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the above are all from Pardamat Conservancy

1 afixing camera traps.

2,3,4 Scared Ibis and hammerkop.

5,6 Cheetah

7,8,Celebration eve at WTC students and volunteers in the amphitheater.

Boomslang

Elephants all in Pardamat

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My time is drawing to a close at Pardamat conservancy. I am leaving two weeks early, the main reason being my difficulty coping with the game drives in the rocking vehicle. My heart and blood pressure do not like it and blood pressure readings sky rockets. I am heading off Monday to sea level for rest at the Coast at Watamu at the lovely resort I have told you all about in previous years, Ocean Sports Resort.

I first went there 57 years ago go with my first husband. Loved it then and still do. The down side is the snorkeling got ruined by the massive breakwater constructed by the resort called Hemmingway’s to protect their facilities from erosion. It diverted the oceans flows so all the coral there died and the accompanying fish and other sea creatures left too. If I want to snorkel it will be by going on the boat trip to areas out by a reef.

It has been wonderful to see the influx of animals to Pardamat Conservancy since I was last here in 2023. Also many fences have come down which is allowing for freer movement of Wildlife.

We saw our first cheetah here on a night drive and then a few days ago, I assume the same cheetah, was hunting in the morning and gave us delightful viewing pleasure. We are seeing many elephant, and we know there are at least three lions here now. At night I doze off to the sounds of the hyena “whoop whoop whoop” a mournful and intriguing call. I wish all of you will be fortunate to hear it someday, if you have not all ready done so. Yesterday late afternoon we saw two big females quickly disappearing from view as they are not yet habituated to our game vehicle.

36 students have arrived to the Wildlife Tourism Center. I counted that at least 6 were women. They were all, men and women, in traditional dress looking colorful and so mariadadi (Kiswahili for beautiful). Some will be doing the 2 year guide course and others the year long hospitality or food preparation courses.

Our guide, Dan, was excited that his wife is one of the new students enrolled in the Food Preparation course. They have two children, his mom will look after the kids. I find this very progressive and a big step forward in the Maasai culture where women have traditionally been subservient to the men. The times they are definitely changing! I find several single moms working here successfully and enjoying their independence.

I took some photos last night for a national holiday celebrating intercultural connections. A buffet was served along side the bonfire in the school’ outdoor amphitheater with Maasai music and dancing afterwards.

Now for some photos.

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First post this year, Sept 29, 2024

I have been in Kenya 16 days. Somehow it feels like an extension of last year, have I really  been away for nearly a year? Well,  yes,  and the old body feels the passage of time. For sure this is my last trip to Africa. I have be ben saying that for quite a few years, but the end is inevitable.

The  trip from Hawaii Island is always very long and tiring. This time extra so because of a 15 hour delay in Amsterdam due to a strike at the Jomo Kenyatta international Airport in Nairobi. People had risen up against the President Ruto’s decision to sell the airport to an Indian conglomerate or some such group. Foreign. Kenyans were incensed. 

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My friend and colleague, Marta Lepes, was traveling to volunteer with me at Pardamat conservancy of the greater Masai Mara through the auspices of the volunteer organization, African  Impact.  It was comforting to have a friend bear the difficulties of travel with me. 

There are other organizations that send volunteers throughout the world and to our spot in Kenya such as Go Eco and Conservation Africa, Africa edu., etc.

We had a few days to acclimate to the altitude, (a mile high) of Nairobi as the altitude will be the same where we will be for a month  for Marta and 6 weeks for me. We stayed at Maasai Lodge on the Southern end on the Nairobi National Park about an hour’s drive from the airport. It is a delightful place with individual bandas situated above a river and overlooking the Park where occasionally giraffe, rhino, etc., could be viewed. It is a very large facility built to accommodate conferences and other large groups but done in a way that felt cozy with small lounges scattered here and there and dining tables perched in alcoves overlooking the river. A large swimming pool resides at the bottom of the hill and waiters traipse up and down the steep incline serving those that enjoy the pool and beauty of the lower area. An adjacent field is dotted with baboon, and antelope and sometimes wart hogs and other creatures. Tree and rock Hyraxes peak out from their hiding places. 

We spent one day just chilling and the next two days going to see the Sheldrick Widlife trust orphanage and the Nairobi Game  park on Friday then Sat to see Rachel Kabue and her Nairobi Cat Sanctuary. We were amazed to hear there were now 600 cats at the sanctuary, yet the animals were well fed, happy playful and although sometimes a bit crotchety with each other, harmony reigned the majority of the time. 

She also had 6 dogs as they too needed  a home. all this and no odor, the place was spotless. The place being a small house not a  concrete and steel enclosure like one might have expected.

Sunday we were picked up by the Volunteer organization and transported the relatively short distance of a couple of hours drive to Limuru  to the Brackenhurst Conference Center. A huge, beautiful facility which I have described in previous blogs. It is at an elevation of 7000 feet so the air is quite crisp. I love that after dinner when getting into the comfy beds with multiple blankets, someone has placed a hot water bottle at the foot of the bed. 

There we met up with 3 other volunteers, a couple from Montreal, Canada and a gal from Cape Cod in USA. We exchanged the usual info of names interests, etc to get to know one another.

We has a lovely dinner, a good night’s sleep, huge breakfast and off we went around 8:30 AM to traverse the long drive 5 to 6 hours (with a stop in the big town of Narok to buy stuff we’d not remembered to pack or yummy snacks at the huge supermarket) to Pardamat conservancy and the facilities called the Wildlife Tourism Center of the Maasai Mara. 

Now two weeks have passed by here. the routine consists of many hours in the game vehicle observing animals and counting them. I discussed this in my posts in the past so time for some photos. Also pulling weeds, picking up trash, and even digging a ditch for water drainage along side the dirt road. 

The rains have come very early. Thunder showers in the late afternoon many days. The rain brings the lush green grass, but makes the road ways dreadful. 

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I am now at the beautiful Resort on the coast at Watamu. Here are some photos of it.

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November 8, 2023

A lot of water has gone under the bridge and over it as the case was since I last wrote.

I left Pardamat on Monday the 3o Oct with 3 other volunteers who had finished their contracts. Joanne an I went down to Nairobi an stayed at Keren Inn and Suites. A lovely and safe place to stay with a nice little restaurant. The others went on to fly back to USA that night.

Joanne and I were picked up by the driver, Joseph, for Bonfire Adventures and Tours to travel to Samburu the next AM to the Shaba National Game reserve and specifically the Shaba Lodge. It is far to the North and took a good many hours. The road is paved to the turn off into the reserve and then it is a hellish rocky road with several stream crossings to get to the lodge. Entrance fees are 70$ a day for which I had set aside US dollars for the 4 days of our stay.

It was 3:30 Pm by the time we arrived. I was beat, but Joannne and Joseph went for a game drive while I had a swim in the lovely pool. The lodge is lovely. Here are photos of the lodge taken from my lounge chair at the pool

After a lovely buffet dinner in the restaurant high above the river we went to our rooms after stoping to see the fat crocodile on the banks of the river where he is fed by the lodge so folks can see him.

It rained most of the night and by morning the river was ver high and had over flowed its banks. We were evacuated to another room. We were only supposed to be two night there then on to Sopa Lodge in Samburu. However that lodge had a bigger problem with the river, It washed out the bridge there. Much discussion ensued over was there room for us to stay the two days at Shaba and could we try to venture to Sopa over the next few days. It finally got all sorted after a lot of stress and watching the river rise higher and higher an would we be able to leave etc etc. Here are some more photo of it all.

We were able to get out but it was a tough go forging raging streams 6 of them before we finall reached tarmac.

The drive to Masai Loge was. nightmare in that we were stranded by the side of the highway for two hours with engine trouble. It was getting dark. No one seemed to know what to do. the driver and some passers by were working on fixing the engine. Just as dark fell they succeeded. We drove to a gasoline station. dropped off the two helpers and carried on. We had picked up the drivers wife and his 3 young boys before Thompson”s falls so there was very precious cargo on board. After several miles it was found that the battery was not charging and the headlights went out on a busy highway two lanes. Terrifying. Fortunately there was a pull off f across the road to a gas station. But no mechanic. We tried calling several drivers we knew and the head of the To0ur agency, no one answered. We are tired, scared and wondering what next. then Joseph said a matatu was there. that is a commercial van. the driver agreed to take us all. We drove through the night to Masai Lodge arriving around 10 PM. What a relief to be safe once again.

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Images of Our passengers, and Thompsons Falls. Joseph and family and Joanne.

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Scenes of wildlife-zebra and giraffe and a crowned lapwing sitting on her eggs on the ground.

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Our Maasai guide, Sem with the beautiful decorations made by his wife, lunch time in Naboisho Conservancy and huge herd of cattle grazing.

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More harassment of the lions by the jackal. Finally, one lion chased the jackal but it came back for more. Just playing I think.

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A beautiful pond in Pardamat Conservancy.

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Pahrdamat Hill at Sunset

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young male lion grooming his sister. Lions are very affectionate. this is a-video. When the female rolls over you can see the flies in her groin area.

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Lions resting. there is a jackaal barking at them press the video icon in the lower right of the photo.

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The big male walked over to be with the girls

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Oct 29, 2023

It is the end of the 6 weeks at African Impact at Pardamat.

Everything comes to an end and feeling like this has been a great experience, but I am looking forward to the next two weeks. Joanne and I go to Samburu in the north. There are a few different wild animals there to see along with all the marvelous beasts that frequent Kenya wilds.

The Masai Mara trip last Sunday was wonderful. It is a beautiful place of rolling hills, plains, rivers and grass, acacia trees, gardenia trees etc et. Endless it seems with no man made structures as far as the eye can see. It must be like the world was before man messed it up. Or the garden of eden.

AsAS

As

As you can

I think photos tell the best story so here goes. These are of three cheetahs two males and a female who got discovered. Cars came from everywhere to see them. I am glad there are tourists wanting to see these beautiful creatures, but this seemed overboard to me and the cheetahs got confused trying to leave through the circle of safari vehicles.

Topi and Eland

leopard looking like a slug on the dry river bed, hyena crossing the road, and elephants in the distance.