We are back to Nairobi, settled in at the Fairview, a lovely old colonial-era hotel, for a few hours before we fly to Cairo and begin the homeward trek.
For the first time since leaving Egypt we have reliable WiFi, so I will begin at the beginning...flying to Meru, an area to the northeast of Nairobi (but not near the Somalian border).
Wilson Airport is the domestic airport that you have transfer to in order to fly into the bush--if you have arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International, which we did. Wilson is supposed to be the busiest small airport in Africa...and has a flurry of activity starting at 7 AM. Each airline has a separate terminal, and there is one for Kenyan police as well. Most of the planes that fly into the bush are small prop planes. We later found that all the airstrips are just gravel or dirt strips. In Nairobi they weigh your bags to make sure you are under the 15 kg limit, then after--nothing. There are no terminals, scales, check-in counters, bathroons or anything. You are in the bush.
Meru is a very green (at least when we were there) area, with lots of places for game to hide. Offbeat Meru is a high-end (though not totally glam) tented camp with great food and hospitality. The manager is a young woman named Harriet who keeps the camp running smoothly and is great fun to have a drink with.
Right away we spotted a silver-back jackal. They ususally run in pairs since they mate for life, but this one was solitary--and also posed nicely. The ones we saw in South Africa just scrambled for cover.
This was on our first game drive, the evening we arrived. There was a couple from the UK in camp, serious birders--we learned a lot from them. Meru is known for its birds and elephants, and we had a significant encounter--I wrote about it earlier. After coming upon an immense herd, a young bull broke away and played at challenging us. One thing we have learned is that all Kenyan guides have a tremendous knowlodge of and respect for elephants. They are known as unpredictable killers...especially bull males and mothers.
I wrote about the Rhino Sanctuary a bit before, but to recap--black rhinos are very endangered, unlike the white rhino (acutally the name is a corruption of the name "wide-mouthed rhino" for it's wide, square lips). We made a long morning trip to the sanctuary one morning, as our camp-mates we extemely keen on seeing a black rhino. No luck with the black rhino, but we did see several white rhinos, along with the rangers who have to keep track of them and their injuries/markings on a regular basis.
That morning our guides set up a wonderful breakfast in the bush, just after sunrise.
We also saw a wonderful troop of baboons...all ages, running in the road in front of us. They skittered into the trees and watched us pass.
More in a few minutes. It is heaven to have an internet connection...sorry if I am repeating photos/stories. Soon there will be 100% new material.
No comments:
Post a Comment