July 11, Leisure Camp
We rose early for a 6:30 breakfast followed by a 7:00 departure. We drove through the park for our final time. We were rewarded by both a rhino and a group of seven cheetah. What a wonderful ending to our safari.
We faced our 5 ½ hour drive to Nairobi bravely. On the way we met one of my friends and Brother, Brother Francis Njoroge, who runs a home for street children in Nakuru. He and I rushed ahead to arrange lunch. We found a really good pizza place on the way to the airport. We had our drivers join us and were able to thank them for the wonderful job they had done.
Getting out of the Nairobi airport took nearly as long as it did to get in, go figure. But we departed Kenya shortly after 6:00, arriving in Addis about 8:00. It is a short flight, so service is pretty brisk! The stewardesses didn’t quite through the trays at us, but that description would not be far off. By the time we finished our Visa forms and collected all the luggage, again, worked our way through customs and packed the awaiting bus…it was 10:00. Brother Kassu and Johannes met us at the airport.
It was 12:30 by the time we arrived in Meki. We are tired, but all are well.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Leisure Camp, Maasai Mara
July 10th, Leisure Camp, Maasai Mara
Today we rose early for a 6:30 game drive. The camp had coffee and a bit of cake for us before we left. But the early rising was rewarded. The sunrise was beautiful just like you see in the movies about Africa, huge and gradated from red to yellow. The hot air balloons that ply the Mara were already aloft. We passed a number of Maasai manyatta, their cattle streaming out for a day of grazing in the rich pastures of the Mara. We followed the river where we saw a huge crocodile heading for the water, several groups of hippos, ribbons of wildebeest on the move, buffalo, elephant and best of all, a leopard with its kill, a wildebeest on a branch of a tree. Leopards are considered one of the most elusive animals of the Mara and we have seen two.
We returned to the camp shortly after nine for breakfast. Again, they did not disappoint. They had eggs made to order, crepes, sausage, baked beans, croissants, Danish pastries and several different breads with jams….a veritable feast.
The drivers arranged for the kids who wanted to go to visit a Maasai village. I stayed behind to blog and enjoy the morning. I am sitting on my front porch enjoying the cool breeze watching a pair of African Fire Finches forage at the bottom of the steps and listening to the herds of livestock that are coming to the river which borders the camp.
During the afternoon game drive we had one goal, to find that animal which had alluded us: the cheetah. And it was at the end of the rainbow, literally. The rain also brought the lions out from the shade. We were so close to one of the males, as it shook its mane, we got wet! Awesome!
Everyone had a great trip to the Mara. I can not say enough about the drivers and the wonderful staff at Mara Leisure.
Today we rose early for a 6:30 game drive. The camp had coffee and a bit of cake for us before we left. But the early rising was rewarded. The sunrise was beautiful just like you see in the movies about Africa, huge and gradated from red to yellow. The hot air balloons that ply the Mara were already aloft. We passed a number of Maasai manyatta, their cattle streaming out for a day of grazing in the rich pastures of the Mara. We followed the river where we saw a huge crocodile heading for the water, several groups of hippos, ribbons of wildebeest on the move, buffalo, elephant and best of all, a leopard with its kill, a wildebeest on a branch of a tree. Leopards are considered one of the most elusive animals of the Mara and we have seen two.
We returned to the camp shortly after nine for breakfast. Again, they did not disappoint. They had eggs made to order, crepes, sausage, baked beans, croissants, Danish pastries and several different breads with jams….a veritable feast.
The drivers arranged for the kids who wanted to go to visit a Maasai village. I stayed behind to blog and enjoy the morning. I am sitting on my front porch enjoying the cool breeze watching a pair of African Fire Finches forage at the bottom of the steps and listening to the herds of livestock that are coming to the river which borders the camp.
During the afternoon game drive we had one goal, to find that animal which had alluded us: the cheetah. And it was at the end of the rainbow, literally. The rain also brought the lions out from the shade. We were so close to one of the males, as it shook its mane, we got wet! Awesome!
Everyone had a great trip to the Mara. I can not say enough about the drivers and the wonderful staff at Mara Leisure.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Ol' Moran
July 9th, Ol’ Moran, the Maasai Mara,
Thirteen hours on a plane is a long time. We landed at Bole airport in Addis shortly after 8 in the morning. I don’t think anyone slept much. Within an hour we were boarding our Ethiopian Airways flight for Nairobi. The flight is only one and a half hours.
We arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International airport shortly after noon. After filling out the usual paperwork, we made our way to immigration. There were only three lines and with the new technology of photos and finger-printing, it took forever. All of the bags arrived with the exception of Mr. Dols. By the time we exchanged money it was almost 3:30. Bernard from Lion Trails Safaris was there to meet us. He had everything very well organized. Our drivers, Francis, Stephan, Martin and Chris are all great. We are storing the bulk of the baggage in Nairobi…it took two mini-vans and six people to get that to happen!
The roads to Narok from Nairobi were in great shape. We took a short cut from the airport, avoiding much of the traffic in downtown. We had just left the airport when we spotted our first giraffes. The kids screamed. We also saw hartebeest, wildebeest, baboons, hyena, Thompson’s gazelles, eland and impala.
We arrived at Ol’ Moran, a tented camp, in the Mara reserve area about 9 at night. The roads from Narok were in very poor condition, so it was a process of finding which pothole was the least deep. Our driver, Francis, apologized for each of the thousands he hit, as if he took personal responsibility for the roads. Just a note on Ol’ Moran: although all the basics were covered, it certainly does not compete well with the many other camps in the area. I am glad we only spent one night there so the kids can compare another place with it. Dinner was good. It was a buffet with several choices. The fish was very good as was the eggplant. Everyone was so exhausted it didn’t matter.
We did get to sleep in a bit today. Although we had our bags packed and breakfast eaten for an eight o’clock departure. The plan is a full day safari with a box lunch along the way.
The Mara is a magical place. It is a continuous cycle of life and death, it is, as Disney portrayed it: “a circle of life.” And living up to its reputation, it did not disappoint. Even though we are a bit early, signs of the beginning of the Great Migration are everywhere. The excitement of seeing the first ei, gave way to, “oh, it is just another zebra,” as their numbers increase to thousands as we continued into the Mara. Giant herds of topi, gazelle, and buffalo followed in quick succession. And then the wildebeest winding their way, single file in lines that stretched across the horizon for miles. No photo can capture the immensity of the plains and the hundreds of thousands of herbivores that there now graze.
But with all that food follow the carnivores. We have seen two sets of lions, still at their evenings kill, gorged to the point that they only wanted to nap in any available shade, which at one point was the van we were in. The lioness, after circling come to rest under the passenger side of the van. Awkward! It took a bit of maneuvering to pull away from her without running over her. Once we moved she got up and took up her nap under a neighboring vehicle. We saw so many lions, it was no longer novel. We were indeed fortunate to also see a rhino and a leopard, so in one day we saw the big five!
The only mishap of the day is that the electrical system went our in one of the vans, but we all clamored aboard the remaining three vans and were on our way. We have great photos of everything. Elephant, hippos, crocodiles, jackals. We lunched under an acacia tree in the Mara, which consists of roasted chicken, lunch meat sandwich, banana, orange, pineapple and a box of fruit juice. A great day.
We arrived at our new camp, Mara Leisure Camp after five in the afternoon. Nine hours of safari and memories for a lifetime. The Mara Leisure Camp is what an establishment in the Mara should be. The staff is welcoming, abundant and very, very friendly. We found our tents and cabins, which are really, really nice, rugs on the floor, some with bathtubs, comfortable chairs on the porches.
Dinner was Kenyan themed and very good. We had a buffet that started with cream of tomato soup and an assortment of salads: pepper, avocadoes and a couple of others. They offered steak, chicken and two kinds of sausage. They also had very traditional Kenyan foods: ugali (cornmeal mush, which is a staple) arrowroot, pumpkin, Matoke (cooking bananas which tastes like potatoes) and chapatti (a flatbread). The desserts were beautiful and tasty: little cream puffs shaped like swans, a banana crumble and different cakes and pastries. The kids were great with the unfamiliar food. They don’t have to like it, but most of them did, I was just proud that they tried it. It is so important to the people here.
After dinner we were treated to Maasai dancing, in which the kids all joined in. It was a full day, so everyone went to bed both full and happy.
Thirteen hours on a plane is a long time. We landed at Bole airport in Addis shortly after 8 in the morning. I don’t think anyone slept much. Within an hour we were boarding our Ethiopian Airways flight for Nairobi. The flight is only one and a half hours.
We arrived at the Jomo Kenyatta International airport shortly after noon. After filling out the usual paperwork, we made our way to immigration. There were only three lines and with the new technology of photos and finger-printing, it took forever. All of the bags arrived with the exception of Mr. Dols. By the time we exchanged money it was almost 3:30. Bernard from Lion Trails Safaris was there to meet us. He had everything very well organized. Our drivers, Francis, Stephan, Martin and Chris are all great. We are storing the bulk of the baggage in Nairobi…it took two mini-vans and six people to get that to happen!
The roads to Narok from Nairobi were in great shape. We took a short cut from the airport, avoiding much of the traffic in downtown. We had just left the airport when we spotted our first giraffes. The kids screamed. We also saw hartebeest, wildebeest, baboons, hyena, Thompson’s gazelles, eland and impala.
We arrived at Ol’ Moran, a tented camp, in the Mara reserve area about 9 at night. The roads from Narok were in very poor condition, so it was a process of finding which pothole was the least deep. Our driver, Francis, apologized for each of the thousands he hit, as if he took personal responsibility for the roads. Just a note on Ol’ Moran: although all the basics were covered, it certainly does not compete well with the many other camps in the area. I am glad we only spent one night there so the kids can compare another place with it. Dinner was good. It was a buffet with several choices. The fish was very good as was the eggplant. Everyone was so exhausted it didn’t matter.
We did get to sleep in a bit today. Although we had our bags packed and breakfast eaten for an eight o’clock departure. The plan is a full day safari with a box lunch along the way.
The Mara is a magical place. It is a continuous cycle of life and death, it is, as Disney portrayed it: “a circle of life.” And living up to its reputation, it did not disappoint. Even though we are a bit early, signs of the beginning of the Great Migration are everywhere. The excitement of seeing the first ei, gave way to, “oh, it is just another zebra,” as their numbers increase to thousands as we continued into the Mara. Giant herds of topi, gazelle, and buffalo followed in quick succession. And then the wildebeest winding their way, single file in lines that stretched across the horizon for miles. No photo can capture the immensity of the plains and the hundreds of thousands of herbivores that there now graze.
But with all that food follow the carnivores. We have seen two sets of lions, still at their evenings kill, gorged to the point that they only wanted to nap in any available shade, which at one point was the van we were in. The lioness, after circling come to rest under the passenger side of the van. Awkward! It took a bit of maneuvering to pull away from her without running over her. Once we moved she got up and took up her nap under a neighboring vehicle. We saw so many lions, it was no longer novel. We were indeed fortunate to also see a rhino and a leopard, so in one day we saw the big five!
The only mishap of the day is that the electrical system went our in one of the vans, but we all clamored aboard the remaining three vans and were on our way. We have great photos of everything. Elephant, hippos, crocodiles, jackals. We lunched under an acacia tree in the Mara, which consists of roasted chicken, lunch meat sandwich, banana, orange, pineapple and a box of fruit juice. A great day.
We arrived at our new camp, Mara Leisure Camp after five in the afternoon. Nine hours of safari and memories for a lifetime. The Mara Leisure Camp is what an establishment in the Mara should be. The staff is welcoming, abundant and very, very friendly. We found our tents and cabins, which are really, really nice, rugs on the floor, some with bathtubs, comfortable chairs on the porches.
Dinner was Kenyan themed and very good. We had a buffet that started with cream of tomato soup and an assortment of salads: pepper, avocadoes and a couple of others. They offered steak, chicken and two kinds of sausage. They also had very traditional Kenyan foods: ugali (cornmeal mush, which is a staple) arrowroot, pumpkin, Matoke (cooking bananas which tastes like potatoes) and chapatti (a flatbread). The desserts were beautiful and tasty: little cream puffs shaped like swans, a banana crumble and different cakes and pastries. The kids were great with the unfamiliar food. They don’t have to like it, but most of them did, I was just proud that they tried it. It is so important to the people here.
After dinner we were treated to Maasai dancing, in which the kids all joined in. It was a full day, so everyone went to bed both full and happy.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Over the Atlantic
July 7th, Over the Atlantic
We had breakfast at 6:30 this morning. They had a nice little breakfast sandwiches: eggs, cheese Canadian bacon on an English muffin. They also had cereal and juice prepared for us. We then went and prepared for the day.
We started to leave the hotel at 9:00, again in three shifts. It was none too early. By the time we dealt with luggage, ticketing and security, we arrived at our gate as boarding began.
I don’t know how the kids are fairing, they are in steerage. The gate manager put Mr. Dols and I in business class…he must have travelled with teenagers at one time! Actually, the kids have been great. The stewardess just put table clothes on our tray tables. And the reclining, massaging seats will make the next 12 hours so much nicer! The hard part is deciding on the first course: shrimp, truffled chicken terrine or crab cakes.
We still don’t know about our luggage. We want to keep the bulk of it in Addis if possible. Time will tell and everyone is being flexible. The ticketing people at Ethiopian Air were wonderful.
We had breakfast at 6:30 this morning. They had a nice little breakfast sandwiches: eggs, cheese Canadian bacon on an English muffin. They also had cereal and juice prepared for us. We then went and prepared for the day.
We started to leave the hotel at 9:00, again in three shifts. It was none too early. By the time we dealt with luggage, ticketing and security, we arrived at our gate as boarding began.
I don’t know how the kids are fairing, they are in steerage. The gate manager put Mr. Dols and I in business class…he must have travelled with teenagers at one time! Actually, the kids have been great. The stewardess just put table clothes on our tray tables. And the reclining, massaging seats will make the next 12 hours so much nicer! The hard part is deciding on the first course: shrimp, truffled chicken terrine or crab cakes.
We still don’t know about our luggage. We want to keep the bulk of it in Addis if possible. Time will tell and everyone is being flexible. The ticketing people at Ethiopian Air were wonderful.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Ethiopia 2011
I just arrived in the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. Since I flew in on Delta and am flying out on United, I had to go get my bag and recheck it. That is easy and they were very helpful at the United counter, since my flight doesn't leave for six hours.
Security was easy also, it is just doing it twice in one morning is a bit of an exercise.but the lines moved quickly. The had a different full body scanner here, it is more three dimensional as the scanner seems to swing 360.
I am really just letting everyone know that the blog is up and running and I will try to keep everyone up to date. I will also send out a tweet every time I manage to get the blog updated. So if you want to follow my tweets, you can do so at msafari3556. I have links to everything on the page at http://lasalliansafaris.org/ethiopia.htm.
Washington, Dulles
July 6th, Washington, Dulles
Our short two hour flight from Minneapolis to Washington, Dulles was uneventful. We had all of the kids grab a snack before we boarded the plane since it was close to dinner time. The only snag in the process is that my bag made it to Washington before I did, so it was the last one to be found.
Moving 25 people is not easy…especially 25 people with luggage! It took several shifts to get us to the hotel. We all arrived by 11:00. We checked into our rooms and freshened up a bit, then returned to the lobby for pizza. As we ate, we had a little briefing about helping each other as we go through this month. Africa is nothing else if unpredictable. Distances are just that, not to be judged in terms of time. Activities are the same: to be enjoyed and not fretted about.
We also had a safari etiquette lesson. If animals are to been seen, you must not be heard; if you smell good to other humans, the animals will be able to smell you, too and finally, you don’t want to be brighter than the landscape.
The Aloft Hotel is about style. Clean lines with minimalist sensibilities. All of the kids said they slept wee. I did. I also savored my last really good shower for the next month. I also relished brushing my teeth with running tap water. Ah, a comforts one leaves behind only to appreciate them more upon return…and I am sure that will apply to parents as well!
Our short two hour flight from Minneapolis to Washington, Dulles was uneventful. We had all of the kids grab a snack before we boarded the plane since it was close to dinner time. The only snag in the process is that my bag made it to Washington before I did, so it was the last one to be found.
Moving 25 people is not easy…especially 25 people with luggage! It took several shifts to get us to the hotel. We all arrived by 11:00. We checked into our rooms and freshened up a bit, then returned to the lobby for pizza. As we ate, we had a little briefing about helping each other as we go through this month. Africa is nothing else if unpredictable. Distances are just that, not to be judged in terms of time. Activities are the same: to be enjoyed and not fretted about.
We also had a safari etiquette lesson. If animals are to been seen, you must not be heard; if you smell good to other humans, the animals will be able to smell you, too and finally, you don’t want to be brighter than the landscape.
The Aloft Hotel is about style. Clean lines with minimalist sensibilities. All of the kids said they slept wee. I did. I also savored my last really good shower for the next month. I also relished brushing my teeth with running tap water. Ah, a comforts one leaves behind only to appreciate them more upon return…and I am sure that will apply to parents as well!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Anticipation
All the kids are here and pepped. We are eating in shifts, so we have strength for the rest of the journey! I have to finish learning everyone's name...but they have to hold still.
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