When I’m not working…

It has been a while….this is becoming a trend, and I apologize once again. I now know why blogging is some people full time job- its a lot of work!  But anyways, this post will be all about my various weekend activities, exploring, travelling and the safaris that I have adventured on within the last (couple??) months. How does time go so fast?! Regardless, we have been to numerous conservation parks; Lake Nakuru, Ol Pejeta, Masai Mara, travelled to Mombasa for an extended weekend, explored Nairobi, Nanyuki, and become more familiar with our home county, Nyeri. I will try to briefly cover each of these adventures (with pictures), sharing personal experiences and what I have learned/gained through these experiences in different parts of kenya.

The first trip after our camping trip to Samburu was to the coastland of Mombasa and Diani Beach. Here I was taken back to a few of my favourite things; the beach, the ocean and the never-ending sunshine. Have I mentioned that I love hot weather?! This cool Nyeri weather,  I won’t lie, is getting to me a bit. A little bit of withdrawal from the warm sunshine, would be a fitting diagnosis for me here and now. BUT back to Diani beach, we took a train from Nairobi to Mombasa for 1000KES or 13$CAD and then a taxi ride from Mombasa to Diani beach, which included a short ferry. Immediately upon exiting the train, the moist warm air hit us, and for me…it was glorious. We arrived at our hostel, Stilts Backpackers, which was an eco-style, open air environment of tree-houses and eco-cabins. SO COOL, so clean and such a rustic, beach environment. It was a mere couple minutes of us dumping our bags, changing into swimsuits and running for the beach where we spent most of our time during that following weekend. We spent our time soaking up the sun, swimming in the clear Caribbean blue waters, scuba diving, and consuming all the delicious foods that were not so common back in Nyeri. The beaches were spectacular, with white sand, beautiful crystal blue water, camels passing by along with Masai men trying to sell their newest bead creations (we actually started a challenge to see how long you could walk before you were approached. And once one approached, it wasn’t long before 10 were surrounding you). I loved it. We enjoyed dinner one night, in quite possibly the coolest environment that I have ever eaten in. Ali Barbours, a natural coral cave with a restaurant build inside. The coolest part was the respect and conservation of the natural aura, the open roof where you could watch the stars, and the candle lit lighting..and it was delicious.  But unfortunately we had to leave paradise, so after already delaying our trip for one more day, we headed back for Nyeri.

The next few weekends were spent in conservations and on safaris, witnessing the beauty and magnificence of African animals in their respective natural habitats, it was almost like the “African Lion Safari” but in real life, and in the real African wild.

The most impressive of all these trips was easily, our venture to Masai Mara (after we survived our first night in a grungy budget hotel in Nairobi-SO GROSS. It was a mental struggle to actually fall asleep in that bed. One can only imagine what is living in these hotels, and what has happened in these places :$ ugh).
We went as a group of 10, were picked up in Nairobi and guided by a man recommended from the Outdoor Instructor at DeKUT (university where we are working). We left with high spirits. You could literally feel the energy as we embarked on what is the trip of a lifetime for most people. We had caught word that the Great Migration had begun, and there was a good chance that we would be awarded the experience of witnessing this natural wonder of the world. We were excited. After driving for about 5 hours we arrived at Destiny Eco Camp where we would spend our evenings for the weekend. This is a sort of camp with canvas tents containing real beds, a real toilet and a shower, all covered by a straw/leaf roof. There was electricity  from a timed generator, warm shower water heated by the sun and all meals provided. We enjoyed campfires, polish vodka, campfire karaoke, meeting new people from all over the world, introducing s’mores to unsuspecting people and our short nights of sleep before were waking up with the sun to continue our safaris. The safaris were nothing short of breathtaking. Any animal you wish to see in Africa was spotted and watched with quite admiration. Perhaps the best part of this safari was the shear number of wildebeests seen with the Great Migration. The sight we encountered as we crested a hill into the interior of the park was almost unbelievable. Literally everywhere you looked, was dotted with brown shapes, wildebeests as far as the eye could see. It was quite comical as I knew a little of what to expect and exclaimed with excitement “thats a lot of wildebeests” to which one individual replied, (quite seriously actually) “I’m pretty sure those are rocks”…..they were not rocks.
Unfortunately we did not witness a river crossing, somewhat due to timing and somewhat due to poor organization of our guide, but regardless, we left pleased with what we had experienced on our weekend in the Masai Mara.

The next trip we took was to Lake Nakuru Conservancy. If you google images of this park, the first thing that come up is flamingos, hundreds of flamingos in Lake Nakuru. News Flash, there are no flamingos lol. Apparently years ago the lake dried up due to a drought,  the flamingos left and have not returned since. Guess we should have looked more into this before we took the eventful 4 hour drive (something happened with the brakes and we had to make a pit stop half way in a small town to have them replaced. Never a dull moment). Regardless it was still a good trip, we saw lots of different animals including the first rhinos since coming to Kenya, and the view of the lake was spectacular. The downside to this trip was the price to enter as tourists after they denied us as residents/students and had to pay 60USD. However, there was about 10 minutes of sheer joy before the teller realized she had accidentally charged one of the girls only 60KES(which is less than 1USD) and we all ended up blowing the budget. Oh well, we’re in Africa right…can hardly complain.

The next adventure was the arrival of our friends and fellow interns from Ethiopia. After some troubles with visas etc, it ended up that they needed to be out of the country for a period of time, so they came to explore the luxuries of Kenya. We had quite the time showing them around our new hometown, taking them on safaris, and sharing the “American snacks” that unlike them, we are privileged to have in Kenya. One of their major requests for their time here was “to see animals”, elephants specifically, and there for that we did.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a private conservancy containing the big five, only about an hour away from our place being the perfect option for a safari with the girls from Ethiopia. This conservancy also houses the two last living northern white rhinos(both females), the grave of the last male northern white rhino and Baraka, a blind black rhino. Unfortunately, the main cause of the near extinction and threat to these rhinos is human impact, whether it be poaching for their ivory or human development and loss of territory etc. They are currently working on IVF and artificial insemination to help save the northern white rhino population, and you can read more on this through the Ol Pejeta Website or any online resource. It was a fun as well as saddening day however we saw lions, elephants, wild rhinos, zebras, wildebeests, buffalos etc, making our Ethiopian visitors(and us) happy!

The latest adventure that we undertook was a weekend of hiking two dormant volcanic craters; Mount Longonot and Mount Suswa. A group of 9 of us rented a matatu, booked an Airbnb and off we went for Mount Longonot, the first mountain we would climb. Mt. Longonot is derived from the Maasai word Oloonong’ot meaning “mountain of many spurs” or “steep ridges”. As we neared, it grew more and more daunting, but the adrenaline kicked in and off we went. It was a strenuous climb to the top of the crater, and submitted that part happily…not knowing what was in store for the hike around the crater. The real summit and the real climb hadn’t even begun yet. The path around the crater was far from Canadian safety standards, fairly precarious at times, with volcanic sands and pebbles making you unsteady. It wasn’t until we reached the section that led directly up to the peak where we were quite literally bouldering up the rock face at times, that we questioned our abilities. BUT we all made it to the tip at 2800m. Here we started to get anxious as we were not even half way around the crater, yet it was growing dark as it neared evening. We raced the rest of the crater(7.5km in total circumference), which was thankfully easier than the first bit, and ran(literally ran down the mountain), actually ending the hike after the parks official closing of 6pm. We were sore, exhausted and dusty. After a night of hot showers and warm dinner in a our beautiful Airbnb we left the next morning for our second hike, Mount Suswa. The real adventure here was the road leading to the hike starting point. After getting lost several times, we ended up on a road that was not made for matatus, by any means. And 2.5 hours later down this off-road path that we miraculously made it through we arrived at the start. This was a shorter and easier hike and only about 2.5 hours long, after which we had to return back to the main road, using the same unfortunate road we had used coming in. The downside, and you can see by the last photo below…Cait Brydges suffered some serious blisters, but took it like a champ and didn’t complain until we were done hiking.  These hikes were breathtaking and challenging, but good practice for Mt. Kenya hike which we hope to accomplish while in Kenya. Grateful for this opportunity and the blessing of being able to experience such adventures!

Now, that is about all for our safari and nature adventures, however we have also had some city experiences, with visits to Nairobi, Nanyuki and of course our time in the small town of Nyeri.

We spent one weekend in Nairobi literally eating the entire time. Our weekend was planned around where we would eat next and how much we could eat during our time there. It was wonderful actually to splurge and enjoy foods that reminded us a little of home (basically just something other than rice, beans and ugali). We took this opportunity to go to a mall and visit some of the tourist spots including the Kenyatta International Conference Centre(helicopter pad where you can view the entire city), The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (cutest elephants!!) and some Masai Markets(to practice our bartering skills). During this weekend we also had the opportunity to meet with a Canadian who works at the Canadian High Commission and talk about what we were doing in Kenya, as well as future plans and networking opportunities.
We briefly were also in Nairobi after our hiking weekend to work on our visas and visit immigrations, which is a story for another time.

We also traveled to nanyuki, a nearby “mzungu” town as some of the locals say, and enjoyed grocery shopping and an afternoon by a pool.

But Nyeri, our hometown, has been a bustling town recently as it hosted the Kenya National Music Festival, and a sports festival. We were able to watch some of the traditional dancing, singing and reciting performances at the university where we are working, as well as see the campus come alive with the national attention. They actually built an entire new building for this festival, along with redoing some of the cobblestone roads and repainting parts of the campus! Impressive how fast they can work!We also planted coffee trees at the DeKUT Coffee Farm, enjoyed the cafeteria food and tasted the DeKUT coffee.
Nyeri is still cold, and getting a little bit depressing as I have missed a good summer this year (difficult for someone like me who loves the heat and sunshine). Everyone keeps telling us that it will get warmer, but so far..no luck but it is kenya, so maybe summer is just late 😉  We definitely are adjusting well, feeling quite at home walking the streets and stores of Nyeri and making friends with numerous locals- even enjoying goat cookouts at the local police station!

As far as work goes; it has been a lot of digging….Our greenhouse is coming along slowly but surely, however I’m not going to lie, the digging life is getting a little old :$ We are hoping to speed this part of the process up with some help, get some vegetables planted in the near future, and be able to see this come to fruition before we leave. We have had some difficulty in getting the parents interested however, we have the support of the school and are still hopeful for this business venture!
We are also working on several other avenues, after a visit with our supervisor from Canada last week, including delivering a health teaching course to Community Health Workers, spending time in a local hospital to gain insight for a potential exchange program and visiting a small community in the West of Kenya to complete research for potential sexual and reproductive health proposal writings.
We are keeping busy most times, however it is also a struggle sometimes to feel purposeful in these contexts. The working culture, environment and norms are different than in Canada, which has been an adjustment, and we are  working mainly on an independent basis, which has both pros and cons especially in a international context. Overall it is a fantastic experience, but also at times a difficult experience, for which I truly appreciate all your support!  With all this in mind, being and working in Kenya is a immense blessing, for which I am truly grateful. The inspiration and experiences that I have encounter will undoubtedly shape my future and remind me of which I am capable of.

“If I have ever seen magic, it has been in Africa”- John Hemingway…(and I completely agree!)

Caitlin, The Happier Traveler