OAT Kenya and Tanzania Trip June-July 2016: June 2016

The trip began on a flight from Los Angeles to Amsterdam and a nearly 4-hour layover for another long flight to Nairobi, Kenya arriving late in the evening on June 22nd. Nairobi was cold and our first city trip the next day was to view the 2.5 square kilometer slum City of 750,000 out of Nairobi's 4 million population.. There were 10 of us on this our second Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) trip to Africa in 2013.

The following is post trip communications with our tour leader David kiprono koskei:

Jambo David,

Thanks ever so much for the nice post-trip postcard that you sent to us. This is especially a good postcard choice to send because it shows the Great Migration and you know just how important seeing that was to Nancy and me --- and to all of us.

And thanks again for being our trip leader and for all that you did to make this the best trip ever for all of us. You are the best!!!

Tom and Nancy Sommers (and the rest of our group)

JamboTom and Nancy,

Nice to hear from you,Thank you too for acknowledging the receipt of my Post card which I sent to you,that is exactly what I was doing when we stopped at Karatu Post office on our way to Serengeti.I glad that I was your Trip Leader and I really enjoyed every moment I spent with you and it is my great Joy that I was able to meet your expectations.All the best to you and your entire family.

Cheers, David kiprono koskei

The following is a detailed recap, day by day, of our trip and was prepared by Nancy Sommers:

TRIP TO KENYA AND TANZANIA (June 21 - July 9, 2016)

June 21-22, 2016

Fly from LAX to Amsterdam and from Amsterdam to Nairobi, Kenya

Accommodations: Longview Suites - June 22 and 23

Somewhat basic room in a small hotel, but nice bed, small but OK bathroom, safety box, net around bed, nice toiletries provided, needed dressing table mirror; good meals.

Touring: All but one couple took the morning tour of Kibera, the slum area of Nairobi. We toured on foot on the outskirts and then by van through the actual slum area. All have basic electricity, but no running water in the houses. Residents go fill up large bottles of water from a central source each day. Sewer system was referred to as “flying toilets” when people just threw waste collected in bags! They are working on the sewer system, but also in moving people from this area to new multi-story apt. buildings nearby. In the rainy season the dirt roads can be a real mess. Funny thing though, as we drove through I noticed all the smiley faces.

Our other couple joined us at lunch which was at a nice restaurant in the city. All meals on the trip were buffet style, but good and ample. Most times you could order beer, soda or mixed drinks at a charge. After that we visited the Nairobi National Museum, which was excellent and diverse…. huge taxidermy section show-casing birds. We didn’t really have much time there though before we headed off for a city walking tour and a visit to the site where the American embassy had been bombed in August, 1998. Nairobi is a large, bustling city with lots of cars and traffic. African headquarters for the WHO. Nairobi and Arusha in Tanzania were the only two pretty modern cities we visited.

Nice dinner at a local restaurant that turned out to be on the old Karen Blixen estate. This was way out of town in a very darkly lighted area and the restaurant seemed like it was in a jungle and we ate at an outside patio location.

June 24-

We went early to “Giraffe Manor” established in 1974 for the protection of Rothschild giraffes, the ones that have white stockings from the knees down. J

It was great. Got lots of time with the giraffes, feeding them, and we managed to beat a large group of school children who came just as we were concluding. Yeah! The children were very cute and well mannered, however. We then went to a center set up for women who are trying to support themselves and their children and watched them make ceramic jewelry. OAT helps support this type of endeavor and it was very interesting. Of course, I bought some bracelets. J We then went to the home of Karen Blixen (made famous in Out of Africa). Toured through the house and the grounds and had excellent guides. She is well thought of there and there are several areas, housing districts, named in her honor. She had a lot of land it seems. Obviously the movie brought notoriety and they smartly are capitalizing on that. Her husband is buried there and her lover at the foot of near-by mountains. She lived there 1914-1931, and then returned to Denmark. She had affection for the Kikuyu tribe and it is still a major ethnic group there.

We had lunch at the Karen Country Lodge, which was very nice.

After leaving Nairobi PM June 24, we traveled north by Range Rovers through the Rift Valley to Lake Nakuru National Park. We were delayed in route by a traffic jam on the only road into the valley. Ugh! The lodging was nice and our cabins were on a lake, but not actually at Lake Nakuru, however. There was a long dirt driveway to the cabins and kids were often out to watch the comings and goings. J We had dinner at the Lodge that evening.

Accommodation: Sentrim Elementaita Lodge - June 24-25

These lodges were circular with peaked roofs. They were made of concrete and were quite nice. Rooms were large, great mirrors, nice small patio outside sliding door, bathroom was large. Had blow dryers we could use J and chairs. The bed was pretty firm, but ok. There was a room safe. Walked through a garden to the main dining area. At night that was pretty dark, and the dining area itself was somewhat dark, but all in all ok. Food was excellent and there was always a lot.

Touring: After that first night, we had a morning game viewing excursion at the Lake Nakuru National Park. Known for flamingos, & white and black rhinos. We saw the white rhinos and that is rare -- they are members of the Big Five (Elephants, Lions, Rhinos, Cape Buffalo, Hippos). BTW, the name white or black rhino has nothing to do with their color -- It simply designates the grazer (white) and browser (black) and comes from the shape of the mouth and the South African (Dutch) word for it that sounded like “white.” It was sort of a lowland area but not particularly memorable. Got back to camp at 1:00 for lunch and an afternoon walk about in the area. Tom got a chance to see a young boy minding his young brother at the same time while working in the fields beating grain with a stick. Dinner at the lodge. Early the next morning, we departed for Amboseli.

Accommodations: Sentrim Amboseli June 26-27

Nice, large tented cabins with zip up front opening. Nice central dressing table but needed light - they all needed light!! Ha. J Had a refrig, but no safe. Hair dryer didn’t work. Nice bathroom with counters on both sides of the sink. Bed was nice. Nice lush setting and pretty walkway to the dining area. Dining area was nice and great food.

Touring: Left Lake Nakuru morning of June 26, en route south to Amboseli National Park on the border with Tanzania and near Mt. Kilimanjaro. This turned out to be a full-day of travel for the most part. We picnicked en route. Before checking into our tent cabins we had an afternoon game viewing drive. Amboseli has 400 bird species, but the elephants were the hit of the day. We were lucky to see a huge herd coming from the swamps where they had been wallowing, and they crossed the road right in front of us and all around us. Bottom half dark from the water, top half was their dry skin. We were awash in elephants as they headed to a wooded area for the night. It was glorious. Welcome to Amboseli!!

There are wildebeest and Burchell’s (or common) zebras too - dazzling. Now for the frosting on the cake --- As we were heading to our lodge, another guide radioed that he’d seen cheetah. We made a u-turn on a dime (with change to spare) in time to see several cheetahs (3) perched on some dead logs. They were far away, but ……. What an end to the day and we got out of the park just as it was closing, but we also got a wonderful view of Mt. Kilimanjaro’s snow covered peak pushing through its cloud cover at sunset. This was especially meaningful to us because Tom and I have two wonderful friends (one of whom is deceased) who have climbed that mountain. Whew.

The next morning, we went to a Maasai village! We joined school children walking to their elementary school and watched them perform their morning flag salute, student honor guard ceremony and student singing. All in uniforms, of various quality, close cropped haircuts. Cute heartwarming sight. We attended an 8^th grade class and answered lots of questions from the students and took lots of pictures. Really nice, polite, interested kids. We also met with the school director and teachers and got a rundown of how the school functions, their goals, their needs, their progress. We all brought school supplies to donate to the school and I think we all gave monetary donations as well. OAT sponsors this school and many more around the world, and with every OAT trip we visit and participate at the schools. Great program!

We also met with the Maasai leader, Joseph, and his people. They explained daily life, how they tend their herds, how they make mud/dung houses or bomas, how they cook. It was clear that the women do a LOT of the work! J The guys watch the herds. Tough! Ha! Then the fellows went off with the guys to have a man-to-man chat and we girls stayed with a group of ladies and had a discussion about birth control….as per the hope of Joseph. The ladies we were told were resistant to pills and we tried to explain the benefits and how it worked. Our leader stayed with us to translate as neither spoke the other’s language. After our “meetings,” we were given an opportunity to buy necklaces, bracelets, etc. that they make. They set up a open air flee market in the field and each lady set out her products. Wonderful art work by these gifted ladies and their “warrior” men. I like to buy gifts, so I was very happy. (Later it became a running joke with all the jewelry I was buying…. but it was so inexpensive, wonderful quality and unique, and I knew I had friends and family who would enjoy it all.) As it turned out, there would be a LOT of buying opportunities as the ladies everywhere make things and are very anxious to sell them. J I made friends.

Back to the lodge for lunch, a short walk around the camp, and then an afternoon game viewing. We actually got to see some giraffe antelope or Gerenuk, known for their long giraffe like necks. We also got to see some cheetahs and what a great experience that was. Three of them were in a field rather close to the dirt road and after a bit, they got up, stretched and heading right behind our Range Rovers to cross the road. Wow! They were gorgeous….and real close!! In the morning, we headed to Tanzania in our trusty RR’s.

Accommodations: Tarangire Simba Lodge - June 28-29

We were in tented cabins overlooking the plains. Our tent was Duma, which means Cheetah. It was large and very nice. Comfortable bed J, large bathroom with two showers, lovely porch, pretty view. No safe and couldn’t use hair dryer due to electricity constraints. Had laundry done there. The central area was nice. There was a meeting room/bar area, and a tree house between that room and the dining room. Lovely to sit up there and have a drink at sunset. Meals were good but nothing memorable.

Touring: We left Amboseli June 28, in the morning after breakfast. Headed for Tanzania. At the border crossing we had to show our passports but as we pulled up the ladies flocked around trying to sell their beaded items. One lady latched on to me and I decided to make a deal with her, but she had to wait till I cleared the passport process. She was aglow and waited for me. She did not allow interlopers. Ha! So I bought from her and we were both happy. Lots of laughter on the van. J We said good-bye to our drivers Kenyan drivers/guides, Adan and Frank, who had been great. Re-boarded our new van and headed for Arusha in Tanzania and the Arusha Coffee Lodge for lunch. We had a nice lunch out in the patio of this really nice restaurant and at the conclusion of the lunch a gentleman came to speak to us about the issue of albinos in Africa. He is an albino, married to an African woman, and it turns out in Africa albinos are seen as evil and are often killed and dismembered. He was a very educated man and spoke passionately about the problem and the need for shedding light on this issue.

It was very interesting and really nice. From there we viewed game on the way to Tarangire National Park, Tanzania’s 3^rd largest park. Had a guided walk around the lodge area and then dinner at the lodge.

Our guides here were Alfred (Big Al) and Ellie. We got up early and after breakfast, left at 7:30 for a full day tour of Tarangire. Many distinct vegetation zones are on display here, grasslands, woodlands, deep gullies and rocky hilltops. Huge concentration of breeding bird species, 2,000-year-old Baobab trees that look like they’ve been uprooted and planted upside down! Valley of Tarangire River dominates the landscape. We saw elephants in a pond, two lion sightings where our travel partner, Karen, got a great lion shot with lots of teeth showing, dazzles of zebras, waterbuck, a python who was really hiding, gazelles, wart hogs (Tom’s favorites), monitor lizards and giraffes as well as many neat birds. Got back pooped at 4:30! Dinner and bed. Tomorrow, we head north.

Accommodations: Karatu Simba Lodge: June 30-July 3

This lodge area was up on a hillside overlooking a valley that looked as if you were in Italy (Tuscany region). It was beautiful. These were solid cabins, without canvas and a porch overlooked the valley. Our cabin was “Elephant.” There were two nice beds, a safe, small bathroom, and again we couldn’t use hair dryers due to electrical restrictions. There were canvas-sided cabins up above us. The main dining room was in a circle around a garden area in the center. Meals were wonderful, especially the celery soup!!!! It was to die for. Staff very friendly. There was a nice pool area too.

Touring: After breakfast on June 30, we left Tarangire Simba and headed north to Mto Wa Mbu village at the foot of the Rift Valley. We had lunch at a roadside restaurant, Swahili Canteen, and ate outdoors under a thatched roof. Nice service. David contracted for three small tri-wheeled motor bikes to take us through the town and up the hill (“I think I can, I think I can” style). At the top, we stopped at a view point and I was accosted J by guys selling necklaces and I bought five (5) with little animals to give as gifts to the flower girls at Megan’s wedding. Got back in our Range Rovers and checked into Karatu Simba at the end of a very long dirt road. After checking in we were taken for a tour of a small coffee plantation. Our guide, Pasqual, was a really nice, knowledgeable fellow. We walked through the coffee plants, and then passed a private school, on to see a small health center, a school that Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) helps support (no one there at the time). We saw people singing and practicing for Sunday service and we joined them in singing. From there we went to a local brick making operation. Local families working in a co-op fashion would hand make bricks and get money for each brick. Quite a sight. Back to the lodge and had dinner there. Oh that celery soup. Yum

Next day, July 1, Lake Manyara National Park - Lot of foliage, hillsides covered with foliage, elephants, birds on a lake, snack/lunch on a hillside and then we walked down to a zigzag wooden pier that jutted out into the lake. Saw giraffes, baboons, golden orioles, spoonbills, yellow bill storks, flamingos. Back to the lodge for dinner. It was a full day of sight seeing.

July 2, We started at 6:30 for the Ngorongoro Crater. Spent an hour trying to get through the entry process!! (we found the entry process was painfully long in Tanzania) Long drive along the crater rim in the early fog. What an eco system: highland plains, savannah, savannah woodlands and forests as well as a lake area. We saw hippos, jackal, Cory Bustards, ostriches, Thompson Gazelles, hyenas, crested storks, flamingoes on the lake and a black rhino. Had a tea break and also ate lunch in our Range Rovers overlooking a watering hole. Saw a lot of hippos and also had fun watching a pride of lions move between areas, ending up on a rock outcropping over looking our picnic area (good reason to eat in the RR’s).

July 3, Another adventure…a rare one. We took a loooong, dusty, bouncy drive to “nowhere” to meet the Hadzabe and Datoga tribes. The Hadzabe are hunter/gatherers and live a VERY primitive life. Our guide was Qwadra and he walked us in to their village. Small population of men, women, small children. Their “houses” were made of twigs in a tent shape but very permeable. Slept on animal skins. The men made their own bows and arrows and took the OAT men on a hunt. Wasn’t easy keeping up. J We gals went with David and walked through the area, but I never saw anything at all to gather. It was very barren. They do not raise any animals or crops. They showed us how they make a fire, the old fashion way and they were very skilled. Got that fire going quickly. What they eat they cook over an open fire. The men showed us their archery skills and invited us to join in. Tom actually hit the target to much hooting and hollering. The bows were very tight and very hard to pull back. The Hadzabe may be small, but they’re strong. Their primitive life style is hard to describe, but they are by far the most primitive people I’ve ever been around. We then drove to the Datogas. They gather scrap metal and make implements and bracelets. Again, it was all done in a very primitive fashion. Skin bellows making an open fire, melting things in a basic scooper. They made nice bracelets and we all bought some. Their housing was much less primitive than the Hadzabes.

Back to the lodge for lunch, but then we met Pasqual for another coffee experience at a friend’s home that was set up as a special visit by our trip leader, David. We sat outside at picnic tables and they treated us to another lunch!! And showed us how the coffee beans are separated, roasted, ground, and we were able to buy bags of coffee from them to bring home. Lovely experience. Two cute kids, one named Rita. We gave them our house gifts that we’d brought. Next, it is off to the Serengeti!!!!

Accommodations: Serengeti Simba Lodge - July 4-7…. our last lodge

This lodge was located on the top of a mountain and was a lovely location. These were partially tented cabins with a sliding glass door entry. Ours was called Rhino. J We had a nice balcony to look out over the valley. Very nice bed, bathroom with a tub, small sink area, toilet and also an outdoor shower. The shower leaked into the toilet area however. Had a safe in the bathroom, but no dressing table anywhere. The cabin was dark, as were most of them. Again couldn’t use hair dryers. The lodge at the top of the hill was nice and there was a pool. They had a fire pit area outside as well. Food was very good and staff friendly.

Touring: July 5 - Jackie, Lynn, Karen and Mike got up in the middle of the night for a hot-air balloon ride. They loved it with great views of elephants and all the wildlife – only a little rough landing for one gondola that hit an ant hill upon landing. The rest of us did a game viewing and saw a large group of stinky hippos in a pond. We then met up with the ballooners and came back to the lodge for a late lunch. Then we went out again. Saw stalking lions, two cheetahs and topi.

July 6 - Today was our shot at seeing the migration of the wildebeest and David and our guides were determined to make it happen!! David KNEW this was huge on our priorities. We had to drive to an airport inside the park to pay the fees to get into the Serengeti and it was a ridiculous wait. Tanzania was terrible in this regard. They made getting into parks and paying hefty fees absolutely painful and a huge waste of time. Marilyn about lost her mind. On this day, we were there close to TWO HOURS waiting. However, we endured dusty, very bumpy roads, road construction where they were putting in new pipes, and a lot of hours, but at 11:00 we were at the Mara River surrounded by wildebeest and a few zebras. Got our Range Rovers positioned and for four hours we watched the incredible spectacle of the wildebeest crossing the river to migrate north to Masai Mara for greener grazing. What a thrill and we learned later that it was indeed a rare and special event to be able to witness the migration crossing of the river. It was just breathtaking and never to be forgotten. Finally, when we’d taken every imaginable picture and video recordings, we pulled off that site, parked and had lunch in our rovers. Then for the long road back to our lodge, but we all had happy faces.

July 7- One last day in Africa to sight see. Left at 8:00 for the Serengeti. We stopped at a hillside picnic area overlook and watched a whole group of hippos. Amazing animals…who basically swim and loll in a toilet bowel. What a smell. We couldn’t figure out how they don’t DIE from the polluted environment that they seem to so love. Phew. Later we saw giraffes, leopards in trees, dazzles of zebras (my personal favorite) wart hogs, stealth cheetahs and Topi. Capping it off was a lion pride that remarkably and obligingly decided to saunter over to a tree right near our rover. Watching their interactions so close to us was very special and a great way to end our touring. That evening we enjoyed our Farewell dinner at the lodge.

July 8 - Today we drove to the bush dirt-runway airport and flew in a small plane to Arusha. Arusha is a fairly modern town and we checked into a lovely hotel there, had a very nice lunch in the Baobab Lounge, and were able to rest in our rooms until we drove to Kilimanjaro International Airport for our overnight flight to LAX and home.

A truly interesting, educational trip that we were so lucky to make. No mishaps, no one got sick, got to do everything we wanted to do, nice traveling companions, excellent tour guide and drivers, and flights went smoothly. However, it is one LONG flight over there. Holy cow!!

Departed LAX June 21 at 12:25, for Amsterdam; Depart June 22 at 12:45 from Amsterdam and arrive Nairobi at 9:40pm. Maybe 30+ hours of travel time!!

Cost (for two): Overseas Adventure Travel: $14,197

Travel insurance: 884

Air fair thru KLM 4,260

Extras God only knows

The is an unbelievably long and detailed travel blog. So, I have prepared a "travel summary" which you can view by opening the following link: youtu.be/0DtZKIZ1PKY to view some of my travel highlights. You can then scroll farther down for specific pictures and videos.

Begin Blog:
Arrive Nairobi, Kenya - first Day Tour to view via van The Kibera Slum spread out over 2.5 kilometers. For all of the following pictures or videos, you can double click on the image to enlarge, but may not have as sharp an image.

The following is a video taken from our van:

Nairobi National Museum:

Giraffe Center Visit - We were told there are three kinds of African giraffes: Reticulated, Masai and Rothschild. At the Giraffe Center we saw and learned how the Rothschild Giraffe has been rescued and conserved for future generations. But here is an article on four kinds of giraffes:

There May Be Four Species Of Giraffe, Not Just One
Popular Science

Giraffes, those gangly loners on the African savannah may not be as lonely as they appear. At least from a genetic perspective. Read the full story

Shared from Apple News

Leaving the Giraffe Center, we visited the museum and former house of Karen Blixen who wrote Out of Africa under the pen name of Isak Dinesen from her experiences with the Kikuyu people from 1914 to 1931. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed of any of the rooms or interior inside the house.

But there was a tour guide outside that gave a review of Karen Blixen's life (video):

Next on our itinerary was travel to the Rift Valley and a morning game viewing excusion to Lake Nakuru National Park where we could see off in the distance the rare white rhino along with siting lots of impalas, zebras, cape buffalo, baboons, warthogs, birds, flowers and Maasai villages:

View from our lodge room

Californians Nancy, Jackie, Lynn and Marilyn

Sentrim Amboseli Lodge

Explore Lake Nakuru and Lake Nakuru National Park:

White Rhino Video (click on start arrow to view):

The ever present Zebra video:

Thompson's Gazelles Video:

Baboon Video:

Secretary Bird:

Grey Crowned Cranes Video:

Superb Starlings and Buzzard:

Other Birds:

Waterbuck et al video:

Lyons in the brush Video:

Visit to Maasai Village and School and learning and discovery with the 8th graders:

Chief Joseph and wives

Jackie making friends

Marilyn, Jackie, Sue and now Lynn

Add caption

Construction of new dormitory financed by Grand Circle Foundation

Chief and Maasai Mud Hut

Straw and Stick Ceiling

Maasai Captain Tom jumping

Nancy shopping and Tom saying "it's only money."

Chief Joseph's sons

We were extremely well fed at the lodge:

Afternoon game viewing in Amboseli National Park:

Klipspringer????

Cheetah

Acadia umbrella Tree

Distant view of Mount Kilimanjaro

Overland 10 plus hours drive to Kenya-Tanzania border, game viewing to town of

Arusha, Tanzania for lunch st the Arusha Coffee Lodge:

Our drivers Adan and Frank

Learning and Discovery and Lecture of the plight of African albinos:

Coffee Orchard at Restaurant next to where we ate lunch:

Arrive at outskirts of Tarangire National Park:

Market

Park entrance

Ancient bilbao tree

You have to look closely but under the brush there is the outline of a rock python

Never leave food on tables because the cheeky monkeys are faster than you

Name this Monkey, You got it- Blue balls

Zebras to the left, right, everywhere

Elephant March

cooling off

dusting off

feed me

June 30

Yes this is African cotton

The boys dressed in black robes are the circumsized boys who must depend on handouts and their mothers for food and wait two years before they are accepted as Maasai Warriors

No I am not giving you candy

OK, maybe $1

the guy on the left wants part of the action

Mto Wa Mbu Village

Market Day

Swahili Canteen lunch stop

Ride to top of hill for lookout of Riff Valley

Lake Manyara National Park:

Learning and discovery on Karatu coffee plantation

OK, you can get in the picture

Yes, this is corn for making maize, cattle feed

community water supply

local brick factory

Karatu Simba Lodge:

July 1

Intern Briefing

Flood and mud damaged building forcing relocation of Park's offices

Nancy, Tom, Sue and Lynn

Tom and Nancy

Picnic lunch by hot springs (below)

Baboons on the march

July 2 Ngorongoro Crater:

Grey Crowned Crane

Drive to Hadzabe hunter/gather, nomatic tribe

Pit Stop with A/C

Arrow dipped in poison

Making fire the traditional way

Where there is smoke, there is fire

Datoga Village of farmers and metal craftsmen

Oh no, not another picture

Drive back to Karatu Simba Lodge

Karatu Market

Home Hosted Visit to coffee bean processing family home

Drive to Serengeti

Agama and Superb Starling

Rock Hydrax

Serengeti Simba Lodge

Drive to Serengeti National Park

Sleeping Puff
Adder asleep in the middle of the road

Thank goodness for four wheel drive and high clearance

VIEWING THE MIGRATION: These videos were taken on our second to last day of our trip when we were fortunate enough to view thousands of wildebeests that had not only been grazing, but were crossing the Mara River when we arrived. To view the migration on TV is one thing, but to view it in real time and location is simply spectacular, exceeding all my expectations. The following is one of the many videos I took on July 6, 2016. Click on the arrows to view video and double click to enlarge video screen:

A video of a stranded juvenile wildebeast:

A video of forward and backward movement to avoid bunching up:

Here's a different video and one that I was too far away to record but is why the wildebeests migrate in such great numbers:

What follows is a 13 minute mp4 video with a portion of the many videos that I took on July 6th. The video starts off disjointed and eventually quiets to a view of our Toyota Land Cruiser rushing to the river while bouncing along the river's edge. There were six of us in vehicle scurrying around so I make no apologies for my erratic video, but, what the hell, I hope you can get a sense of our amazement in watching this video. I will thereafter insert pictures and videos on a chronological order, day by day of our trip. Turn on your computer speakers and double click on the arrows to start the long video and increase the image size if necessary. You can start and stop the very long video as needed: