Safari Stories (Oct 23/02)

Jambo everyone!! Welcome to the next installment - and be prepared, I
have a LOT to say!

SOOOO...... the safari was AWESOME!!!! Yep, I think I want to live in
the bush :) We left late on Friday afternoon - African time, after all
:) After climbing the edge of the Rift Valley (what a view!), bouncing
over potholes, listening to whistling thorn bushes, eating peanuts and
chapati, teaching the young city girls how to pee in the bush, and
waving at all the people along the way, we made it to camp (Maji Moto)
around 11pm. The kids were starving! Oh yah, I should explain - the trip
was a father-child bonding/educational theme - which turned out to be so
much fun! My job was to look after the kids who ranged from 5 to 13
years old (I was the only woman there, naturally - well, except for the
cheetah conservationist lady), take photos for the safari company's
website, and help out wherever else...

The chef and tent riggers had been preparing for our arrival all day -
so we dove into the food, built a campfire, and assigned everyone to
tents. This was by no means a luxury adventure (in comparison to Crater
Lake!) but we were certainly well looked after... highly recommended!
Went for a bit of a walk under the Kenyan moon with Asad, the host, and
then tried to settle down on the ground for the night.. no such luck, I
was too excited to sleep (luckily no annoying tree branches digging into
your back here though!) So in the morning when the group went to the hot
springs (maji moto = hot water in maasai) I took my time getting up
instead ;)

After breakfast, we went to the primary school close to the camp - the
Maasai kids are so cute! One tiny boy kept running up to me, giggling
for all he was worth, closer each time, till he finally got the courage
to touch my leg - he'd touch me and then run away shrieking laughter,
over and over. They also loved my camera - seeing the picture right away
floored them - you'll see them gathered around me, freaking over my
watch in the photos. I was way popular :) Since the camp is in the
middle of Maasailand, we were visited by quite a few cows, along with
the males who tend them, the women bead-sellers, and their babies. Of
course I bought many beads - in fact one bracelet is so authentic it was
removed from the oldest women's wrist! The men all wear red blankets, in
whatever manner is most comfortable for the weather at the time (not
sure if they go "scottish" or not ;), and the women have white sheets
with red patterns, and both wear lots of jewellery made of beads, bones,
and metal. Everyone has a shaved head, and the little ones greet you by
presenting their head for you to touch. Throughout the whole trip, I was
fascinated with these people - they are the only tribe around here that
live traditionally - grazing their cows during the day, sleeping with
them at night - and I was so thrilled to see it first hand. Luckily I
was just as fascinating to them - everyone stared at me wherever we went
- one asked Asad if he could touch my hair - and then said it felt like
a lion!! hehehe :) Obviously they're also very friendly :)

On Saturday afternoon we packed up again for the ride to the next camp,
in Sekenani, near the gate of the Maasai Mara game reserve, spotting the
wildlife along the way. Mostly outside of the reserve are lotsa
antelopes/gazelles, maybe a giraffe or two, buffalo (which you don't
want to meet), and hyena, the ones with the weird whooping laugh-type
sound. This next camp was even better - a few permanenet tents, running
water, hot showers - and the first thing I did was bathe in the river
(ok, little dirty stream, but it was refreshing!! :) We took a walk
through the bush, stopping to find out how Maasai brush their teeth (a
certain type of branch) and see what elephant poop looks like (BIG). We
ended up at the village, and I acquired a Maasai friend - Suruni, a
17-year-old guy who speaks perfect English, wears a blanket, and thinks
a 30-year-old blonde would be just great to marry :) He offered to let
me stay in the manyatta (this is a Maasai homestead - a fenced ring
which encloses the cows and people huts) but instead I brought him on
our night game drive and then back to the campfire. He's a sweet,
soft-spoken guy, very earnest... poor thing, thinking he's getting over
the hill since he hasn't found a wife yet..! (will send photo of him as
well).

On Sunday we went into the Maasai Mara and saw all kinds of game -
everyone keeps asking me about the animals, and yah, they were cool, but
honestly I was more interested in the people!! As well, the landscape is
simply incredible... but, admittedly, it was pretty damn cool to see
lions. Also saw a bunch of vultures ripping a freshly killed gazelle to
bits! (no photos, don't worry :). Went to the Kenya conservation
society, learned about reserve management and cheetahs, and bounced our
way back to camp. I mostly sat with this incredible 5-year-old named
Gurraj (cutie-g) who's obsessed with dinosaurs - he read a whole book to
me with perfect inflection - and not a small book, it took about 1/2
hour! The rest of the time he drew pictures of dinosaurs and wrote his
own stories. Very determined, with a smile that would win over the
hardest heart. The kids were all great, really, considering they're the
children of a group from the "Young Presidents Organization" - which
essentially means a bunch of guys who own successful companies at a
young age - i.e. rich. I was very relieved to find that the fathers were
all down-to-earth too... but I think that might have had something to do
with the tattoo exhibition ;) Seriously, everyone was fantastic, and I
made a few good contacts - even an HP/Cisco reseller!! My final job was
to give a talk on... wait for it... skydiving!! Here's me talking for an
hour to a group of 22 kids & their fathers, answering questions,
demonstrating moves.. what a trip! The fathers are all up for a
skydiving adventure - the next lesson is in March, so I'll organize it
for them with my newly found aeroclub contacts :)

Man, do you know how long it takes to write this stuff???! I have a
meeting in the morning, I must go! (I'm probably going to Loki/Lodwar
for work at the end of the week so I have to get prepared).

So we finished the weekend with a bunch of red wine and dancing at the
next camp.. rolled out of the sleeping bag and into the truck in the
morning, saw Uhuru Kenyatta (presidential candidate) in Narok town, and
made it back by sundown. I'm still trying to readjust to city life
now...

So, I must send a big thanks to Adil for setting all of this up.. life
is good, then it gets better :)

miss you all,
hugs,
johanna

 

Copyright Johanna Voerman Khisa, 2002-03. Reprinting or reposting without permission is prohibited.