time (8 hour time difference from New York), thought it was later, oh well, back to bed until six. A long hot shower with a strong spray then sat on the verandah and watched the sunrise. Birds, acacia trees, and bougainvillea – I’m in Africa! Breakfast included a wide variety of choices; eggs cooked to order, French toast, crêpes, various rolls and juices, sausage, and bacon. Our hotel, Nairobi Safari Park Hotel, was located north of the city, and was absolutely beautiful. The buildings were once occupied by the British Air forces and converted into the hotel, set on 64 acres of beautifully manicured gardens. The grounds include swimming pools, casino, restaurants and some really nice shops.
We met our group at 8:00 and were off for a day of sightseeing. We visited the Karen Blixen home, famed author of “Out of Africa” and the nearby Giraffe Center were we met and fed Daisy, the famous Rothschild giraffe.
The center is repopulating the Rothschild giraffes and teaching children the importance of conservation. Before the sanctuary was established the Rothschild s’ had been reduced to only 150 – being killed by the tribes for meat and to eliminate them from farm land. Due to draught, the Masai herds are getting into the preserves. The government in an effort to educate and save the game parks are buying the Masai cattle and then giving them the meat, since the draught is causing the tribes to suffer from hunger. The Masai traditionally do not eat their cattle, as their sign of wealth is how many cattle they own. Usually they only drink the blood and milk.After lunch at the Karen Restaurant, we stopped at the community bead store – here women are making ceramic beads and earning a few dollars from their sale, did some shopping in the city center, and then returned to our hotel for a few minutes of rest before dinner.
Dinner at the hotel was quite wonderful – a presentation of dancers and acrobats and then dinner which included, crocodile, camel, lamb, goat and various other meats, and a full desert table. Then off to bed, we have an early start in the morning on our way to Samburu.
After breakfast we met in front of the hotel, were divided into groups of 5 or 6 and introduced to our driver/guide and then we were off.
I felt very lucky to be included with a group of five single gals, from California, Mass, Kansas, Ohio and Michigan. Our driver, Walter, began teaching us some Swahili words and to explain the scenery as we drove north. As we approached Mt. Kenya, the road passed some of the most fertile areas of Kenya, pineapple plantations owned by Dole, coffee plantations, and produce farms. Many of the coffee plantations have converted to growing flowers, which are then transported by plane to Europe. After we passed the Equator, we stopped for lunch at the Trout Farm (a delicious meal) and then continued northward. As we continued the land began to become more arid and villages were further apart. Isolo is the frontier town that borders the wilds of northern Kenya, a crossroads for Samburu. As you enter town, you see markets on the side of the road. We did not have time to stop but we could see that the markets were very active and colorful. Beyond this town, the paved road ends, and the dirt roads are heavily corrugated (in fact we drove on a make shift road which was less bumpy then the main road) – I called it driving in the ditch! By this time the heat of the day was upon us and we were tired and a little irritable. Finally we reached the gates to Samburu National Reserve and our first view of the wonderful animals of Kenya began. On our way to the lodge we saw Grevy’s zebras, Cape buffalo, lions, and Reticulated giraffes.
Our lodge, the Samburu Lodge, is situated on the Uaso Nyiro River and although quite dry at this time of the year, animals still come down to the river to drink, baboons and monkeys are running all over the grounds. Dinner is served at 7:30pm and then to bed.
An early morning wake up, morning coffee and we leave for a morning game drive – the animals are absolutely wonderful-elephants, zebras, lions and various birds, we then return for breakfast. After breakfast we go to a Samburu tribal concave. Gregory, the host, explains that he is host only because of his ability to speak English, the charge of $20.00 is divided amongst the tribe and helps them to buy needed goods. Gregory explains some of the customs of the Samburu, who are closely related to the Masai. The story goes, that as the tribes moved south from the Sudan area, hundreds of years ago, the Samburu stopped in northern Kenya, whereas the Masai, continued south and now live in southern Kenya and Tanzania. Women of the Samburu and also of the Masai, are circumcised, what we refer to as genital mutilation. Gregory only explained that it was their custom. Times are changing very quickly for these nomadic people and Gregory told us that more children, both girls and boys are going to school, to learn how to cope in this new world. Gregory then asked if any of us watched the television show “Survivor”. He and several of his people were in the Survivor Africa. He said, “did you see it on television”. I replied, “yes”. And he said, “oh, we didn’t get to see it, since we have no electricity but we did see what they shot when we visited the camp.”
Members of the tribe then did a welcoming dance, and we joined in (which was fun) and then proceeded to visit the compound. The Samburu people are very handsome and wear red cloth wrapped around their bodies and heavily beaded necklaces. We then had an opportunity to purchase some of their bead work.
An evening drive highlighted by seeing a leopard and a lion killing and eating a zebra.
A full day, followed by dinner and we are all exhausted and ready for our comfy beds. Just before leaving for dinner we hear some noises outside, an elephant has entered the compound and is enjoying the grass right outside our room.
After breakfast we pack the vans and take our last drive through the Samburu Reserve and see more of the beautiful animals – we do stop by to see what is left of the zebra that we had seen the lion kill the day before. We expected that it would be gone, but the lion was still guarding her kill, she had just moved it a few feet. Guess she wasn’t finished eating.
Our drive today takes us to the Mt. Kenya National Park, where we spend the night at the Serena Mountain Lodge. This small lodge is located at a natural waterhole and the animals, Cape buffalo, elephants, leopards and others come to drink at this special spot.
A wonderful dinner is served with a wide choice of food to please every taste. During the night, a guide will wake you to see specific animals that you request to see if they come to the waterhole, you just step into your balcony to watch them. This is a beautiful spot completely different then the arid Samburu Reserve.
A morning Champaign breakfast is served and we leave this beautiful spot to continue on to Lake Nakuru National Park and the Sarova Lion Hill Lodge. We stop for a brief moment at Thompson’s Falls, take a few pictures and stretch our legs. On our afternoon drive we see Black and White Rhino, the pink and white flamingos, wildebeest, zebra,
storks, and numerous other birds which live along the lake’s shoreline. This is one of Kenya’s finest rhino sanctuaries. What a sight!
We leave the lodge early the next morning and again stop to see the flamingos before departing for Lake Naivasha, with breathtaking views of the Rift Valley. We arrive at Lake Naivasha and board a small pontoon boat to see the hippos. I couldn’t believe there were so many. We had lunch at the Country Club, where we boarded the boat.
I would have liked to have spent the night here, the grounds were beautiful, but we were continuing on to the Masai Mara.This portion of the trip from Lake Naivasha to the Masai Mara was a drive that I will never forget. It was the drive from hell. No one would believe the road unless you were there – there wasn’t a road. The road is under construction and a track has been made along side of the road. Heavy trucks were on this track, the dust was so bad we had to cover our face, and at times you couldn’t see in front of you. This track was filled with deep ruts which were almost like ravines, amazing! We passed an area known as Hell’s Gate, rather appropriate. It took us an hour to go about 15 miles. Walter’s driving was amazing; I don’t know how he did it.
We didn’t arrive at our lodge, Mara Simba Lodge located on the banks of the Talek River, until 7:30pm. I opted to skip dinner, just too tired, so I stepped out on the porch, it was black as pitch and then I heard some large animal grunting, I couldn’t see what was out there, so I went back inside, showered and jumped into bed. This was truly a long day, since we had gotten up at 6:00am. I think if I did this again, I would stay at the Country Club, then have an early morning start for the Masai Mara or fly into the Masai Mara.
Early morning safari, then back to the lodge for breakfast. A trip to a Masai village after breakfast was optional. The Masai compound was very similar to the Samburu; however, I felt more welcomed by the Samburu. We were escorted by Mary, the second wife of the chief, who spoke very good English. The Masai men are allowed many wives, depending on how many cows then can give to the bride’s family. So if they are wealthy they can have many wives. The men tend the cattle and the women seem to do the rest, build the houses, search for firewood, and do the cooking. After our tour, we were able to purchase some of their crafts-beaded necklaces and carvings.
We had an afternoon game drive, dinner and then early to bed. Another full day.
A wake up call this morning at 4:45am, we had an exhilarating hot-air balloon safari high above the plains. Watching the morning sunrise was really an unforgettable experience.
After our ride, we were treated to breakfast on the plains, complete with Champaign, and received certificates commemorating our flight. As we drove back to the lodge, we viewed more animals. A wonderful experience! A late afternoon game drive was followed by a farewell dinner.
We left about 10:00 in the morning to catch a flight back to Nairobi. We were sad to say goodbye to Walter – he had made our safari such a personal experience.
We arrived at Wilson Airport in Nairobi and went back to the Nairobi Safari Park Hotel where day rooms were waiting for us. An optional excursion was available this evening to the Carnivore Restaurant before leaving Nairobi. I opted not to go and instead chose to sleep as I knew a long flight was forthcoming.
We left for the airport about 7:00pm, our Swiss Air flight was delayed and didn’t leave until 1:00am, but we made our connections in Zurich without a problem.
And then home.
Would I go to Africa again – absolutely yes….a wonderful experience!
Seen on Kenya Safari Trip
1. Mosquitoes
2. Cattle
3. Goats
4. Sheep
5. Goose
6. Rothschild Giraffe (white legs)
7. Colobus Monkey
8. Vulture
9. Dik-dik
10. Grevey Zebra (small stripe)
11. Samali Ostrich (blue legs)
12. Oryx
13. Reticulated Giraffe
14. Lion
15. Elephant
16. Silver Neck Quail
17. Impala
18. Cape Buffalo
19. Grant Gazelle
20. Leopard
21. Mongoose
22. Giraffe Maasai
23. Guinea Hen
24. Squirrel
25. Waterbuck
26. Gecko
27. African Heko
28. Vorshaline Guinea Hen
29. Super Starling
30. Vervet Monkey
31. Baboon
32. Marabou Storks
33. “Bygone” snake
34. African Marsh Owl
35. Wart Hog
36. Crocodile
37. Large Spotted Genet
38. Marsh Mongoose
39. White Tailed Mongoose
40. African Hare
41. Sykes Monkey
42. Bush Buck
43. Giant Forest Hog
44. Hornbills
45. Tawny Eagle
46. Common Zebra
47. Black Rhino
48. White Rhino
49. Pink Pelicans
50. African Fishing Eagle
51. Pink Flamingos
52. Hippos
53. Defassa Water Buck
54. Ibis
55. Cormorants
56. Egrets
57. Wildabeest
58. Donkeys
59. Dog
60. Cat
61. Kori Bustard
62. Topi
63. Marshall Eagle
64. Bronz Super Starling
65. Ground Hornbill
66. Spotted Hyena
67. Cheetah
68. Thompson Gazelle
69. Elan
70. Monitor Lizard
71. Red Leg Plumbers
72. Reedbuck
73. Turtle
