Sadly the time has almost come to say goodbye with a heavy heart to all the wonderful people at Sanctuary Olonana. At 11:00 a.m. tomorrow I will be in a tin can flying over the famous Siria escarpment and the golden plains of the Masai Mara on my way to Nairobi and then back to merry ol' England.
Looking at on the past 3 months working in Olonana I can truly say that I have had the ultimate Mara experience that no other guest will ever have the luck to repeat. It's not just the myriad of animals that made these 3 months unforgettable; that is only a fraction of what attracts me to the Mara; it is, without a doubt the employees here at Sanctuary Olonana that have made me feel right at home and the neighboring Masai community who have never failed to surprise me with their unlimited kindness despite the obvious linguistic and cultural barriers. In the time that I've worked here I have been: a chef, a pastry chef, a housekeeper, a waiter, a mechanic, a carpenter, a roof thatcher, a mason, a gardener, a truck driver, a swimming-pool cleaner, a cleaner, and an electrician. So, needless to say, I leave Olonana a much more learned person and there are too many people to thank for this that I can't list for fear of boring you even longer. But there are a few people I must mention because it would be a crime not to do so. To Leopald King, the manager at Olonana, who has kept a careful watch on us to ensure that both Caitlin's and my experience here is not marred. To Maurice and Christine, who have both been our 'go to' people when it comes down to activities in and around the Masai Mara. To Abdul who organized my little excursion up Mt. Kenya. To Mark Wheeler and Elijah Wainaina, who had the final say on us working at Olonana. And finally to Melanie Pomfret and Anabel Tremaine who interviewed both Caitlin and I way back in 2009 and strangely decided to choose us over the others that applied for the same experience!
Asante sana and tuanani badai (thank you very much and see you later)
Xav
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
A Day in Nairobi
Having returned to Nairobi from Mt. Kenya on the evening of the 17th and since I wasn't to go back to Olonana till 19th I found myself with a day to spare in Nairobi which I intended to take full advantage of. The A&K office in Nairobi very kindly lent me one of their drivers for the day, a very happy man named Patrick who has been a driver for A&K for the past 6 years and knows Nairobi like the back of his hand. The day began with a tour of the various districts in central Nairobi: The financial districts, Uhuru park, the U.S. embassy memorial ground and various Government ministry buildings including the Presidents residence which, needless to say, looked very pleasant. Areas that were avoided were downtown Nairobi and Kibera, the 2nd largest slum in the world. After the tour we proceeded to an area called Karen to visit the reptile sanctuary. Inside were pens full of various Nile crocodiles of categorized according to their age. I was even allowed to hold a baby 2 year old crocodile. However due to a certain amount of cockiness on my part the crocodile played dead for a long time while I pretended to kiss it. Suddenly the crocodile left to live and nearly removed the lower part of my lip... I won't be doing that again any time soon. In amongst the crocodiles were large Leopard tortoises of the kind we had seen in the Mara except that these were at least 20kg heavier and so with an effort I was able to carry that one as well.
After the crocs came the giraffe sanctuary where this time you can kiss the animals without them attempting to deface you... I and everyone around me had a great time petting and feeding the giraffes, and the giraffes looked very happy to be pampered. A light lunch and it was then off to the snake sanctuary and Nairobi museum. At the snake sanctuary I came face-to-face again with the Mt. Kenya viper that greeted me during my hike. In addition one of the curators also allowed me to handle a Royal Python that soon wrapped itself around my neck. In the Nairobi museum I saw the oldest complete human skeleton ever discovered. Called the 'Turkana Boy' this skeleton dates back 1.5 million years. In the evening I was greeted with a complimentary dinner at the famous 'Carnivore' Restaurant where the only thing on offer is meat... and lots of it. Although game meat has been banned by the Kenyan government the restaurant still had on offer crocodile meat, camel meat, and deer meat. In addition I even tried some Bull testicles... it was quite chewy and I don't think I'll be trying it again in a hurry. Very happy with the day's activities I went to my hotel realizing that I couldn't wait to return to everyone at Olonana to tell them of my short excursion.
Xav
After the crocs came the giraffe sanctuary where this time you can kiss the animals without them attempting to deface you... I and everyone around me had a great time petting and feeding the giraffes, and the giraffes looked very happy to be pampered. A light lunch and it was then off to the snake sanctuary and Nairobi museum. At the snake sanctuary I came face-to-face again with the Mt. Kenya viper that greeted me during my hike. In addition one of the curators also allowed me to handle a Royal Python that soon wrapped itself around my neck. In the Nairobi museum I saw the oldest complete human skeleton ever discovered. Called the 'Turkana Boy' this skeleton dates back 1.5 million years. In the evening I was greeted with a complimentary dinner at the famous 'Carnivore' Restaurant where the only thing on offer is meat... and lots of it. Although game meat has been banned by the Kenyan government the restaurant still had on offer crocodile meat, camel meat, and deer meat. In addition I even tried some Bull testicles... it was quite chewy and I don't think I'll be trying it again in a hurry. Very happy with the day's activities I went to my hotel realizing that I couldn't wait to return to everyone at Olonana to tell them of my short excursion.
Xav
Mt Kenya pt. 2
At Shipton's Camp (4200m) I could tell that the altitude was beginning to affect many of my fellow climbers; some had headaches, some felt nauseous, others couldn't breathe properly and some even had to give up their attempt to reach the summit and hike back down the mountain. On the night of the 2nd day I was anxiously waiting to see if I would soon feel these symptoms as well, but despite an obviously quicker breathing rate I felt exactly the same as if I were on the beach (excluding the 0 degree temperature) - for this altitude tolerance I think I have the Masai Mara to thank. Working for 2 1/2 months at a surprising altitude of almost 2000m would have, no doubt, helped me greatly with my quick acclimatisation on the mountain. Nevertheless my camera was still stolen so I went to bed that night in a sour mood which was exacerbated again by the cretinous 13 year-old school children who were again discussing topics of great importance in the dormitories next to mine.
7:00 a.m. the next day and still no news about the camera, but with the absence of clouds I was afforded my very first clear view of the summit that stood 1000m above us. The drastic contrast of scenery between the grassy moorlands and what lay before me was incredible. Vertical rock faces stretched up at 400m a time made the summit look almost impossible to scale. At various points huge jagged conical shaped points stuck out either proudly by themselves or with other groups making it look as if the summit was not of this earth but rather the remnants of a meteorite that had placed itself on top of a giant hill. With the weather being so glorious I immediately felt my mood lift to one of excitement and anticipation at the opportunity to explore the areas around the summit (our climb to Pt. Lenana would start on the next day). After a hearty breakfast Nicholas and I set off on a different route that other hikers were using; the path less traveled. With the gradient increasing at every step we took and the ground changing from solid rock to shingle it became increasingly difficult to reach our intended viewing point at 4700m high. But with the anticipation of seeing some spectacular views spurring me on we reached the point only to be greeted with the arrival of an anti-social cloud that wouldn't leave for at least an hour (I know this because we waited up there for that time so that the cloud could clear). Nicholas soon suggested that we move again since the wait was proving useless and despite the number of layers we had on our muscles were starting to stiffen due to the cold. So we walked down over the other side to where there were supposed to be a couple of lakes. Sods law dictates that when we were half way down the insufferable cloud that had ruined our views had now lifted and we had our first glimpse of the beauty of the mountain. The lakes were nestled among huge rock cliffs and perfectly reflected everything that surrounded them. In the presence of this magnificent sight I completely forgot about the stolen camera which often came to plague my mind. The weather stayed like this for 6 hours and we took the full advantage of it by hiking 180 degrees around the summit to view some more spectacular landscapes. Foolishly, however, neither of us had brought a bottle of water with us and for 8 hours we had been at an average altitude of 4500m and scrambling up gradients of at least 60 degrees. The final part of our walk back to Shipton's camp nearly killed me and I passed out in my bed at 4:00 p.m. (waking up briefly to have supper).
At 3:15 a.m. the next morning we began our ascent up to Pt. Lenana, the 3rd highest peak at almost 5000m. The intention of the early wake-up call was to reach the summit in time to view the sun slowly raising from the east. The night was beautifully clear with not a single cloud present for the 3 hours that it took to climb/scramble. Furthermore the full moon bathed the mountain peaks with its silver light making some of the most eerie and beautiful silhouettes I had ever seen; it was the perfect build-up to reaching Pt. Lenana. However the weather had different plans because as soon as we reached the summit and the first rays of the morning sun had pierced the night sky I looked over my shoulder after screaming with elation at reaching the flag to see the largest cloud I'd seen fast approaching us. With a gasp of despair from me, the cloud engulfed us blocking everything that lay more than 10m away from view. Waiting for 30 minutes in hope for the cloud to disperse we eventually decided that we should start descending; my hands were turning purple under the thick gloves I had on and my feet had swollen with the cold under my shoes. 20 minutes after we started our descent Sod's law again dictated that the cloud should disperse in time for the army of school children who were now making their way up to the same point (I did take some pleasure in seeing the exhaustion in their faces and appreciating the silence that this climb was forcing on them). Nevertheless I looked up at Pt. Lenana, now clear against the blue sky, with a sense of pride at climbing the summit barely 4 months after I had painfully began to learn to walk again after an ankle injury I sustained in late November last year. We were now well on our way on the longest day of our hike: a 2000m descent walking more than 30km. The weather remained clear throughout the day so I could fully appreciate the scenery that was now surrounding me as I hiked down the Chogoria route. The landscape was the polar opposite of the Sirimon route up; instead of heaths and moorlands there were gorges and canyons with great lakes that were once glaciers of by-gone times. Half way down my ankles began to painfully feel as if they were being eroded and I was anxiously waiting to hear news on the fate of the stolen camera. As soon as there was enough signal on his phone, Nicholas made a couple of phone calls in the hope of finding some news. I sat down on a nearby rock praying for good news. No news had come. Instead my prayers were answered by a faint hissing sound coming from my shoes. Looking down I saw a bright green snake with black-colored patterns slithering on my shoe. Fortunately I'm not very afraid of snakes so I casually asked my guide the identity of this snake. With one glance Nicholas nearly jumped out of his skin with fright, not because he was afraid of snakes, but because his client, who not only had his camera stolen, had also found himself at the mercy of a Mt. Kenya Viper the venom of which can be life-threatening. With this knowledge I held my breath with fear as I waited for this snake to casual make its way over my foot. Once gone Nicholas and I quickly sped away. After 13 hours of trekking we finally arrived at our destination: The Austrian lodge at Chogoria gate (2900m). Feeling ever more exhausted I passed out yet again for 15 hours.
For our final day all that lay ahead of us was a 3 hour hike to where we were to be picked up and taken to Chogoria town. I woke up to the excited sound of Nicholas telling me that he had received an anonymous phone-call saying that my camera can be picked up at a shop in Nanyuki. We had both given up all hope of ever finding the camera again and so with this news we eagerly began our hike through the bamboo forests on the East side of the mountain. Once we had been picked up it was a journey of about 3 hours to get back to Nanyuki. Anticipation was building up inside of me as we arrived in Nanyuki and approached the shop where my camera was supposedly held. The shop-keeper brought forth a black plastic and removed its contents. For the briefest of moments my heart sank as I saw a well cleaned camera placed on the desk. I thought this couldn't be the one - its too clean. But on closer inspection it turned out that it definitely was and that who ever stole it must have cleaned it up before returning it (as if in an apology). I couldn't have asked for a happier ending to this experience!
Xav
7:00 a.m. the next day and still no news about the camera, but with the absence of clouds I was afforded my very first clear view of the summit that stood 1000m above us. The drastic contrast of scenery between the grassy moorlands and what lay before me was incredible. Vertical rock faces stretched up at 400m a time made the summit look almost impossible to scale. At various points huge jagged conical shaped points stuck out either proudly by themselves or with other groups making it look as if the summit was not of this earth but rather the remnants of a meteorite that had placed itself on top of a giant hill. With the weather being so glorious I immediately felt my mood lift to one of excitement and anticipation at the opportunity to explore the areas around the summit (our climb to Pt. Lenana would start on the next day). After a hearty breakfast Nicholas and I set off on a different route that other hikers were using; the path less traveled. With the gradient increasing at every step we took and the ground changing from solid rock to shingle it became increasingly difficult to reach our intended viewing point at 4700m high. But with the anticipation of seeing some spectacular views spurring me on we reached the point only to be greeted with the arrival of an anti-social cloud that wouldn't leave for at least an hour (I know this because we waited up there for that time so that the cloud could clear). Nicholas soon suggested that we move again since the wait was proving useless and despite the number of layers we had on our muscles were starting to stiffen due to the cold. So we walked down over the other side to where there were supposed to be a couple of lakes. Sods law dictates that when we were half way down the insufferable cloud that had ruined our views had now lifted and we had our first glimpse of the beauty of the mountain. The lakes were nestled among huge rock cliffs and perfectly reflected everything that surrounded them. In the presence of this magnificent sight I completely forgot about the stolen camera which often came to plague my mind. The weather stayed like this for 6 hours and we took the full advantage of it by hiking 180 degrees around the summit to view some more spectacular landscapes. Foolishly, however, neither of us had brought a bottle of water with us and for 8 hours we had been at an average altitude of 4500m and scrambling up gradients of at least 60 degrees. The final part of our walk back to Shipton's camp nearly killed me and I passed out in my bed at 4:00 p.m. (waking up briefly to have supper).
At 3:15 a.m. the next morning we began our ascent up to Pt. Lenana, the 3rd highest peak at almost 5000m. The intention of the early wake-up call was to reach the summit in time to view the sun slowly raising from the east. The night was beautifully clear with not a single cloud present for the 3 hours that it took to climb/scramble. Furthermore the full moon bathed the mountain peaks with its silver light making some of the most eerie and beautiful silhouettes I had ever seen; it was the perfect build-up to reaching Pt. Lenana. However the weather had different plans because as soon as we reached the summit and the first rays of the morning sun had pierced the night sky I looked over my shoulder after screaming with elation at reaching the flag to see the largest cloud I'd seen fast approaching us. With a gasp of despair from me, the cloud engulfed us blocking everything that lay more than 10m away from view. Waiting for 30 minutes in hope for the cloud to disperse we eventually decided that we should start descending; my hands were turning purple under the thick gloves I had on and my feet had swollen with the cold under my shoes. 20 minutes after we started our descent Sod's law again dictated that the cloud should disperse in time for the army of school children who were now making their way up to the same point (I did take some pleasure in seeing the exhaustion in their faces and appreciating the silence that this climb was forcing on them). Nevertheless I looked up at Pt. Lenana, now clear against the blue sky, with a sense of pride at climbing the summit barely 4 months after I had painfully began to learn to walk again after an ankle injury I sustained in late November last year. We were now well on our way on the longest day of our hike: a 2000m descent walking more than 30km. The weather remained clear throughout the day so I could fully appreciate the scenery that was now surrounding me as I hiked down the Chogoria route. The landscape was the polar opposite of the Sirimon route up; instead of heaths and moorlands there were gorges and canyons with great lakes that were once glaciers of by-gone times. Half way down my ankles began to painfully feel as if they were being eroded and I was anxiously waiting to hear news on the fate of the stolen camera. As soon as there was enough signal on his phone, Nicholas made a couple of phone calls in the hope of finding some news. I sat down on a nearby rock praying for good news. No news had come. Instead my prayers were answered by a faint hissing sound coming from my shoes. Looking down I saw a bright green snake with black-colored patterns slithering on my shoe. Fortunately I'm not very afraid of snakes so I casually asked my guide the identity of this snake. With one glance Nicholas nearly jumped out of his skin with fright, not because he was afraid of snakes, but because his client, who not only had his camera stolen, had also found himself at the mercy of a Mt. Kenya Viper the venom of which can be life-threatening. With this knowledge I held my breath with fear as I waited for this snake to casual make its way over my foot. Once gone Nicholas and I quickly sped away. After 13 hours of trekking we finally arrived at our destination: The Austrian lodge at Chogoria gate (2900m). Feeling ever more exhausted I passed out yet again for 15 hours.
For our final day all that lay ahead of us was a 3 hour hike to where we were to be picked up and taken to Chogoria town. I woke up to the excited sound of Nicholas telling me that he had received an anonymous phone-call saying that my camera can be picked up at a shop in Nanyuki. We had both given up all hope of ever finding the camera again and so with this news we eagerly began our hike through the bamboo forests on the East side of the mountain. Once we had been picked up it was a journey of about 3 hours to get back to Nanyuki. Anticipation was building up inside of me as we arrived in Nanyuki and approached the shop where my camera was supposedly held. The shop-keeper brought forth a black plastic and removed its contents. For the briefest of moments my heart sank as I saw a well cleaned camera placed on the desk. I thought this couldn't be the one - its too clean. But on closer inspection it turned out that it definitely was and that who ever stole it must have cleaned it up before returning it (as if in an apology). I couldn't have asked for a happier ending to this experience!
Xav
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Mt. Kenya pt. 1
It comes as no surprise to learn that the local Kikuyu community regard Mt. Kenya as the home of their God. They say "During ancient creation days, a dense cloud stood over the land as Ngai (the divider of the universe) descended to earth and made his dwelling upon the snow-capped peaks of Mt. Kenya." After having spent 5 days exploring the magnificence and beauty of this mountain I can easily understand why the Kikuyu hold it in such awe; and although I didn't find God up on Pt. Lenana (5000m high) I couldn't think of a more perfect place to make a divine dwelling. The variety of landscape and wildlife to be seen on this mountain defies believe; jungles, bamboo forests, heaths, moorlands, valleys, rock cliffs, beautiful lakes that perfectly mirror their surroundings when looked upon from any angle, and gorges reminiscent of the Grand Canyon are just a few examples of the terrain that can be encountered on this mountain. I experienced perhaps every emotion possible on this trek from awe at the mountainous features, elation at reaching the summit, anger at my camera being stolen and fear at a Mt. Kenyan Viper slithering just past my exposed shins... but more on that later on.
Since arriving at Olonana back in April I already had it in mind to scale the mountain and I was determined to see it come to fruition. After receiving permission to undertake this adventure I immediately set about trying to organize it. Fortunately luck was again on my side because a former free-lance guide at Mt. Kenya just so happens to be the head guide at Olonana. And so with his contacts and knowledge of the area, Abdul took it upon himself to organize the trip for me and he did a fantastic job.
On Saturday 11th June I bade a brief farewell to the workers at Olonana (since I was to return the next week) and set off for Nairobi to be picked up by Abdul and the A&K offices. As soon as he arrived we flagged down a Matatu that was traveling direct to Nanyuki, the town from which my hike would start. But before the trip even started I was already fearing a swift end because the heavens opened up and vomited an obscene amount of rain so dense that you couldn't see further than 5 meters in front of you. Normally I would have sat back and admired such a dramatic weather performance but when the driver is speeding at 60 kph and dodging cars at the last second whilst trying to avoid the rivers that were forming on the side of the motorway, it becomes difficult to think of anything apart from all those things that you promise yourself to do if you come out of the ordeal alive. After 40 minutes my knuckles had returned to their normal colour and the rain had cleared up in time to see the faint outline of the base of Mt. Kenya. The summit however was nowhere to be seen and if there's one thing that annoyed me on the trek it was stupid clouds ruining the spectacular landscape. Most of the time the summit remained elusively hidden from view. Thankful to be alive, we arrived in Nanyuki to meet my guide, Nicholas, who would prove himself to be indispensable to me and the chef, Francis, the name of which I took to be a good sign.
On the 12th my hike began at Sirimon gate 2650m above sea-level with the sun shining for a change. From the gate we followed the track as it winds uphill through the forest which becomes heath land after about 3 hrs, stopping on the way at the equator line to have some lunch at the exact mid-point of the Earth. Sadly the forest hid all of the game animals that were be seen on the mountain which included: elephants, leopards, antelope, zebras, and buffalo. But no matter... I'd already seen plenty of them beforehand. By mid-afternoon we had reached our first base to spend the night. It was the polar opposite of the luxury provided at Olonana; no heating, poorly made beds and dormitories that fit about 10 people. But at least it was a roof to sleep under and it would have been fine except that I had chosen to climb the mountain on the same day as an army of boisterous 13 year-old school children who were there on a trip... trying to sleep while 30 boys and girls were screaming about who fancies one-another and who kissed who was not a highlight of the trip. The next day Nicholas and I woke up early to avoid the mass exodus of school children, and we were greeted with our first breathtaking view of the distant summit as it stood proudly above us. With renewed vigour we set off on the 27 km ascent up to Shipton camp at 4200m above sea-level. The terrain was mainly grassy moorlands but as we climbed we reached some spectacular valleys that afforded tremendous views of the forests and towns that surround the mountain. Just after lunch-time, however, I had my first bit of really bad luck. Having been distracted after taking another photo I accidentally left the expensive camera that my mum had placed in my care next to the path-way and walked on (my fault, I know). But barely 3 minutes later after having discovered the camera's absence I quickly jogged back expecting to find it where I had left it, passing 7 porters along the way all of whom had said that they had not seen the camera. Needless to say the camera had disappeared at which point feelings of despair, anger, and frustration raged through me. After Nicholas and I had searched for 2 hours we came to the conclusion that one of the porters we had crossed must have lied and stolen it. With this knowledge Nicholas was determined to expose the culprit and was fully confident that the camera will be returned. I, on the other hand, was already trying to work out how best to tell my mum that her camera had been stolen. Needless to say this put a huge downer on the rest of the day, but at least I had my own small digital camera to take pictures with so at least I could still have photos of the experience. Having arrived last at Shipton's camp Nicholas immediately set about his investigation whilst I took some solice in gazing at the alien-like summit that was now looming directly over our heads.
Since arriving at Olonana back in April I already had it in mind to scale the mountain and I was determined to see it come to fruition. After receiving permission to undertake this adventure I immediately set about trying to organize it. Fortunately luck was again on my side because a former free-lance guide at Mt. Kenya just so happens to be the head guide at Olonana. And so with his contacts and knowledge of the area, Abdul took it upon himself to organize the trip for me and he did a fantastic job.
On Saturday 11th June I bade a brief farewell to the workers at Olonana (since I was to return the next week) and set off for Nairobi to be picked up by Abdul and the A&K offices. As soon as he arrived we flagged down a Matatu that was traveling direct to Nanyuki, the town from which my hike would start. But before the trip even started I was already fearing a swift end because the heavens opened up and vomited an obscene amount of rain so dense that you couldn't see further than 5 meters in front of you. Normally I would have sat back and admired such a dramatic weather performance but when the driver is speeding at 60 kph and dodging cars at the last second whilst trying to avoid the rivers that were forming on the side of the motorway, it becomes difficult to think of anything apart from all those things that you promise yourself to do if you come out of the ordeal alive. After 40 minutes my knuckles had returned to their normal colour and the rain had cleared up in time to see the faint outline of the base of Mt. Kenya. The summit however was nowhere to be seen and if there's one thing that annoyed me on the trek it was stupid clouds ruining the spectacular landscape. Most of the time the summit remained elusively hidden from view. Thankful to be alive, we arrived in Nanyuki to meet my guide, Nicholas, who would prove himself to be indispensable to me and the chef, Francis, the name of which I took to be a good sign.
On the 12th my hike began at Sirimon gate 2650m above sea-level with the sun shining for a change. From the gate we followed the track as it winds uphill through the forest which becomes heath land after about 3 hrs, stopping on the way at the equator line to have some lunch at the exact mid-point of the Earth. Sadly the forest hid all of the game animals that were be seen on the mountain which included: elephants, leopards, antelope, zebras, and buffalo. But no matter... I'd already seen plenty of them beforehand. By mid-afternoon we had reached our first base to spend the night. It was the polar opposite of the luxury provided at Olonana; no heating, poorly made beds and dormitories that fit about 10 people. But at least it was a roof to sleep under and it would have been fine except that I had chosen to climb the mountain on the same day as an army of boisterous 13 year-old school children who were there on a trip... trying to sleep while 30 boys and girls were screaming about who fancies one-another and who kissed who was not a highlight of the trip. The next day Nicholas and I woke up early to avoid the mass exodus of school children, and we were greeted with our first breathtaking view of the distant summit as it stood proudly above us. With renewed vigour we set off on the 27 km ascent up to Shipton camp at 4200m above sea-level. The terrain was mainly grassy moorlands but as we climbed we reached some spectacular valleys that afforded tremendous views of the forests and towns that surround the mountain. Just after lunch-time, however, I had my first bit of really bad luck. Having been distracted after taking another photo I accidentally left the expensive camera that my mum had placed in my care next to the path-way and walked on (my fault, I know). But barely 3 minutes later after having discovered the camera's absence I quickly jogged back expecting to find it where I had left it, passing 7 porters along the way all of whom had said that they had not seen the camera. Needless to say the camera had disappeared at which point feelings of despair, anger, and frustration raged through me. After Nicholas and I had searched for 2 hours we came to the conclusion that one of the porters we had crossed must have lied and stolen it. With this knowledge Nicholas was determined to expose the culprit and was fully confident that the camera will be returned. I, on the other hand, was already trying to work out how best to tell my mum that her camera had been stolen. Needless to say this put a huge downer on the rest of the day, but at least I had my own small digital camera to take pictures with so at least I could still have photos of the experience. Having arrived last at Shipton's camp Nicholas immediately set about his investigation whilst I took some solice in gazing at the alien-like summit that was now looming directly over our heads.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Final day at Olonana and the drive to Kampala
On my last day at Olonana I was invited by the Masai women to come and help milk their cattle in the morning, I tried my best but its harder than it looks! I then helped the women take water from Olonana (who provides clean water for the locals) to their Manyatta and as a reward for my efforts they invited me into their house for tea.Whilst taking tea one of the elders offered me to try some cow's blood, an essential part of the Masai diet. Being a vegetarian I was nervous but feeling like it would be rude to reject their offer I took a tiny cupful. Surprisingly it didn't taste too bad! In the afternoon I flew from the Mara to Nairobi where I spent the night. In the late morning I was then picked up by David and Sam (two A&K employees) and will started the 12 hour drive to Kampala. However we did not cover as much ground as we had hoped and by the time we had reached the border (the half way point) it was nearly midnight. We then decided to sleep at the border as it was too dangerous to drive and the blood was taking its effect on my stomach! We set off early the next morning and arrived in Kampala at lunchtime. The next day David and Sam headed off early on the long drive down to GFC but King had organised something else for me....I was off back to Jinja ( a town we had passed on the drive) to go white water rafting and bunjee jumping on the Nile with a company called Adrift! I was joined on the raft with a bunch of bikers from South Africa and an young english couple. We were doing surprisingly well until the last rapid where the raft flipped and we were all chucked out into the water! We all slowly scrambled back onto the boat, we had managed to tip on the smallest rapid on the route! We went to the bank for lunch after which I said my goodbyes to everyone else as they were continuing on a full day rafting trip whilst I was heading back to the base to take the jump! The nerves started to creep up on me on the short drive and by the time I was up on the platform I was more than scared, especially because I had let the instructor pick which type of jump I did, he picked a jump that ended in me being dunked into the river! I hopped onto the platform and tried not to look down but couldn't resist to take a peak of the river 44m below. the count down started and before I knew it I had taken the leap and was heading straight to the river, I was too scared to even scream but it was an amasing feeling. After a few bounces I grabbed the paddle and was dragged onto the safety boat, feeling relieved that I had done it without hurting myself in someway! Shortly after I headed back to Kampala tired after a roller coaster of a day that I am sure I will not forget for a long time. On the 16th I then flew down on a tiny plane to Bwindi on which I was the only passenger. I was met by Rogers (a GFC guide that I had met at Olonana) at the airstrip and spent the day at the tea plantation with Roger's "auntie" who during the day took the role of my mother before arriving at GFC.
Caitlin
Caitlin
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Parting Ways
Yesterday Xaver left to climb Mount Kenya with Abdul (our head guide at Olonana) and today I start on the long journey to Gorilla Forest Camp in Uganda with a flight from Olonana to Nairobi. Tomorrow I will be heading out on the 700km drive to Kampala which I will be exploring for a couple of days before flying down to GFC. Whilst in Kampala King has set me up to do white water rafting and bungee jumping which is going to be a challenge!!.....I will let you know how it goes. I have had an amasing time at Olonana and have made some great friends who I am going to miss but I am looking forward to Uganda and seeing the gorillas! I'd like to thank everyone at Olonana and of course A&K for making my time so memorable. From now on Xaver and I will be in different places from now on, so you'll now get separate weekly updates. Speak Soon,
Caitlin
Caitlin
Thursday, June 9, 2011
A Day in the Life...
On Tuesday 7th June I was given the honour by the Chief of the local village to dressed as a Masai warrior for the day and lend a hand in herding the whole village's livestock. I was determined to take no short-cuts during this day so that I could gain the full Masai experience. The previous day I was forewarned about what would be facing me: starting from 8 a.m. through to 6 p.m. I was to have no food, and no water since Masai warriors only drink milk for breakfast and eat supper when the day is done. For those who know me well, this was going to be the toughest aspect of the day. Not only that, but also I would be exposed to the weather changes that frequently alter from boiling hot one minute to fairly cool the other. All this while I wear my bright, blood red Masai warrior dress complete with beaded necklaces, sword, club, and walking stick. Furthermore I was warned that it is not uncommon for lions to try their luck in capturing one of the cattle and if that were to happen they would expect me to do my best to scare them away (I had an alternate plan of simply running in the opposite direction... seems much easier). The only two short-cuts I made that reduced the authenticity of the experience was:
1. Masai boys have to be circumsized in order to be accept as a warrior... although the offer was there for a ceremony to be arranged in my honour, I politely refused.
2. I had my doubts about surviving for 10 hours under the Masai sun without a drop of water... so I snuck under my clothes a 1/2 litre bottle of water.
So at 8:00 a.m. I emerged from my room at the staff quarters fully dressed in my Masai attire. Since many employees have never seen a white-skinned person dress in such a uniform before, their expressions were a mixture of shock and laughter... many of those who are Masai then proceeded to offer me their sisters in marriage, again I politely refused claiming 'I'm too young to marry'. I met the other cattle herders outside the camp with their livestock numbering at 140! I sudeenly felt very apprehensive about losing one of them since the cows are the Masai livelyhood. With the cows all accounted for, Twangey, John, and I set off for our day's herding. First stop was to let the cows drink water from the natural mineral lake that was close by... on the other side of the Mara River. Either we went the long way round or we could cut straight through the river. Fortunately, for the sake of fun, we chose the latter. And so, with the hippos flanking us on either side watching with curiousity we coaxed our cows to cross the fast flowing river and finally, once the cows were safely over it was our turn. Needless to say I had a great time wading through the waist high river although I tried to ignore the fact that all it takes is one slip and the river would take me straight towards a group of bathing hippos. Nevertherless we successfully crossed the river and the cows drank to their hearts content from the salt later. Only then was I told that we had to cross back over the river but fortunately everything went smoothly and nobody was lost to the irate hippos.
But that wasn't the last we saw of them. 2 hours later while walking along side a large group of trees I turned a corner to my complete surprise there was a grazing hippo barely 10 metres away. Shock had made me incapable of moving so it was down to Twange to grap hold of my arm and motion for me to run for my life... which I gladly did. Luckily the hippo was facing away from us so he wasn't aware of our presense at all. 5 minutes later when we were sure that the hippo had gone we came out of our hiding place in the bushes and carried on with our work as if nothing happened (apparently stumbling across a hippo is a common occurance for the Masai so Twange and John treated it as just another day of work... I thought much differently).
The day wore on and the sun beat down upon my skin turning it the same colour as the blood red cloth I was wearing. The sandals on my feet were hard-soled and provided absolutely no cushioning for my feet as I stood and walked constantly for 10 hours... by the end it felt as though my ankle joints had eroded away. 3 o' clock passed by, 4 o'clock passed by, and by 5 o'clock I had not drunk water for 7 hours (I was not economical with the 1/2 litre bottle). So when we came upon the spring that the Masai use to collect their drinking water I happily drank 3-4 litres of some suspicious looking water, but it tasted like heaven and I didn't mind (I have no yet suffered any side effects so far so I think I'm in the clear of not catching a disease). By 6 o'clock I shuffled my feet back to Olonana and drank more and more water and feasted on two portions of everything that night. The stamina that these Masai warriors must have to do this every day is incredible; it was harder on the boday than any sports game I've ever played so far. I was also informed that no other guest in the our area of the Mara had ever undertaken an experience like this so I felt very privileged to be the first one to break the trend. At 9 o'clock I passed out in my bed and did not wake up till 12 hours later.
Xav
1. Masai boys have to be circumsized in order to be accept as a warrior... although the offer was there for a ceremony to be arranged in my honour, I politely refused.
2. I had my doubts about surviving for 10 hours under the Masai sun without a drop of water... so I snuck under my clothes a 1/2 litre bottle of water.
So at 8:00 a.m. I emerged from my room at the staff quarters fully dressed in my Masai attire. Since many employees have never seen a white-skinned person dress in such a uniform before, their expressions were a mixture of shock and laughter... many of those who are Masai then proceeded to offer me their sisters in marriage, again I politely refused claiming 'I'm too young to marry'. I met the other cattle herders outside the camp with their livestock numbering at 140! I sudeenly felt very apprehensive about losing one of them since the cows are the Masai livelyhood. With the cows all accounted for, Twangey, John, and I set off for our day's herding. First stop was to let the cows drink water from the natural mineral lake that was close by... on the other side of the Mara River. Either we went the long way round or we could cut straight through the river. Fortunately, for the sake of fun, we chose the latter. And so, with the hippos flanking us on either side watching with curiousity we coaxed our cows to cross the fast flowing river and finally, once the cows were safely over it was our turn. Needless to say I had a great time wading through the waist high river although I tried to ignore the fact that all it takes is one slip and the river would take me straight towards a group of bathing hippos. Nevertherless we successfully crossed the river and the cows drank to their hearts content from the salt later. Only then was I told that we had to cross back over the river but fortunately everything went smoothly and nobody was lost to the irate hippos.
But that wasn't the last we saw of them. 2 hours later while walking along side a large group of trees I turned a corner to my complete surprise there was a grazing hippo barely 10 metres away. Shock had made me incapable of moving so it was down to Twange to grap hold of my arm and motion for me to run for my life... which I gladly did. Luckily the hippo was facing away from us so he wasn't aware of our presense at all. 5 minutes later when we were sure that the hippo had gone we came out of our hiding place in the bushes and carried on with our work as if nothing happened (apparently stumbling across a hippo is a common occurance for the Masai so Twange and John treated it as just another day of work... I thought much differently).
The day wore on and the sun beat down upon my skin turning it the same colour as the blood red cloth I was wearing. The sandals on my feet were hard-soled and provided absolutely no cushioning for my feet as I stood and walked constantly for 10 hours... by the end it felt as though my ankle joints had eroded away. 3 o' clock passed by, 4 o'clock passed by, and by 5 o'clock I had not drunk water for 7 hours (I was not economical with the 1/2 litre bottle). So when we came upon the spring that the Masai use to collect their drinking water I happily drank 3-4 litres of some suspicious looking water, but it tasted like heaven and I didn't mind (I have no yet suffered any side effects so far so I think I'm in the clear of not catching a disease). By 6 o'clock I shuffled my feet back to Olonana and drank more and more water and feasted on two portions of everything that night. The stamina that these Masai warriors must have to do this every day is incredible; it was harder on the boday than any sports game I've ever played so far. I was also informed that no other guest in the our area of the Mara had ever undertaken an experience like this so I felt very privileged to be the first one to break the trend. At 9 o'clock I passed out in my bed and did not wake up till 12 hours later.
Xav
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Food & Beverage
Xaver and I have spent the last week trying our hand at waitering, we were already well equianted with the waitering and kitchen staff so felt very comfortable from the start. However, serving the guests was a completely different ball game. I think I can speak for us both when I say we were a little nervous when it came to serving the guests for a number of reasons;
1. The plates that we were usually carrying as we approached were boiling hot and if we did not put them down soon we would drop them
2. the soup bowls were always placed on a side plate to carry to the guests and had a tendancy to slide as we were placing them on the table, causing the soup to come awfully close to spilling right onto the clients lap 3. The guests had paid a great deal for the holiday and we did not want to taint their experience in anyway.
Nonetheless we both managed to recieve excellent feedback from our guests throughout the week. We were rewarded to a game drive at the end of the week with Benson and we were determined to find the leopard, as we have never experienced a proper sighting. We set off early and headed straight for some known leopard territories, whilst making our way to the river crossing we came across some muddy patches where it was inevitable that we eventually got stuck. The more we tried to free ourselves from the mud the deeper the wheels of the jeep sank and all that was accomplished was spraying ourselves with mud. Luckily there was a nearby JCB - rarer than the leopard in the Mara, that we managed to flag down which towed us to safety. The car was covered in mud and so were we, as we continued the drive we became an amusement to the passing game viewers and fellow drivers. Although we did not come across a leopald we did stubble upon a rather antisocial hippo who decided it was best to charge at the vehicle, Benson explained that this was a lone male that had been kicked out the herd by dominant male and that he was not fond of any company - us included. We welcomed the attack with great excitement but eventually noting his persistence took the hippos advise to piss off. All in all it was a great drive and we returned to camp with plenty to tell Maurice.
1. The plates that we were usually carrying as we approached were boiling hot and if we did not put them down soon we would drop them
2. the soup bowls were always placed on a side plate to carry to the guests and had a tendancy to slide as we were placing them on the table, causing the soup to come awfully close to spilling right onto the clients lap 3. The guests had paid a great deal for the holiday and we did not want to taint their experience in anyway.
Nonetheless we both managed to recieve excellent feedback from our guests throughout the week. We were rewarded to a game drive at the end of the week with Benson and we were determined to find the leopard, as we have never experienced a proper sighting. We set off early and headed straight for some known leopard territories, whilst making our way to the river crossing we came across some muddy patches where it was inevitable that we eventually got stuck. The more we tried to free ourselves from the mud the deeper the wheels of the jeep sank and all that was accomplished was spraying ourselves with mud. Luckily there was a nearby JCB - rarer than the leopard in the Mara, that we managed to flag down which towed us to safety. The car was covered in mud and so were we, as we continued the drive we became an amusement to the passing game viewers and fellow drivers. Although we did not come across a leopald we did stubble upon a rather antisocial hippo who decided it was best to charge at the vehicle, Benson explained that this was a lone male that had been kicked out the herd by dominant male and that he was not fond of any company - us included. We welcomed the attack with great excitement but eventually noting his persistence took the hippos advise to piss off. All in all it was a great drive and we returned to camp with plenty to tell Maurice.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Repairs and Maintenance
For the past week Caitlin and I have been employed in the Repairs and Maintenance department at Sanctuary Olonana. At first we didn't quite know what to expect but it was immediately obvious from the very first day that this would be the most enjoyable work area for both of us. To keep a Luxury Retreat fully functional 24/7 is no easy feat; there were cars to repair, tents to refurbish, wooden signs to carve, electric fences to recircuit, trucks to drive, supplies to deliver etc...etc. Needless to say there was plenty of work for Caitlin and I to be getting on with. Between the two of us we were mechanics, carpenters, truck drivers, garbage cleaners, pool cleaners, painters, builders, and gardeners. Some particular highlights for the both of us include driving an off-road truck from WWII to collect water from a natural spring in the Mara; repairing and re-greasing the wheel hub of one of the 4X4s; chiseling signs on wooden boards with devout Rasta men from Nairobi; and being in the company of the many other people who work in the department since R&M employs the most people at Olonana.
For me I managed to discover many other snooker enthusiasts and so after the day's work is over we would head off towards the dilapidated pool table in the staff quarters and play to our hearts content (many were claiming to be the 'pool champion' - a title that was quickly proven false. Furthermore both Caitlin and I were also re-located to stay in the staff quarters because the Sanctuary was fully-booked which was mainly because the Board of Directors had arrived for 3-4 days of conference talks. In fact to help accomodate for the extra numbers incredibily luxurious mobile camps were pitched in the open grass field that's within the Olonana boundary... I think I would have preferred to sleep there under the stars! Next week it we will be waiters but we have both agreed that during our free time we will definitely help out with the R&M department since it was so enjoyable.
Xaver
For me I managed to discover many other snooker enthusiasts and so after the day's work is over we would head off towards the dilapidated pool table in the staff quarters and play to our hearts content (many were claiming to be the 'pool champion' - a title that was quickly proven false. Furthermore both Caitlin and I were also re-located to stay in the staff quarters because the Sanctuary was fully-booked which was mainly because the Board of Directors had arrived for 3-4 days of conference talks. In fact to help accomodate for the extra numbers incredibily luxurious mobile camps were pitched in the open grass field that's within the Olonana boundary... I think I would have preferred to sleep there under the stars! Next week it we will be waiters but we have both agreed that during our free time we will definitely help out with the R&M department since it was so enjoyable.
Xaver
Friday, May 20, 2011
The Silence of the Goat
There was once a black and white spotted goat that belonged to the neighboring Masai tribe. This goat is no more. It all began yesterday when it was brought to the staff quarters, perfectly ignorant of its imminent destiny. Yet once it was tethered to the tree, the reason for his presence seemed to have dawned upon him and thus tried to make a daring escape. Having broke free of the rope that bound him to his fate he scarpered up through the bushes (much to everyone's annoyance) and almost made good his escape. The hunt was on and for the next 15 minutes both Caitlin and I, along with a few others, were in hot pursuit. I virtually fought my way through all the thorny Acacias to no avail and steadily became more and more frustrated with this aggravating goat. Eventually though the poor goat's valiant attempt at freedom was thwarted and it was returned to its original tethering post. The weather at that point seemed to perfectly reflect the goat's emotions and for 4 hours straight the heavens let loose a cascade of water which saved the goats life for the day... the staff had to make do with a vegetarian dinner.
The following day all thoughts about the goat were put aside as Caitlin and I continued to work in the maintenance department. Having finished my lunch I proceeded to return to my room only to be confronted with an invitation to help 'prepare' the goat for the staff's evening meal. I realised at once that this would certainly be one of the most memorable experiences of my time out here if I accepted the offer. The slaughtering of a goat is one of the most crucial aspects of Masai culture since 2/3rds of their principle diet (meat, blood and milk) stems from this act and so to participate in it would be a once-in-a-lifetime cultural experience. I, therefore, agreed to help but at the same time not trusting my body to quell any uncontrollable reflexes that might arise. I refrained from playing the role of executioner (I was afraid that I might make a mistake and therefore cause the goat to be in a lot of pain). I braced my ears for a horrifying bleat of despair to come from the goat, but it never did. Instead it died painlessly and peacefully (although the natural postmortem convulsions did take a while to stop). We then lifted the goat so that the blood could drain out into the water bottles that lay waiting underneath. Unfortunately during the process the entire contents of the goat's stomach cascaded down the open oesophagus and onto my shoe; not pleasant. Once the blood had been collected it was time to skin the animal. What caught me by surprise was how supple the skin was and how easy it was to remove it. After 15 minutes the skin was gone and it was time to remove the innards which were still warm... not really a very pleasant job either. Once the innards were gone we removed the head, amputated the legs and removed the rib cage. Barely 40 minutes after the goat was alive well, it's entire anatomy was reduced to a soft and fleshy pile in a large cooking pot. I certainly wouldn't call it an enjoyable experience, by no means. But at the same time it made me appreciate, even more, the strength and beauty of the Masai culture. Their entire livelihood, both monetary and dietary, depends on their livestock. Without it they would cease to exist. And for those that feel that the white and black spotted goat had a gruesome fate, I can promise you that the Masai people looked after it like it was their child. It probably had a vastly happier life than those that are bred in the many battery farms back in England.
Xaver
The following day all thoughts about the goat were put aside as Caitlin and I continued to work in the maintenance department. Having finished my lunch I proceeded to return to my room only to be confronted with an invitation to help 'prepare' the goat for the staff's evening meal. I realised at once that this would certainly be one of the most memorable experiences of my time out here if I accepted the offer. The slaughtering of a goat is one of the most crucial aspects of Masai culture since 2/3rds of their principle diet (meat, blood and milk) stems from this act and so to participate in it would be a once-in-a-lifetime cultural experience. I, therefore, agreed to help but at the same time not trusting my body to quell any uncontrollable reflexes that might arise. I refrained from playing the role of executioner (I was afraid that I might make a mistake and therefore cause the goat to be in a lot of pain). I braced my ears for a horrifying bleat of despair to come from the goat, but it never did. Instead it died painlessly and peacefully (although the natural postmortem convulsions did take a while to stop). We then lifted the goat so that the blood could drain out into the water bottles that lay waiting underneath. Unfortunately during the process the entire contents of the goat's stomach cascaded down the open oesophagus and onto my shoe; not pleasant. Once the blood had been collected it was time to skin the animal. What caught me by surprise was how supple the skin was and how easy it was to remove it. After 15 minutes the skin was gone and it was time to remove the innards which were still warm... not really a very pleasant job either. Once the innards were gone we removed the head, amputated the legs and removed the rib cage. Barely 40 minutes after the goat was alive well, it's entire anatomy was reduced to a soft and fleshy pile in a large cooking pot. I certainly wouldn't call it an enjoyable experience, by no means. But at the same time it made me appreciate, even more, the strength and beauty of the Masai culture. Their entire livelihood, both monetary and dietary, depends on their livestock. Without it they would cease to exist. And for those that feel that the white and black spotted goat had a gruesome fate, I can promise you that the Masai people looked after it like it was their child. It probably had a vastly happier life than those that are bred in the many battery farms back in England.
Xaver
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Mararianda
Due to the recent rains that appear daily at about 5, our usual climb up the escarpment was deemed a little too dangerous. However our walking partner, Alfred had an slightly longer alternate... The hour walk to the nearest shopping centre, Mararianda. The walk in comparision to the one up the escarpment was very flat and easy and it wasn't long until we arrived at the town. Mararianda is a small but busy town composed of many shanty shops, where many of the Olonana workers go to socialise. We were welcomed warmly by the locals, some of whom recognised us from our visits to their camps in our first few weeks. Xaver bought a sim card whilst I headed hastily to the candy shop, after weeks of being deprived of sweets I had a craving. On the way back we were accompanied by some of the Masaai elders from our neighbouring villages who were keen to find out more about us. We chatted for the majority of the journey back whilst cleaning our teeth with the "local toothbrushes" which is a well chewed piece of wood! Much to our surprise although they didnt taste great, they definately did the job leaving our teeth feeilng freshly brushed. The conversation turned towards my welfare as the Masaai worried that I would unable to cope with the journey being a girl - a common mistake. I assured them that I was feeling fine infact very energetic... To which I was challenged by a spritely women well into her 70's! We raced in short spurts along the road for a good 500m before the elderly women gave up soon after dropping her gin and accepted defeat. Xaver and I have learnt from this women that Gin is obviously the solution to a long and healthy life!
Caitlin
Caitlin
driving lessons
After going on many game drives and being witness to the jeeps getting stuck in the mud banks of the river or the boggy offroad tracks Xaver and I were desperate to get behind the wheel. Even though we both have driving licences at home in England we were doubtful that the guides would let us drive such a power vehicle however one day after lunch Abdul said he would take us for a lesson. We headed to the landing strip to drop of some guests and once the plane was up in the air it was my turn to get behind the wheel; Xaver claiming to be a gentleman with "Ladies first". Abdul then navigated me along the tracks and all was going well - Xaver even felt safe enough to dangle out the side of the car filming our escapades. This was until Abdul put my skills to the test and led me to an extremely muddy area where soon enough I got stuck much to Xaver's enjoyment. It took a good 10 minutes of moving backwards and forwards repeatedly and a lot of revving to free the jeep. It was then Xaver's turn to drive, Abdul quickly felt the difference, where as I had approached mounds and ruts with caution Xaver went for the fast and furious approach rocking the jeep heavily from side to side. Thanks to this speed we quickly arrived back at camp to find all the soft drinks had lost their fizz!
Caitlin
Caitlin
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
A Bush Breakfast
On Monday we were given a unique opportunity to go on a game drive, but with a twist; A full buffet breakfast half way up the escarpment as the sun rises. At first my assumption was that the breakfast would be a contained in a picnic hamper and that we would stuff our faces with croissants quickly, but no. As we scaled the hill the feast that was laid out before us became clearer and clearer. There were clothed tables situated perfectly over the Masai plains and two buffet table crammed full with both hot and cold options. Our friend Emmanuel from the kitchens was even there with a makeshift cooker immediately on-hand to fry us up any type of eggs you could imagine. And so with a plate piled high with bacon, sausage, french bread, potatoes, and eggs I sat down at my table and admired the view that lay before me. After everyone had been well and truly satisfied we then proceeded to go on our game drive which turned out to be highly successful as we saw a male lion tucking into his own freshly caught breakfast while making some gruesome sounds. At 12:00 we were back at Sanctuary Olonana and I had a pile of ironing to do...
Xav
Xav
It's time for action
After almost 2 weeks of gluttonous eating on my behalf it was time to do something to prevent an expanding waistline. Having quickly given up attempts to do sit-ups and push-ups regularly every day I decided that there must be something more entertaining to do to keep fit. That's when my eyes alighted upon the huge escarpment that looms over Sanctuary Olonana and I thought 'why not?' It actually turns out that there are actually a couple of fitness enthusiast on the working staff that also had the same idea for the past 6 months. So I decided to join them as much as possible on their daily walk. The first time was a mixture of exhilaration at the view seen at the top of the escarpment and exhaustion when I returned. Since then I've scaled it 5 times and each time it gets easier and no less thrilling so it is definitely something that I will try to maintain during my stay here.
The fitness idea also appealed to Caitlin who, I assume, felt the same sense of guilt at not being active enough. Needless to say she ascended the escarpment without any difficulty at all, much to the surprise of all the male employees who collectively thought that the feat would not be possible for a lady; one even asked if Albert and I had to use a rope to drag her up (cue a lot of laughter from me and an incredulous look from Caitlin). I, myself, had no doubts about her capabilities. The views of the Masai plains from the top certainly make this walk more than worthwhile, and it will definitely be an aspect that I'll miss when I have to leave.
Xav
The fitness idea also appealed to Caitlin who, I assume, felt the same sense of guilt at not being active enough. Needless to say she ascended the escarpment without any difficulty at all, much to the surprise of all the male employees who collectively thought that the feat would not be possible for a lady; one even asked if Albert and I had to use a rope to drag her up (cue a lot of laughter from me and an incredulous look from Caitlin). I, myself, had no doubts about her capabilities. The views of the Masai plains from the top certainly make this walk more than worthwhile, and it will definitely be an aspect that I'll miss when I have to leave.
Xav
Work Week 3
1-3/05/2011
Last Friday was sadly our last day working in the Olonana Kitchen. We topped the day off by spending perhaps an hour taking photos of everyone. This initially began as a well-behaved affair with each person smiling amiably at the camera but it very rapidly went out of control (much to our amusement); knives were drawn, props were used and poses got steadily more ridiculous! But in many ways these photos probably speak more truth about the characters in the kitchen; they are a great bunch. But 'hakuna matata', we're still here for 2 more months so we'll see plenty of them despite their lamentations that they would never see us again!
Caitlin and I have also been seperated for this week in terms of our work departments with me trying my hand at laundry (a job I was quite dubious about) and Caitlin showing off her natural skills in house-keeping. Already on my first day I was confronted by innumerable pairs of women's underwear that I was told I had to iron, needless to say it wasn't the most positive aspect of the day for me... However I did have the opportunity to meet new co-workers and just like the kitchen staff they were very friendly. After the first day I was invited to come and kick a football about with other people from the neighbouring Masai village. I tried as best I could to display some credible skills but sadly my injured ankle posed a significant hindrance (I regularly fell and mis-hit the ball to the other team, much to my embarassment) and I relegated myself to acting as goalkeeper which turned out to be a useless position since the football they were playing became a contest to see who could keep hold of the ball the longest without giving-up possesion - goals didn't count. The pitch couldn't really be regarded as a pitch - more like the only area of grass that isn't populated by loose rocks... their cattle also had a free rein of the 'pitch' and there were frequent hillarious occasions where a cross or pass was gloriously intercepted by a cow's head. It was a certainly a novel experience... where else would you play football with a commanding view of the Masai plains with the inclusion of random streaking cows. We even had spectators! The children of the village came out in their multitudes and avidly watched the 'grown-ups' play some footie. Many of them wanted to test their English on me and I happily obliged. Hopefully my ankle will improve enough to join in properly but nonetheless I had a great time and I certainly take up any future invitations to play.
Last Friday was sadly our last day working in the Olonana Kitchen. We topped the day off by spending perhaps an hour taking photos of everyone. This initially began as a well-behaved affair with each person smiling amiably at the camera but it very rapidly went out of control (much to our amusement); knives were drawn, props were used and poses got steadily more ridiculous! But in many ways these photos probably speak more truth about the characters in the kitchen; they are a great bunch. But 'hakuna matata', we're still here for 2 more months so we'll see plenty of them despite their lamentations that they would never see us again!
Caitlin and I have also been seperated for this week in terms of our work departments with me trying my hand at laundry (a job I was quite dubious about) and Caitlin showing off her natural skills in house-keeping. Already on my first day I was confronted by innumerable pairs of women's underwear that I was told I had to iron, needless to say it wasn't the most positive aspect of the day for me... However I did have the opportunity to meet new co-workers and just like the kitchen staff they were very friendly. After the first day I was invited to come and kick a football about with other people from the neighbouring Masai village. I tried as best I could to display some credible skills but sadly my injured ankle posed a significant hindrance (I regularly fell and mis-hit the ball to the other team, much to my embarassment) and I relegated myself to acting as goalkeeper which turned out to be a useless position since the football they were playing became a contest to see who could keep hold of the ball the longest without giving-up possesion - goals didn't count. The pitch couldn't really be regarded as a pitch - more like the only area of grass that isn't populated by loose rocks... their cattle also had a free rein of the 'pitch' and there were frequent hillarious occasions where a cross or pass was gloriously intercepted by a cow's head. It was a certainly a novel experience... where else would you play football with a commanding view of the Masai plains with the inclusion of random streaking cows. We even had spectators! The children of the village came out in their multitudes and avidly watched the 'grown-ups' play some footie. Many of them wanted to test their English on me and I happily obliged. Hopefully my ankle will improve enough to join in properly but nonetheless I had a great time and I certainly take up any future invitations to play.
Monday, April 25, 2011
The Hot Air Balloon Ride
Christine gave us the news the night before that we had a very early morning ahead of us... We were going on a balloon ride!!! We arrived at Little Governers' Camp at around 6 and were warmly met by our pilot, an eldely VERY english man. We were then given a safety briefing and the balloons were inflated. We were in the air just in time to witness an incredible sunrise! We were flying for roughly an hour spotting various animals and all the time looking over the Masai Mara Plains. Xaver and I were hoping for an exciting landing, we had been told that on occassion the basket can be tipped over and dragged for many meters along the ground hitting anything in its path! However our landing was extremely smooth and we soon head through the long grass to the champagne breakfast. The champagne breakfast was a once in a lifetime experiance, we sat there surrounded by game with a 360 view of the plains. Panic struck the staff when a tourist attended "the call of nature" a bit too far into the bush, where he could of been easy prey for any of the big cats lurking!
On the drive back we detoured for a bit of safari managing to catch a male lion guarding a fresh kill. We arrived back at Sanctuary Olonana at around ten thirty just in time for a day's work!
Caitlin
On the drive back we detoured for a bit of safari managing to catch a male lion guarding a fresh kill. We arrived back at Sanctuary Olonana at around ten thirty just in time for a day's work!
Caitlin
The Masai Villiage Wedding
Last Wesnesday a Japanese couple staying at Sanctuary Olonana had taken the unique opportunity to celebrate their marriage the Masai way. Xaver and I were lucky enough to attend, Masai weddings are a rar occurance. As we emerged from the jeep we were engulphed by an all singing and dancing Masai tribe. They quickly made us feel at home with them by adding traditional face paint to our outfits! In the village, the soon-to-be husband and wife were appointed families and sent to their new homes to be dressed in traditional Masai wedding outfits. We then all headed to the elder's hut to negotiate the dowry, this "negotiation" dragged on as we discovered the turbulant and some what disturbing history between the two families - cats had been murdered and punches apparantly thrown! They eventually settled on 5 goats to calm the feud and then 10 cows and some crucial tobacco for the husband in waiting to recieve his wife. The newly weds then happily headed to their new home where further traditions were to be had, such as the sharing of a cup of goat's milk between not only the couple but also all the village children - this was to ensure their future fertility! This day in the village was a great opportunity to get to know the local community a bit better.
Caitlin
Caitlin
week two in the kitchens
Hello! It's my turn this week to write the blog and before I start I'm afraid I can't promise the same "wit and charm" as Xaver's entries last week. Again we spent the week in the kitchens, however I was now it the hot kitchen and Xaver was trying his hand in the pastry room. On the first day in the hot kitchen I definately felt a little lost, it was a lot more manic, I had less than an hour to peel 66 potatoes! An hour later I sadly discovered William correcting my 66 mistakes, I was not aware there was such an art in potatoe peeling. William over the next couple of days became a big brother figure in the kitchen, guiding me through various techniques and kindly teaching me some Swahili on the way . I soon began to find my feet, triumphantly bringing a smile to Big John's face with my presentation skills at service. Xaver yet again quickly decided he had mastered all the skills needed in pastry after a few hours! However I think Lucy might tell a different story! This week the number of guests has slowly depleted to a grand total of zero on Easter Monday. To pass the time in the kitchen we invented many games from aiming pebbles at various targets to egging on our co-workers to question both Xaver and mine future Masai marriage prospects - the popularity of this particular game rapidly plummeted as we realised our co-workers were taking this matter a bit too seriously (they had started saving up their cows)!
Caitlin
Caitlin
Sunday, April 24, 2011
PHOTOS!
24/04/2011
We have finally managed to upload some photos to accompany this blog! They can be view on the following link: https://picasaweb.google.com/l249403&target=ALBUM&id=5599180171643362273&authkey=Gv1sRgCJikstbI28CZXw&feat=email . We will upload some more later on but for now these will, hopefully, be sufficient to give you an idea of what's happening out here. Enjoy!
We have finally managed to upload some photos to accompany this blog! They can be view on the following link: https://picasaweb.google.com/l
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Work Begins
15/04/2011
Alas our short holiday has ended and we looked upon King, the manager, with a certain sense of dread at what type of work he had in store for us. As it turns out our first job for the next two weeks was one that we openly said we wouldn't mind; working in the kitchens. Because I, personally, have been gorging myself on two amazing 3-course meals every day since we first arrived, I was happy at the prospect of learning the secrets that made the food at Sanctuary Olonana so delicious. The only down-side is the start times (6:30 a.m.) and work hours which, depending on the nationality of our guests, can drag out to over 12 hours (at the moment we have a large amount of spaniards who traditionally like to eat late into the evening at a slow pace; our breaks are naturally hindered by this, annoyingly).
But at least there are plenty of colourful characters in the kitchen to keep us entertained. There's Ambrose, the Sous-chef, who is my mentor and has a surprising amount of patience with me as I try to adapt to the large kitchen. There's John, a Masaii kitchen cleaner, who loves to sing and take full advantage of my eagerness to learn Swahili by mis-informing me about the true meaning of the words he is teaching me (I immediately suspected something was wrong when, after proudly repeating my new vobulary to other workers, they laughed in my face). I now refuse to learn any Swahili from him. There's Emmanuel, the king of starters and salads, who has been teaching me delicious, secret Olonana salad dressings and is always ready with a song and dance. His sister, Lucy, also works in the pastry room with Caitlin and has managed to create some amazing deserts. Then there's James the other pastry chef, a cheeky football enthusiast who constantly tries to arrange a marriage between Caitlin and Masaii warrior. Finally there's Big John who, needless to say, is big. He's also the head-chef, and his avid desire for perfection at rush hour in the kitchen sometimes clouds his amicable personality. Only when the kitchen is quiet does his true character show and fortunately he is just as kind as everyone else.
Xav
Alas our short holiday has ended and we looked upon King, the manager, with a certain sense of dread at what type of work he had in store for us. As it turns out our first job for the next two weeks was one that we openly said we wouldn't mind; working in the kitchens. Because I, personally, have been gorging myself on two amazing 3-course meals every day since we first arrived, I was happy at the prospect of learning the secrets that made the food at Sanctuary Olonana so delicious. The only down-side is the start times (6:30 a.m.) and work hours which, depending on the nationality of our guests, can drag out to over 12 hours (at the moment we have a large amount of spaniards who traditionally like to eat late into the evening at a slow pace; our breaks are naturally hindered by this, annoyingly).
But at least there are plenty of colourful characters in the kitchen to keep us entertained. There's Ambrose, the Sous-chef, who is my mentor and has a surprising amount of patience with me as I try to adapt to the large kitchen. There's John, a Masaii kitchen cleaner, who loves to sing and take full advantage of my eagerness to learn Swahili by mis-informing me about the true meaning of the words he is teaching me (I immediately suspected something was wrong when, after proudly repeating my new vobulary to other workers, they laughed in my face). I now refuse to learn any Swahili from him. There's Emmanuel, the king of starters and salads, who has been teaching me delicious, secret Olonana salad dressings and is always ready with a song and dance. His sister, Lucy, also works in the pastry room with Caitlin and has managed to create some amazing deserts. Then there's James the other pastry chef, a cheeky football enthusiast who constantly tries to arrange a marriage between Caitlin and Masaii warrior. Finally there's Big John who, needless to say, is big. He's also the head-chef, and his avid desire for perfection at rush hour in the kitchen sometimes clouds his amicable personality. Only when the kitchen is quiet does his true character show and fortunately he is just as kind as everyone else.
Xav
Checking the Competition
13-14/04/2011
As part of our introduction to the Masaii Mara, King decided to take us on a magnificent sweeping tour of virtually all the Masaii plains (with a hidden agenda of checking out the surrounding competition). In total I think we were toured around 10 Masaii camps/sanctuaries so we are now clued up on the accommodation that's good and those that are bad. The whole process took roughly 2 and a half days to complete and during that time we were bogged down in a river-let and it looked as though we would have to radio for help since half the car was basically submerged in the water. I did my part of helping to rescue the land rover with the help of our other guides while Caitlin took the very selfless and noble decision to remain in the car under the shade, wrapped in a blanket and making futile comments. Instead of showing concern that I nearly fell in the water and got covered in mud when the car was finally liberated taking with it half the Masaii river, she just laughed! (She actually did offer to help, many times. What I wrote is just an attempt at a humourous retort to compensate for the emasculating feeling of nearly falling head first into a muddy river) The only slightly positive outcome for me was that a 'Mad Fish' got caught up in the gallons of water that splashed onto the ground. True to its name the fish became very irate when I picked it up to look at it before mercifully throwing it back into was was left of the river-let.
Needless to say, the Mara planes were magnificent and after these long 2 days of traveling our holiday was nearly up for the next day King would give us our jobs to do in camp.
Xav
As part of our introduction to the Masaii Mara, King decided to take us on a magnificent sweeping tour of virtually all the Masaii plains (with a hidden agenda of checking out the surrounding competition). In total I think we were toured around 10 Masaii camps/sanctuaries so we are now clued up on the accommodation that's good and those that are bad. The whole process took roughly 2 and a half days to complete and during that time we were bogged down in a river-let and it looked as though we would have to radio for help since half the car was basically submerged in the water. I did my part of helping to rescue the land rover with the help of our other guides while Caitlin took the very selfless and noble decision to remain in the car under the shade, wrapped in a blanket and making futile comments. Instead of showing concern that I nearly fell in the water and got covered in mud when the car was finally liberated taking with it half the Masaii river, she just laughed! (She actually did offer to help, many times. What I wrote is just an attempt at a humourous retort to compensate for the emasculating feeling of nearly falling head first into a muddy river) The only slightly positive outcome for me was that a 'Mad Fish' got caught up in the gallons of water that splashed onto the ground. True to its name the fish became very irate when I picked it up to look at it before mercifully throwing it back into was was left of the river-let.
Needless to say, the Mara planes were magnificent and after these long 2 days of traveling our holiday was nearly up for the next day King would give us our jobs to do in camp.
Xav
Masaii Village Visit
11/04/2011
At 2:30 p.m. we were warmly greeted by the chief of the local Masai village; magnificently dressed in his royal attire, complete with his colourful chieftain walking stick and his metal coated club. His name was Richard Olekamuye and has two wives but was very excited about his imminent third marriage. His wonderful smile made us feel immediately at ease and with that he walked us to his village in the afternoon sun. On the way he gave us a very detailed, interesting account of the traditions of the Masai Tribes which I'll now reveal to you:
I could go on and on but these were the points that I found most interesting.
Upon arriving at the village we were greeted by the wives performing a traditional welcome dance, dressed in their flamboyant, multi-coloured robes and wearing equally ornate jewellery... needless to say we felt very welcome and humbled by this experience. After the dance we were given a tour round the village by Richard and we were very kindly invited into one of the houses. It took sometime for our eyes and posture to adjust to the darkness and size of the huts but after a couple of minutes it felt incredibly homely.
This was then proceeded by a demonstration in how the Masai men kindle their fires without the use of a lighter. The process involves lightening quick movement and callousness of the hands, as I was soon to find out, because after this presentation I was invited to have a go. I'm proud to say that I did manage to kindle a fire but at the expense of my hands which, as I'm now typing, are still a tad raw... but at least I'd proven myself in front of the warriors and that's the important thing. Finally we were taken to their mini-market full of enticing little trinkets and souvenirs that we couldn't resist indulging in.
Hopefully we will encounter the people from the village again in the future... every single person; man, woman, and child had a contageous smile planted on their face when we met them and leaving the village we couldn't help but smile too.
Xav & Caitlin
At 2:30 p.m. we were warmly greeted by the chief of the local Masai village; magnificently dressed in his royal attire, complete with his colourful chieftain walking stick and his metal coated club. His name was Richard Olekamuye and has two wives but was very excited about his imminent third marriage. His wonderful smile made us feel immediately at ease and with that he walked us to his village in the afternoon sun. On the way he gave us a very detailed, interesting account of the traditions of the Masai Tribes which I'll now reveal to you:
- The Masai Men fully engage in poly amorous activities before marriage (no difference there then). However polygamy is by no means frowned upon. In fact the more wives you have the greater your status is amongst society.
- The men are not allowed to marry until they are 25 years old and have successfully completed the warrior stage.
- For every 15 cows you own you may have a wife. Richard had 32 at the time we met him but was close to completing a purchase of 13 more thus making it 45 cows; allows him to choose his third wife.
- The first wife is chosen by the parents, the second by the first wife, and from then on the husband may choose as many wives as he wishes so long as he has a number of cows fully divisible by 15; fractions, sadly, are not possible.
- The women of community are the chief engineers and architects. They are responsible for the fabrication of every building in the village and each one is surprisingly spacious considering that from the outside they appear no larger than the average sitting-room.
- The huts are built entirely from sticks, soil, cow dung, and cow skin.
- Every village has a 'town hall' where meetings are held every Monday morning to discuss various complaints.
- When boys turn 15 years of age, they attend a circumsition ceremony (without painkillers) where they are then pronounced warriors. Fortunately they didn't go into too much detail.
- Only the men are allowed to kindle fires.
I could go on and on but these were the points that I found most interesting.
Upon arriving at the village we were greeted by the wives performing a traditional welcome dance, dressed in their flamboyant, multi-coloured robes and wearing equally ornate jewellery... needless to say we felt very welcome and humbled by this experience. After the dance we were given a tour round the village by Richard and we were very kindly invited into one of the houses. It took sometime for our eyes and posture to adjust to the darkness and size of the huts but after a couple of minutes it felt incredibly homely.
This was then proceeded by a demonstration in how the Masai men kindle their fires without the use of a lighter. The process involves lightening quick movement and callousness of the hands, as I was soon to find out, because after this presentation I was invited to have a go. I'm proud to say that I did manage to kindle a fire but at the expense of my hands which, as I'm now typing, are still a tad raw... but at least I'd proven myself in front of the warriors and that's the important thing. Finally we were taken to their mini-market full of enticing little trinkets and souvenirs that we couldn't resist indulging in.
Hopefully we will encounter the people from the village again in the future... every single person; man, woman, and child had a contageous smile planted on their face when we met them and leaving the village we couldn't help but smile too.
Xav & Caitlin
Game Drives 1 and 2
Barely 2 hours after arriving at our luxurious home away from home we were whisked off for our first of many game drives. Bonnie, our eagle-eyed driver who has an unnatural ability to spot rare animals from several kilometers out, was our driver, guide, teacher, and friend. With a big smile, and a cheerful 'Jambo' (Swahili for hello) we were on our way down the beaten track towards the famed spotted plains of the Masai Mara.
Now either it is just coincidence or we are, in fact, very special people, but we had the most unbelievable amount of luck on our side that even Bonnie was impressed. On the first game driver we were blessed with fortune in that we ended up a mere 6 metres away from a 1 year old leopard cub who was very shy to reveal himself at first (fortunately our patience payed off as other game-drivers became bored waiting for him to appear out of the bushes). The next day of game driving was to bring us even more luck. Not only did we get to see the famous BIG 5 (elephants, lions, rhino, buffalo and leopard) all in one day but we managed to view them in the most brilliant of poses - except for the rhino which we obliged to stay roughly 30 metres away from her for fear of angering her. These poses include a proud cheetah surveying the plains for potential food; a lioness and her cub up a tree which according to Bonnie is rarely seen; Lions in middle of mating; and a 2 week old baby Rhino chasing after its mother. So all in all an incredible first couple of days in the Masai Mara.
Xav
Now either it is just coincidence or we are, in fact, very special people, but we had the most unbelievable amount of luck on our side that even Bonnie was impressed. On the first game driver we were blessed with fortune in that we ended up a mere 6 metres away from a 1 year old leopard cub who was very shy to reveal himself at first (fortunately our patience payed off as other game-drivers became bored waiting for him to appear out of the bushes). The next day of game driving was to bring us even more luck. Not only did we get to see the famous BIG 5 (elephants, lions, rhino, buffalo and leopard) all in one day but we managed to view them in the most brilliant of poses - except for the rhino which we obliged to stay roughly 30 metres away from her for fear of angering her. These poses include a proud cheetah surveying the plains for potential food; a lioness and her cub up a tree which according to Bonnie is rarely seen; Lions in middle of mating; and a 2 week old baby Rhino chasing after its mother. So all in all an incredible first couple of days in the Masai Mara.
Xav
Monday, April 11, 2011
Introduction
Welcome to our blog site. If you're reading this you probably have time to waste so we'll try to make it as interesting as possible so that you'll want to keep reading it the more it's updated and possibly to entice you to come out here as well.
Our aim for this blog is to recount our experiences here at the Kenyan Masai Mara National Park over the next three months with lots of semi-decent pictures (we hope) and entertaining stories. The opportunity to work for Abercrombie & Kent and participate in all their organised activities is something that's seldom offered to anyone in the world so it would be a shame if we kept all our memories to ourselves; memories which will no doubt fade as the years go by. Thus on a personal (and selfish) level this blog will enable us to remember with clarity 30 or 40 years from now everything that happened here at Sanctuary Olonana over these next 3 months. We will attempt to update this blog regularly every week or when something has happened that we cannot wait to tell everyone else about.
In the short time it has taken to set this blog up since we arrived (9th April) we have already encountered nearly every single type of wild animal possible (both rare and common). This includes a rare sighting of a leopard cub, lions up a tree (which never happens), lions in the middle of mating, a Black Rhino with her 1 month-old child (the rarest mammal in the whole Mara - only seen briefly every 3 months). If this is what we've already encountered then we cannot wait to see what else is in store. There have been rumours of community projects, hot-air balloon rides, treks over the Masai Mara, and a traveling safari to name but a few. So relax and hopefully you'll enjoy reading this blog as much as we have enjoyed being here.
Many Thanks,
Xav & Caitlin.
Our aim for this blog is to recount our experiences here at the Kenyan Masai Mara National Park over the next three months with lots of semi-decent pictures (we hope) and entertaining stories. The opportunity to work for Abercrombie & Kent and participate in all their organised activities is something that's seldom offered to anyone in the world so it would be a shame if we kept all our memories to ourselves; memories which will no doubt fade as the years go by. Thus on a personal (and selfish) level this blog will enable us to remember with clarity 30 or 40 years from now everything that happened here at Sanctuary Olonana over these next 3 months. We will attempt to update this blog regularly every week or when something has happened that we cannot wait to tell everyone else about.
In the short time it has taken to set this blog up since we arrived (9th April) we have already encountered nearly every single type of wild animal possible (both rare and common). This includes a rare sighting of a leopard cub, lions up a tree (which never happens), lions in the middle of mating, a Black Rhino with her 1 month-old child (the rarest mammal in the whole Mara - only seen briefly every 3 months). If this is what we've already encountered then we cannot wait to see what else is in store. There have been rumours of community projects, hot-air balloon rides, treks over the Masai Mara, and a traveling safari to name but a few. So relax and hopefully you'll enjoy reading this blog as much as we have enjoyed being here.
Many Thanks,
Xav & Caitlin.
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