Giraffes sighted

After the long day on Friday, I had an unexpected respite – the weekend off. As this is likely to be rare, my driver and I decided to make the most of it and visited the nearest game park, Sweetwater Game Reserve at the Old Pojeta Ranch a few hours from Embu. We spent an enjoyable Saturday afternoon driving along the tracks in the preserve and sighting various animals including zebras, giraffes, different species of gazelles/antelopes/etc, warthogs, and rhinos. We even got to see chimps – although not native to Kenya, there’s a chimp orphanage that was established by the Jane Goodall foundation. Unfortunately, we didn’t sight an lions, elephants, or hippos, but that’s OK since I’d already seen plenty of those when I’d been on safari in Tanzania a few years ago (check out my last blog www.sparktravels.blogspot.com for those details). Anyway, the rhinos made up for not seeing the others. In Tanzania, I’d only seen one from a great distance. This time, I got to see three quite close. One of them, a black rhino named Morani or Rani for short, is even tame – tame enough that he lets people walk up to him to touch and pet him!

Driving all the way back to Embu would have been pretty long, so we'd booked rooms at a place recommended in Rough Guides Kenya. The place, called the Equator Chalet, was in the town of Nanyuki. In case it’s not obvious, the area sits just around the equator – to be more specific, Embu is just south of it, while Nanyuki is just north of it. Anyway, the Equator Chalet was at least clean and did have private bathrooms and hot showers as well as a dining area where one could get dinner and breakfast. Otherwise, it was pretty bare with conditions that would surely make the UN security officer who briefed us in training raise his eyebrows. All the rooms had windows and doors along main corridors that opened out to an inner courtyard – if you’ve ever stayed in a Best Western motel, the style is similar, although at least these rooms were a few floors above the street. The wooden door had old fashioned keys and keyholes (quaint) and ended just about a couple centimeters above the floor – just enough for insects like dark locusts and whatever else to crawl under as they were attracted to the light. Thank goodness for duct tape – makes a great bottom door flap to keep the buggers out. Given the bare minimum security, I was glad of Diane’s husband’s gift of wooden door stoppers to help keep the door shut. Unfortunately there wasn’t much I could do about the inadequate latches on the windows. The bathroom was interesting – the shower, toilet, and sink were basically all contained in one cramped room with no divisions. This was an interesting and weird experience. But, again, at least the room and bedsheets were clean, and dinner was decent (although I’m discovering that Kenyan chickens seem to be a bit tougher and much leaner on the bone – by the way, thanks to Rift Valley Fever, there’s no beef to be had anywhere – i.e., massive culling ongoing to stem that). Security was not really an issue; what was an issue, was noise. It was Saturday night in a town that is located near a Kenyan Air Base and a British training base. Oh well, one can put up with most things for one night.

Sunday, we decided to have a closer look at Mt. Kenya. Given lack of time and gear, we opted to drive as far as we could from the Sirimon Gate up to Old Moses Camp, about 3300m. This route affords a good look at the rainforest fauna and flora. Had we started up at a much earlier hour, I suspect that we might have come upon some elephants – there was plenty of evidence of them on the road. At Old Moses Camp, we got out and hiked a little ways and enjoyed the cool fresh air. There’s something about being on a mountain that’s just so awe-inspiring and so peaceful. I only wish I had the opportunity to climb to the top – another time maybe.

Now, back in Embu, I prepare for the busy week ahead of me. The cell phones Diane and I purchased have been a Godsend. Without this cell phone, it would have been pretty difficult to communicate with others and plan for the week. Secondarily, it also helps me feel connected with my colleagues in the field. Ironically, although I'm still the closest to Nairobi, our main home base, I seem to be as isolated as the others. No convenient internet access here in Embu, whereas Diane can just walk across the street where she is in Nakuru, thanks to the fact that it’s a touristy location. Funny how things turn out.