Amboseli

 We’re sort of making this up as we go. As I mentioned before, we obviously gave up on the idea of making it to the US for our July-August vacation. Sad not to be with family as we normally are during these weeks, seeing photos of things the family are doing without us, but we understand it wouldn’t be the same even if we were there. The pandemic has fundamentally changed everything. So we remain in Kenya for the time being and making the best of it.

There are worse places to be. In fact we’ve said that on numerous occasions that this is an amazing country with so much to see and do. By not traveling outside, we can take advantage of seeing more of what is inside.

One challenge, of course, has been managing the lockdown restrictions. In addition to the inability to travel internationally, for weeks travel in and out of the city has been prohibited. We hadn’t had too much difficulty balancing work/school and Nairobi life in lockdown but as school ended, we gradually began to sense that we were all increasingly feeling stir crazy. When Nairobi opened in July, we jumped at the chance to escape for a few days on safari, not knowing how long the opening would last. There would be an assessment of the situation in early August and there was a strong chance that the lockdown on the city would be re-established.

We had some friends that were headed to Amboseli National Park. We’d been there before last year and it was amazing. Nestled at the base of the highest free-standing mountain in the world, the park is primarily in Masai country. When we were there last March, the views of Mt. Kilimanjaro were stunning. This time of year, we anticipated that we might not be so fortunate. But we were hopeful that the clouds would allow us a glimpse from time to time.

Another difference this time is that we were going to drive. Not only were we looking to minimize the Covid-19 exposure of air travel, we have been wanting to see more of the country anyway. The other bonus of driving is that you have much more flexibility what you bring (the last time we flew the limitation was about 10 kilos per bag). And you get to use your own vehicle on the game drives, which is not only cheaper but you have more flexibility as to when you come and go. I also felt like I knew the park well enough to find my way without a guide, with or without the monstrous mountain as a helpful landmark.

We arrived at the park after about a four-hour drive. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. The roads were pretty good and traffic seems to be lighter during the pandemic. Our room as near the one we had last year, with a mountain view, only there was no view. We had our memory from last time which assured us that it was out there someplace.

The hotel was far quieter this time. The only tourists were those from Nairobi given that there was no international travel into Kenya. These places have been struggling financially to stay afloat, particularly when Nairobi was locked down. Though there aren’t enough tourists in Kenya to maintain the tourist industry throughout the country but we’re hopeful that, now that residents in Nairobi can travel, it will keep most of these places in business – supporting the thousands of jobs that depend on it.

Amboseli is mostly about the elephants. Though there’s a diverse animal population, the numerous large herds of elephants sort of steal the show. For us it was just wonderful to be out of the city and to reconnect with nature. Driving around, seeing the animals, feeling the cool, dry air, it was just what we needed.

 

 

One of the disadvantages of being self-guided is that you miss out on the radio chatter between the guides. They inform each other when there are key sightings. They are also aware of the tendencies of animals over time so they can anticipate, for example, when lions might be given where they have been hanging out. We don’t have that knowledge so we sort of had to wing it. We were fortunate enough to find lions on our own. Even though we didn’t use it as much on this trip, another tactic is to move towards groupings of safari vehicles. It often means that there’s something worthwhile going on.

 The lodge seemed to do a pretty good job of respecting the Covid-19 protocols. Staff wore masks. Tables in the restaurant were a safe distance from each other. Hand sanitizer was everywhere and overall it felt like a safe activity. It was win-win as we had a great experience, far safer than being in Nairobi, and we knew that we were helping the economy in our own, small way.

 After three nights, we made our way back to Nairobi. We were anxiously awaiting the government announcement as to whether the lifting of movement restrictions in Kenya would be maintained or whether we would return to lockdown. Cases had risen significantly since the recent opening so we weren’t overly optimistic. I had several vacation days to use up before the end of the fiscal year and it was also the girls’ school holiday. We feared that we might be spending this time cooped up our apartment. The announcement would come within a couple days of returning to Nairobi.