Cairo to Cape Blog
25 - 31 December 2008
It is 10:30am on Sunday morning and we have already seen 11 White Rhino,
Impala, Buffalo, Waterbuck, Warthog, Pink Flamingo, Pelican, Hyena, Giraffe,
Rock Hyrax, Baboons and baby Vervet Monkey...we are in Nakuru National Park
my favorite Game Park in all of Africa. Small and compact it has everything
from Big Cats to Rock Hyrax to African Eagles to Egrets.
But lets go back a couple of days...
We had 5 days in Nairobi. The vehicles underwent a major service and some replacements of worn parts. All was going well, Thiemo and Francis working their way through the 5 vehicles looking to finish well before Christmas. It was Christmas Eve and all they had to do was replace a windscreen which had been booked in that morning and a little bit of welding. The boys were on schedule to knock off by 3pm Christmas Eve. Or so they thought.
When Africa Wins Again
Fancis took Fred's landie down town to replace the windscreen. The old windscreen was carefully removed and the new one put it. It was the last vehicle for the day and before closing for Christmas/New Year holidays - the boys are good and quick... The windscreen slid nicely into place and the final sealing and setting was taking place when one of the boys (maybe a little keen to break for holidays) slipped with the screw driver and chipped the windscreen...it was now 12:30pm. No problem thought Francis; take that one out and replace it. "Sorry", said the manager "that was our last windscreen; but if you come back on 4th January we will be happy to replace it for you free of charge...and Merry Christmas".....
Unfortunately on the 4th of January we will be nowhere near Nairobi let alone taking the time to return to have the new cracked windscreen replaced. So time to make a plan. A few phone calls later and we found a guy across the industrial area that had a windscreen but we had to pick it up and take it to his workshop for fitting. No chance it was to fit into the car - not with all the personal items!! So one of the boys grabbed the windscreen and started walking to the workshop while Francis waited at the workshop; and waited and waited and waited. As it turned out the police had arrested the worker thinking he had stolen the windscreen; the police were not having the explanation, demanding proof of ownership. A long discussion and a few hundred shilling bribe and the worker was allowed to proceed with the windscreen. The windscreen was fitted and Francis arrived back at camp 4pm Christmas Eve.
To top it off on Christmas morning Thiemo had a good look at the brand new windscreen... It is cracked also! AAAAARRRRRGGGHHHH we call it WAWA (and yes it is a formal term in Africa)... When Africa Wins Again!
Christmas Day
For Thiemo and I, Christmas is not about presents; it never has been; for us the most important thing is to spend it with loved ones and eat great food. It has been some years since either of us have been home for Christmas (home meant in the loose sense - Thiemo back to Germany and me Oz); normally we are working over Christmas and this year is no exception.
I could never understand why Christmas lunch should be a full heavy roast meal with all the trimmings followed by heavy pudding. It is always hot and sunny and the last thing anyone feels like. We decided on brunch...
Brunch was sensational to say the least. Cold South African bubbly, icy orange juice, imported French Roquefort cheese, Swiss Emmentaler, French Brie, Scottish Cheddar, Norwegian Smoked Salmon and Mackerel, Smoked Ham, Roast Turkey, Italian Salami, Stuffed Rolled Turkey, Greek Kalamata Olives, Dutch licorice, traditional Mince pies, Dill Cucumbers, Fresh Green Salad, bowls of lightly salted mixed nuts, tropical fruit platter, fresh crusty bread and German Christstollen.
 Presents, Present and Presents |
 Christmas Brunch, Nairobi, Kenya |
What can I say but I don't think the photos really do the meal justice; no one was more impressed than me - what a feast, what a day.
After brunch Thiemo and I raced home to our house 40kms from Nairobi to collect some more clothes and drop off paperwork from the Northern part of the expedition. Fred, Peter, Linda, Sue and Russ decided a bit of culture was in need and headed to the Bomas of Kenya for the cultural afternoon. Hans and Jenny met up with them late afternoon to enjoy a local meal.
Safari, Safari, Safari
On the 26th of December we left Nairobi for an 80km drive to the shores of Lake Naivasha.
A visit to Lake Naivasha is not complete without indulging in High Tea at Elsamere, the home of "Born Free". Joy and George Adamson lived in this house for some years before George was murdered by Somalian poachers in Northern Kenya and Joy murdered by one of her workers at Elsamere. The Born Free Foundation was established to preserve an integral piece of conservation history. Joy and George pioneered animal husbandry techniques within an African context during the colonial period. In addition to visiting the Home/Museum and watching a video on their lives High Tea is served at 4pm. An array of mouth watering cakes, puddings, cucumber sandwiches, quiche, home-made lemonade, tea and coffee. One cannot resist a second plate...
We woke early the following morning to prepare for our first and possibly only walking safari. There are not too many places throughout Africa where walking safaris are possible for obvious reasons. Green Crater Lake is a little hidden treasure that truly deserves justice - the small area boasts lush green grass and acacia trees; a favorite to an array of animals including giraffe, eland, dik-dik, kudu, warthog and zebra. Marcus, our local guide spent the morning explaining what different fauna and flora are used for by the local people.
That afternoon we continued a further 70kms to Nakuru National Park, where I started this blog entry.
It was time to camp out in the middle of nature in one of the public campgrounds. Surrounded by wildlife we parked our cars and pitched the tents in special formation. While the group headed off on a game drive I cooked dinner while Thiemo fought of ambushing Baboons. Finally a couple of Overland safari trucks arrived in the same camp; the baboons promptly moved to investigate what the trucks had for dinner and left us alone.
I had told the group they had to be back in camp by 6pm; Peter and Linda arrived right on time. Sue and Russ 10 mins later with the best excuse in history... They had arranged a delivery of beer for 7pm from the Rangers Station a few kms away!!!! Great excuse and the beer arrived at 8pm - where else in the World do you get a delivery of beer to a camp in the middle of a game park??
An early start to the day and all were off in search of leopard, lion and rhino. Everyone saw plenty of rhino including a new young couple with their tiny first born; Fred and Francis were the only ones to spot leopard and as for lion...I guess we will have to wait for the Serengeti for that one.
Kenana Farm
We decided to change the itinerary and spend a night at a local Kenyan farm - as we have a few interested in farming techniques. A wander around the farm to see how farming is done in Kenya by 5th generation colonial farmers was a pleasant way to kill a few hours. That night we ate farm fillet steak and home-made fresh bread...
Into The Tropics
So here we are in Uganda. A painless border crossing and a mix of brand new wide tar roads and dirt tracks. Uganda is famous for the Source of the Nile (Lake Victoria), Critically Endangered Mountain Gorillas and recently for stiking oil in the middle of Lake Albert...the people are friendly, relaxed and want nothing more than peace and happiness; the weather is hot and humid (last night we had rain for only the second time) and fresh ripe tropical fruit is plentiful.
Hans, Sue, Russ and Thiemo have continued across Western Uganda to trek critically endangered Mountain Gorillas while the rest of us have stayed in Kampala for a day or two before driving to Jinja, the source of the Nile.
Tonight it is New Years Eve, for dinner we have fillet steak wrapped in bacon served with baby potatoes dripping in fresh farm butter and a light green salad. Obviously we have a few bottles of champagne on ice to celebrate the New Year...now whether or not we make it that late is a different story... If all else fails we will celebrate the New Year New Zealand time...
Jinja our next stop... The adventure capital of East Africa...
On that note and on behalf of Thiemo, Francis, Grace and I we wish you all a joyous, safe and prosperous 2009.
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