Happy New Year

It's the last day of what can only be described as a roller-coaster year for us with extreme highs and lows; days when we were actually together and couldn't imagine living anywhere else in the world and days when we would have loved to have taken the first plane out of JKIA.  We, as have all of you have made it through another year, a year that passed at breakneck speed.

1st Anniversary in Kenya -
the end of a day on safari at Leleshwa

Where are we now?  At the end of November, one year after our move to Kenya, we committed to continuing our crazy lifestyle for the foreseeable future.  Yes, we are certifiably insane!

Nairobi, with all its ugly warts is where we need to be , at least for the interim.  With the only real airport that allows for relatively easy travel, coupled with access to the key business centre, it is the only logical choice.  On the subject of travel, allow me a gentle rant; please temper my ramblings knowing that in the space of seven weeks I travelled to Europe eight times, on two occasions for less than 48 hours...

Inane Statements made on board...

• After an hour of preparation to land, including innumerable tannoy requests for sitting down, fastening your seatbelt, handing back your headphones, followed by the discernable thud as the wheels touch terra firma and are now surrounded by other aircraft, buildings and the surreptitious use of mobile phones, "WE HAVE LANDED"
• After spilling your gin and tonic over your new outfit, fellow passenger or the seat; spearing your cheek with the fork holding your lunch, lurching like a drunkard in the aisle, been woken by screams and/or being convinced that the aircraft you are in no longer is capable of forward motion, "LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, AS IT IS A LITTLE BUMPY PLEASE RETURN TO YOUR SEATS AND FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS"
• After completing a visual check to confirm that everybody has their seatbelts fastened, a safety briefing. "THIS IS HOW YOU FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT"
• With a departure time that ensures you will be in complete darkness throughout the trip, a route description from the flight deck, "AFTER LEAVING THE RUNWAY WE WILL MAKE A LEFT HAND TURN TOWARDS GERMANY, THEN AUSTRIA, FLYING OVER THE ITALIAN ALPS, DOWN THE SPINE OF ITALY AND CROSSING THE MEDITERRANEAN AND ENTERING EGYPT, FLYING OVER THE PYRAMIDS......" due to the inability to see anything without high-powered nigh-vision goggles, we could be flying over the Statue of Liberty, Sydney Harbour Bridge or the Hanging Gardens of Babylon  - who cares????

When turbulence is guaranteed...

• When you are desperate for a morning coffee
• Immediately on receiving your tray of food
• When the screaming baby two rows in front of you has at last fallen asleep
• When you have managed to get through the bar service, the meal service, the duty free goods, the toilet shuffle, and the announcements telling you your precise route to your destination and you have fallen asleep
• When the film you are engrossed in is at a critical dialogue juncture
• When your bladder has been stretched beyond  tolerable limits demanding a visit to the bathroom
• When you have just started to enjoy the relief of emptying previously described bladder
• When the aviophobic next to you has stopped praying, wringing their hands and generally chewing the back out of the seat in front of them has started to relax

Our Favourites of 2011

Best Safari Camps:

Tortilis Camp at the foot of Kilimanjaro in Amboseli Park

Mt Kilimanjaro - in case you need a clue

Sleeping quarters at Tortilis

Exceptional service, food and location.  The hill climb from our tent to the main building left us wishing for Sherpa Tenzing to be carrying our camera bags and an oxygen mask at the halfway point.

Fighting Bulls - this fight ended amicably

              





Wildlife in Amboseli can best be described as scarce compared to other parks, but, when it comes to the giant tuskers, you cannot beat this park!

       

Leleshwa Camp, Siana Conservancy (Near the Masai Mara)

Oops!

We enjoyed Leleshwa so much that we returned for our Kenyan anniversary at the beginning of December, with friends!  Marion and her Mum, Annelise from Germany and our longtime safari buddy,  Yannick.  Having enjoyed glorious weather at the end of September, the heavy "short" rains that continued into our stay transformed the landscape and required being "dug out" of trouble during an early morning game drive.   At least once when we are in the Mara we cross the Talek River, normally this involves driving down and  then up the steep banks of the river course and fording through at least 5 centimetres of water.  This time a crossing would have required the assistance of the Royal engineers or the Royal Navy complete with a frigate! 

The Talek as we have come to know her....and in December 2011

Baby hippo fighting for his life in the Talek River

Sweetwaters Tented Camp, Ol Pejeta, Nanyuki

Stevie and Tay enjoying their
Christmas pressie

 We have waxed lyrical about Sweetwaters before, every time the staff at this camp go out of their way to provide the best in service at what is an unlikely camp for us to choose.  With 40 tents this camp has the potential to be just a bit too manic but we have enjoyed every visit.  The camp is on a private reserve and hosts the only place in Kenya where you can see chimpanzees in the "wild", what a privilege.  When the weather permits Mt. Kenya is an imposing backdrop, unfortunately in December she kept herself shrouded in cloud for almost all of our stay, gracefully deigning to peep from behind her veil as we started the drive back to Nairobi.

No pajama fights at the waterhole right in front of our tents
Other guests at the bar included elephants, rhino, giraffe, a host of gazelle and battalions of warthogs and their young

Sweetwaters has the bonus of being an easy drive (once you are free of Nairobi), past the vast Del Monte pineapple fields, through the glorious Aberdares and into the shadow of Mt. Kenya.  This is where we plan to live.....eventually!

The awwwwww factor has to be had, and here it is..... captured by Stevie, a zebra foal, minutes old.


Best Place to visit in Nairobi:
David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage

Surely this match should have been called off
due to rain?

Admittedly Nairobi fails to excel when it comes to tourist attractions, the ele orphanage however gives you the opportunity to see what can be done to protect these orphans who would have had no hope of survival in the wild.

We drag all our guests to the ele orphanage and everyone loves it! 


Favourite Food (Restaurant)
Without a doubt, the feta and coriander samoosas to be found at the Talisman Restaurant.

Favourite Kenyan Wine
Leleshwa (nothing to do with the safari camp) Shiraz.  At last a drinkable wine from Kenya!  OK, so you cannot compare this to the great wines from South Africa, but as an wine that is easy to drink on your verandah in the early evening, its fabulous.

Favourite Beach Accommodation
Asha Cottages on Diani Beach

Fabulous location, accommodation and food
We have nothing more to add

The Boys

Rafiki - "You called?"

Kidogo - "its a snug fit, but overall,
I'm comfortable"

The felines have taken the example set by their bigger cousins, panthera leo, and have become extremely lazy, sleeping for up to 20 hours a day and deigning to wake only when fresh chicken is being served or when they choose that human company may be in their interest.  Rafiki is the giant of the family, Boshi remains the waif, but manages to wrap every visitor around his paw.  It has become a habit to check that he has not been smuggled into luggage leaving with international travellers. Maisha and Kidogo hit their 10th birthdays in 2012 but still manage to behave like kittens!

Boshi - "I am not sure about
the en-suite facilities"

Maisha - "Why is my feeding bowl so inaccessible?"

Wally, our oversized puppy with boundless energy already demonstrates the ability to instil fear into visting workmen who are less than convinced that he is only interested in playing.  Despite a bout of tick-bite fever he weighs in at 35kgs, which we are told, is approximately half of his adult weight!


And that's it for 2011.  Wishing everyone a 2012 filled with laughter, happiness and dreams that come true.  We still have a mountain to climb to make eco4u and CRAfrica work but the dream is alive and we are living it. 


Salama Mwaka Mpya
Kwaherini!