In the Shadows of the Kilimanjaro

For hundreds of years, the Maasai have roamed the Amboseli, grazing their cattle side by side with the zebras, elephants and the strange Wildebeest. They still do. The herds have regenerated from the devastating effects of the drought two years ago. As you drive to the Amboseli – “the place of salty dust”, the proud majestic Maasai morans (young male warriors) clad in red shuka (piece of clothe), silently watch the passers-by, while grazing their huge herds of cattle some up to 500 animals per herd. They invoke deep primal feelings - “ We will always be here!” seems to be their unspoken message to visitors.

My bosses and I were somewhere in the jungle handing over desks and classrooms to the Maasai community at a place called Iltilal. There was no way I was I was riding in the same car with my boss. So I jumped into the commoners’ wagon for the journey to Amboseli.

Amboseli National Park is perhaps one of the smallest parks in Kenya. There are two approaches to the park, the popular Nairobi-Namanga-Amboseli or the longer, rougher Nairobi – Emali -Loitoktok - Amboseli route. The park is located approximately 200 kms South East of Nairobi, by the Tanzanian border – in the shadow of the Kilimanjaro. And what were the colonialists thinking? Hacked out the whole mountain and gave it to our Tanzanians brothers! Sad thing.

Mt Kilimanjaro has two peaks – Mawenzi & Kibo. I keep thinking how very like ostriches. The black and white male ostrich is the beauty of the family and the female, well, just plain brown and boring. Mawenzi (that sounds like a girls name) is a dark and forbidding peak while Kibo (definitely a man's name) takes the crown with its beautiful white cap. It must be raining up on Kibo because there are beautiful streaks of white snow streaming down its icy cap – simply awesome!

Today we approach the Amboseli via the Loitoktok route. As sure as the sun rises, our sense of adventure would not have us by-pass the town Loitoktok. We took the detour into Loitoktok at about 4 pm. Now, Loitoktok (place of bubbling springs) is a chilly dusty town at the foot of the Mt. Kilimanjaro. We run into an old buddy – Kawai. He offers to water our throats, and who are we to refuse. After a dusty three hours on the road, I am thinking cold Guinness. Big mistake, their “cold” means “freezing” and I am soon nursing a toothache. We soon bail out but not before taking a picture with our good friend Kawai – hope my boss doesn't see this one. The park gates close at 6 pm and we are not taking any risks.

We drive into the Amboseli at about 6 pm. We run into herds upon herds of elephants. I have seen elephants before but I never saw families this big. One family perhaps 20 strong, has about 10 adult females some teenagers and many kids. There are all black from playing in the swampy waters of the Amboseli. The swamps of Amboseli have an endless water supply from Kilimanjaro's ice caps. This water forms two clear springs in the middle of the park that provide a permanent water supply, even during prolonged periods of drought.

There are two great lodges in the Amboseli - Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge and The Ol Tukai Lodge. Tonight we are staying at the Serena, got an invite for a bush barbecue dinner and there is no way the carnivore in me is missing that! Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge architecture mirrors the traditional Maasai dwelling – the manyattas. The lodge looks like one huge manyattas homestead, painted in dark red okra. They have a grand new wing of luxury rooms, a real oasis in the desert. The gardens are green and leafy, and there is a decent forest around it. There is a story told about the legend of S.O.K., an environmentalist second only to Wangari Mathaai who planted a whole forest around the lodge.

Our host is a homely gentleman – Stanley. A grand affair this one, rare mature wines, great steaks and a beautiful Maasai dance. There is a group of tourist, from their features, I must presume they are from somewhere around the Sea of Japan or South East Asia. One of them is clad in a Maasai shuka and tries the vertical-straight-up-in-the-air-moran-jump. He manages only five jumps against a record 22 jumps from the real moran. And I thought these guys practice Kung fu, karate, and other such dangerous martial arts? The pesky mosquitoes and the drink are getting the better of us and we soon retire to a peaceful night in our state-of-the-art manyattas.

Morning of day two is a beautiful sunny. We get one of those complimentary game drives that only VIPS enjoy. Amboseli is comparatively a tiny park, just a few thousand acres. The salty plains & hilly woodlands are drying up and the animals are migrating and are now concentrated in a small area around the lush swampy lowlands. There are thousands upon thousands of wildebeest, zebra, antelopes and elephants. The lions must be such happy kings at this time of the year, the lion doesn’t look for food, the food looks for the lion.

Some stations in life have special privileges (I see you turning green with envy), lunch is free today. We have been invited for early lunch and drinks at the beautiful Ol Tukai Lodge. Something I like about these lodges, they all are unique in their own rights. Take for instance Ol Tukai. The place has a very Naivasha feel. I guess it’s the acacias. Their gardens are the lushest green dotted with beautiful palms. The main bar opens up onto the Amboseli plains – great view , great view indeed.

After a sumptuous lunch, we are all sleepy but we need to get to Nairobi by nightfall.  This time our journey takes us out of the Amboseli via Namanga. We make a point of passing through the famous Lake Amboseli. And some lake it is. Lake Amboseli is a vast sea of sand stretching for tens of kilometers. The dry sands form heat wave mirages that at a distant definitely look like a lake. Endless herds of animals seem to waver in the distance – ungainly giraffes, zebras and wildebeests crossing the lake to reach the swampy grasslands.

Namanga is 78 kilometers from Amboseli. We are back to Safaricom network coverage area and I get a curious message “Welcome back to Kenya, you can now send pictures from your trip using our MMS service”. He he he! Didn’t know Amboseli was not in Kenya! Namanga is a border town, nestled at the foot of a dripping hill. There are beautiful streams of water oozing out of the rocks atop the hill. Mid-afternoon in Namanga is a thirsty affair. We have two Tanzanian friends on our entourage who insist we must set foot in TZ. We did. Made a stop over at a roadside makuti restaurant – Club 2000. I am one to explore, so I asked for the best imitation they have for our very own Tusker. They brought their Kilimanjaro, if you ask me, it’s more like a Pilsner - has harsh undertones, yuk! I soon revert to a bona fide Tusker. My country, my beer!

There is nothing to report after Namanga, slept most of the way, except when the driver decided to take a shortcut through the potholes. Took an occasional picture, Isinya, Kajiado, Kitengela. The traffic jam on Mombasa road welcomes us back home. Home sweet home! Home is where the heart is, yes?