The R&R Big Adventure

The final chapter begins

Sure enough, it did all kick off again, just as we were getting ready for dinner. In fact, on the river bank opposite our tent, it all went a bit ‘Planet of The Apes’ as three alpha males and their smaller sidekick chased a whole troop of baboons (20-30 of them) out of the plain and across the shallow river to the bank just down from our tent, causing an almighty racket in the process. Fighting over territory: thank goodness humans are far more evolved. 

No chance of seeing stars that night, as a terrific thunderstorm hit overhead during dinner, but which luckily eased as we made our way back to our tent. This time, R was expecting the hot water bottle in the bed. Overnight we could hear more baboons, but not as loudly,  and the lion across the river still making sure everyone knew whose territory it was.

As we left camp early the next morning, we reflected on how verdant all the reserves and parks we had been to were. Africa usually only makes the news in the UK when there is political upheaval, a massacre, or severe drought, so we are not used to seeing such green and pleasant land. Our vehicle passed the hyena we saw the day before – this time lying in a muddy ditch, panting heavily, and not moving when we drove slowly past. This is not a zoo, there is no vet on hand to sort him out – sadly his days were numbered. We passed a good selection of animals for our final drive out of the Maasai Mara: topis chasing each other past the jeep; another family of giraffes gracefully walking across the plains; and yet more gazelle and zebras.

The drive from there to our next stop, Lake Naivasha, was not an easy one. In some places the road was so pot-holed it looked like it had been bombed. I have probably said this before, but if there is one thing this trip has taught me it is how lucky we are in the UK: we may have a few politicians or councillors on the take, but not the scale of corruption and backhanders that is present in other countries; our infrastructure may be in need of repair – but at least it exists.

Villages we passed were a step up from some I had seen previously – in these ones shops were made of hastily cemented breeze blocks, with a handwritten sign scrawled over the doorway so you knew whether it was a shop, or hotel (albeit with no windows). It was cattle market day for the Maasai: we passed many of them, walking miles down the main road in their distinctive checked cloths, bringing their cattle to be sold. The roads were clogged with lorries, many of them driving long distances from the port in Mombasa across to Uganda or other neighbouring countries. There were no ring roads or dual carriageways here: everyone took the same single lane, and gingerly (or not, depending on the driver) overtook the slow moving lorries when possible.

We eventually arrived at our hotel next to Lake Naivasha, about two hours outside Nairobi. It was clearly a popular spot for locals as there were many hotels and resorts lining the lake shores. We were taken to a resort further along the lake where we were picked up by a small boat for a gentle cruise along the shores of the lake, spotting hippos and birds, before we docked at a walking safari spot. I thought we had seen our last animals, but this sanctuary allows guests to walk amongst the animals (herbivores, of course) and get relatively close to them (we saw a two day old zebra running round its mother). It was fascinating to see the animals up close: the alpha male gazelle and his harem, the family of zebra, the vanquished wildebeest from the battle for dominance, and the orphaned giraffe. It was then time to pootle back to shore on the boat, looking at the wealthy Nairobians’ weekend lakeside houses as we did so. 

Yesterday morning we managed to get a lie in as we only had a two hour drive back to Nairobi, and to get dropped off for the end of our safari trip. We had had an amazing time, seeing both lots of animals – and the Kenyan and Tanzanian landscape in the process. Our driver was telling us the big news in Kenya at the moment was regarding the number of Kenyans that would be losing their jobs as a result of the USAID budget suspension – many working in critical health programmes in the country. There was some dramatic scenery as we ascended the escarpment on which Nairobi is situated, with views far out across the plains below. Traffic again was slow, with some drivers deciding to overtake two lorries at a time on hairpin bends up the steep roads.

After lunch we headed into downtown Nairobi. No sooner had our Uber driver set off then he got pranged in the back. Given the poor driving we had seen on our travels in Africa, it was only a matter of time. We started at the Catholic Cathedral (where else) where we were surprised to find we needed to go through metal detectors to get in. We were used to this to enter hotels in the Middle East, but this was a first to enter a church. A mass had recently finished, but there were still many people in the pews praying. I hadn’t seen this even in South America. The queue for confession was huge. I had briefly seen a billboard on the way into town, paid for by an evangelical priest, with rules for his followers telling them what not to do. Some of them were quite obvious (‘don’t have sex with your preacher’) whilst others were a little obscure (‘don’t use padlocks or handkerchiefs’). The dilapidated minibuses that we had seen throughout Kenya and Tanzania that pass off as a public transport network often had religious slogans printed in big letters on them: ‘Jesus WILL Save You’ was common (probably worth knowing, given the very poor state of the vehicles).

Every state building or park we went into we had to show ID – names, numbers and dates were diligently written into large exercise books – I don’t suppose GDPR is a thing here. The view from the 29^th floor at the top of the KICC (convention centre) was great, but it also showed how few buildings from the last thirty years had been built in Nairobi. Modern tower blocks were very few and far between, with most residential blocks dating back to the sixties by the look of them.

We quickly realized that, apart from a group of Scandinavian students who had been on the observation deck with us, we were the only white faces walking around town. I had thought Nairobi – as a capital – might be more cosmopolitan. Now we knew what it felt like to be that only black couple on holiday in the Westcountry.

We wandered a bit more – this was a crowded, chaotic city, up there with Cairo – before taking respite in the calm of a hotel bar (more metal detectors) to have a drink. We continued on, through Uhuru Park (I would have liked to think it was named after her, but it is actually Swahili for ‘freedom’) – and more ID checks – before we thought we would visit the Anglican cathedral as we were walking past it. Unfortunately the security guards wouldn’t let us in, despite freely waving locals through. Ok, we hadn’t shaved that day, and we were wearing old shirts – but we didn’t look like members of Al-Shabaab: was this discrimination in action…? R was feeling peeved off by the whole thing, and the need to constantly show ID (another thing we should be grateful for that we don’t have to do in the UK) so we headed back to the hotel to rest and have dinner. It was nice to have a very tasty hamburger, the first in goodness knows how long.

Another silly o’clock start this morning (we will need a holiday to get over these) and off to the airport for our flight to Zanzibar. More bureaucracy (of course) but our flight left on time, and we didn’t need to queue (or pay) for another Tanzanian visa, despite being told to the contrary.  We had a great view of a cloudless Kilimanjaro as we flew past it.

We managed to get into our Airbnb early in Stone Town, so we could sort ourselves and start exploring the old town. After being used to relatively cool and often wet days on safari, the high heat and humidity here got to us, and we retreated from the ‘hassle’ and bustle to the air conditioning. We found a great restaurant by the coast for lunch and stayed a while to enjoy the view. Now back at the apartment we are catching up on some laundry – of course: the last time before we head back to London – in less than two weeks.