Amboseli

I spent a couple summers as a tour guide when I was in grad school. I’ve also taken friends and family throughout my life on three different continents. One thing is certain: you never want to be with someone who is unappreciative and/or high maintenance. It’s always fun to share things you think are cool with someone who gets a thrill from experiencing the same thing. My mother-in-law traveled with us from the US and is spending a month visiting the country. She's an incredibly curious person. That’s a quality you always want, particularly when showing someone around. Moreover, she’s genuinely enthusiastic and appreciative. Makes travel much easier.

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After a couple of weeks of getting settled and visiting the sights and sounds of Nairobi, we headed out to Amboseli National Park. It’s the park we’ve been to the most and, though we should probably venture out to other places more often, we sort of wanted to go with something we knew (and love) and avoid any potential unpleasant surprises. It’s also fairly close. We can do new when we don’t have a guest.

One thing we enjoy about Amboseli is obviously its proximity to Mt. Kilimanjaro. Other parks have nice views but the tallest mountain in Africa as your backdrop is pretty special. The question would be whether or not it would make itself visible. We know people that spent several days in the park without seeing it due to persistent clouds. As we approached the park by safari vehicle, it was unfortunately obscured. We were hopeful it would present itself at some point.

We checked into our rooms at the lodge and made our way to lunch. The location inside the park means that the dining area provides you with a gorgeous view of animals milling about in their natural habitat. Meals are “modified buffet style". The buffet spread is laid out similar to normal times but you don’t serve yourself. Masks are required when you are up and moving around. Tables are a sufficient distance apart and all the staff are masked all the time. Works for me.

The first afternoon we spent by the swimming pool, something that plays into the reason we stay at this place. It’s nice to have access to a pool as a grown-up but having that option for kids during the heat of the day (when you’re not going to be out on game drives), is wonderful. Following that, in the British tradition, we had tea around 4pm and then we would head out on the late afternoon/early evening game drive.

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Our guide was the same guy from when we were last in Amboseli nine months ago. He’s a nice guy but I’m not sure he knows the park that well. We’ve been there in our own vehicle (self-guided) and I feel like we managed as well, if not better. One big advantage of a guide is their ability to radio the other guides as they often share info about key sightings. But our guy, who I think is normally based in Nairobi, didn’t seem to be well connected with the other guides and was mostly relying on his own instincts. A couple years ago in Masai Mara, a guide was telling us that guides in national parks are sometimes tribal and will share information with their own rather than inform everyone. Not sure if that's the case in this park but it's possible, if not tribal it could be local guides vs. Nairobi-based.

The weather was mostly overcast but no rain was predicted. Thus the lighting wasn’t fantastic for wildlife photography. Every once in a while I would look south in the direction of Kilimanjaro to see if it was visible. To no avail. Nonetheless, it was good to be out on the dusty roads and feeling the cool air. The landscape of Kenyan national parks, at least for me, is a big part of the overall experience. It’s also just great to be out of the city.

One thing nice about Amboseli is the diversity of the landscape. It has lakes which provide a home to lots of wildlife that you wouldn’t see otherwise.

On this day there was an unusually stiff wind that was picking up as we moved into evening. A guy at the hotel said he’d never seen it like it. Probably an exaggeration but it gave credence that it was out of the ordinary. It really didn’t make it pleasant to sit outside (they make a fire in a pit outside every evening) so when the game drive was over, it was basically dinner and back to our rooms to get ready for bed. I’m not sure what it is about game drives but they do make me tired at the end of the day. I tend to stand inside the safari vehicle most of the time and just keeping your feet sometimes can be a workout.

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The next morning, the game drive would start at 6:30. It’s good to get out early since the animals tend to be a bit more active (and the lighting happens to be better). You basically go out for a couple hours and then come back to the lodge for breakfast. Great way to start the day.

Other than a large herd of elephants near the lodge, many with calves, the day began rather slowly. But before too long we did manage to see three lions. They were a bit far away but things were beginning to look up. About a half hour after that the sun came out and the lighting improved. Kili remained obscured but I was hopeful that as some of the clouds were beginning to dissipate, we might end up seeing the big mountain before the end of the day. I’ve seen it numerous times (and climbed it), but I desperately wanted my mother-in-law to see it at some point during the visit.

Generally speaking, the morning game drive was nice but nothing earth shattering. We’ve had so many wonderful experiences there, I suppose my expectations are a bit too high. Just as we were heading back to the lodge, we did come upon a really nice moment where a herd of elephants passed in front of us (likely the same herd that we saw earlier), alongside some hippos, wildebeest and some zebras. There were things to see on all sides of the vehicle and I had a hard time knowing where to place my focus. Very cool. 

 

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Then it was back to the lodge for breakfast. We would enjoy the down time for swimming, reading and enjoying the views of the animals, often very close to the fence surrounding the grounds. The middle of the day alternated back and forth between overcast and sunny. It kept it from being too hot but I was hoping it would clear up by the evening game drive. Unfortunately it was not to be. It was mostly cloudy for the remainder of the day.

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At around 4pm, we headed out on the evening game drive. I was sad to think that this would be the final one, other than what we might see as we drove out of the park the next day. The one bright spot was that Mt. Kilimanjaro finally revealed itself to us. It wasn’t super clear but you could see the outline of the mountain on the horizon and the white snows on the top. It really is beautiful and it’s always bigger than you think it’s going to be.

As sunset neared, we were quite a ways from the lodge and in an area where we’d never been. It was nice to see some new parts of the park but there didn’t seem to be much in the way of animals. It’s the kind of thing that can be stressful. You have a limited amount of time and you want to make the most of it. In my mind I was sort of questioning the guide’s decision making. I generally don't like to get in the guide's business (particularly since he's been there far more than we have), but it just seemed to be an uninteresting place to be at that time of evening. Before we could say anything, he suddenly hit the accelerator and off we went. There were another couple vehicles in front of us that seemed to get the same information. It provided some hope that we might see something special before calling it a day.

We hit a couple of dead ends and had to turn around, confirming my fears that he didn’t know the park that well (nor did the other two drivers). But we pushed on and towards the horizon we began to see a large gathering of safari vehicles. It was great that there might be something interesting awaiting us, but it was tempered by the fact that it was starting to get dark (and my camera zoom lens doesn’t do well in low light). Hopefully we could at least see whatever it was with the naked eye.

It turned out to be lions. There were a couple of females lounging to our left as we joined the throng of vehicles. Soon we would realize that there was a male, with a stunningly dark mane, off to the right sitting in some tall grass. The sun was mostly set by this time and the air was mostly still, unlike the prior evening. We shut off the engine and just sat and watched. I knew we wouldn’t have long given that it was late but it was still wonderful.

The male finally got up and walked away and that signaled that it was time to beginning heading back. Just before reaching the lodge we witnessed a couple of bull elephants engaging in a little battle. It was almost dark so it wasn’t easy to see, much less photograph, but it was cool nonetheless.

 

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The next day we had breakfast, packed up and headed out. Overall, we’ve had far more amazing safari experiences. But it was still a great weekend and, more importantly, I think it was a treasured experience for my mother-in-law.

Back in Nairobi

We’re back in Nairobi and settling back into our routines. The girls have been back in school for a few weeks and I’m full-on back at work. I’m tracking news again with the same vigor that I do normally when I’m not on vacation. It’s partially because I need to track news for my job but it’s also something that I’ve done for decades. I began to take an interest in reading and what was going on around me (outside of the sports world) when I lived in Switzerland in the late 80s and early 90s. As bad and depressing as the news is, I’m more at ease knowing what’s going on than not.

As a child, I remember my father turning on the evening news around 5pm. It would make my eyes roll and often prompt me to change rooms. But I remember sometimes taking in some of the information. Having a screen on, especially at that time, it was hard sometimes to avert my eyes. I remember passively catching bits here and there. There was the waning days of the Vietnam War (including ongoing totals of US war dead) and dramas in the Middle East. I remember hearing about the Cold War and Watergate though I had little understanding of what was going on at the time. I would overhear my parents' occasional comments, some of which would sink in. But it wouldn't be until many years later that life as an expat would play a key role in clearing the fog from my brain.

My children do the same. But they’re more curious than I was at their age and they have an infinitely better frame of reference to start with. We also spend quite of bit of time and energy providing them “teaching moments”. It’s hard to frame some of these complex situations in a way that a child can understand (in spite of the childish behavior of people in power), but over time they will at least know the basics. It’s important, not only that we are preparing them for rapidly approaching adulthood, but even now some of these issues are impacting their lives. Some events are taking place in countries where their friends are from. Some things might impact their dad’s job or their aunt’s job. In addition to living in an important East African hub, through globalization and the inter-connectivity provided by the internet, their proximity to the rest of the world is far closer than mine was in a small corner of Idaho several decades ago.  

the nightly pre-bedtime read - this time, Harry Potter

While at my parents’ house, I was reading a calendar with the theme, “You know you’re a hillbilly if…”, followed by some humorous description, often stereotype, of rural America. One that caught my attention was one that said, “…the only books in your house are propping up a table.” It is funny but I think it reflects a certain uninformed bravado that I find puzzling and potentially dangerous. Admittedly, we didn’t have much literature in our house growing up, but there was no defiance of the literate – equating literacy to elitist and elitist to out-of-touch, and thus being informed would be seen as negative. On the contrary, there was a strong pursuit of information. My parents were tracking news, religiously reading newspapers and my dad was always scanning brochures, maps, etc. I think that curious nature, combined with a strong puritan work ethic, were conveyed to us and it was up to us what we did with it. All five children have master’s degrees or higher and have done alright professionally. I'm happy that education and critical thinking are valued in my family, in spite of them being in a context where there's often a puzzling lack of these qualities.

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In Somalia, to some degree it reflects the old adage, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Election drama has been amped up again as tension between the president and prime minister grows. The historically complex and multilayered context, as in many countries, continues to polarize. Fallout could be serious, particularly in and around Mogadishu if partisan troops are mobilized. So far it’s mostly political power plays on both sides. We watch in the hope that level heads will prevail.

The pandemic continues to wreak havoc though it’s unclear how bad the situation is. People tend to not talk about it much. Hospitals are inundated but less than you would think given the lack of vaccinations and minimal Covid mitigation protocols. I had intended on being in Mogadishu before the end of September but it will not happen. My schedule has filled with meetings in Nairobi and upcoming travel will push my time in Somalia to October, assuming the security and Covid situation permits.

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In the meantime, we host my mother-in-law and for four weeks. Tourism weaves its way in and out of my work schedule. It’s busy, but it works.