The vicissitudes of life

Vicissitudes-- those sweeping changes in our lives that inspire both trepidation and excitement. The sort of changes both of us backpackers will experience in a couple of months when we encounter new schools, new environments, and new people. But vicissitudes can wait, because we are on safari.



The first stop on our safari was Hell's Gate-- a national park with sheer rust-coloured cliffs, an abundance of wildlife, and the equatorial sun. Oh, and dust. It is currently the dry season in this part of the world, and so any movement down any non-paved road stirs up clouds of fine powder. Which has incidentally been terrible for my asthma. Our Maasai guide at Hell's Gate took us through the gorge, a massive crevice in the sandstone carved out by runoff during the wet season. Boiling-hot sulphur-laden water springs from the walls of the gorge, heated by a lava pool which is close to the surface of the earth.




In the evening, we took a boat trip through Lake Naivasha, passing within 10m of resting hippos in the water. By the time we saw w the 10th species of bird in half as many minutes, I was struck with amazement by the incredible biodiversity of Kenya. I have been more stunned every day by the sheer species richness in Kenya's national parks, a quality fostered by federally and community-funded conservationism.



I got sick in Naivasha. My lungs were congested, I got chills, and I had trouble sleeping. So, the next day, when I saw a Doctors Without Borders truck parked outside a coffeeshop and a physician having coffee outside, I took my chance. The physician's name was Radeke. She was a Czech doctor presumably serving in the Internally Displaced Persons' camp near Hell's Gate. IDP's are domestic refugees- people fleeing strife in their home towns but who do not cross national borders. IDPs typically suffer immensely because they do not receive the same level of funding or attention as trans-national refugees. I introduced myself to Radke and asked her for medical advice. She said that I could start taking ciprofloxacin to clear out my lungs if I had an infection. So I popped a cipro, 10 minutes before the bumpy, 6-hour van ride to Maasai Mara National Park. Big mistake. Anyone who has taken cipro before will agree that it's hard on the stomach-- and no one in the van was lacking in the nausea deparment to begin with.



But we all survived, and we arrived in the Mara region in time to see the sun set behind rolling grass hills dotted with majestic acacia trees. The next seven days, spent in Maasai Mara, Samburu, Lake Nakuru, the Mount Kenya Region, and Amboseli National Park, are best told in a series of tableaux.



The Mating Lions



A huge male lion, with a sleek tawny coat, a gorgeous mane flowing with the wind, and powerful haunches, stands beside a leafy thronbush. His mate, a strong lithe cat, lays beside him. They have left their pride in order to procreate, and will mate three times per hour until they return to the group. No wonder they look tired.



The Matriarch



The light of decades of experience in her eye, she guides the herd with strength and majesty. She is wary of the safari van and steps between it and her herd. She will not feast on the grass with her herd until the van has moved on and all mothers and babies are safe.



The Big Boss



At over one tonne, and with a huge horn built for agression, the white rhino has nothing to fear from a van full of people with cameras. But a hint of underlying insecurity causes him to stand up and shake his horn at us--a clear sign he wants us gone. We clear out, but not before getting some fantastic shots.



The Hunted Hunters



Five safari vans line up along the road, their inhabitants peering out across the plain. Two cheetahs sitting under a tree cautiously peer back at them. The female bears a confused expression, as if to say "Hun, can you go ask those people what they want?"



Stuck in the Swamp



Life kind of sucks when you're a little wildebeest. Especially when you fall in the swamp. You can't swim, you can't walk, you can only pull yourself up laboriously onto the next chunck of floating grass, only to fall into the muddy water again on the other side of it. But, on the bright side, you're almost out, and at least the lions are busy terrorizing another herd on at the other side of the park.



Constant change dominates the lives of animals in East Africa. The land dries up, food runs out, predation threatens survival. So they move-- they embrace change and live. And thus we shall do, but not until August.
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P.S. Sorry there's no pictures-- this is the third internet connection I've tried for uploading pictures, but the page always times out before I can upload anything. You might all have to wait until I get back to see the pictures. Which sucks, because there's some amazing vistas that I want you all to see.