Well what a day (and a half) and what a land of contrasts.
The flight was a bit gruelling…we all got split up somehow which made me feel a little bit anxious but I guess we have the next 11 days together so some time apart was perhaps a good thing, We touched down on time and immediately came across some sneaky behaviour from the Visa guy who charged us double…as I pointed out his non verbal cues were quite pronounced! Still this is Africa…ho hum.
We were then met by our intrepid drivers who took us through Nairobi to a hotel where we freshened up and were bought breakfast by a contact.
Having passed by the local tip with people combing it for goodies, the opulence of the hotel seemed a little hard to take, but was nevertheless a welcome break for us weary travellers. Nairobi was hot and busy like you would imagine any African city with large maribu storks flying overhead. The traffic was horrendous, and when we left to find George, the guy in charge of Etc in Kenya, we got lost…not a problem…we’ll just meet him on the side of the main highway instead! How terribly … cool!
So we were now off to the Mara at last…it was about 2pm and our drivers were getting concerned we’d be arriving in the Mara after dark. To make matters worse we heard that there were terrible floods in the Mara, near Leleshwa Camp, our destination for our first night. Well Martin wasn’t going to hang around. Now I just need to say at this point that if Chris had been driving like that it would not have ended well… several people today were lucky to escape alive…Kenyans have no road sense, no lane discipline…it’s horrendous.
Diverted around an overturned lorry we headed along a very poor track which made the first part of the journey seem like a breeze!
But Oh my goodness the views as we crossed the rift valley were spectacular,,,and the Baboons weren’t bad either.
Once at Narok after being on the road for 2 hours, the sleepy passengers could sleep no more as the road deteriorated further, as did Martin’s driving. After a further 2 hours I learned that the best way to cope was to relax all our muscles and laugh hysterically! The rain really had made a mess of what was left of the road and much of the ground either side was covered in water.
Martin finally dropped us off and Mike from Leleshwa took us in a safari jeep to the camp. We passed Giraffe, zebra and Thompsons Gazelle to add to the many other animals seen today…bushbabies, wildebeest, buffalo, lots of cows, sheep and goats being tended by their Maasai owners. Oh and Brandy the Alsatian!
Discussions about plans for the Secondary school commenced over a very nice coffee in the lounge tent. We were then shown to our tents and later had dinner together in the dining tent! Even beats Clippesby Polly!
So…it’s been a heck of a day but a good one, with signs of God’s provision for us at every turn, not least surviving that road without a puncture or worse. Signing off now…just a thin canvas separating us from some very safari-ish animal noises!
More to follow…
surely not!!!!
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