A Weekend with Hippos and Crocs

Within 17 hours of getting home from the UK, I was off again – this time with friends from church to Lake Baringo, the most northerly of the Rift Valley lakes, about 290km north of Nairobi. What a contrast the Kenyan scenery was to the stark winter scenes I’d left behind in the UK! And the temperature was somewhat different too!

After a lunch of chicken and chips at Delamere’s near Naivasha, we drove straight to Baringo, only stopping for the mandatory photographs at the Equator. Our home for the weekend was Heron House, a cottage at Roberts Camp, looking out onto the lake. An exploratory walk down to the lakeshore revealed the presence of hippo and crocodiles – we were to see many over the course of the weekend. Strange to be walking along, be aware of something moving in the mud a few metres away, and then see a crocodile launch itself into the water. The owners of Roberts have been feeding the hippos during the drought, and presumably will continue to do so until the grass has grown back sufficiently to support these huge herbivores. We had a prime view from our cottage, seeing the 16 or so hippo come ambling out of the water as the sun started to sink in the sky. Motorboats on the lake startled them one evening, and they all went dashing back into the water – hippos really can run!

On the Saturday, when I finally woke up (lack of sleep from the 47 hours in transit, despite the 2 brief hotel stays, had caught up with me), we went out in a low-lying boat on the hippo and crocodile-infested lake, and spent the afternoon on the island of Ol Kokwa. We were able to use the swimming pool at the lodge there, which was wonderful. Views over the lake were quite amazing, and the variety of birds was wonderful. Jules and I went for a walk around the island and were soon greeted by a young man called Alex. I’m generally very wary of people approaching me as whether it’s ‘helping’ to load a car with your luggage, guarding it, assisting in changing a tyre, or acting as guide, there’s generally a request for money sooner or later – and we had none on us. However, he was not at all put off, explaining that it was important to him and the chief of the island, that visitors felt welcome, and that money wasn’t his motive at all. How refreshing! And he was a very informative guide. The Njemps people live on this barren island. Looking around, it was hard to imagine being able to live there, as it didn’t appear that anything edible would grow. On asking about the diet, we were told,… fish. And more fish! The population has nearly doubled in the last 10 years from 400 to 750 in the census taken just a few months ago.

The variety of birdlife around Baringo is well known – 470 species of bird have apparently been recorded there in total, with over 300 having been sighted in a single day! We didn’t see anywhere near that many, but enjoyed the ones we saw. 6-year old Benjie and 4-year old Zebedee, 2 budding ornithologists, assisted me in the early evenings in identifying the ones I’d taken photographs of in the day.
People generally retired to bed very early in the evenings, leaving me (with a body clock a bit screwed up still) on the verandah. Bugs were aplenty, and you’d occasionally hear the grunting of hippos nearby. We’d actually had to sign a waiver on arrival releasing Roberts Camp from any liability relating to injury by wild animals! And it was advised that if we wanted to go to the nearby lodge for dinner, rather than walk (as you did without thinking during the day), we should take the car. The first night, we had a campfire. It was great sitting out there under the star-studded sky, telling stories.

On our last morning, I’d been vying to stay on until lunchtime. However, the others wanted to get an early start, and it turned out to be just as well that we did.... About 30 minutes into the journey, the vehicle overheated! We then limped another 30km, going slowly, and periodically filling up the radiator with water (some of which we bought from boreholes in villages along the way). When we finally reached a petrol station, it transpired that the radiator had 3 holes in it! Thankfully, there was also a welder in the vicinity who could close up said holes, and we were able to continue on our way. The journey took us 8.5 hours in total. So, that was two journeys in the space of a week that had been twice as long as they should have been – but for very different reasons!

Snowbound

“It’s a shame I won’t get to see the snow”, I said on seeing the weather forecast. I’d been home for just over 2 weeks for Christmas, and whilst we’d seen a smattering of snow (enough for snowball fights with my 4-year old nephew (and his parents) on the first and last days of my time home), it hadn’t been more than an inch at any one time. Lovely to see even so, but not quite the ‘Winter Wonderland’ scenes on Christmas cards – even those sold in Kenya! We wound up leaving very early for the airport, my dad anticipating getting stuck in snow drifts – or something like that anyway! Well, we saw some snow on the way from Nottingham to Birmingham Airport, but really only in the last few miles. Dad actually took a wrong turning at one point - I suspect that it was with the intent of showing us that there really was snow on the minor roads, thus justifying his earlier agitation! It meant arriving at the airport 4 hours before my flight departure time of 8:20pm (having checked in online, 60 minutes would have been sufficient!).

Mum and dad stayed for an hour at the airport oblivious to the weather outside. Apparently when they left, there was a further covering of snow, - and for anyone wondering, they did make it home okay (unlike the dad of someone I met later in the day). So, it was through passport control and security. I have to say that Birmingham Airport staff seemed much friendlier than other airports I’ve been through. Jokes about a group of people in front of me all wearing purple, and generally just chatty. As were passengers, even at this point. I wandered around the shops (more to kill time than to buy anything), bought my duty free and sat where I could see the Departures board. Announcements started to be made about European flights being cancelled. It seemed that the runway was closed – not very encouraging. As each one came up, they were told to resell their Duty Free and proceed to gate 58. For the Emirates EK038 flight to Dubai, there was no notice given. However when the ‘Gate to open in 5 minutes’ notice had been up for 1.5 hours, it started to seem a little dubious that we’d be leaving. And sure enough, around 10pm an announcement was made that all passengers destined for Dubai (we were the only ones left at that stage) should resell their Duty Free and proceed to the dreaded Gate 58. We went through to retrieve our baggage, and then after a while of standing around while Emirates staff sorted out what was happening, we went to the Arrivals hall. Unfortunately, people chose to stand right by the automatic doors, which of course were then open, allowing the freezing air and snow to blow in. I’d left my winter coat, scarf and gloves with my parents thinking I wouldn’t need them for another couple of years, so was absolutely freezing. Not quite as bad as a fellow passenger though who thinking that she was on holiday on her way to Australia, just had flipflops on her feet! I soon got to know Mandy and Anna (Anna was going home to New Zealand having surprised her mum in the UK for Christmas), and really that made a huge difference to the whole experience. It was one of those things that just happens. What’s the point of complaining and moaning (as some were doing)? We actually just had a good laugh (our taxi driver commented that we were the first happy passengers he’d transported that night!), and enjoyed what we could, Mandy and Anna taking the opportunity the following morning to make a snowman, and get photos of Tigger (the mascot from Mandy’s ward at the Derby Children’s Hospital) with it. Emirates staff were great, as were the Arden Hotel staff, where we were gradually taken. My only criticism would be that families with small children should really have been given priority, as some of those kids were really tired, though there was hardly any crying. Amazing really! It was around 11:15pm by the time that we got to the hotel. And a meal of soup, sandwiches and cheese straws was put on for us. What it must have been for them to suddenly have 300 extra people descending on them!

Noone knew quite what would happen the next day. An Emirates representative was available from 7am. After a good breakfast, we were bussed back to the hotel. Initially, it was though that we might be leaving at 2:30pm, but then it was pushed back to 4pm. Our plane hadn’t been able to land because of the snow at Birmingham, so had been diverted to Gatwick – and then got snowed in there! Looking at Sky News, it seemed that Gatwick stayed closed all that day. Yet somehow, our plane got through, and suddenly it was there, Duty Free was rebought, and we were on our way!

Flying with Emirates generally means that most passengers will be transitting to somewhere once they get to Dubai. Sorting out all the new connections must have been a logistical nightmare for someone. Again, hotel reservations had been made (our connecting flights had long since gone!). However, nothing was ever said officially to let us know that this was the case. We were operating on the basis of unofficial information, and I’m glad that we did. It took a while to find the right desk (Dubai is a huge airport), but eventually, we were on a bus on the way to the Capitol Hotel. Only there for about 4 hours but it was better than nothing – certainly better than spending that time in the airport! And that was the last I saw of Anna and Mandy. They left for the airport an hour before me – and of course, had a lot further still to travel. Strange how lives can come together at such a time, and then that’s it, I made it home 24 hours later than scheduled – and 47 hours after having left mum and dad’s! But I did get to see (and walk in) the snow after all!

Carols by Candlelight

Carol services and concerts bring back memories for me of cold churches, and the need therefore of wearing thermal underwear underneath whatever the choir or orchestra dress was, and of consuming vast quantities of Fisherman’s Friends in order to quell the inevitable tickly cough (which always seemed to be at its worst in the quieter moments for some reason?!).
Whilst Fisherman’s Friends do still make an appearance in concerts these days, our Carol Service last week was far from cold. For the last two years, Karen Vineyard Church has held its Carols by Candlelight service in the grounds of the Karen Blixen Museum (as in ‘Out of Africa’). So, whilst Karen Blixen “had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills”, so we had a beautiful carol service there. I arrived early for sound checks, and a last (and only 2nd) practice with my accompanist, as I was playing 3 flute solos as well as being part of the band for the carols. The gazebo that we were playing under was already set up, as was the sound system. We had a little panic with lights, realizing that the two light bulbs suspended from the canvas weren’t going to be sufficient for the band plus singers once the African night descended. Elsewhere, people set to making mulled wine, decorating trees with lights, and getting the candles ready for everyone coming to hold.
Gradually, people began to arrive with their picnics, sitting on blankets or shukas on the ground or on chairs that they’d brought. The sun by now was setting behind the hills. And then, just as it was getting dark, we started. A mix of traditional Christmas carols, readings, two solos sung by Doreen Ziegler, my contribution of pieces by Rutter and Telemann, and a short Christmas message from our pastor, Doug Brown. From my vantage point, I was aware of hundreds of flickering candles in the African night air, and the lights on the tree by the ‘stage’. The calls of nightbirds and cicadas added to the atmosphere (the blood-curdling call of the tree hyraxes didn’t start until afterwards!). There was one particularly beautiful moment when Doreen was singing, ‘O Holy Night’, and a single bright star was shining in the sky. The evening was rounded off with the mulled wine (nothing like it for warming you up on a ‘cold’ winter’s eve!!!!) and mince pies. What a wonderful and beautiful start to the Christmas season!

A Precious Commodity

A fairly common sight on Nairobi roads, competing with the cars, lorries and buses, are hand-pulled carts loaded with a variety of things – coconuts, vegetables,….. or yellow jerrycans for water. The latter are the only source of water for a good percentage of the population, where mains water is a luxury to dream of. Mind you, even when you’re on mains water, there’s no guarantee you’ll actually find anything coming out of the tap! Another common sight are water bowsers, lorries with a container of water on the back, for filling people’s water tanks (again, when there’s nothing coming through the mains). Nairobi has three dams, but the lack of rains over the last two years has meant that water levels have been exceedingly low, resulting in water rationing in large parts of the city. It is estimated that even with them full, they would supply just 81% of the city’s water demand (a supply of 525,000 cubic metres per day versus a demand of 650,000 cubic metres). Not a very good statistic, and with them far from full …….
We were promised El Nino rains, though what we’ve had so far, whilst heavy at times, has not been enough and couldn’t really be described as El Nino. However, one of the dams, Ndakaini, has seen an increase in its water level from 33% in October to 54% in November. There’s still quite a way to go to see it full, and we’re more than halfway through what would normally be the period of these short rains. So, whilst Manila, Ouagadougou and Cockermouth have experienced flooding in recent months, Nairobi seems, at this stage at least, to be set for more water rationing and a continuation of the drought in the months to come. Can’t we spread it out somehow?!

Vandals in the tree?

The rains have sort of started, though it’s hardly the El Nino that they’ve been talking about. We are desperately in need of plenty to fill the dams that serve the 4 million people living in Nairobi. With what we’ve had, the dust has finally settled on the mud road that I walk along to get from home to the office, and the grass is just starting to turn green again. There are reports however of the toll of the drought around the country on wildlife and domestic animals, and of course on people where crops have failed, and water has been so scarce for so long. Some plants, like grass, are amazingly resilient, springing back to life. It seems that the tree outside my flat, which has looked rather bare for a while now, isn’t faring so well. One sign of this has been woodpeckers in it, pecking away at the dead wood, presumably to get to whatever insects are living inside. I’ve heard their rhythmic tapping at various times over the last month, but on Saturday I was rewarded with a good sighting of them. A friend asked me what kind they are. Hmm, - hard to tell. Most of the 13 kinds of woodpeckers in my 'Birds of Kenya' book look pretty similar to these – small, speckled and with a red cap.
Several branches broke off the tree and fell down yesterday into the parking area, narrowly missing my car. Not sure if that would have happened anyway or if those woodpeckers were to blame!

Airports

“There’s a problem with your baggage. The police are holding it.” These were the words that greeted me as I attempted to board the plane at Ouagadougou airport to take me back to East Africa - or at least that was the translation I got from an Ethiopian Airlines steward a few minutes later! For a moment after being drawn aside at the bottom of the steps to the aircraft, I’d wondered whether they were going to upgrade me to Business Class – but no! It was a security issue. So, just 15 minutes before the plane was due to take off, I was whisked off back through security (where my handbag and laptop bag had been dutifully and rigorously manually searched a few minutes earlier), and back through Immigration. We were met by another steward who it seemed had gone the extra mile in putting my suitcase through the X-ray machine. Of course, there wasn’t anything in there (though my music stand sometimes gets people wondering, as does my flute in my hand luggage – not too many wandering minstrels passing through these African airports, it seems!). The main problem seemed to be that I’d locked it – but then, who wouldn’t?!
Airports vary immensely – and I’ve been through quite a few over the last few months. Jomo Kenyatta, Nairobi – London Heathrow – Dallas Fort Worth – John Wayne, Santa Ana – Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – Philadelphia – Charlotte, North Carolina - Bole, Addis Ababa – Bamako – Ouagadougou. Some have an array of shops, eating places, video screens, wi-fi and electrical sockets so you can recharge your laptop allowing you to continue working for the duration of the next flight! At others, you’re lucky to find a seat. Some have signs letting you know exactly what to do; at others, you’re pretty much left to figure it out for yourself (and it’s not necessarily intuitive). Public announcements about flights were pretty much non-existent in Bamako. There was certainly no departures board, and the occasional tanoy announcement was very difficult to decipher. Ouagadougou Airport seemed to be more of a construction site than anything (that’s where seats were a rare luxury).
However, security is vigilant the world over. X-ray machines in most; physical searches in others. I was none too pleased though when I had to drink all the water that I’d filled my bottle with on the BA flight itself from Nairobi to London, as soon as I touched terra firma at Heathrow. There was still another 6 hours until I’d be airborne again. And they took my contact lens solution – Boots’ sales must be boosted from all the transit passengers who’ve suffered in similar ways! In the States, I flew to California with just hand luggage, borrowing small bottles from a friend, which I filled with the liquids and creams necessary for 4 nights away, and then squeezed them into a quart-size Ziploc bag (stretching the plastic as I did!). And bought sunscreen there which I gave away 3 days later – well, that was cheaper than paying for my weekend bag to go in the hold! My other American trick was to fill up the water bottle at one of the drinking fountains. Why oh why don’t such things exist in UK airports?! I wouldn’t want water from any in African airports mind, though at least there you can keep your water with you until you go to the gate itself, which any discerning traveller knows, you don’t do until you have to (no loos there for one thing!)!
Travelling across Africa can be entertaining. Such a variety of people and outfits. Some experienced travellers; for others, flying is clearly something very new. With the liquid restrictions, the days are now gone of seeing bottles of cooking oil brought onto the plane (I saw one once that had a piece of paper stuffed into the top, the cap apparently having gone missing!). However, you do see a lot of hand luggage. There is generally a bit of a stampede to get onto the plane and seize the overhead locker space. And there is certainly much less observance of matching your boarding pass with the seat that you then occupy! I did quite well out of that one this last trip, For some reason, our travel agent had booked aisle seats for me, when I generally prefer window ones. However, because of people not being able to follow seating plans, I wound up with window seats for most of the 6 flights anyway!
Anyway, the baggage held by the police was released, thanks to the Ethiopian Airlines steward, and I did make the flight (the next one to Addis wasn’t for another 3 days), and was back home in Nairobi the following day.

Period of Absence

For those who’re regular followers of my blog, it’s perhaps been noticeable that there has been a definite lack of postings over the last couple of months. An indication perhaps that I’ve been seemingly constantly on the move in that time - literally. Since my last post at the end of July, I’ve been on 10 planes, and have 2 more to go this week. Not a good carbon footprint, I’m afraid, though rather typical it seems of working in an international setting.
Some of the highlights of that time have been:
• Having the opportunity to work for a month in the International Finance department at SIL International headquarters in Dallas, Texas.
• The number of people I knew in Dallas, either because they’re normally, or have been, based in Nairobi, or through workshops in Nairobi, Togo or Cameroon. It made my time there seem like home from home.
• Experiencing a rodeo for the first time (I thought the guys riding the bucking broncos and bulls were completely mad!).
• A day visiting the sights of Fort Worth, Texas. Botanical gardens, the water gardens (when we finally found them), and the Stockyard area (definitely cowboy country!).
• Having the opportunity to meet with friends in California and Pennsylvania, given that I was in the neighbourhood (relatively speaking!).
• A bonus weekend with family in the UK, en route back to Nairobi from the US.
• A picnic lunch with my Nairobi church home group by the dam that provides the home of a couple in the group with water. Great people and an amazing setting.
• Meeting with people in Bamako, Mali and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. • An evening of traditional Burkinabe dancing and music at the French Cultural Centre in Ouagadougou. So energetic – and in this heat!!!