Amboseli Weekend July 25th and 26th

The weekend of the 25th and 26th we headed off to Amboseli which is about a 5-6 hour drive from Nairobi along a mostly washboard dirt road. We got an early start at 6am and joined 3 other folks (1 from Technoserve and 2 guys from our apartment complex) in our safari van and were a total caravan of two with 4 other Technoserve volunteers along for the journey.

The drive was long and bumpy to say the least but I still managed to finish the book Twilight. I'm not embarrassed to say that I really enjoyed the teen love story and read it in less than 3 days. To my credit, it was a nice escape from life in Nairobi.

We arrived to the park entrance just around lunch time. We were immediately targeted by local Massai people trying to sell goods and jewelry. We did not purchase anything but we did give a young mother and child a few Ksh for allowing me to take a photo with her. At one point, Brian started running a foreign exchange service out of our van as he was exchanging dollars for Ksh. Apparently, many of the Massai had received USD for their goods instead of the local currency. One woman asked Brian if he had Ksh for $3. We were able to accommodate and then another woman came by hoping to exchange as well. And then and then and then....you see where this is going. Finally a guy came by with a $20, a few dollars and a $5 and wanted Ksh. At that point, Brian closed up shop.

After everyone in the group had purchased their park pass we were on our way to our safari camp for lunch and eventually a game drive that afternoon/evening. We stayed at a lovely camp called, Kibo, just outside of the park boundaries. Kibo's accommodations were much better than expected. It included a large tent with its own shower, toilet and hot running water. We got settled in and then took lunch. They had a nice buffet that was included in the price.

Not long until we were headed out to see the park. Amboseli is right on the border with Tanzania and Mt. Kilimanjaro is very close by. Unfortunately, the cloud cover did not allow us to see much of Kili that evening but just a glimpse of its peak right before we headed in for the night. On the game drive, we came upon so many animals. We immediately saw lions, elephants, zebras, buffalos, hyenas, and ostriches. The land was very vast and dry, at times it was hard to believe that these animals could thrive in such conditions. As our drive continued the wind picked up and soon we seemed to be stuck in a dust storm. Everywhere you looked you could see dust devils looming in the distance.

As the sun was setting and with our faces covered in a sufficient amount of dust, we made our way back to camp for showers and dinner. Having freshened up with some clean clothes and ready for a bite, we stepped outside of our tent. I suddenly stopped in my tracks taken aback by the amazement of the night sky. Only in locations such as Yosemite or the midwest country where light pollution is beyond its invasive reach, can you find such an abundance of visible stars. It was beautiful.

We were headed over to the buffet when we saw our two apartment neighbors, sitting down for some cocktails. We had no other choice but to join them. It was such a pleasant evening, good conversation with good friends under a Milky Way canvas.

We made it just in time for the last few minutes of the dinner buffet. After eating and drinking we joined some other campers by a small bonfire. It wasn't long until sleepiness came over me that I bid everyone goodnight and headed off to the tent. Brian soon followed. We had a very early rise the next morning so it was best not to stay up too late.

Sunday morning started off around 6:30am. We were greeted with the early light of the sun shining its' rays upon Mt. Kilimanjaro. It was a breathtaking view and seemed to be just in the backyard of our Kibo Safari Camp. We didn't delay too long as we wanted to get out to see the sun rise. We just barely missed it but were able to capture some great photos.

The morning was so peaceful and I thought just how lucky these animals were to enjoy such a view each day. That's not to say they don't also endure the toughness of the land given the recent drought with water so scarce as it is in all of Africa.

The game drive was fantastic and again we saw a number of elephants, lions, gazelles, giraffes, and hippos. The park pass was good for 24 hours so we had to exit the park around lunchtime just as we had entered it at this time on Saturday. We made it out in plenty of time and took a different route back through the Massai village. The land here was complete desert. It was so dry and dusty it was unbelievable that anyone could subsist. But the Massai had been here for ages, herding their cattle and building their huts out of sticks and mud. It was a sight to see.

It was not long until we were back on the washboard dirt road back to Nairobi, leaving Amboseli in a dusty cloud behind us.