Darcy is very lucky. She has college friends all over the world, making vacations with her two teenagers affordable and exciting. For the summer of 2015, Darcy decided to visit her friend who was on assignment in Kenya. The friend contacted us first (expats are understandably protective of their visitors) and, passing the screening test, we started planning the big adventure with Darcy.
I had nine days left for the safari and, as with most family groups, the budget was not excessive. We arranged a camping trip to keep the price down, with accommodation at her friend’s house for the nights in Nairobi. The itinerary covered Amboseli National Park, Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Lake Nakuru National Park, Lake Naivasha and ended with rafting on the Tana River.
Wildlife escapes in Amboseli
Amboseli was the first stop on their safari and the camp is unfortunately not the best in Kenya so it was a leap from deep down into the Kenyan forest and camp scene. But waking up at dawn and gazing out of the tent at a crystal clear view of Mount Kilimanjaro somewhat makes up for the lower comfort levels. On their safari they saw ostriches, crowned cranes, a goliath heron, and hippos. But the highlight must surely be the baby elephants playing in the mud. They jostled each other for the position, but once they lay down in the bathroom they didn’t budge for their friends!
Meanwhile, back at camp, he was fighting baboons. The biggest baboon in Kenya (I’m sure!) Came to see the food boxes that we thought were safe enough. As he walked on all fours, he appeared to be the size of a lion. Safe boxes were nothing to him. He crushed the balsamic vinegar cap, but he must not have liked the taste. He emptied the coffee can, probably not to his liking either. He finally left with the five 2 minute noodle pack – definitely no explanation for the taste! The Maasai who work in the camp heard my female cries and came to help, but a little late. The baboon disappeared, but dropped noodles when it left, which the Maasai rescued for me. After that, we put the food boxes in their locked baboon-proof shed. However, it seemed like he didn’t just have to watch out for baboons; the cook’s assistant didn’t realize some of the food was bear and almost grabbed my cabbage (caught it just in time!).
Maasai Mara Safari
We return to Nairobi for the night before heading to the Maasai Mara. The road was especially bumpy up to the Mara and poor Darcy was a little green when we finally got there. In the afternoon, they went hiking up the cliff with the local Maasai for a breathtaking view of the game reserve.
Darcy, Faye, and Kelton spent a full day in the park with Francis, enjoying a picnic lunch in the savannah. They saw elephants, hartebeest, buffalo, giraffe, and the most amazing leopard sighting ever. He was sitting in a sausage tree, but as they watched, the leopard descended from the tree giving a clear view of this magnificent and most elusive creature. They had already seen another leopard earlier in the morning sitting in a leafy tree, so they were already having an above-average safari, but this was a big cherry on top.
Lakes of the Rift Valley of Kenya
The next stop was Kembu Camp for pizza night! There was also a large group from one of the Nairobi international schools, but Faye and Kelton were a bit shy about interacting, preferring to stay comfortable around the open fire with Darcy, Francis, and myself (which I can definitely understand, since it’s quite cold there). However, the pizza oven and open fire weren’t the only reasons we stayed at Kembu; It is also convenient to get to Lake Nakuru National Park, which we did the next day. Buffaloes wallowing in the mud, land covered in oxpeckers (birds that delight in the ticks that inhabit the fur of most of Africa’s wildlife), giraffes, baboons and zebras were the highlights of the day. They reached Makalia Falls at the southern end of the park.
That night we arrived at Fish Eagle Inn on the shore of Lake Naivasha in pouring rain. The appeal of pitching tents in the downpour was not high, so they opted to upgrade to a room. Cycling in Hells Gate National Park had been designated in the planning stages as something they definitely wanted to do and that was the plan for the next day. It is without a doubt the highlight of many safaris in Kenya!
The bikes were selected and they rode the 2km to the gate as we drove to settle the entrance fees. Unfortunately, by the time they got to the door, Kelton was in very bad shape and going through the cycle for a full day was not going to be pleasant. So we changed it to a walk in the park with a few stops along the way. We first stopped at Fisher’s Tower, where Faye and Darcy tried rock climbing. Darcy made it to the top! We continued all the way to the gorge where the family went for a walk with the ranger through the gorge. Francis and I found a checkerboard with plastic bottle caps on one of the picnic tables. Fortunately, Kelton returned in time to save me from embarrassment when he took my place against Francis.
Whitewater rafting was to be the last activity before returning to Nairobi. But it was not like that. Kelton wasn’t getting any better and rafting was the last thing he felt like he could do. It was a shame because he had been the one who had been the most excited about it in the run-up to. Instead we came back early so I could go to the doctor. They still had a trip to the coast organized and it was generally agreed that it would be much better for him to be able to enjoy his time there, rather than endanger him further with a rafting excursion.
Everything ended well and they had a great time on the beach! It was great traveling with Darcy, Faye and Kelton and we hope they will return one day.