Kenya and Tanzania 2018

June 6 - Wednesday
Francois slept in today so the scheduled breakfast at 7 AM was not to be. He had a friend help and we did manage to gobble up some food before we had to leave for the airport at 7:30. We wanted to settle up for the drinks and dinner but he said it was all on the house! We got the the airport in plenty of time and the flight went smoothly. That is, if you don't count me spilling my wine across the seat beside me (it was empty) and a little on G's jacket, or Joanie spilling coffee. We soon found our drivers in Nairobi and went in two safari 4x4's to our hotel, The Best Western. The drive was an ordeal. The 13 km. trip should have taken about 15 minutes. It took 2 hours! Traffic was like a zoo. It was the start of rush hour. Driving was a game of "chicken" as cars and buses competed with each other, ignoring lanes, sidewalks, etc. People just forced their way into any little opening they could find, creating gridlock. Meanwhile, motorbikes scooted in and around the traffic everywhere and there were many, many people walking between the cars selling everything you could imagine, from fruit and gum to inner tubes, steering wheel covers, table lamps, mirrors, etc. It reminded me of our drive to the airport in Johannesburg. A fellow walked down the middle of the street selling paintings. I can imagine someone going to work thinking, "I could really use a painting, perhaps I will stop my car in the middle of the lane in rush hour and buy one from this fellow. No one will mind." In Nairobi we were in the industrial end of town and it was dirty and gross. There were even cows walking around loose. You had to close your windows or get bugged by the vendors. We were 200 metres from a round about and we stood still for 10 minutes at a time before moving forward just a little. No one really obeyed any driving rules so the round about only made the congestion worse, even in a area where there was a traffic cop directing traffic. When we got to the downtown core it was just as bad, but now you also had sidewalks wall to wall with people, mostly white collar workers going home, dodging cars to cross anywhere and everywhere. Within 15 minutes of leaving the airport I vowed I would never go to this city again! And, any thoughts of going for a walk even to find a restaurant were quickly snuffed out. We would stand out, as there were very, very few white people anywhere. We were relieved to get to our hotel. The rooms were great. We went for dinner in the hotel of course, and met up with two friends who were joining us for this stretch of the trip. Dinner was good for some of us, although those who ordered steak were not impressed with the grissly cut and the service was not so great. We will all be glad to leave the city tomorrow and begin our safari.

June 7 - Thursday
 We had breakfast at 6:30AM and were on the road by 7:45. It was a rainy morning. We drove through poor neighbourhoods and stores and markets that were dark and dingy, but there were people everywhere. The road was narrow. We stopped at a lookout for the Great Rift Valley, a valley that ran from Mozambique to the Red Sea in Egypt. Unfortunately, it was covered in cloud. We had a quick look at the store there that of course sold mainly animal carvings. Our drive today was 6 hours. We saw where there was a recent earthquake and there were long fissures. We also saw evidence of how active China is in wooing African nations after European countries left. We saw a new railroad under construction with signs of China all over it, and other major Chinese investments, including a new highway being constructed to the Masai Mara. As a result, we had to drive along a dirt road beside the construction, and it went for probably 40 km. It was bone-jarring. Huge potholes, rocks, waves, streams to ford, etc. It was very rough! The road off of this leading into our camp just outside the Masai Mara Reserve was even less of a road, with deep channels cut by the rain everywhere. The villages we passed through were extremely poor and even difficult to describe. Most stores and houses were concrete boxes with an opening for a door, and no windows. I was getting extremely concerned about what kind of facility we would end up in. Our camp in fact was great. The dining and eating area was under a giant hut-like structure with a woven roof similar to the style used by buildings near the Kenya coast. Were had permanent tents that were huge. Inside were two beds with mosquito netting attached to the bedpost. There was plenty of room to walk around or sit by a table. There was a wall behind that and there was plenty of space for luggage and a counter with a sink. On either side was a room, one for the toilet and the other for the shower.  We also had a veranda with two chairs and a table outside.
At 4:30 we went for a game drive in the Masai Mara. While waiting at the gate our vehicle was attacked by Masai women in colourful garb trying to sell trinkets. They were very aggressive, shoving items through the window to you. You could not look at them or several would come at you. Finally I closed my window and stood up (our pop up roof was open) so they could not make eye contact. We learned that most of the items being sold were fakes made in China. We saw a number of new wildlife in addition to the zebras, wildebeests and impalas, including Thompson's gazelles, topis, (a kind of antelope), and crowned cranes, a beautiful tall bird. We also came across two lionesses. Joanie and I took our turn in the back of the jeep. We had to hurry to leave the park before closing and I thought my ribs would break as we barreled through the huge potholes and bumps. We signed up for a balloon ride the next day that required getting up at 3:15AM. After dinner a few Masai Men came and performed a few dances, including hauling R up to join them.

June 8 – Friday

It was an early start to say the least. We were on the road by 3:45 AM to head for the location where we were doing a balloon ride over the Masai Mara. Eight of the ten of us went. The drive was torturous, often using out washed out sections of roads, traversing streams, taking shortcuts through the bush to bypass untravellable sections of the “road”.  Often we were only doing 5 to 10 km per hour. Along the way we did see a civet, an interesting animal that ran in front of our headlights for a short ways, but alas, no photo to prove it. As we arrived at the launch site, we were informed that there was one outhouse and it was reserved for women only. That’s OK if a guy only has to pee, but… I thought I would tough it out as the prospect of going bushy-bushy in the dark in lion country was not that appealing. Shortly after takeoff the urge grew, and unfortunately it did take away much of my enjoyment of the balloon ride. It suggested that this was a good time to see predators on the prowl, but like so many other lies about seeing wildlife early in the morning, this too proved to be false. Apart from a few antelope and a elephant, we saw very little. The view over the savannah however with the early morning sun was beautiful. Landing was another ordeal. After landing the basket was turned on it’s side. The eight of us in the upper compartments of the basket were now lying upside down. At this point I had not had any breakfast, only had a few sips of coffee, and was in a state of urgent need for a washroom. I suddenly felt dizzy, and started to gag and felt like I could throw up any minute. Joanie’s sister, trying to be helpful suggested I not stay like that in case I did throw up and choke on it, so she suggested I turn my head towards Joanie. What are sister for! I did scramble out as quickly as I could and after a minute, felt better. We were met by our driver and taken 20 minutes to a location out on the savannah where breakfast and Champagne were being served. Of course we saw a few things people wanted to stop for to take pictures. I was loosing interest in this as I had more important things on my mind and other body parts. We arrived and I made my way straight to the outdoor loo with a view, a hole in the ground, with a toilet seat over it and tarp around three sides. But, I made it! I confess I did say a few prayers along the way. Now I could enjoy the breakfast, omelets with toast, breakfast meats, fruit, etc. And of course coffee and champagne, while 5 giraffes grazed behind us, and a tree nearby was filled with a number of vultures.

We spent the rest of the day on a game drive, and had a picnic lunch under a giant tree with a view of an elephant. We saw 7 more lions. We crossed the Mara River where wildebeest during the great migration in July cross from Tanzania to the Mara, dodging crocodiles. This area was in Tanzania so we needed a permit. A Tanzanian army officer with a rifle offered to escort us along the river a short way. He showed us several families of hippo in the river, but the crocs that normally lie on the banks were not there. He was proud to explain that the Mara River feeds into Lake Victoria, which is the source of the Nile River which empties into the Mediterranean in Egypt, so effectively the Mara helps feed the Nile. We then bounced and bonked our way back to camp, battered and bruised after an almost 13 hour outing. In all my time on my previous trip to Africa in 2014, I never came across any roads as bad as Kenya. Part of this was poor maintenance and lack of financing, but it was made worse by excessive rains in May that created washouts and road deterioration. In fact, before we got back to camp, it started raining. There was some concern what the heavy downpour this evening might do to road conditions. The plan for tomorrow was to do a game drive and then drive to Lake Nakuru, but at dinner the plan was changed to driving direct to the Lake, which might take 7 hours under the conditions. Oh boy!

June 9 – Saturday

We woke up to partially cloudy skies but the rain had stopped. I slept from 10PM until around 6 AM, and then just relaxed in bed for 45 minutes or so. That was nice. We had breakfast and were on the road by 9 AM. The roads were no worse for wear from the rain. What a relief though to get to some pavement after an hour and a half. We made a stop for a potty break and then later for lunch. It was a box lunch similar to what we had the day before. I had a huge, but dry chicken breast, a sandwich with a thin slice of ham and a few other things in it, two pieces of fruit, an egged boiled until it was dark green, and a juice box. Way too much for one person. There were at least three sandwiches that were not touched, so it was arranged to gather them and give them to some local kids. We thought our problems were over once we reached the paved highway but oh no. We were on the highway that runs to Uganda, and is a major trucking route. Many of the trucks crawled along at 20 kph or less, on the flats! There were constant backups and jockeying for position to pass. It didn’t matter if there was a solid line or not, if there was a space, people passed. Being Saturday, some of the small towns held markets and the town would be filled with Maasai people, a very colourful sight, but it did little to keep traffic moving. I saw one small Toyota pickup which and two layers built into the box, and each layer was crammed full of sheep. These poor animals probably had trouble breathing. At long last we arrived in Nakuru, our destination at 4:45, just as the rains came. It took forever to register, and many of us were getting a little cranky I think from the long, boring day of driving. We did get in a short drive by the lakeside to look for flamingos, and this lifted everyone’s spirits. The lake was high but we did see a flock of flamingos fly by, and we saw lots of baboons, monkeys, and some other birds but no flamingos on land. We did have an incident though. We were stopped to look at a large troop of baboons. G was sitting in the front seat with Paul, our guide. Paul suggested opening up the roof above him so G with his big camera could stand on the seat and take pictures. However, with his bad back, this was not possible and you could not see well from that seat, let alone take pictures. Joanie offered to trade seats as wshe only had a little camera and would rely on my camera. Paul agreed. G got our and went to get in Joanie’s seat while I got out on the opposite side to let Joanie out. (This was illegal). As usual, Paul was busy chatting it up with his buddies on the radio and did not clear Joanie to walk around the vehicle to get in the front. There were lots of baboons around, including one large male. I couldn’t climb in until Joanie could get in the front. Apparently Joseph in the other vehicle was having fits. Finally Paul got out and let Joanie go around and climb in as he held open the door. Then he had to walk around to his drivers side, but the big baboon was in front of the vehicle eyeing him very closely. There was tension for a few minutes until Paul threw something to shew the baboon back and then get to his door. It could have been a serious problem. Coming back to go to our tented accommodations, which were similar to our Masai Mara tents, we came a cross a number of hippos out of the water grazing. Very cool. We checked in as it was getting dark. There was word of wi fi but it would not connect. It poured during dinner but stopped before we had to walk back to our tents. Here too someone with a club escorted us to the tent. Not a very fun day but a good ending.   

June 10 – Sunday

Up at 5:45 and on the road at 7. We spent the first three hours driving through a section of the Lake Nakuru park. Whole sections of the road were under water due to recent rains. We saw hyraxes at a viewpoint and several groups of Rothchild’s giraffes, one of the few places they live. We then had word of a leopard sighting and found him lying on a limb of a tree. While watching, three hyenas came trotting down the road and stopped to watch us until another vehicle scared them off. We visited a waterfall and the shore of the lake where huge masses of white pelicans circled overhead, and the edge of the lake was inhabited by probably a hundred flamingos. We saw other animals and birds as well, including what must have been a kill, where several hyenas and vultures were busy. It was a great start to the day. After about 2.5 hours of driving, we stopped at a lake where we took a short boat cruise to look at water birds up close, including many fish eagles, ibex, herons, cormorants and kingfishers. That was really nice. We ate box lunches there before moving on. The box lunches were already getting tiring with the fried chicken, and assorted other things.

After lunch we drove for just under 6 hours to get to our destination, Amboseli National Park. The distance was not so much but again the traffic was horrendous, with so many slow moving trucks, crawling through the shanty villages filled with people and scooters everywhere. It took over 2.5 hours just to go 100 km. We arrived near 9PM without having had dinner and everyone was exhausted. We had dinner, the regular African boring stuff. Wi fi was said to be available, but again we could not connect.

One of the very common sights in Kenya was herds of cow and flocks of sheep and goats grazing or being moved along the side of the road, on medians, or anywhere there was grass, usually accompanied by a Maasai shepherd. There were also people everywhere, just sitting on a guard rail, standing on the shoulder or lying down in the dirt or grass beside the road or in grassy medians. I’ve never seen so many people lying around. There were people walking along the road or in the bush far from anywhere and you had to wonder, where did they come from and where were they walking to. The shabby towns were lined with little square shops or businesses set well back from the road, a large dirt stretch between the road and the shops and a shallow trench filled with garbage. People stood around or sat in the dirt, conversing even when we passed through after dark. People also just walked between the slow moving traffic at will. Today being Sunday, the majority were very well dressed in their Sunday best.

June 11 – Monday

I am sitting on my deck in front of our tent at Kibo Safari Camp outside Amboseli National Park trying to take in this moment. The late afternoon sun is shining and in front of me is an awe inspiring vista of African trees with Mt. Kilimanjaro behind them. Can Africa get more beautiful than this. Obviously others agree, as many camp guests have stopped in from of our place to take selfies and other shots of the mountain. Some people were feeling a little sick or worn out from the long drive yesterday, and so 7 of us went on our game drive in the Amboseli Park after breakfast. It was a relaxing ride as we had no schedule other than wanting to get back by 3PM so we could have some time to relax and enjoy this beautiful camp. We were treated to large herds of elephants, white-bearded wildebeests, zebras and lots of water fowl. We even drove past a swampy area known to have pythons, but we did not see any. My desire is still to see at least one cheetah, but with the high grass here, they were not visible if they were around at all. We had another picnic lunch up on a hill overlooking the valley. Naturally we had fried chicken, a sandwich, a dry bun, fruit, a container of salad (a new addition) and box of juice. Not bad but too much for most as usual. We were unable to get close to the large flocks of flamingos that we came to see because the road was flooded by the recent rains. We did get a decent view though. We were back in time to enjoy time walking around, lounging on our deck and just relaxing. Joseph had offered to take us to visit a Maasai village, but our experience with their aggressive tactics trying to sell things every time we had to wait at a park gate, or seeing their children with their hands out when they saw us slow down in our vehicle, we all agreed that a time of relaxation was a better option.

June 12 – Tuesday

Another early morning as we hit the road at 6:20 AM. We drove through Amboseli National Park and then to the Tanzanian border, arriving at about 10:30, after stopping for a bathroom break (they were gross), supposedly better than the ones at the border, which was highly doubtful. I am sure is was because they had a deal with the gift shop attached. Driving through the part we were excited to see a caracal, a bobcat-sized cat with tufted ears like a lynx. We also saw some vultures, but we drove through the park fairly fast. At the border we changed vehicles and guides, as Tanzania did not allow Kenyan guides to operate in their country. The border went fairly smoothly, although we had to go to about 3 windows with very little instruction on what to do. Our new guide claimed not to know much about birds, but whenever we saw some, he either knew the name or looked it up. We stopped for lunch just past Arusha, a city of about 1.5 million. It was raining so we had our box lunches under canopies. This was day 6 of fried chicken, small sandwich with tomato and cucumber, plus a variety of other items. I am looking forward to going home and not having fried chicken, sandwiches and dry buns. Sister G was sick today, making it a difficult travel day for her.

We arrived at Lake Manyara in mid afternoon and went straight to a game drive. The park had a forested area not unlike a Costa Rican jungle. We saw a new variety of monkey, the blue monkey, some new hornbills and we came upon a dead buffalo along the side of the road that was mostly eaten out. A marabou stork and a flock of vultures were busy cleaning out the inside cavity. Very African! We arrived at our overnighter at the Nasla Camp and settled into our tents. Definitely more rustic than our other tents. We were the only guests, and dinner was, surprise, surprise, chicken. After dinner a local tribe performed a traditional dance program for us. A little awkward when there was only our group there. They were very good though.

One thing we noticed in Tanzania was how much cleaner the small towns were. Many had actual cement sidewalks and drainage ditches to get rid of rain water. If there was garbage, it was piled up in little heaps, ready to be picked up. On village, a Maasai village, was the exception, with unkept frontage and garbage everywhere. 

June 13 - Wednesday
Cheetah, Cheetah, Cheetah
We were off at 7 AM and drove to the rim of the Ngorongoro crater. It was covered in cloud so we could not see into the crater. The vegetation was lush and jungle-like. We then descended down the rim outside crater and it quickly became hot and dry. We proceeded to the Serengeti National Park where we had box lunch, but... we had a different variety of food which did not include fried chicken. The sandwich was soggy though and after a large plate of fruit served for breakfast, we had two more pieces of fruit plus fruit drink. What's with that? I told our guide Bonny that I wanted to see a cheetah and bee eaters, a beautiful, colourful little bird. No soon did we enter the park than he found two bee eaters. A kilometre further he found a ball of bees in a tree. We then came across the focus of the Serengeti, huge herds of wildebeests and zebras gathering and preparing for their great migration to Kenya in July. The vast numbers were amazing! Later in the day we stopped for a few cranes by the road, and I spotted something far away that I could not identify but thought was an animal. I asked R to see with his binoculars. He id'd it as a cheetah! We sat there and waited, as my camera could not get a clear photo from that distance. Soon, she got up and slowly walked towards us, eventually crossing the road in front of us and going to a pool of water across the road. She was pregnant judging from her bulging belly. We were all excited. We spent the rest of the afternoon driving around and came across a group of three lions followed by two more. There were vultures all over the trees  and we came across a zebra carcass and many vultures fighting over it. A group of banded mongoose also rummaged nearby. Our camp was a group of large tents on a hill overlooking the plains. There were no fences to keep the animals out. After dark you needed to be escorted around due to hyenas, and no food of any kind could be in the tent. To have a shower you had to let someone know, who would do something outside to turn the water on. You pulled one cord and water came down already hot, and another cord stopped the water. You had to let the fellow know when you were done, so there was no taking showers whenever you felt like it. We ate in a large tent. There was the constant sound of wildebeests nearby grunting. It should be an interesting sleep, with who knows what sounds outside the tent. We did get a whistle to blow if we had an emergency, and a lantern to swing to call a guide to escort you around.

June 14 - Thursday
It was an interesting night with the constant sound of wildebeests grunting in the background. I found it a little bit hard to get back to sleep. Of course, we went to be at 9:45, so I couldn't believe when I woke up and it was only 2AM. Today we went on two game drives, one from 630 AM until about 1PM, and another from 3:30 until 6:30. We saw a few lions up close, as they walked along the road and walked beside our vehicle. We left when all the other safari vehicles in the area converged on us. There was another lion later on that was lying in the grass, but the area was one big traffic jam. We were boxed in for a while, and never did see the lion. We also found a leopard sleeping on a rock ledge, with baboons jumping in the tree around him. All we could see was his back, but guides came from everywhere and soon it was a zoo. In the plains area, the herd of wildebeests and zebras seems to keep growing. It would be difficult to explain the sensation of seeing thousands of these animals coming and going, huddling under trees for shade, shuffling back and forth to get water and males battling it out for control over the females. Our guide, Bonny was aware that I liked birds and we took some quiet roads and found many birds. We also found a dik dik, a very small antelope about the size of a german shepherd. In the afternoon drive we found a tree with two large bats. It was the first time I could get a good picture of a bat with details of its face and large ears, etc. We also came across a pond with hippos and a small lake with pink flamingos. This was the closest we came to the birds. All in all a good day. What was surprising is all the sexual activity among all the animals. As I was taking shots of wildebeests, two were mating. The hippo today was mating. The two bats we were watching started mating. Yesterday a baboon along the road grabbed a female and went at it in front of us. Sex everywhere! Well it almost 9:30 PM. Time to be escorted to our tents and off to bed. Next week its back to normal hours.

June 15 – Friday

It was a quieter night. Less wildebeests making noise although a few heard an elephant. I had earplugs in and was oblivious. However, since there is little to do in a tent with no wi fi, we were in bed early again and I was awake by 3:30, only dozing after that. Joanie was true to form and had no problem sleeping until the alarm. We enjoyed a coffee in the rising sun overlooking the valley, watching the odd male gnu chase around other intruder males. We drove across the Serengeti, not seeing anything we had not seen before. We got to the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater. It was very lush and jungle like. We descended into the crater on a steep winding road. The bottom of the crater was quite different from the rim, dry high grasses with purple and yellow little flowers. There were herds of zebras, wildebeests, gazelles and Cape buffalo. We saw a few hyenas and visited a pool of water filled with hippos. There were comical, rolling around to keep wet. We also saw 30 lions! Two were lying only a foot or two away from the edge of the road. Stopping in front of them you could almost touch them. They were fast asleep and unperturbed by vehicles. We left there and a few kilometres later there were two lions sleeping in the middle of the road. One got up and walked right beside a vehicle and flopped down and went back to sleep. The driver had to be very careful not to drive over her legs. At the end of the day we drove up the side to the rim where our lodge was. A good last day of safari driving. Tomorrow was the start of our return to home.

On a side note, the public toilets in Tanzania were horrible, at least the men’s were. Often they were seatless toilets or holes in the ground you had to squat over and were gross looking. 

June 16 - Saturday

The itinerary said we would have a leisurely breakfast but it was eat at 7 AM and on the road by 7:30. The road on top of the rim of the crater was foggy. A few minutes after leaving the lodge a big male lion suddenly appeared and walked along the road beside our vehicles. A stupid commercial truck came barreling along and the poor lion looked freaked and tried to lean against the rock wall along the side of the road to avoid being run over. He then jogged beside our vehicle for a ways before we left him. What a nice escort out of the crater region. Our one guide had to leave us early to attend a family funeral, so we had a rendezvous at a souvenir store where a sub came and took over driving to the border, a 4 hour trip. Re asked him a question and for the next 40 minutes or so he gave us a lecture, starting with how the Swahili language was formed, how Tanzania gained independence from the Germans and then the British, and how the language became a unifying force. He went on and on. After that, no one dared asked any questions. We stopped off the highway a few kilometres from the border to eat our box lunches. Anyone who needed a bathroom had to go bushy bushy or wait until the border. We all waited for the border washrooms. Bushy bushy was a better option. The bathrooms were disgusting! Dirty squat toilets. I had to do fingerprinting at both the Tanzania wicket and Kenya wicket even though others did not. I finally realized that it was because I had not shaven since I left home and my bearded face did not match the photo in my passport. We met up with Joseph, our guide from earlier, and we drove to Nairobi, a 3 hour drive. It seemed like a really long day and we were relieved to be in a western style hotel where we could relax. Dinner was a treat. Service is not so good here and there was often confusion, especially with a group of 10 people with separate bills, etc. There was an issue because we ordered drinks before happy hours was over, entitling us to a second drink free. One of our party got charged for three drinks when they had ordered two drinks at the two for one deal. The waitress claimed that one of the drinks was ordered after 8PM so was not part of the deal. The second drink however was just a delivery of the second part of the happy hours order. This had not been a problem before nor was it an issue on my bill. There was a little drama but it finally was resolved. Plans to go somewhere tomorrow when we have until 7PM before we leave for the airport seem to be dying due to lack of interest.   

June 17 – Sunday

There were no plans for today other than getting to the airport at 7 PM for our 11:35 PM flight to London. Still, the schedule of the last month took its toll. I woke up at 6 AM and could not sleep. I was up by 7. We just relaxed around the hotel. No one was willing to walk even within a block of the hotel, as Nairobi is not know as a safe place. We never saw one white person while driving through the city, so we would stick out very badly as tourists, and tourists tend to get robbing here. Even the hotel staff did not encourage one of our group when she suggested going for a walk around the block. Having seen so many animals on our safari, including so many giraffes and elephants, the thought of visiting one of the main attractions, orphan elephant rescue centre where you could just watch the babies being fed, or a giraffe centre where there was limited interaction with the beautiful beasts, no longer held appeal. There was a game national park adjacent to the airport that was considered a possible activity at one time, but having driven by it, held no appeal now. The staff at the Best Western were very hospitable though.

The  Nairobi airport was something else. On the way to the airport our driver Joseph told us sophisticated traffic cameras were set up which could not only film the vehicles but id the driver. This was done a number of years ago to combat a major problem with Somali terrorists. The airport may have reflected this too. Before you could enter the terminal building, you had to have all suitcases and handbags scanned, as well as the regular scan don e by most security points at airports. We could not bring any wooden souvenirs in carryon. Of course in Africa a lot of carved animals were sold. We had to transfer all wooden souvenirs before we could check in. After check in we and our bags were scanned again before we could go to the gate area. There were more security checks at each gate. I counted six security checks before we boarded the plane. I am not sure what dangerous security violations they thought would occur between one scan and the next one a few feet down the hall. We left Nairobi at 11:35 PM for London, arriving at 6:55 AM local time.

June 18 – Monday

Arriving in London, we were faced with a 10 hour layover before our flight home on British Air at 5:20 PM. A few of us decided to leave the airport while others stayed behind due to mobility issues. One couple went to Windsor while we, Joanie and I and her sister went to downtown London. Passing through Customs was an ordeal. There were several late flights that morning, resulting in a higher than usual volume of people going through Customs. The lin-up weaved back and forth across the room many, many times before we got to the end. We stood in line for about 90 minutes. Then we caught the Tube, London’s subway. We intended to go th St. Paul’s Cathedral but instead decided to skip it and just walk around London. It was cool when the sun was behind the clouds. We had fish and chips in a pub across from the parliament buildings, walked through St. James Park near Buckingham Palace and returned to the airport for a few hour wait for our flight. It was good to get away. It was also good to walk around a city and not feel conspicuous as a white person, or see what to us appears as poverty and begging.

It was also good to step on a plane knowing that the next stop was home. I think we were all ready to go even though I think this trip was amazing. But there were children and grand children to see again, and for one couple, a new grandchild to meet. Arriving home to our kids was great and even little Judah was all smiles at 3 months old. However, we did get some bad news. Our kids decided that 4 week vacations were far too long and we had to cut back. We'll see. For now, a dream had been realized. Now the heavy work of editing thousands of photos and creating a photo album!

South Africa - Kruger

May 30 Wednesday

Today was another transition day. We had to book out of our rooms at the Utopia by 10AM. It was a nice sunny day, but not super hot. A cool breeze blew. Despite being able to sleep in, I was awake by 4:30 and only dozed a little after that. We were able to keep one of the rooms until we were leaving for the airport, which was around 2:30 or 3PM, exact time was not listed on our itinerary. We spent the day sitting around. Some read books, while a few of us spent a lot of time looking for birds in the trees on the property. There were many varieties including mousebirds, bulbuls, blue waxbills, canaries and more. “For lunch we went to the restaurant on the property that we ate dinner at the night before. The food was delicious. I had lasagna which was different but very good. By 3:15 we were still waiting for our shuttle and getting a little nervous. Our flight to Joburg was for 5:30PM. I had the front desk check, and it turned out there was a big accident which closed the highway and our driver was stuck. Another driver was sent and we were soon on our way. The section of highway we were on was very light in traffic and I think he made it the 40 km. in record time. We checked in and in no time were boarding. The flight left 15 minutes early, because everyone was on board I suppose. It was a 90 minute flight and in that time we again got top service. Westjet and Air Canada take note! We were immediately served beverages including alcohol. As soon as that was distributed, they served dinner. Then they cam around a second time with coffee, tea or cold drinks. They cleaned up and it was time to land. Very hard working and efficient.

We were seated on the last row of the plane and were the last off. Because Tina needed a wheelchair and a few people ducked into the washroom, we were also the last to clear customs. Our bags were the only ones left on the carrousel. We picked up some wine at the Duty Free, and came out after a very long walk. Almost everyone else was gone and there was no sight of anyone with a “Gerry Meyer” sign. I looked around outside as well but saw no one. My heart sank. Not another glitch! Then Re spotted him off to the side. We got to our lodging, Outlook Lodge, a huge old house converted into a lodge. Very nice! We were even offered a free glass of wine and since we were to return here after our safari, the manager said we could leave behind anything we did not need on safari. Despite having spent a whole day just relaxing and waiting, it was very trying and we did not last beyond 11PM.

May 31 – Thursday

By daylight we discovered that our accommodation was actually in a very nice end of Jossie, as the locals call it. We were beside a golf course and the neighbourhood had a security controlled entrance. The houses were large and gated. After a breakfast that contained a little more fruit than necessary in my humble opinion, we were picked up for our drive to Sabi Sands, a private game reserve just outside of Kruger National Park. Two Norwegian fellows joined us in the van. One, a professor who was here to give a lecture, sat in the front, while his friend, who was a huge man in red pants took the single seat by the sliding side door. Between the two of them, their bags took up all the extra room by the door. I sat across for the big fellow, and he spent much of the drive sleeping or doing things on his cell phone. He never spoke to us and I did not feel inclined to start a conversation either. They got on our nerves when we stopped for a 20 minute break and they took 45 minutes, going for coffee and then strolling around leisurely while the rest of us were in the van waiting for them. Our drive was over seven hours and took us through Nelspruit and Hazyview, a city of over 700,000 people. We drove through some foggy stretches and a fruit growing area. We had lunch at Nandos. Upon arriving at our camp, Tydon Safari Camp, we were greeted by staff and the camp owner and assigned our permanent tents. They were very cool, with full bathroom facilities, and large veranda. 20 minutes after arriving we started our first game drive in an open jeep. Fortunately our Norwegian people were not part of our camp. Our guide, Tryson, the owners son, was very good. He stopped for everything of interest, moved to give us the  best angle to see things and gave us a great deal of info on the birds and animals we were looking at. Apart for some birds I was interested in, we also saw a steenbok, South Africas smallest antelope, a cape buffalo, some impalas, several giraffes and ostriches. We stopped by the ostriches and one came so close that at one time her head was perhaps a foot and a half away from mine. Then we stopped and were allowed out of the vehicle to enjoy sundowners, basically a drink while the sun goes down. Tryson got a call that another group had found a pangolin, an extremely rare animal to see. Tryson had never seen one. We hurried over there, and along the way came across three spotted hyenas. The poor pangolin was surrounded by people taking pictures and posing. Its head was covered, and when we all got back in our vehicles, he lifted his head and began walking away. Very cool. This was on my “Hope to see but not very likely” list. Few people ever see these and most people have never even heard of them. Look it up on Google. By now it was dark and we did a night drive, using a big light to see. We did come across some rhinos, buffalo, zebra and impalas. We returned to a prepared traditional dinner of beef stew while seated around a fire. Very nice. Incidentally, while driving along the fence that surrounds this part of Sabi Sands, we saw a male and female lion lying in the grass but could only get photos through the fence.

June 1 – Friday

Wake up call was at 5:30 and coffee and a rusk was at 5:50. It was a beautiful, clear day, but it was very cool riding in the open jeep for the first 20 minutes. Before my coffee was even finished it was time to pile in the 11 man open jeep for a drive into Sabi Sands. There those who did not want to walk went on a game drive while the rest of us, 6 from our group, got a guided walk with Stephen. While waiting to start, a hyena walked by. We strolled through the area learning about conservation, the rhino and ivory trade, how organizations like WWF and Greenpeace misrepresent and defraud the general public in order to gain sympathy and funds, few of which have any positive impact on wildlife. While standing around a family of elephants rambled towards us. We had to retreat to a safe location and they walked a ways away past us. Very cool. We heard reports that lions had been spotted by the other group, and after our walk we went to the site to see 9 lions lazing around. The guides said lions are the most boring creatures to watch during the day, because all they do is sleep. The other group also saw a leopard but this will have to wait for another time. We returned by 9:30, which felt like it should be noon, for breakfast. We had the rest of the day off to laze around until our next drive at 3:30. Good time to shower and do laundry in the shower.  At 3:30 we were off on another game drive through Sabi Sands. We saw a few birds like the saddle-billed stork and a coucal, and the same steenbok we saw the day before, but there was no sign of other animals despite my request to see an aardvark. Just after sunset we saw a small herd of zebra and three giraffes. A few minutes later we came across a common gray duiker, a small antelope. We stopped for sundowners before heading out by spotlight. We drove for quite a while, seeing only bush hairs scurrying along the trail. Then we saw eyes in the light and came across two hyenas which loped past our vehicle. One came so close and looked up at Joanie she was scared it would jump up at her. A short while later we found another hyena. Our goal was actually to see a leopard. The spotter saw a bushbaby but it leaped away before we could see it. We found a white-tailed mongoose though. The as we came around a corner we almost drove over several lions on the road. The pride of nine young males we saw earlier in the day were here, right beside the road. We pulled in and were within a few feet of them. They were sprawled out napping. The a female lion approached. All the lions raised their heads to see her and as she laid down in the middle of the group, many of the males came to nuzzle and lick her. A second female lion was lying nearby. These females had joined the group of nine this afternoon. Again some of the lions came so close that Joanie could probably have touched them. We were in awe of this moment.  The evening ended with the spotting of a barred owl in the middle of the road. A slow drive turned out great! We returned to camp at 7:30 to a braai, an African BBQ.

June 2 – Saturday

By now we were into the daily routine. We were woken up at 5:30AM, have 20 minutes wash, dress and take care of business, the 10 minutes for a quick cup of coffee and an African rusk, and then climb into our safari vehicle at 6AM precisely for our morning drive. For the first hour or so when the sun is not up yet it was very cold while driving in these open vehicles, and Joanie and others covered themselves in scarves, blankets, etc. to keep warm. By 7:30 or so the sun had risen high enough to warm things up and by 10AM when we return to camp, it was hot. We had breakfast, consisting of tomato, scrambled eggs, bacon, tiny pancakes, muffins, brown beans, fruit and yogurt. We had relax time until lunch at 1:30. Those going to Kruger leave at 2PM because they must exit the park before the gate closes at 5:30. Those doing the Sabi Sands drive had until 3:30. The Sabi Sands drive was from 3:30PM until around 7:30. When everyone is back, we sat at individual little tables arranged around a fire, and eat dinner together. The owners, Gavin and Vangie, liked to hold court during dinner and explain the menu, which is always based on traditional South African meals, and tell little stories., After dessert, at maybe 9PM, each person was personally escorted to their tent. The permanent tents were wonderful. Each had a veranda with two chairs and a table. The beds were large singles. A fan was on during the day to keep it cool. Air conditioning was installed be we did not use it at this time of year. There was a bathroom with sink, shower and toilet sectioned off from the rest of the tent.

Today was Kruger day. The drive to Kruger was only about 15 minutes. Inside the park we soon saw three white rhinos. Then we saw three bull elephants in the distance. This was followed by a hippo in a pond, several types of snake eagles, an old giraffe very close to the road, large herds of impala, kudus, both female and a male, and then several male lions, with nice dark manes. The guides tend to talk to each other when they pass, usually talking in Afrikaans or what is called a Black language, so we could not understand. This morning, a cold morning, the lion males had been sited. When we arrive, there was a line up of safari vehicles, waiting for a view of the lions sleeping by the side of the road. Further up was some rock outcrops and 5 klipspringer antelopes on top of them. Another outcrop had a huge herd of impala, with one male looking after his female harem. Beyond that were 3 large bull elephants. We returned to the lions to find a family of elephants, with two babies, across the road. We watched for a while to see if there would be an interaction between the elephants and the lions but there was not. There was a report of a very large bull elephant on a road who was in heat, and very, very ornery. We were driving when the huge, huge beast stood right on the shoulder of the road. It startled a few of us. It was massive and sauntered in a swaying fashion. We saw aa few cars behind it and a fellow hanging fully out of his passenger window. The ellie was not pleased and started towards it, ears flopping and spewing up dust. Fortunately the car backed up in time and retreated or there may have been casualties. Quite a great first drive of the day.

We had free time from 10AM to 2:00 PM so there was time to lounge around the pool, (too cold to swim), and I spent some time walking around the driveway and road looking for birds. I did see a few new varieties. Right after lunch we were off to Kruger again with Lyssel. We concentrated on finding leopards but had no luck. We saw more elephants, etc. and while the rest were shopping at a store, I did see a few exotic birds outside. On our way back, several small animals streaked across the road. They were dwarf mongooses. We stopped and I tried taking some photos of them darting around in the bush. Several cars stopped, expecting that we were looking at something exotic like a lion or leopard. We got out of the park just on time and returned for an hour of relaxing before dinner. The other group returned from their Sabi Sands drive with reports of seeing 2 leopards. The morning drive also produced two leopards. So now our group of eight was the only one not to have seen leopards in the last few days. I am not complaining though. We had some great times in the parks. Dinner was delicious, a bobotie, a pulled beef pie concoction.   

June 3 – Sunday

Another beautiful, sunny day, although a colder morning. Everyone was bundled up in toques, extra layers of clothing and blankets as we set off at 6 AM for Kruger a second day. We had another couple from San Francisco join us. Son after we left and were driving along the fence that separates the game reserves from the open land, I saw what looked like a serval cat, but by the time we stopped and back up, it was gone. We drove for a long time without seeing anything at all. Finally we saw a few eagles. About 8 o’clock we ran into a guide who said a leopard had been spotted. We raced to the area only to find a massive traffic jam. Cars, safari vehicles and a bus were spread all over the road, jockeying for position to get a glimpse of the leopard, which was lying in the grass about 100 yards from the road. It took us at least 10 minutes to even have a shot at seeing it, and you could not get a clear shot of the whole animal because of the branches in front of it. We did finally get a bit of a view, but the road was a zoo. We finally left about a kilometre later found a beautiful male kudu and his mate. I think then Lyssel started concentrating on birds, and we found several, including a nice kingfisher. There was not much else exotic except a brown hornbill at the gate leaving the park. Lyssel promised we would pursue waterfowl and bee eaters after lunch, if she did not get distracted by other animals.

The temperature climbed to 31 degrees in the afternoon. Following our morning drive we ate breakfast at 10:30, and lunch was at 1:30. At 2 PM we were off again to Kruger. This time we drove a route that followed the river for quite a ways. We did see a waterbuck female first, and a male near the end of the drive. We also stopped at a large water hole which was being watched over by a fish eagle, a beautiful eagle with a white head. In the water there were at least 8 hippos, including a mom and baby across the bank. There were also a few crocs, two turtles, and some shore birds including a darter, a black stork, a stilt, Egyptian geese and some sandpiper type birds. After that there was little to see, especially when you start becoming complacent with seeing the very common impala, or zebras or elephants in the distance. We did find a few birds of interest, but not the bee eaters we were looking for. At one time we were interrupted by a large herd of elephants that came up the banks of the river and stormed into the bush. There must have been 30 to 40 of them running across the road. I did manage to get a quick photo of a dwarf mongoose at the side of the road before it and a whole lot of others scurried across the road. They were so quick and small, that once they crossed the road they could run under the loose underbrush and disappear. The elusive leopard also was a no show. We rated our morning sighting as a ¾ sighting, so we were still waiting for one in the open. Six of us were therefore below one in leopard sightings, while the rest of the camp this week were at one or two. Today only our group of eight and another couple were the only ones in camp. Like the day before, Lyssel got us to the Kruger gate at 1 minute past 5:30, the closing time. For dinner we had a braai of chicken skewers and boer sausage, along with African pap with a tomato sausage and cooked veggies. The sausage was excellent except the last bite, which I think might have still been near raw. I took the bite as my last mouthful of food, and my plate was taken away, so I was sitting with this mouthful of meat that I just couldn’t swallow. I started to gag, which I had to cover up as a burp, and I took the meat out of my mouth inconspicuously. I held it for just the right moment when the attention was away, and I hucked it behind me. (We always aqte outside around the fire in the dirt.) The owners had a Jack Russell puppy so in no time at all he was wondering around under the table looking for scraps and suddenly found my meat, which was the idea. Unfortunately the woman beside me, Jane, noticed and remarked that the dog had found something to eat. I had to ignore it like I had no idea where he got whatever it was he was eating. At least the evidence was gone. I asked Gavin and Vangie why they always escort us to our tents after dinner and zip up the tents. They said it was for safety reasons. They have had hyenas and leopards in the camp before, and in the summer (December to March) they can have giant red spiders and snakes to contend with. That, along with the 40+ temperatures is enough reason never to go to South Africa in our winter.  In addition to other things, I let Lyssel know I was still interested in seeing a bushbaby on our Sabi Sands drive. At dinner today we learned that while we were on our drive, the dog, Luna, was chasing about four bushbabies in camp at around sunset. Apparently they have a nest behind tent 4 somewhere. Something to explore during our mid day break tomorrow.

June 4 – Monday

There was a change in weather today. There were reports of wind and rain overnight, though we were fast asleep and did not hear it. For the last two days we were in bed with lights out by 10:30. It was partially cloudy today for the first time and cooler. We headed off to Sabi Sands at 6 AM. Like most mornings, we saw very little the first hour, confirming my suspicion that just like fishermen who insist on leaving before sunrise, safaris do the same thing and yet, there are few rewards for the early start. Being our last day here, we were on the lookout for a clear shot at leopards and bee eaters. We found neither. Lyssel was striking out. After 7 AM we came across some kudus, and then sat among a family of white rhinos. Then we passed some zebras to see a large family of giraffes. There was the a male and females and two young ones. Two more males wandered over to try and join but after flirting with one of the females, they were driven off. 8 giraffes in total all around one tree.  Very cool. Later we came across a bull nyala, our first sighting. That was about it except a few small birds. The only saving grace was that the other couple, who were on their walk with Stephen did not seen any leopard either. They did however see a spitting cobra cross the road. (They were in a vehicle at the time.)
At 3:30 we were off again for our last game drive in Sabi Sands with Lyssel. We drove and drove  but animals were scarce. Apart from some impalas and a few wildebeests we saw nothing. According to the radio, no one else saw anything either. At sunset we stopped for our sundowners and then continued our search for the elusive cat. Lyssel took out the spotlight as it was now dark. We did find something in a tree that we thought might be an owl, but then realized was a genet. Right after that we got word that the other vehicle had found a leopard. Lyssel stormed over to where they were. Her driving through the bush in the dark was impressive. We got to where there were two other safari vehicles with lights on a leopard lying nearby eating a hare. Lyssel crashed through the bush as the others moved aside and soon we were up front with the leopard not more than 10 to 15 feet away. With headlights on it, we were able to take a few photos and video. Actually, probably a few hundred photos. The cat was oblivious to the people and lights. We could hear the crunching as she chewed through the bones. Finally, she had enough, and picking up her half eaten meal, she walked off. We were all ecstatic, none more so than Lyssel, who let out a whoop. She wanted so bad for us to see a leopard, especially since we were giving her a hard time that maybe there were no leopards in Sabi Sands. A dud of a game drive became an amazing game drive. We returned to a great chicken and veggie meal in the dining room and some final words of good bye from Gavin and from the American couple we had shared the last few days with. Gavin seemed to appreciate our group and was sorry to see us go, as were the other couple, who we gave honourary Canadian status because they did not want to be seen as the typical demanding American tourists. It was a great ending to a fantastic part of this vacation.

June 5 - Tuesday
Today we could sleep in because we were not having breakfast until 8 AM. So, after going to be at 10:30 last night I was wide awake at 5 AM. The rest of the people staying left for their drives at 6AM and I waited for that before I got up. I enjoyed an quiet morning on the deck of our tent, watching the sun come up. At breakfast we settled up our accounts. The accom. were paid for, but we had to pay for the drinks we had, plus tips for the staff. It was a little awkward because you had to fill in a form allotting the tip between the staff members, including guides. The good part was that you could put it on Visa. There was a lot of good byes and hugs from Liesl our main guide and from the owners, Gavin and Vangie. It seemed they really liked our group. We were sad to leave. We took a scenic route, called the Panorama Route. We stopped at a few scenic lookouts along the way. It was sunny but there was a cool breeze. We did not arrive in Joburg until 5 PM. Francois, the manager at the Outlook Lodge greeted us with an amarula. He also offered to make us dinner, lamb stew. I was not so sure as I have yet to enjoy lamb, but gave in to group consensus. We went to our room and I went to pick something up and my pants ripped right up the butt!  Down to only two long pants. And the lodge, a big old house, was very cold inside. The doors were often open and the were large gaps at the bottom of the doors.
The lamb stew confirmed my suspicions that I really can't eat lamb. The chunks of meat on the rice and sauce was very marbled, i.e. every mouthful of meat had fat in it, and my throat refuses to allow fat through. I had to leave the lamb and eat the rice and sauce. Francois had a friend help him cook and serve. R asked him if he was a twin because he looked identical to the fellow we saw earlier. He said yes, I don't wear green. He had taken off his green sweater and R thought he was a different person. We had a good laugh about that. R and R also learned that they got a new grandchild today, so Francois gave us a liquer to celebrate. Today was the first wi fi we had in 5 days, so much of our free time was spent posting pictures on Facebook, reading emails and trying to connect with home. Tomorrow it off to Nairobi.