It has been a while....

Winter is approaching

The rainy reason, supposed to start at the end of March-ish and run through until May has come and I presume,  gone being as we have only had one downpour in the past fortnight.  That said winter is on its way.  Despite noon day temperatures of around 25 degrees, the evenings herald a rapid chill demanding donning of fleece or wrapping in slanket....no, not a typo, if you don't already own one of these, its time to get one!  http://www.theslanket.com/

The battle may be over
but the war is yet to be won

Rafiki prior to Jon arriving for bed

The boys are developing their winter coats again, Boshi in particular, looks like a cat again, he was fast beginnning to resemble a bald-necked vulture with a penchant for biltong and droewors.  All four have decided that THE place to sleep is on our bed, this makes sleep for the humans that bought the bed less than optimal.  Competition for the duvet is fierce, I am embarrassed to admit that the cats are generally the winners if competing against me.  Jon, on the other hand is using his long-neglected rugby skills to persuade the cats to leave the bed rapidly, i.e. using a drop-kick.

A new enemy on the horizon

Wally, aged 4 weeks

In two weeks time the ultimate enemy descends upon our relatively peaceful household. Walter, or more affectionately known as Wally, currently a miniature Lion Dog (Rhodesian Ridgeback) has been selected from a huge litter of 13 to join our menagerie. We anticipate that all hell will break loose and it is just as well that Maisha can no longer access his favourite hiding place - the chimney! 

What Wally will grow into,
by which time the cats
will have made clear who is boss

The cats will still have control over the house as Wally is born and bred to live outside - aaaaaah.  Before you feel the need to contact animal welfare agencies around the world, he will have a comfy bed and shelter from the elements (cats excluded).

Our Friends and Other Animals

The arrival of guests is the perfect excuse to go on safari, so no exceptions when Yannick came over for two weeks, regrettably without Nele.  Yes, we went back to the Mara making a foolish mistake and trying out a new camp, Oloshaiki.  The trip achieved a first, all three of us left the camp with acute back pain.  

Target Identified

Health issues aside, the game viewing was excellent with a star performance by the famous three cheetah brothers (Honey's cubs) stalking and killing a hartebeest during our first evening.  Equally impressive on our last morning were the instincts of a female giraffe protecting her newborn from a hungry hyena.  In between....all the usual culprits from the big five to killer bees, the bees choosing to viciously attack Yannick.

A Mother's Love

Lesson for the future....

If you find cheap(ish) accommodation in the Mara, there is a reason why

Hunting for a New Home

As you know, Nairobi, for us, was never a contender as a place to settle.  We are in our fifth month of living in Kenya's capital city, often called Nairobbery and whilst we haven't yet been robbed we have managed to be arrested.  In fact, Jon has now been arrested twice.  In case you are wondering if we have turned to crime to exist, don't panic.  Our "crime"  was causing an obstruction with a motor vehicle.  This is a loosely applied concept which appears to have fluid borders with the clear purpose of seriously lightening your load (cash).  With a promise of overnight accommodation at the pleasure of the local constabulary in communal same sex dorms plus a hefty contribution to the judicial system we took the easier route of asking the officer to look kindly upon us.....

To Nanyuki, the current front runner for our next Kenyan residence.  Nestled within the foothills of Mount Kenya and bang on the equator Nanyuki boasts one of the best climates in the world, access to Nairobi by air (30 minutes) and if pushed by road (5 hours), the road is currently is currently being expanded and re-carpeted.   We have not lost the plot and started laying Axminister everywhere - this is the term used by Kenyans for re-surfacing a road. 

Hunting for land to buy in Kenya is rarely an easy task.  The land that is advertised for sale is always owned by the cousin of Harvey the Rabbit, no one actually knows if it is actually for sale, who the owner is and what the price is.  The more links in the chain the higher the price and finding the links is similar to trying to find hens teeth. 

Until next time,

Kwaherini