There are so many wonderful travel adventures in my past I’ve started looking at the trip-logs I’ve kept. Not many photos, but my writing brings back a flood of memories and flashes of mental images. I visited Africa 4 times – Kenya, Madagascar, Namibia and South Africa. The Kenya trip, which started it all, was through a travel company based in Florida with whom I had made two trips to Ecuador and Peru. The owner’s name was Giovanna Holbrook. I sent an announcement to many friends and got an astonishing number of yeses. And Giovanna somehow found 5 couples in Ottumwa, Iowa, who signed up – all the men worked for John Deere. Eric and Lolly were along (she was a grad student at UCLA) and my friends Ed Berger and Olivia Tsotsi and Jon Atwood. Jon was a guide, his ability in a foreign country far surpassed my own. Ernesto Maurer, a pro esteros board member, came from Mexico.. There were 28 of us because Giovanna forgot to close the list – 20 people too many for my taste. It was an adventure with wonderful positive times, and some serious negatives. And my last stint as a foreign field trip leader.
Here is the write-up I did for family and friends after return. No photos available.
Kenya Safari, August 5-22, 1987
What a trip. It has taken two weeks to recover. The pace was incredibly fast, and jet lag afterwards was prolonged by my flying back 2 hrs in time to Amarillo after a day at home. There I was just in time for the birth of Jenny and Bob’s second child, a delectable little girl named Charlotte. Here goes:
6 Aug. After the long, night flight to Amsterdam we checked into day rooms at a hotel. A few of us went into the city by train, with rain threatening, and walked for several miles to the Riksmuseum. There were intermittent severe storms, and we holed up once in a cute old cafe for cappucino and shelter. Assembling in Amsterdam was fun, as half the group came via NY. and the rest from the west coast. We met up with Jon Atwood and Ed Berger and Ernesto in the gift shop of the day-hotel in Amsterdam, and then all 10 Ottumwa-ans. At the airport Olivia Tsosi was the final one to join and to my shock and delight her daughter Sisika and husband Carlos from Oaxaca were there to see her off. They had all been in Europe for a month at a music festival in Yugoslavia. And finally I came face to face with Giovanna, who was exactly as I had pictured her. She flew with us to Nairobi and saw us off the following day.
7 Aug. We were greeted at the Nairobi airport by Jeremiah, from SAFARIWORLD, the local tour company, and bussed to the Nairobi Serena. The first day was highlighted by an afternoon game drive in Nairobi National Park. We were in 4 vans, Jon and I each in a ‘bird’ van, the others eschewing the birders and more keen on mammals. Our driver and tour guide was Peter Oluoch, a Luo from Kisumu, who established himself that first day as an excellent birder who knew what to expect where. We saw 47 species, only one (Black-shouldered Kite) a familiar bird from the US. Also wonderful first encounters with zebra, giraffe, impala, Thomson’s gazelle, and Ostrich. Eric was in another van and they saw several rhino, the only ones seen on the trip.
The hotel was luxurious, the food was delicious, abundant and varied; this held throughout the trip. Lunch was always my favorite meal, a buffet, with so many choices one was bound to overeat. With 20 desserts to choose from, I would fill a plate with 5-6 selections. I often skipped dinner, but never dared tell Peter, whose firm conviction was that if it were paid for one should eat it. Later on I got pretty distressed about the comparison between our fare and the other 99.9% of people in Kenya. We would have been happy with 1/2 of what we were served, and with a far simpler menu – well, maybe not all of us.
8 Aug. Our safari route was two loops – south first to Tsavo and Amboseli, back to Nairobi for a night, then north to Samburu, Lakes Baringo and Nakuru and ending at the Masai Mara. We left the hotel early for Tsavo, waving goodbye to Lolly who was meeting the Nickerson trio for a trip to Mombasa and the coastal marine park. It was a long, long drive to Taita Hills Lodge, the first of many such endurance tests. For me, walking is the much-preferred method of travel and my chief complaint about our safari was the interminable riding. But once there Jon and I took a marvelous bird walk, seeing a new bird every few minutes – Little Bee-eater, White-browed Coucal, Crowned Plover, Pale Chanting Goshawk, Crombec, and 3 gorgeous starlings, for just a few. The lodge is on a plateau with a long gentle slope to a river on the east. It is all alone out in nowhere, a complete luxury unit surrounded by thorn scrub. This, we found, was typical of most of our lodgings. On a late afternoon game drive our van had an exciting encounter with a small group of elephants, one of which threatened to charge us. Peter had his foot on the accelerator just in case, but the huge female changed her mind and turned aside. The reserve is heavily vegetated, although mostly by thorn scrub, with a lovely riparian belt along the river. We were driven a few miles to Salt Lick Lodge for dinner, a super place for game viewing from the porch and from a bunker at ground level reached by an underground tunnel. Lots of zebra and waterbuck drinking and browsing; a herd of elephants that came through and ordered all others out of their way; an African civet.
9 Aug. At midnight there was knock on our door and a very alarmed Ruby Myers (from Ottumwa) said her husband Glen appeared to be having a heart attack. I went into partial shock, trying to respond to an incredible, possibly life-threatening situation. As I was thinking over the options a lion roared right outside the lodge, reminding me of the limits. Eric and I roused the night watchman who finally woke the manager, who sent the nurse (every lodge has a resident state-licensed nurse) who reassured Glen that it was probably not his heart (she was wrong) and gave him some stomach medication. There was no airport at Tsavo and we hoped he would survive the night. Next morning he felt better but the nurse suggested he be flown back to Nairobi when we got to Ngulia, and that is what we did. The Myers were in my van, he was a very sick man on the drive, having to stop and vomit frequently. Peter was exemplary at watching over him .
Ngulia Lodge was a favorite with everybody; it is in a small pass between two valleys, one a grassy basin of modest dimensions with salt licks and waterholes, the other looked like my preconception of the Great Rift Valley, stretching far to the west. I had little time there, as we immediately called the Flying Doctors and arranged to go to Kilaguni Lodge where the plane would land. We spent 2 1/2 hrs waiting there, but the viewing from the lodge porch was fine also, with its waterholes below. We were in contact with Nairobi by ham radio and were told the one plane the Flying Doctors had was in Mombasa where there had been a serious road accident. A heavy storm was building and we kept watching for the plane and hoping it would make it before dark, as the airstrip was a bumpy track lit by pitch fires in gasoline drums on both sides. If not, we were in a worse dilemma with an undiagnosed and very ill person to tend an no expertise.At dusk we heard a distant motor and all heaved a sigh of relief. The pitch pots were already lit and the biplane bounced along the track like a toy. We put the Myers and all their luggage on board and it took off immediately in very low light. It rose and turned into the storm clouds and vanished. I was reading Beryl Markham’s WEST WITH THE NIGHT and thinking of her night flight to the bush where the ‘runway’ was similarly lit. There is no Flying Doctor service at night even now in Kenya – you live or die if you are stricken at night.
When we returned to Nairobi 3 days later, we learned that Glen had had a major heart attack and was hospitalized for the rest of the trip. And the only EKG apparatus in the country was in Mombasa. The insurance company came through, tho, and flew him back by SST. But I did not think that made up for missing 9/10 of the trip.
On return to Ngulia Eric and I had a gala dinner with Jon, Ed and Olivia while a chill, wet fog and rain made a mystery out of our surroundings. A leopard came to feed at a stakeout lit with floodlights, and looked wonderful as a shadowy silhouette in the fog.
10-11 Aug. Another long, bumpy ride to Amboseli. En route we stopped at a Masai village (manyatta), a big mistake. We paid 800 shillings/van (about $50) to the chief for the ‘privilege’ of being mobbed by sellers of jewelry, spears and shields. Jon had his new safari hat taken from his head and had the presence of mind to barter it for a spear. The manyatta was a group of mud and dung huts in a circle around a dung arena, the whole enclosed in a thorn fence. The stink and flies were awful. The Masai are as handsome as their reputation, but the experience was demeaning for us both. They were interested only in our money, we were there to gawk and take pictures. So much for illusions.
The Amboseli plain is flat and open, and consists of grasslands and freshwater marshes. To the south looms the great mass of Mt. Kilimanjaro, often shrouded in clouds. After a late lunch at Amboseli Lodge, a venerable old hunt club, we took a game drive, the best yet. Herds of wildebeest, Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelles, a cheetah on a termite mound, and lots of waterbirds in the swamp – Lesser Flamingo, Pink-backed Pelican, Grey and Goliath Herons, two Jacanas, Sacred and Hadada Ibis, etc., etc. An episode involving two hyenas trying to separate a baby donkey from its mother was exciting to watch – the donkeys won. These donkeys are beautifully marked and look and acted like wild mammals; we didn’t see them elsewhere. The plains stretched for miles under lowering clouds, Mt. Kilimanjaro was hidden except for its base. It was here we saw the first signs of damage by vehicles, and by the herds of Masai cattle that are driven through the park (although not legally). There are too many tracks, and the vans go off-road as well.
There was rumbling from some members of the group about not enough time for game drives, so I met with the drivers for a beer before dinner to see what could be done, and then we had a group meeting after dinner to plan the next day. Everyone wanted as much time in the park as possible, so the drivers agreed to start at 0630 hrs and take a box lunch. We were out till 1230 and everyone was satisfied and there were no more complaints the rest of the trip. Ali, David, Jackson and Peter were clearly aiming to please us, and would comply with any reasonable request.
On the evening game drive the sky finally cleared and we saw Mt. Kilimanjaro against a glorious sunset. Also watched a herd of elephants roam towards a lion sitting on a hill. Peter said the big females would chase the lion if they saw it, but they never did, just browsed and moved leisurely along. A very small baby with them had wallowed in mud and had a bathtub ring round its middle; it took a dust bath and was grubby and then very playful with two other young ones. Our best game experiences were when we just sat and watched to see what would happen.
That evening I sat on the veranda before dinner with a beer and watched hundreds of bats leave their roost from the attic above me and fly out to mill around in the sky. A pair of Kori Bustards walked past the fence. Mt. Kilimanjaro was gleaming in the moonlight; an enchanted evening.
12 Aug. A long drive back to Nairobi, plagued for me by a recurrent bladder infection. It started before I left home, but the medication I brought along did not work and today I knew I was in for trouble. So when we got back to Nairobi and I told Jeremiah, he suggested I go to the hospital’s casualty clinic for treatment; Eric and Lyle went too. First we saw Glen Myers, and were impressed by the care he was getting, but also by the tragedies we witnessed in the intensive care facility. Made my infection seem paltry, but Jeremiah insisted I go through the interminable procedure of seeing a nurse, then a doctor, then a lab test, then back to the doctor for a prescription and finally to find a pharmacy open at 1930 hrs. It was a holiday as the Pan-African Games had been playing all week in Nairobi, and the final football match was that night between Kenya and Egypt (Egypt was favored, and won). Jeremiah stayed with us throughout, and at the end helped a very sick Dutch girl who had a high fever from an undiagnosed infection and whose sister was about frantic trying the care for her and get them home. When she was told that all the pharmacies were closed she burst into tears, and Jeremiah went to her immediately and said they could come with us to a pharmacy he knew of. They did, and then J. took them to their hotel. A very nice man who went way beyond his job description in helping both them and me. It was great to see Lolly again and hear about her marvelous interlude on the coast and see all the kangas (brilliant cotton wraps for women) and keekoys (for men) she had bought.
13 Aug. Jon was very sick during the night and all day – one casualty after another. We left early for Samburu, a long drive north through the fertile mid-highlands which seem to grow everything,especially coffee. Brief stop in Isiolo, a Moslem city with a lovely mosque and many hovels. Eric and I fell in love with Samburu Lodge and its setting and opted to spend the rest of the day there. Lolly went on the game drive, her first outside of Nairobi NP, and saw almost every mammal we had already seen. The lodge is sited on the Uaso Nyiro River under tall trees, the cabins are spread out along the river on either side of the lodge. We sat on the veranda writing postcards and drinking coffee while watching crocodiles, Yellow-billed Storks and Stone Curlews in the river. Lots of birds, including Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, Chestnut-bellied Kingfisher, and Speckled Pigeon. A gang of small mongoose foraged across the grounds, and Red-billed Hornbills were using their immense bills to whisk dirt and then probe for insects.
It was hot, the first heat we experienced, but cooled off wonderfully in the evening. There were mosquito nets over the beds, and again at Lake Baringo – all the other stops were at high elevations and quite bugless. A great gift shop where I parted with some plastic money. At night we needed escorts to walk back to our cabins; two elephants were cropping bushes outside of Olivia’s room when she returned. (Heard a wonderful leopard incident that took place a few weeks back. A guest went out briefly at daylight to look at the river, then returned to bed, leaving his door open. As he was dozing a leopard walked in. He froze and it walked past his bed and into the bathroom. He managed to slip out and alert the management. A warden was called but the leopard was asleep in the bathroom and would not move. Since leopards are totally protected, there was nothing to do but wait till it was ready to leave, sometime in mid-afternoon.)
At dinner we were intrigued by a civet that sat on a rafter, not wild but not tame either, waiting to raid the leftovers. After dinner a film was shown on the patio down by the river. It was a magical night, cool, with the sound of the river accompanying an intriguing documentary showing how Alan and Joan Root make their wildlife movies. Underwater shots of hippos swimming, their mini-legs touching ground as they bounced along, Fantasia-like. And the Red-billed Hornbill female in her cavity nest, walled up with eggs and then chicks while the male supplied the food for them all. It seemed entirely appropriate entertainment in that setting. Samburu was one place we would have loved to spend 2-3 days, but our schedule was pre-set.
14-15 Aug. A long, dusty drive over dirt roads to Lake Baringo, one of the glorious lakes of the Great Rift Valley. We were not fully aware of entering the valley because we climbed and descended all morning; the geography here is confusing and Peter was no expert in this area. But descend we did, into heat and humidity, only to have one of the vans fail on the last long rise before reaching Lake Baringo Club. We piled 14 people in one van and drove on! After checking in, Lolly and I sat, spent, on the porch of our cottage; it was hot and steamy and still as a thunderstorm approached. When it broke the rain came down in sheets and we just walked out into it and got thoroughly drenched and cool. The club is set on the north shore of the lake and is a birdwatcher’s paradise. Revived, I took a walk around the grounds. A pair of Paradise Flycatchers was nesting behind one of the cottages, gorgeous Glossy Starlings on the lawn, and in the reeds on the lake shore Allen’s Gallinule, Jacana, Purple Heron, Pied Kingfisher. A walk into the fields to the west produced some of the most spectacular passerines of the trip – Northern Red Bishop, Pin-tailed Whydah, and Grosbeak Weaver, plus two more gorgeous bee eaters.
Next day I skipped the boat ride, experiencing bladder pain again and feeling depressed at not being able to slough off this infection. But my spirits lifted when the manager gave me a letter from Hans Burgman saying he would arrive that evening and spend the night at the adjacent campground. Hans is an old friend whom we had not seen for 10 years and well worth a digression here. Jenny had met him in Santiago de Compostela when she and a friend were roaming Europe after her freshman year. They were playing their violins in a ladies room, and he listened outside and then waited til they came out and made their acquaintance. He was a member of a small and unusual order (Mill Hill) with a home base just east of Hampstead Heath. He was mighty intrigued by Jenny and came to visit us later in Long Beach. His last visit was when Jen was concert mistress of the USC orchestra and we took him to the concert and out to an Italian cafe in Hollywood afterward. He came to Kenya to establish a mission at Kisumu the following year and we were in contact only through annual letters. Hans has always personified true sophistication for me; he is at home in cities, loves music and plays the flute, relishes good food and drink, reads voraciously, watches birds, has walked on pilgrimages all through Europe, and is a dedicated humanitarian. He arrived just before dinner with Kisito, his assistant who is in charge of catechism, and I arranged to have Ed, Olivia and Jon sit with us. They were all enthralled; Hans has added a walk across Kenya to his other pilgrimages, following the route of the early Catholic missionaries. His ‘weapon’ against lions in Tsavo was an umbrella with a snarling face painted on it. When opened it was supposed to scare off the big predators; he never had to test it. We heard a lot about his mission, which now has a good carpentry shop and is about to have a ceramics workshop.
The lodge served the usual fulsome meal, for us a 3-times-a-day occurrence. Dessert was nothing special, vanilla ice cream with strawberries, but Hans had to tell Kisito what they were – strawberries are a rare luxury in Kenya and Kisito had never eaten one. It was a vivid demonstration of the contrast between our luxury tour and the lives of native Kenyans, even reasonably privileged people like Kisito. Hans has, among other skills, added midwifery to his roster, and delivered Kisito’s last child. [While reading this over and thinking about Hans and what a strong impression he made on us, I googled him and hit the jackpot. His 60th year in Kenya was celebrated in 2013 and there is a film I couldn’t watch without being on Facebook. He published a book in 2010 – “Words of Passage” – which I am going to order. It was a marvelous feeling, seeing his photo and realizing that his good life has continued and he is still very much in it.]
Before Hans arrived I took a walk out of the hotel compound towards the village. It was the only time outside of Nairobi that we were in a place where one could do so, all other lodges were miles inside the parks. Two gangly young boys loped up to me and started a conversation. They were Harry (15) and Julius (12), good friends who go to boarding school 50 km from the village. They stay there all week, then walk home on Friday to see their families and return on foot next day. They were ragged and their shoes a disaster, but they were bright and animated and terribly excited that I was a Californian, and even a Los Angelino. I had them write down their names and addresses and promised to send pens and paper and books and – yes – shoes. I also met 4 other youngsters earlier in the day, very shy but bright and friendly, who asked if I would take their pictures and send them to them. (I did but lost the roll of film, so will send pens, etc.)
16 Aug. Next morning Hans and Kisito joined us for an early bird walk to the cliffs – the escarpment that marks the west side of the rift valley, about 2 km from the lodge. A pair of Verreaux’a eagles nest there, they were roosting on the cliff top. Blue-naped Mousebird, Hemprich’s Hornbill, and Pygmy Falcon were some of the other bird highlights.
We all breakfasted lavishly and then said goodbye to Hans and Kisito and were off the Lake Nakuru. The drive was over a good paved road and only 2 hrs, would they were all like that. The countryside changed from dry bush to lush agricultural land and just north of Lake Nakuru (city) we passed the presidential farm. It was once the huge holding of Lord Higaton, taken over by the Kenya government after independence for use of the Kenyan presidents. A great way to support a president, all profits from this rich land go to him during his lifetime, then to his successor. Must minimize temptations to corruption.
Lion Hill Lodge was another favorite of ours. Set far up on a hillside overlooking the lake, it was another birder’s paradise. I walked up the road behind the cabins and saw a dozen new species in the hour before lunch. Our game drive in late afternoon was along the lake, where thousands of Lesser Flamingos and Pink-backed Pelicans stood in the shallow water. Jon was delighted with the migrant shorebirds in non-breeding plumage, he loves challenges. But even he was not up to the Cisticolas, a large genus of Sylviids that stumps even the hottest birders. They are best distinguished by calls and a tape of their calls would be the best approach. He wants to return to meet that challenge one day. For me, genus was enough, I would never remember them anyway. In the savannah there were large herds of waterbuck, impala and water buffalo. And black-faced vervets, dubbed blue-balls for obvious reasons.
17 Aug. Off early for the Masai Mara and the grand finale. Again we were in Masai country, with manyattas every few miles, and huge herds of cattle tended by wonderfully garbed morans. Replaced as we approached the reserve by herds of wildebeest and zebra. Lunch was at the Mara Sarova tent camp, just inside the gate. A lovely place to which we came back the next day. Then a leisurely game drive through the reserve to the Mara Serena Hotel. Great herds of wildebeest and zebra, the first topi of the trip, a Secretary Bird stalking, the great plains reaching far into Tanzania. Suddenly Peter, after a pow wow by radio with another driver, took off cross country, and we found ourselves between two pairs of copulating lions, one on either side of our van. An astonishing sight – they lay panting for a few minutes, then the male would get up and mount the female, play-biting her head and neck, then off again, paying us no heed.
The Mara Serena is perched on the side of a great escarpment, overlooking a vast grassland dotted with wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, ostrich, gazelles, and far off in one of the pools a herd of hippos. A place to spend a lot of time sitting with binoculars. The rooms were stretched along the edge, the walk a downward slope from the lodge. Lolly was in the last one; we walked down with her to see the end of a glowing sunset and watch rock hyrax pop in and out of the wall, and on the way back up I almost stepped on a snake. Later in the museum in Nairobi I identified it as one of the night adders – so much for all our drivers’ worries about our encountering wild animals if we wandered away from the vans! The gift shop here was irresistible.
18 Aug. On the early game drive Peter spotted a pride of lions across the Mara River, they were stalking 4 water buffalo. We watched for 1/2 hr as the two males and 5 females tried to separate one buffalo from the rest, but the buffalo would charge them and they would back off. They seemed half-hearted and finally moved off. We left the vans to birdwalk along the river – our drivers judging that the lions in the vicinity were all on the opposite bank. Saw Woodland Kingfisher and Yellow-fronted Canary and then suddenly one of two Thomson’s gazelles on a sandbar in midstream disappeared into the jaws of a crocodile! Its two legs stuck out from the mouth like long, thin horns as the croc floated slowly downstream.
Returned to the lodge for breakfast and then spent a lovely, leisurely morning sitting on the patio spotting game below, and birdwatching around the grounds. Lolly did her first water color. Several red-phase Paradise Flycatchers, Purple Grenadier, Mariqua Sunbird, Black Flycatcher, and the delightful White-browed Robin Chat with its lovely thrush-like song.
After lunch we had a slow game drive back the the Mara Sarova, stopping first at a hippo pool to watch and listen to about 30 big monsters dozing in mid-river. They slept with their heads on each others’ flanks, waking to roar every few minutes. Oxpeckers, Pied Wagtails, and Common Sandpipers foraged on their backs. We encountered a bunch of vans halfway back, they were watching a pair of almost grown cheetah cubs, whose mother was stalking a browsing herd of Thomson’s gazelle. Within a half hour there were 18 vans in a semi-circle around her, all with whirring and clicking cameras. She aborted the hunt and moved off, or tried to, with her cubs, a fleet of vans following. It was then that I decided to write to the Minister of Tourism and Wildlife about off-road driving in the parks.
The Mara Sarova tent camp was another luxury hotel, despite the name, with the loveliest gardens yet. A slow stream curved around three sides of the grounds, and the mammals of Kenya were on the opposite banks – giraffe, zebra, baboons, wildebeest. Blueballs and warthogs roamed the paths. Frogs plinked after dark like the anvil chorus.
19 Aug. Big event, long anticipated, a balloon ride over the Maasai Mara. At dawn we assembled for the short drive to the balloon launch site. What a glorious experience, a truly fitting climax for our last day. The sun rose just after our takeoff and it was an enchanted scene. Floating over the great rift valley and looking down on herds of wildebeest was exactly as we anticipated, and better because I was worried about the balloon disturbing them. It didn’t, although we were told that elephants are alarmed by the noise and will stampede. That day the elephants were all somewhere else. Lyle spotted two leopards on a kill and we sailed right over them – it is very rare to see two leopards at any time. To land we had to sit down and buckle up as the balloon turned on its side after touching down. Then we crawled out. A fleet of vans had followed us and a champagne breakfast was set out on tables in a field. Lolly got the first bottle of champagne as a reward for her spotting. Then we drove slowly back to camp, looking in vain for the leopard kill.
It was hot at mid-morning and I swam and napped by the pool. This luxury life can be addictive. Our last game drive in the afternoon yielded two female lions, very pregnant and panting in the late afternoon sun. The two bird vans had a difference of opinion over a Grey Kestrel, with Peter insisting it was not, Jon sure it was. Saw lots of elephants, one group of 3 females and 3 youngsters browsing along a riparian strip. Suddenly one of the big females fanned her ears and trumpeted and we saw a hyena carrying her black cub in her mouth trying to get away from the elephants. She darted in several directions before finding a way out. Even hyenas have their anxieties.
That night 3 of the drivers came to dinner, Peter was not well and begged off – he had twice on the trip had stomach and headaches and learned later it was a recurrence of malaria, which afflicts just about everyone in Kenya.
20 Aug. Off early for Nairobi, with a long stop at Lake Naivasha where we lunched sumptuously and sat awhile on the grand sweep of lawn that slopes down to the reed-bordered lake. Hybrid Fischer’s and Black-collared Lovebirds darted around in the great fever trees, a Hoopoe foraged on the lawn, Little Spotted Woodpecker, Nubian Woodpecker, and Spectacled Weaver were all in evidence. We had two boatloads for a lake excursion and saw Little and Black Grebe, Long-tailed cormorant,Southern Pochard and African Spoonbill, plus Whiskered and White-winged Black Tern and a slew of migrant shorebirds. Got chased by an angry hippo that lumbered into the water and came huffing after us. Our boatman gunned his motor and we left it behind.
I bought a bird book for Peter in the gift shop, and gave it too him with a large tip when we got back to the Nairobi Serena. He was an outstanding guide. Called me ‘Mahssey’ always, and I enjoyed his independent spirit and his originality. We had a few clashes, both being strong-willed leader types, but we respected each other, and I genuinely liked him.
Back in Nairobi we found Glen Myers well recovered from his heart attack. They were to fly home under the care of a doctor and nurse, from Nairobi to London, then across the Atlantic by Concorde, all courtesy of World Care Insurance. They will have no bills to pay.
We had a gala dinner out at the Carnivore, a safari traditon on the last night. Ernesto spearheaded it and Lyle, Jon, Sherry, Diane and I all piled into a taxi with him for a hilarious ride to the restaurant. A huge barbeque pit with shanks of meat grilling – we had zebra and kongoni (the game is culled from Nairobi NP) along with beef, lamb and chicken and a bottle of white wine. Waiters brought the meat on lonlg skewers and sliced off portions with swords. Very dramatic. Lyle and Jon got into a serious discussion of teleology and art history, they were both in great form and the rest of us enjoyed listening.
21 Aug. Great shopping day in the city, where one can spend lots of money (especially plastic) on irresistible crafts. But first we walked to, and through the museum, which has a great assortment of African fauna, flora and anthropological specimens. Wonderful display on early man. I joined the East African Wildlife Society. We shopped with Ed and Olivia, bought a throw rug, a woven vest for Heath, placemats for me, and an assortment of other goodies at a shop called The Spinner’s Web, where I parted with $200 and could easily have bought twice as much if I could have faced getting it home. We lunched at the African Heritage Restaurant, authentic Kenyan food and very good, home-style cooking and checkered tablecloths.
After a last dinner at the hotel we were taken to the airport by our drivers, and shepherded through the incredibly complex bureaucratic exit procedures by Jeremiah. Then up and away to Amsterdam.
22 Aug. A lovely day in Amsterdam. Eric and Lolly and I said goodbye to the Ottumwans and everyone else who was not going to LA with us, then took the train into the city and walked for 4 hrs. It was Saturday morning and all the families in Amsterdam were out shopping or biking or walking along the canals. We found the same cafe as before and had capuccino, but this time outside instead of in the bar sheltering from the rain. I spent an hour writing notes in my log, there was never time to write an actual diary, the best I could do was take notes. The city was a far remove from the Great Rift Valley; it was a bemusing day. End of a memorable trip.