Summer time & the living is easy

28^th September 2011. Time is truly flying – I cannot believe we are only a few days away from October! So much has happened in this year, but even so, it is going so very fast. Even more amazing is just how well and how quickly we’ve settled into a good routine here in Nairobi, making good friends and enjoying our environment.

We’ve had a great run of good weather, which I am loving. The sun has been out, letting us play outside and swim and enjoy the heat. Evan it seems has lost all of the swimming skills he learned during his 8 months at swimming lessons in Jo’burg and is actually a little scared of the pool, preferring to splash in his shell on hot days. The swimming class I was hoping to take him to here has been cancelled, so I’m going to have to slowly try and reintroduce him to the pool and get his confidence back up so that he enjoys the water more. Having said that, the pool in our compound is so indescribably cold that I cannot really blame him for not wanting in!

Evan is settling nicely in school and starting to participate a bit more in the activities they do. This morning we had a coffee meeting for all the parents in his class where the head-mistress and his teacher told us what they’ll be doing this year, what they should achieve etc. It was great to meet the other parents and get all the info. Having said that, I was the one who cornered the headmistress last week and told her she really should have an orientation morning for us newbie parents … so she’s probably going to start ducking each time she sees me now and label me as ‘one of those busybody mums’ from now on. Mark and I found it very informative though & were very happy to meet the other parents, so it was worth being pushy!

We’ve also been doing some local sight-seeing with Mark’s mum here. Last week we took her to visit the giraffes and feed them and this week we went to the Crocodile village. I’d not been here before and we loved it. Fuzzy wouldn’t touch one – but Evan and I got up close and personal with some baby crocs and some tortoises too.  They also had a bit of a funfair area, so Evan got to ride around on some cars and play on the trampoline while we were there too. A great day out.

We’ve also been quite busy socially, enjoying time with new friends and meeting more people. This town is so expat-friendly, there are so many opportunities to be social and find your feet – we are truly lucky to have been sent here. We’re off to Nakuru on Friday for a long weekend away to see more game and more of Kenya with Mark’s mum, so looking forward to that & will post pics and details early next week.

In the meantime, lots of love & congratulations go out to Claire and Andrew from us on the birth of their girl twins Morgan and Andrew – we cannot wait to meet them. Also, very happy birthday wishes to both my parents and my ‘adopted’ mum, Rosemary (who is unfortunately in hospital at the moment) for a great year ahead.

Chat to you all next week. Love and laughter xxx.

Of Zebras & Zumba

18^th September 2011. After nearly 5 months in Nairobi we finally spent today discovering the gem on our doorstep (15km away from home to be exact) – the Nairobi National Park. What a super day out! Within half an hour of entering the park we found ourselves watching a pride of lions feasting on a zebra they’d just killed (the second time in two weeks we’ve been lucky enough to see this) and we just continued to see more and more as we drove. Giraffe, heaps and heaps of zebra, ostrich, gazelles, wildebeest, warthog and more. The glimpse of the city skyline you get every so often is the only clue that you’re driving around in the middle of a capital city. It may have taken us a while to get into the park, but now that we have – I’m pretty sure we’ll be fairly regular visitors. I think I’m going to have to work hard not to turn this blog into a travelogue with all the wonderful stuff we’re getting to do and see in Kenya.

In other news, we have Mark’s mum here from South Africa at the moment. She is visiting us for a month and enjoying her time with Evan and with Percy. We’ll spend most of her month here in Nairobi – which is a great excuse to visit the giraffes at the sanctuary again, feed some elephants, visit the crocodile farm etc. – but we have got a trip to Nakuru planned for the last weekend of the month, which will be great. Before today, Fuzzy (Mark’s mum) hadn’t been to a game reserve in over 20 years – so we’ll overload her with wild life and safaris this month to make up for all she’s missed.

Evan is back at school and settling in steadily. He still has ‘moments’ and has on some days point blank refused to take part in the activity planned. That stubborn streak is showing itself more and more!  There are more kids in his class now but I’ve only met one of the mums so far as none of them ever seem to be there when I drop Evan off or pick him up. Anyway, I’m sure the birthday party circuit will start before long and we’ll meet up with everyone that way

I didn’t start the job that I spoke about in a previous job. In the end, it wasn’t really the right thing for me for a whole heap of reasons. I was really looking forward to working, but at the same time I’m glad that I discovered it wasn’t for me in good time. I’m still hoping that some other contacts here work out and I can get some consulting work for a few hours a week in another way.  I would like to find a way to keep my brain in gear (even low gear) while we’re here, but still don’t want to return to a full time position yet.

What I did start this week was volunteering at a horse riding school for disabled children. My role is as a ‘side walker’ and just as it says, I walk along beside the child on the horse and keep a hold on their leg, making sure they retain their balance on the horse and encourage them to take part in the activities during the lesson. The children who were there on the day I volunteered are mentally (and some also physically) disabled, but they are such happy little people who just love the horses and the riding classes. I had such a good time and so enjoyed the experience that I’m most definitely going to keep doing this and more than likely get just as much out of it as the kids themselves do. I have to say though, that seeing these kids makes me tremendously grateful for all the health and opportunity that we’ve have in our lives. A clear reminder to count my blessings.

I also started Zumba classes this week. It is aerobics really (although with much cooler music and rhythm) and I haven’t been to an aerobics class in more years that I’d like to admit. I thought I did okay though and managed to mostly keep up with all the moves – just had a little problem coordinating my arms with my legs in some places – and made it through the hour class. I’ll go to a class every week going forward and hopefully get it all sorted before long.

Okay, that’s it for now. Over and out from Nairobi xxx.

Our fabuous weekend in Ol Pejeta

4^th September 2011. After 4 months in Nairobi (with a 3 week sojourn to SA and the UK in between) we have just taken our very first trip inside of Kenya and our destination of choice was Ol Pejeta Conservancy near Nanyuki in the Laikipia province.

During the colonial era, the Laikipia Plateau was utilized as an extensive cattle ranching area. Lacking the rainfall required to successfully cultivate crops, cattle ranching was seen as the next best way to utilize the land. In those days wildlife was perceived as having little or no value to landowners.

Ol Pejeta's past is filled with many colorful characters. John & Jane Kenyon took over the management of Ol Pejeta in 1949 when it was owned by Lord Delamere and together they spent the next 15 years putting their lives and souls into the development of the ranch. John and Jane left Ol Pejeta in 1958, returning in 1959 for a further ten years before finally retiring to run their own cattle ranch to the north.

Since that period the conservancy has had a number of owners, all entrepreneurs in their own right. However, over time cattle ranching became less and less profitable. Increasingly elephant populations that previously used the ranch as a transit area from the north to Mount Kenya and the Aberdares were forced to take up permanent residence on the property. As a result the fences required to maximize cattle productivity were destroyed and impossible to maintain cost-effectively.

With declining wildlife populations elsewhere and as a means to effectively utilize the land, the recent past has seen increasing emphasis placed upon wildlife conservation. So In 1988, the Sweetwaters Game Reserve (24,000 acres) was opened. Primarily started as a sanctuary for the endangered black rhino, wildlife populations (including the "Big Five") have steadily increased since that time.

The reserve is currently owned by Fauna and Flora International, a UK based conservation organization. The Sweetwaters game reserve has now be extended to encompass the entire ranching area to create the "Ol Pejeta Conservancy", approximately 90,000 acres in extent. This has created the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa, with the aim of generating profit from wildlife tourism and complementary activities (including cattle) for reinvestment into community development in the local area.

The drive from Nairobi was fairly good, we struggled a little to find the Thika Road out of the city and after that, took just one wrong turn along the way. It must be said that road signage is not one of Kenya’s many positive attributes and attractions.  Once we reached Nanyuki, we made our first stop at the Mount Kenya Safari Club, one of Fairmont’s hotels in Kenya. It is an exquisite place with pristine gardens and the most magnificent views of Mount Kenya. We enjoyed a delicious lunch there and got a sneak peak at their rooms too. We are hoping that at some stage (soon) we return to the area and get to at least spend a night in one of their beautiful suites.

After lunch we made our way through to Ol Pejeta. It was raining fairly heavily and the road into the conservancy is pretty rough going. Mark had his work cut out for him navigating potholes, mud roads and the like getting us to the entrance. As we drove in, heading toward our hotel for the night, we were already spotting game at every corner. I think we saw elephant, buffalo and warthogs in that first very short drive to Ol Pejeta House.

We spent Thursday night at Ol Pejeta House which used to be the exclusive hide-away of multi-millionaire Adnan Kashoggi, reputedly an arms dealer and generally shady character. The mansion is housed inside of the conservancy but still boasts its own extensive grounds and views of Mount Kenya. The main house is opulent in a very period sort of way – enormous reception rooms, stunning verandahs and a huge dining room.  We didn’t see the rooms in the main house on this trip as we stayed in ‘Buffalo’, a guest cottage set just away from the main house. We had a living area with a roaring log fire and we slept in what may be the biggest bed I’ve ever seen – well beyond King Size.  And after a long day on the road and a very good dinner in the main house, we slept like logs in our big bed.

We started Friday early with a 6am game drive in the conservancy. Now Mark and I, who have been very fortunate to have spent time in a few of South Africa’s lodges and game reserves, automatically presumed that we’d be jumping on an open Landie with other guests and heading on our way. But no, we actually drove ourselves around – what a unique experience, being able to stop for as long or short as we liked, track the animals of our choice etc. The thing that really struck us during this drive and the many others we took in the conservancy was the difference between South African parks and Kenya’s. Everything is somehow ‘wilder’ and more down to earth and the wildlife is abundant beyond anything we’d ever experienced. No small groups of buffalo, 30 or 40 at a time, big herds of elephant, frequent rhino sightings all made the safari experience better than anything we could have imagined. We spent ages watching a silver-back jackal preying on a Warthog with her baby, while we didn’t actually witness the kill – the hunt was just awesome to see.

After our morning drive, we headed to a picnic spot in the conservancy for a ‘bush breakfast’. The staff from Ol Pejeta House had set up a mini-kitchen next to the river and we feasted on a cold buffet and had very yummy Spanish omeletes cooked ‘on-site’ for us as we drank coffee and enjoyed the scenery. The very setting is like a balm for the soul and you can actually feel the ups and downs of every day life seeping out of your system.

After breakfast we had a few hours of down time at Ol Pejeta House before we packed up and moved a few kilometres down the road to another Serena managed hotel in the conservancy, Sweetwaters Tented Camp.  We were just in time for lunch (I have to add at this point that we ate and ate and ate while we were away – it is going to take a week of detox to get over our over-indulgence.) Our accommodation for Friday and Saturday night was a very well appointed canvas tent. The tents are permanent and have their own good bathrooms and are covered with a thatch and wood roof, so they’re also weather proof and warm.  But best of all, they overlook a watering hole that is very well frequented by the local wildlife, you could spend hours in the deck chairs in front of your tent watching their comings and goings.

Once we’d settled in, we were back out in the car looking for game.  After a tip off from the gate guard, we quickly found two lions who were busy enjoying the spoils of their earlier catch – a Zebra. They were fairly low in long grass, but you could see the blood on their faces and every now and again you just saw Zebra legs being tossed into the air as they ate a different part of the animal. It was hard to beat that, but I also then saw my very first Grevy’s Zebra ever, very cute with ‘mickey mouse’ ears (as a friend described them), stockier bodies and thinner stripes. We still managed to see more elephant, buffalo and rhino before we stopped for a sundowner at the picnic stop. There is something so joyous about drinking wine in the middle of the bush – it just takes you so far out of your own world in very peaceful and positive way.

On Saturday morning after breakfast we headed to the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary which is also located inside of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. It is the only place in Kenya that you can see chimpanzees and the facility is truly a testament to animal rescue and conservation. The chimpanzees are carefully nursed back to health so they can enjoy the rest of their days in the safety of a vast natural enclosure. The chimpanzees live in two large groups separated by the Ewaso Nyiro River and have started their own families on in the sanctuary. We were lucky enough to get a very close view of a toddler and a baby when we visited.

After the Chimps, we went to visit a Rhino called Baraka who is in a special enclosure as he is totally blind and unable to fend for himself in the wild. We actually fed him and touched him too! Although I kind of felt a little sorry for him, it was great for us to have the experience. Mark got to go on a little Rhino walk and see some of these animals in a special conservation project afterwards. I stayed in the car with Evan who by that time was well overdue for a nap and needed a bit of down time to restore his good humour.

When we returned to camp I was treated to a very good massage at the hotel’s little spa (a great spoil) and once I was done, the heavens opened and it rained and rained and rained a bit more. Evan and I made our way up to the reception area under umbrella for some tea and then almost had to wade back to our tent to spend the rest of the afternoon playing while Mark got to relax a little and spend some time chatting in front of the fire at the bar.

The rain let up a little just before dinner and we saw so many animals at the watering hole, specifically a herd of waterbuck who were all lined up next to the fence and ready to jump over into the camp. One or two had made the leap before there was a sudden power outage that turned all the lights off. This must have scared them as we just saw them all scuttle back and disappear into the darkness.

Sunday morning dawned bright and clear, giving us our first full view of Mount Kenya. Normally covered by clouds and haze, it was just such a treat to see it in its full glory. And just in time, as after a leisurely breakfast, it was time to pack the car, buckle up and make our way home to Nairobi.

We had such a wonderful weekend and we’ve definitely caught a dose of ‘itchy feet’ too - we’re already talking about when and where our next adventure in Kenya will be. This country has so much to offer and to experience and I am so very grateful that we are going to be fortunate enough o experience some of that while we are here.