Kenya 2014

I’m not sure why it has taken me nearly a year to write this. But it has. I’m also not so sure that my meagre writing ability can do justice to the experience we had post Kilimanjaro, but I will give it a go. In ten days we would see the world differently thanks to the charity Space for Giants www.spaceforgiants.org

Not even 5 hours after finishing our climb of Mt Kilimanjaro for www.borne.org.uk akin to climbing on the moon with a ten year blizzard thrown in for good measure. An exhausted Caro, Will and I found ourselves reunited with our six children, and in my case husband who had flown with them all from London to Nairobi (I know I know give him a medal).

A breath-taking direct transfer from Nairobi across the overfilled townships and on to the more rural Nanyuki in a teeny tiny plane (cue air sick bags). We were met by the first Max we would encounter on our journey, Doctor Max, Elephant conservationist and peacekeeper, A charismatic ex-public school Englishman, the only hint of it left being his infectious laugh.

His concept of creating conservation tourism with an experience equal to that of any luxury safari company had us at hello. What’s more, profits go towards the charity he has created, instead of filling corporate pockets.

We spent two days staying at a friend’s house and visiting the Ol Pejeta reserve (http://www.olpejetaconservancy.org) with Dr. Max who introduced the kids to the anti-poaching team, which included several very scary dogs and a demonstration of what happens if said scary dog thinks you’re a poacher! (Ouch)

On the reserve right next to the staff headquarters is an enclosure where one of the last white rhinos sits under guard from poachers, any effort to get him to reproduce has failed, it was very poignant to touch the face of an animal so close to extinction and all at the hands of humans.

Of course wherever we drove, the children encountered sights they had never before seen, why were people sitting on the side of the road, what were they waiting for? Did people really live in those tin houses? Why did people want to kill Elephants? Our tour guide and driver patiently answering every naïve question, smiling politely at how inappropriate some of them were, casting us a knowing look.

After two days visiting Ol Pajeta and the local area it was time for us to go and visit Anne. It was a five hour drive over unsealed roads past every wild animal you could imagine…stopping to let elephants cross in front of us…. completely un-staged and perfectly on time!

Our bottoms will never be the same, but it was worth every bump to meet Anne at her place Suyian Soul (www.suyian.com) Here we finally felt we could relax…no phone signal, no Wi-Fi, dirt built huts made with love, handmade soaps, fresh sheets and soft beds, food sourced locally homemade honey and a host like no other…oh Anne if only everyone were like you! Caro and I took to her immediately, and had great conversations about putting the world to rights across the open fire in the evening. That night, I sat bolt upright about 1am, thinking I heard a buffalo. It turned out, the next morning, that a lone lioness had chased a zebra right past our doorway! Caro and myself went with the more eager children and the tracker to see where she had been and he told us the story of the chase that had taken place within spitting distance while we slept!

Anne took us on a drive through the plains of her land, she runs eco-tours where you can study the local flora and fauna…or like us…look for animals. We picnicked by the side of a water hole whilst elephants drank from one side, and Samburu herded cattle on the other…we had to keep pinching ourselves! Was this really happening!

On the way back from our “out of Africa” picnic, we stopped to climb some giant boulders that Ann had taken her children on when they were small and to explore just a little more…tracker going first we came face to face with a Buffalo…the most dangerous thing to encounter…I high tailed it out of there with the children (slowly but quick quick slowly!) whilst the braver lot stayed and watched this beast graze quietly on the mountainside. I was quite happy to be back in the truck…and got some gorgeous photos of my bunch a top the boulders looking as care free as they ever could be. Ahhhh happiness.

Two nights with Anne was not enough and Caro and I vowed to come back one day, having also met her Dad, we felt like part of the family at this point and after just 48hours!

A short one hour “drive” to neighboring Loisaba at Laikipia, we were greeted by more smiling faces and more amazing food and wine!  http://www.loisaba.com

This felt like a more conventional holiday escape, beautiful, with a pool and options to go rafting and on safari drives. The absolute highlights for us were the evening drinks by a waterhole after horse riding…especially for Caro being a more qualified rider, went racing through the plains with a guide, leaping over rivers and passing elephants and impala…heart racing the entire time.

White water rafting was pretty much the most I have ever laughed and cried all at the same time, we were set a drift down the Ng’are Narok river and told they would pick us up at the other end (note absence of any Health & safety briefing -awesome ☺)…. Caro and I had stayed back and then jumped in a raft, we were separated from the rest of our family…quite a lot back. We started to panic about what exactly was IN the river…would we be eaten, would a hippo suddenly appear and upturn us…PADDLE EM PADDLE – YOU’VE GOT THIS! Cue big girlie screams followed by hysterical laughter.

All the while, a little 9 year old Samburu boy sits on the opposite side of the river, minding his herd of goats and wondering what the hell we are up to. We point out the little boy to our six children whilst they, on the other side of the river, sip cool sodas and play by the riverbank. This little boy has most likely worked a 12 hour day, had little for breakfast and will sleep with his herd….the irony is lost on them, they are too young too understand how different their lives are no matter how much we try and explain.

The boys managed to spot a leopard, the one time I decided to stay back and read….typical! The other exciting feature of Loisaba, was the tree house bedrooms…watching the sunrise and set from here was like two weeks worth of meditation and yoga all at once.

After the “rest& relaxation”(!) part of our holiday, it was time for us to return to the mountains…unbeknownst to us, Rutundu www.rutundu.com is the Scottish highlands of Kenya, so packing for a hot African adventure was slightly off point! After a 6hour stunningly scenic fly and drive over even bumpier mountainous terrain not dissimilar to the Kilimanjaro, we made it to a little piece of heaven on earth. It was cold…yes…there was no power…yes…. it was getting dark…oh well…. at least we had wine…we had wine right? WHAT…WE HAVE NO WINE! This was the only mistake our incredible hosts made on our ten day journey…never send parents with six kids up to a remote mountain cabin with not much to do other than trout fish and read without WINE!!!!! It became the running joke, and a little bit of mountain madness may have set in, when Caro and I started talking to the buffalo head above our fireplace…affectionately naming him Graham.

The children however, strangely not bothered about the distinct lack of alcohol, and well equipped with their merino Smalls (which were an absolute life saver on this entire trip) were the happiest throwing self made spears at bushes, for hours and hours. We also managed to catch some trout…and cook it! Which was a pretty special moment for all of us. A rain soaked walk in completely inappropriate clothing was pretty memorable…Caro and I being very glad we opted to stay home on that one!

High five to the Duke of Cambridge, this place is proposal perfection.

After our two days (felt like two weeks with no wine) we had to face the drive back down which was painful but, beautiful. We then drove for another several hours, to find our campsite for the next two nights, an adventure we were hesitant about….walking with Camels. www.karisia.com
We got lost for a couple of hours and ended up driving through a village that did not often see tourists…they didn’t ask for sweets though, no, they were calling for water…which was a reality check for us.

For Caro Will and myself, the thought of sleeping in a tent and yet more “washy washy” (see Kili blog) filled us with dread. But…. that all changed when we finally found our hosts, in the middle of absolutely nowhere, and the oasis that they had created.

On stepping out of the two jeeps, we were immediately greeted by the most beautifully dressed; smiling people you will ever have the pleasure of meeting. We were weary, tired and not in the mood for socialising, but we quickly realised we were being idiots and turned it around. Welcomed like royalty, fed like kings, they were a family and were sharing their time with us, beautifully appointed tents…basic but perfect staring out directly at the African plains, and onto scenes of giraffes and elephants walking by in the distance, calls of lions and hyena in the night, surrounded by our Camels we felt safe…totally thrilling, but needless to say I didn’t sleep much!

The leader Gabriel had his son Max 9, with him who was the same age as Ben and Matilda. For our kiddies it was a real leap for them to understand how different his daily life was to theirs and over the next 24 hours, the children swapped questions about each other’s school, friends, and daily life.

We had a brilliant evening, our jaws ached from smiling so much. We were taught to throw spears, light fires and dance! Total heaven for any child, relatively unsupervised risk taking!

We had an evening stroll with the camels in preparation for the next days trek, ate a delicious meal at sunset…and thank god…there was wine.

On our final day before we flew out we had the pleasure of visiting some local Nairobi conservation spots, while amazing, we felt it a shame if there were not more of them throughout the regions, so orphaned elephants don’t have to endure hours of transport to refuge. We adopted an elephant and kissed a giraffe…all in a days travel with kids.

Links:

Space for Giants, journeys for giants;
http://spaceforgiants.org/?q=journeys-for-giants.

Ol Pejeta Conservancy – working to protect Kenyas wildlife
http://www.olpejetaconservancy.org

Suyian Soul – www.suyian.com

Loisaba – http://www.loisaba.com/index.php.

Rutundu Cabins – http://www.rutundu.com

Walking Safari with Camels – http://www.karisia.com/walking-safaris/permanent-camp

Giraffe Sanctuary – http://giraffecenter.org

Elephant Orphanage – https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org