Nairobi – Samburu National Park, Kenya
This morning we woke up at 5:30 and gathered up the rest of our things. We then made another visit to the ATM. Unfortunately, the ATM did not work for us this morning and we returned to the hotel not having the money required for our safari…
We ate breakfast downstairs back at our hotel and finished just before 7:00 (pickup time). We waited in the lobby for our tour guide to pick up. At 7:15 a man came in with a list of names, we were not on it. We kept waiting. At 7:30 he came back and we asked what tour he was leading. He told us he would be leading the Nomad tour (the one we were supposed to be on!). Eventually, we worked it all out and jumped in his vehicle.
B and I and a group of 4 Austrians (2 couples) made our way to Kenya Comfort Inn. We were slightly shocked because this was where we originally had a reservation. Our travel agent (Danielle) had us change to a different hotel because she thought the departure point had changed….ohh well.
We met the rest of our group (an older Argentinean man and an Australian Couple currently living in England) and then settled the financial situation. Our money situation worked out because only had to pay half before leaving! The rest will be paid before leaving Nairobi the second time.
Once all was settled we got into two vans and started the7 hour ride to Samburu National Park (crossing the equator on our way). The park is located in the very north of Kenya (near the Somalia boarder). On the way we made a stop at a very cool shop with lots of African souvenirs. In the end I chose not to buy anything because I felt it was all overpriced. Still, B purchased an elephant carving and a necklace (about $50!).
Later, we stopped at a supermarket to get water for the next 3 days. On my way out of the market I was approached many street vendors. One of them was extremely interested in my t-shirt. He offered to trade me 5 carvings and a mask for my shirt! Unable to refuse, I made the deal. Once back in the vehicle I kind of regretted my decision. It was probably my favorite shirt I have on this trip (the Volcom one I have been wearing in many photos).
We finally arrived at Samburu at about 15:00. On our way to our campsite we saw several animals: antelope, impala, African buffalo, and elephants! Similarly, the area around the campsite was home to tons of olive baboons and some monkeys.
After dropping off our stuff in the tent we wandered around the camp, which is located right next to the river. On the other bank we saw a large crocodile and on our side we managed to find two monitor lizards.
Upon returning to our camp area I became kind of upset because our camp caretakers like to shoot the baboons with a slingshot. They claim that it is too keep them at a distance but they seem to have too much fun doing it…
At 14:30 we set out on our first game drive. First, we saw another large crocodile and got very close to several reticulated giraffe (endemic to this area). Then, we came across a herd of impala. We also saw some grevy’s zebra, gerenuk, Thompson’s gazelle, orax, and numerous species of birds. Lastly, we stumbled upon a mother elephant and her baby!
Still, my overall feelings about the first game drive were not all good. I got frustrated that we had to move on from each animal very quickly. It seemed as though we only had time to get a good picture and then try to find something else. I really wanted to appreciate, understand, and learn about the animals.
We returned to camp just after 18:30. As I expected, there were lots of mosquitoes! Interestingly, most other people seemed to think this was unusual and complained about it for a long time. Perhaps they are not used to the outdoors.
At 20:30 B and I retired to our tent. It was incredibly hot! Still, we were forced to keep the door shut and the rain-fly on (our guides expect it to rain tonight). It took quite a while to fall asleep in the heat. Just as I drifted off to sleep I heard the rain start to fall…
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