Taking to the road and seeing the sights and beauty that makes Kenya such a world destination!

Well I finally got my act together and took the cheap but bumpy bus ride to Nairobbery! I've ridden a bus on that road a few months back so I knew I should expect bump and dust and I wasn't diappointed! It's unfortunate that I had to go to back to Nairobbery to hook up with a tour to Maasai Mara. But it was the cheapest alternative I could find given that I got a partial refund from the KASOW group. Then I couldn't get on with the Overland truck group due to health insurance issues. But all in all I usually end up getting shafted when I open my big mouth but will I ever learn? I was hoping to get killed at 95 by a jealous husband but will probably get beaten up by a irate husband or wife before that time! But I guess here for a good time not a long time!

So I caught up on a tour with 7 others from various countries. It was a long and even dustier and bumpier ride to Maasai Mara. This was probably because the vechile was smaller and the driver (who was very nice and helpful) had to live up to the reputation of being a good but wild Kenyan driver! He missed most of the potholes on the road and luckily all of the vehicles coming in the opposite direction while swerving potholes! We did have a problem with an overheated radiator and had to donate all our drinking water to keep us going. These vans are 2 wheel drive mini vans and I have to say toyota make tough vehicles. Jackson drove the heck out of that van through bushes, mud, water, hills and we only got stuck in the mud once so that we had to get our and push. Luckily there weren't any wild animals like lions in the area at the time.

Yeah we saw all the wild animals (lions, elephants, garifes, ostriches, zebras, hippos, wildebeasts, elands and so many more) and quite enjoyed the experience. I took a few pictures but no where near the number some people took. I don't thinks some actually saw any animals except through their viewfinder. I knew I could never do the scenes of these animals justice with my pictures. So I spent a lot of my time just watching the animals and will check out National Geographics or my nephew Randy's quality pictures to see their true beauty of the animals! Our mini van had a pop up top for 360 viewing but with 7 in the party (as 1 Aussie left early) so it made it hard to all stand at once. So I said the heck with the jossling, I'll just sit in the passenger seat and view from there.

At times we sat in once spot while some people took up to I'd say 50 pictures of one
animal. Which led me to comment, "how many pictures does a person need of a sleeping lion?" Anyway I've bin dar, dun th\at and it's time to move on to some other sights of Kenya.

It's pretty hard to see Maasai Mara without going through a tour company of some type. But most try to rip a person off by nickeling and diming you to death. We had to use sleeping bags even if we didn't want to rent one. I know we were sleeping in tents but I didn't think it'd be that cold. It was cool but I never used the sleeping bag as we had sheets and blankets. So I paid 750 shillings ($10) and never used the sleeping bag as it's probably been used a 100 times without cleaning!

I bought a colorful blanket from the Maasai which you probably seen them wearing in any picture of Kenya. This Israel girl wondered why I wanted to have one. Well it's

I had Jackson, the tour driver, drop me off in Naivashu as I was kind of heading west rather than take me back to Nairobbery. So I hopped a matatu (local mini bus) there and went to the Fisherman's Campo on Lake Naivashu. This camp site is nice and open on Lake Naivashu. There are monkeys all over the place so I had to keep my tent zipped all the time. There are also hippos in the lake. They stay in the water during the day. But at night they come on the ground and are very dangerous as a woman who was drunk got bitten and died from one. They have a electric fence around the water and tell people not to cross that to see them. However some people get drunk and still jump the fence for a closer look at night. I've seen how big they are and I don't ever get that drunk.

The Maasai blanket has come in handy as I'm sleeping in a small tent with no sleeping bag (of course). It's funny Kenya is on the equator but it;s fairly high in a lot of places so it's cool at night and hot during the day. I manage in my tent but barely. It's a good thing there's a resturant/ bar in the campground so I can warm myself with a few beers before hitting the sack. Actually it's a good place to meet other travellers and talk. I've met a fellow Canadian from Edmonton in the next tent who is doing research for his PHD. He's been in Kenya living with a Maasai family in the hills since March and will be here until June 2008. I give him credit as he's even learned Kiswahilli and the Maasai language. A lot better than I'd be able to do in that time.

I met a Canadian soldier on leave from Afganistan who was here on a short Overland truck trip. It was nice to talk to him as my son Darren has and will probably be going there again soon. It was nice to hear his story and good to see he could come to Kenya to meet his girlfriend and go on a safari.

Yesterday I hired a mountain bike and biked about 15 km to Hell's Gate. This is a nature reserve which allows people to bike or walk freely without a guide. Just up my alley! So I took my time (mostly to protect my butt as I mountain bike always with a sore butt) and got to the gorge. This is a beautiful sight that has been carved over a million years. I had to hire a guide because they have flash floods of up to 3 meter (10 ft) so a person has to know the signs or they could get caught in one. Plus a person can get lost in the gorge by taking the wrong path.
That was enjoyable along with the wild life that I saw in the park while biking - zebras, ostriches, gazelles, warthogs, monkeys, baboons, etc.

Now I'm hanging out at the camp until Fri when I grab a matatu to go to Nakuru to check out the game reserve and it's thousand of pink flamingos and rhinos.

Check my other posting today and although my pics don't do the animals justice I'll try and post some pictures of Maasai Mara soon.

I'll check back in a few days once I get to another internet site. So Later!