kenya, january 2004
January/February 2004 saw my first trip to Africa, and more specifically the Maasai Mara in Kenya.
My tour was organised by Safari Consultants in conjunction with Wild Arena. My base during the trip was the beautiful Kicheche Mara Camp based just on the outskirts of the Mara.
I was accompanied on my trip to Kenya by Peter Smart and Peter Hale. To save unnecessary confusion, I shall refer to them as "Pete" and "Pete".
Our flight took off from terminal 4 at Heathrow at 19:00 on 31st January 2004 and landed at Nairobi International at what appeared to be sometime in the late 1960's. Security was very reassuringly tight, although this might have been primarily to stop people stealing the lino from the floor and the flying ducks off the wall!
As planned, our transit driver was bang on time for the short, but very memorable, journey across the city. Whilst travelling he reliably informed us that the government had implemented a new law which requires all vehicles to be fitted with a speed restrictor. A superb idea, but there do still appear to be a few teething problems - such as whether the new speed limit is in fact the minimum or the maximum speed of the vehicle.
Quicker than you could yell "mind the cyclist" we arrived at Wilson Airport for our onward journey to the Masai Mara. Wilson has a much more modern feel about it than Nairobi International. Whilst waiting for our flight, we spent a comfortable couple of hours relaxing and watching one of the aircraft mechanics 'servicing' a helicopter engine with a hammer.
Our flight to the middle of the Mara was via a Twin Otter plane. I'm not particularly knowledgeable when it comes to aircraft, but I believe "Twin Otter" refers to what was under the bonnet powering the plane. Getting into the Mara took an hour or so, and was a relatively smooth flight. Our pilot helped us while away the time with his comical tapping of one of the cockpit dials.
Our base for the trip was the very beautiful Kicheche Mara Camp, served by the Mara Safari Club airstrip. Upon landing our plane was met by our driver for the week, Julius - a man whose vast knowledge of everything Kenyan, and whose ability to spot animals at 5km simply cannot be put into words.
As we were only going to be in the Mara for just over a week, my list of "would like to see's" was modest: A Gazelle or two; maybe a Giraffe; maybe a Hippo; a lion would be good; a lion cub would be awesome. On the half-hour trip from the airstrip to our camp Julius had ticks next to the first three! Going at that rate, he'd have my list done by tea-time. What would we do for the rest of the trip?!
Tip: One thing those new to the Mara should be aware of is that when locals refer to "roads", this is actually a private Kenyan joke. A road is, in fact, any piece of ground which may be traversed by 4x4 without needing to first be strapped to a spinal board. The best way to handle such travel is to totally relax every muscle in your body, and to hope your butt absorbs most of the bouncing.
One of the managers of Kicheche, Charles, met us at the entrance to welcome us to the camp and to serve us with some much appreciated drinks. Kicheche is situated just on the outskirts of the national park and is a wholly tented camp comprising approximately a dozen tents. Now, the word "tent" used here could be slightly misleading. These "tents" are larger and more comfortable than my home! Each has a veranda, a large sleeping area and comfortably sized en-suite with running water, bucket shower and flush toilet. There are also very large lounge and dining tents although, weather allowing, food is normally taken al-fresco.
If you travel to Kenya for a Disneyland style experience, then Kicheche is not for you. However, if you wish to sample Kenyan hospitality in stunning surroundings at its very best, then look no further. The camp is not fenced and animals frequently visit the camp at night. Having a herd of elephants brush against your tent at night is all part of the experience and (once the immediate bladder problem has been resolved) is something to be treasured. One of the key points to remember is that if your respect the animals and do not do anything to antagonise them, you are generally of no interest to them and they will carry on their merry way.
Having settled into camp we set off on our first game drive. After about 20 minutes our driver Julius proclaimed "Lion" and pointing about 1km ahead at a grassed area. I whipped out my binoculars, focused on the area he highlighted and immediately spotted... grass. Julius, however, kept driving for the area to which he had gestured and low and behold there were Lion. That's not "Lion" singular, but "Lion" as in whole bloomin' pride of Lion! I was beginning to think there were a little more to Julius' skills than met the eye. In fact, my suspicion was that somewhere he has a cape stashed away and by night goes out saving the planet and stuff.
We had been in Kenya for just a few hours and yet, here we were sitting watching a pride of Lion including two males and at least five cubs (although, we're told a sixth was lurking somewhere). We spent a thoroughly enjoyable hour or so watching the cubs playing and suckling their mother, before we were treated to our first Kenyan sunset. Being so close to the equator, the sun sets very quickly in the Mara. You can literally see the sun going down and, if you're lucky, have a couple of minutes before it's gone. A word to the wise: make sure you have the right lens on before the sun starts moving!
Returning to camp we had a shower from the en-suite "bucket shower". Again, don't be misled by the technology. It's surprisingly effective and essential after spending some time on the dusty plains.
Dinner gave us the opportunity to meet some of our fellow "campers", Kit, Andy and their niece Kate. They were ending their time at Kicheche and told us some of the amazing sights that they had seen. Having already bagged one of the main photo targets on our first day we were well on our way for matching their impressive total.
The food at Kicheche was of a consistently high standard and was prepared on site by the always friendly and helpful staff. Breakfast and lunchtime eating arrangements were flexible and we were able to take pack breakfasts/lunches on a number of occasions so that we could make the most of our time in Kenya.
My week in Kenya progressed with each day culminating in the catch phrase "it cannot get any better than this!" However, it did. We saw Giraffe; Buffalo; Gazelle (Thompson's and Grant's); Zebra; Wildebeast; Ostrich; Hippopotamus; Warthog; Impala; Lion; Leopards; Cheetah; Big birds; Little birds; Tiny birds; and many, many more...
As part of our trip we also had opportunity to visit a local Masai village. There are mixed views as to whether this is considered exploitative. However, the village to which we went welcomes visitors and the people are very proud of their homes, children, animals and way of life. A small "entrance fee" is shared fairly amongst the villagers and is used to help support their children through school. There is also an opportunity to purchase hand made goods from the village market, where bartering is essential (forget you're English for a minute!)
As the week progressed we were also joined at camp by Andy and Sonia, two of Kicheche's managers. Like everybody we met in Kenya, their warmth and kindness was second-to-none and they really made us feel at home. We also had the pleasure of meeting Barbara, Peter and Jayne who arrived at the camp to spend a few days in the Mara. So to recap, that's now three Peter's. To save undue confusion, all the drinks just got put on my bill!!!
A cloud loomed on day four as I noticed a big blob showing up on my most recent photographs. A chill came across me as a realised there was a foreign body on my camera sensor - something every digital camera owner dreads. The sensor is the heart of a digital camera, is revered by all and is something only the Gods at Canon should touch. Closer inspection that evening showed a sticky piece of dust about 1/10th of a millimetre across. With great care, and against all recommendations, I gently took a blower brush and proceeded to smear the dust particle around the sensor, so it had a diameter of 5mm as opposed to the previous 1/10th. Mmm... much better!
Being a gentleman and scholar, "Pete" came to my aid by loaning me his spare (camera) body. However, feeling guilty for depriving "Pete" of his camera and going on the premise of "it can't get any worse" I decided to have another crack at the sensor. Inspiration struck when I spotted some cotton-wool buds in the well stocked en-suite of my tent. I found that by holding my breath for 12 minutes and gently brushing the sensor with the buds I was able to remove the sticky goo to a sufficient extent that I could once again go on using my camera. A quartet of angels could be heard singing on the veranda and far, far away a baby was born in manger... [Of course, when I send my camera in for servicing now it will cost me twice as much, but what the hell?!]
There were many highlights to our trip including seeing a Leopard with a kill, Lion cubs suckling and having Kike (the celebrity Cheetah) sit on our land-cruiser. Unlike with the BBC's Jonathan Scott, Kike fortunately did not feel the need to poo through our sunroof. One of her cubs, however, did try to hitch a ride in the car - the expression on "Pete"'s face is something I will never forget!
All too soon the trip came to an end and I found myself trying to work out the minimum food I could live on, thus enabling me to revisit as soon as possible. We finished in Nairobi with a visit to one of the city's finest restaurants. Another story for another day...
My first visit to Kenya is one I will never forget.
Click here to view some pictures from this trip, or alternatively click here to watch a short video.
Ah, and just one more thing.... Don't forget the Malarone!