Lake Maynara

Dec. 27 - Day 12

Time is zipping by. Every day has so much happening, so many new and exciting sights, that each memory crowds out the last. I tell people that’s why I keep travel journals, otherwise when I get home, I can only remember about 10% of the trip!

First thing out, we head into Arusha for a dentist. This is the capital of Tanzania and it is a dump; crowded, filthy, run down. We’re a little nervous about going to a doctor as the level of cleanliness is not what we are accustomed to, but since we just need some assurance and possibly some dental cement, we’re willing to try.

Fortunately, that’s just what the dentist suggests. He put some stuff on Kathryn’s tooth to prevent pain and told her she would need a crown once she got home. Made a pit stop for batteries and pain killers, a mixture of Tylenol and Ibuprofen, the pharmacist said. Everything here was behind the counter; you had to ask the clerk for everything.

After this, we head off for Lake Maynara. This place is gorgeous! I keep expecting to see Tarzan swinging by.

There were reportedly 390 species of birds here, but we really didn’t see all that many, probably lost in the thick foliage. We have become quite fascinated with African birds. With their multi-colored feathers, they remind us of tropical fish!

What sticks out most in my mind now, a day later, was a large herd of elephants drinking from a river. They’d suck water up their trunks, then hurl it over their shoulders to bath themselves, or stick their trunks in their mouths for a drink.

 

Again, we are ridiculously close to them. They are such huge, majestic creatures that it is a never-ending pleasure to watch them. And they’re always doing something!










Also saw two young bulls wrestling, trunks entwined, tusks clashing!

 












Also encountered a HUGE troop of baboons cavorting along a steep hillside. One dangled from a swing-like vine, gently swaying above the tumult, watching the antics of those below. The young ones scampered along screeching, while the adults scolded. Much like watching people at a park! Mothers ambled along with tiny babies clinging precariously to their bellies.

There was also a hippo pool! We came across a large herd of hippos, all sleeping together in a big circle, facing out, maybe 15 or 20 of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then one by one, these huge pinkish behemoths lumbered slowly to their feet, yawned with their cavernous mouths, and plopped headfirst into the water.

This was the first place we saw lots of primates, undoubtedly because it’s so heavily forested.  We got good views of the blue monkey, so black it’s almost blue...

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the little black-faced monkey, its fur a khaki color with a black face, duh!










 

We saw one of those Dik-Dik’s, the tiny antelope about the size of a Chihuahua.

One of the most fascinating things was the “upside-down tree”, a mammoth tree that lives 1000s of years, and resembles Yggdrasil, the Norse tree of life. Its bulk is not like wood, almost sponge-like, and its bark will actually repair itself. Very cool looking.






 

On the way back, I stopped at the toilet by the main entrance. As I came around the corner, a baboon was perched on a fence post about 20 feet in front of me. A much smaller one was in the sink attempting to get a drink of water. I stopped, and the large one walked along the chain connecting the posts toward me. When he got right where I was, he stopped and sat down. Here we stared at each other, close enough to touch. Finally, he jumped down, nearly brushing my thigh as he wandered into the foliage.

This place looks like what we Tarzan fans imagine Africa to look like.

I don’t remember what else we saw, but I know I left very excited and satisfied. This was probably due to all the monkeys! I love monkeys!

We showed up at our hotel, which is an actual working coffee plantation, and is beautifully landscaped. Every hotel greets you with a glass of fresh juice, and cool, wet towels to bathe the dust of travel from your face and hands. A porter meets you at your vehicle and loads your baggage into a wheel barrow. Then the hostess takes you inside, sits you in a lovely lobby, and gives you a briefing of the hotel amenities, meal times, etc. Sometimes this includes “bitings”, their quaint term for snacks.

Our room is gargantuan, more like a house, and we sit sipping beer on the veranda and enjoying the view. I take a quick dip in the salt-water pool – this has been the hottest day of the trip so far -  before repairing back to our room to freshen up for dinner.

 

We decided to try the wine Justus had given us, so with the Raiders of the Lost Ark soundtrack blaring from my phone, we sipped wine and got dressed in our most “Hollywood” safari outfits. Then we cruised up to the main house for a lovely buffet dinner.

While getting dressed, we heard monkeys scampering across the roof, but by the time we got outside, I only caught a swaying tree and a dark form bounding along a branch.

Tailor made dresses for $10

Dec. 26 - Day 11

 

Today was sort of a lazy day. Slept well, got up around 7 and wandered the grounds. Again, this place is beautiful. Mango’s dangle from the trees, while others soar to towering heights.

 

 

 

Oranges and bananas are also plentiful. I found my way to the river and just delighted in the chirping birds and abundant flora.

Sipping coffee on a deck overlooking the river, I could see the tree tops swaying as monkeys swung through the branches.

 

Breakfast was a fabulous buffet with everything one could want, plus fresh mango, banana, pineapple and watermelon.

 

We did some laundry in the tub and hung it out to dry, then decided to hike into town to the local market.

This was NOT a tourist market, but the actual shopping center of this area. The place reeked from the two butcher shops and several hunks of raw meat swung from hooks inside. Garbage lay strewn across the dusty street and people flung buckets of who know what from their shop stalls into the road.

 

 

 

Kathryn was looking for a skirt in the colorful materials all the girls here wear. We found a tailor shop with two types of material – K’tanga and Kanga. The difference being the weight and softness of the material.

 

The tailor wanted 15,000 shillings for the bolt Kathryn wanted; he could make her the outfit she wanted on sight, but he needed a couple days and we were leaving in the morning.

 

We cruised around and found some Kangas that Kathryn two of her friends. Then we kept asking various tailors and finally found one who said they could make the outfit for 15,000.

 

We went back to the first guy and haggled for the material that Kathryn wanted, finally paying 10,000. It was K’tanga and much softer than the 5,000 shilling piece we bought earlier.

 

We take the material back to the tailor and he takes the measurements and promises to have it ready at 8am tomorrow.

 

We also bought Kathryn a pair of earrings and a bracelet that loops up her arm in about 20 loops. They may be hematite. The cool thing is – this is not tourist stuff, these people don’t get tourist. In fact, we were quite the celebrities being white Americans and all. Anyway, this is the real stuff that the people wear, not what they pawn off on visitors.

 

The set is black and the lady tells us it will look great against Kathryn’s white skin. She says since she is black she likes to wear bright colors. The price for both is 5000 ($3.50) I try to dicker, but she says – “this is not Wuzungu price (white people) same price for all people. God likes it that way.”

 

We look around the market at the veggies, fruits, live chickens, etc. but it is really hot today – like Africa hot! – and the smell is getting to me so we take off.

 

We return to the hotel for lunch, and then had a nap. Kathryn’s tooth starts giving her little twinges of pain. Not only is it after 5pm, but today is Boxing Day, a holiday, so everything is closed.

 

We want to see a dentist, so Joe, the manager on duty – a Maasai – walks us to the local mission clinic. I had seen it earlier on our way to the market.

 

Their dentist is not on duty today but a doctor looks at it and advises Kathryn to take Tylenol against pain and see a dentist when she can. She does not seem concerned with us waiting a week.

 

Joe is very cool and we have a long talk with him while sipping beers in the dining hall. He named his daughter Oprah cause at 6 months old she was only happy when the TV was on.

 

I saw a blue monkey (name not color) high in a tree on the walk back. He was kinda big like the baboons we had been seeing.

Kathryn had some Tylenol and a gin and tonic and her pain has gone away. I am a tad concerned that something worse will happen when we are not so close to aid – like the tooth is broke deeper inside and the nerve will become exposed, etc. We may head to a dentist in the morning if it is at all feasible.

 

She is being very brave and I am proud and impressed with her fortitude. On the other hand I don’t want her to be “bravely stupid” and end up making things worse.

All I want for Christmas is my TOOTH!

Dec. 25 - Day 9 - Christmas!

 

 

Awoken at 5am by monkeys cavorting around my porch, screeching, and bouncing all over the walls. When I finally got up at 6 and looked out the window, a herd of buffalo grazed not 50 yards away.

 

We had a nice breakfast and were on the road at 7:15. Same problem with this game drive, everything was far off the road and you weren’t allowed to four-wheel it. I would skip this particular park next time. We did get to see Wildebeast, which we had not seen before,










and a male ostrich who was quite pink. Justus said that was because he was ready to mate and he would grow even pinker as he got “hornier.”

You could see vast herds of elephants on every side. They were all at quite a distance but I counted four herds in one glance.

 


We did have a herd cross the road in front of us, led by a gigantic female. Justus told us that the matriarch is always the biggest female and the she directs the herd using subsonic sound waves that are inaudible to the human ear. (I looked this up since coming home and it is true.)

 

 

We also spotted the “giraffe antelope”, so named for its long neck and giraffe like appearance, though it is only as tall as an antelope. Saw one male with big horns that swept back over his forehead before arcing upwards.

 

Next we drove to the Tanzanian border where we had to stand in one line to declare exit from Kenya, then cross a fence and stand in another line to enter Tanzania. The visa cost $100 each, twice as much for U.S. citizens as anyone else.

 

We said goodbye to Justus who presented us with a bottle of Kenyan wine for Christmas. And we said hello to Samson, our Kibo guide for the duration of our trip.

 

After an uneventful drive to Arusha – uneventful except for a dead donkey who’d been struck by and a lorrie that had slid off the road and was being hauled out – we arrived at River Tree Lodge, a quaint old farmhouse estate on 10 lovely landscaped acres bordering a river along whose tumbling banks I now write.
 

 

This area looks like a Tarzan movie. There are massive, majestic trees in delightful shapes with twisting branches and hanging vines; bananas dangle in huge bunches and palm fronds wave in the breeze.

 

We get to our room to discover Enchanting Africa has arranged for us both to have one hour massages! Sweet! Then we go back up to the dining room for lunch.

 

 

 

We are thoroughly enjoying our stuffed chicken when Kathryn takes a bite of cauliflour – and breaks a tooth!!! Seriously! It breaks off from the cusp, vertically along the front side down to the gumline.









This was quite frightening and we didn’t know what to do. Consulting with the general manager, a German from Munich married to an American living in Tanzania, he said he wouldn’t go to a dentist in Tanzania unless it was an actual emergency – and even then he’d go to Nairobi!

 

He loaned us his laptop and we researched some things, and since Kathryn is not in any pain we’ve decided to simply hold out till we get home. We had some Jack Daniels to ease the stress and tried two Tanzanian beers – Safari and Kilimanjaro.

 

Dinner was a splendid Christmas buffet with turkey and beef and countless sundries. It was $30 each, and seeing it was heavily laden with all kinds of healthy stuff I wouldn’t eat, I opted to go for fish and chips, which were delicious.

 

 

 

When we got back to the room, a Christmas stocking hung on our door filled with cashews and candy, a Christmas ornament and a toy giraffe. Fun!

Doesn't everyone carry night vision goggles??

Dec. 24, Day 8 - Continued

 

 

We departed Entim among much heartache, having grown to love the place, the staff, and everything else. Earlier Dominic had told us he would transfer us to the rope bridge that we entered on because the river was too high to cross. When we got in the truck, though, he informed us that the crossing was open and he would be driving us directly to the airport.

 

This crossing was unreal. Again, we were struck by the similarity to a Disney ride! First, the jeep takes a nosedive over a steep cliff, the water raging below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we bounce down this incline into the water, the vehicle becomes stuck. We both expect an animatronic crocodile head to rear from the water! But, no, Dominic reverses, tries again, slips, slides, sticks, reverses – we struggle in water up to the doors for about 5 full minutes before clearing the river then four-wheeling up the virtually perpendicular cliff leading to the smooth veldt.

 

 

 

The airstrip is only a minute away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The plane is much bigger this time, with overhead baggage compartments and everything. We do one 6 minute hop to another airport, and then the long haul to Nairobi.

 

When we disembark, they escort us outside the airport and instruct us to wait for our baggage. The baggage that had absolutely no airline markings or anything on it! Sure enough, though, within a few moments, a guy comes by pushing a wheeled cart with our luggage on it.

 

Justus, our driver from Somali meets us and whisks us off to a delectable lunch at a Brazilian BBQ where we have copious amounts of pork, beef, lamb, chicken, turkey and crocodile! The croc had the consistency of chicken but tasted like fish. You could live on it, but I don’t think I’d ever order it in a restaurant.

 

Then came an interminable drive, bad traffic, boring scenery, to arrive at Amboseli. And then, down a horrible washboard road for some 20 kilometers.

 

This place has a huge concentration of elephants, but not so many roads, so if you spot something in the distance you just look at it through field glasses. We got spoiled at Maasai Mara and getting with 10 feet of the animals.

 

We didn’t get in the park till 6pm and we had to be at the hotel at 630, so there was very little time for game viewing. There are lots of baboons lolling about, though.

 

The place was nice and resembled a Disney set yet again, but it couldn’t compare with our little camp at Entim.

 

We had gin and tonics at the campfire, then wandered out to the perimeter, protected by an electrified fence. I had brought along a night vision monocular, (doesn't everyone?) and we started scanning the darkness. Guess what we spotted not 30 yards away? Hippos! At least a dozen, bedding down for the night. Not much further on, we saw a few elephants.

 

There was something very cool about spotting these massive creatures only 75 yards or so from where a hundred guests cavorted, totally oblivious to what prowled the darkness.

 

Christmas eve dinner was a splendid spread of sail fish, chicken stuffed beer, and Christmas pudding with rum sauce. Afterwards Maasai dancers, acrobats, and other entertainment was performed outside on the veranda. We wore silly party hats, acted like total dorks, and had a lovely Christmas Eve.












 

Baby critters are all cute

Dec. 24, 2011 - Day 8

 

We learned this morning that the hyenas had raided the camp and attempted unsuccessfully to pillage the kitchen.

 

It was still twilight as we happened upon a pair of jackals trotting down the road. They were about to run off when a much more important threat than our land rover materialized. Two other jackals!

A brief tussle for territory ensued with much pawing the ground in the manner of an enraged bull and a hissing sort of growl. One of the interlopers ran off directly leaving his fellow to face the other two alone, but he was a game antagonist, though I think his antics were more to save face at this point than in any hope of victory.

 

Next, we visit the spot where the lioness with the 7 cubs had been yesterday. They are still there, the skull of the impala being slowly stripped of meat by the cubs.

 

A large male loiters nearby. Dominic says the pups belong to two of the females, and the male is hoping to hook up with the third. The females are wary as male lions are known to kill young that are not their own offspring.

 

A fight breaks out as the two mothers try to drive the third female away, and thus get rid of the male. There is much ferocious growling and the male rises and adds his own voice the tumult. The cubs scatter before this show of force.

 

 

It only lasts for a few moments before everything settles back to the way it was. The cubs are playful and continually pounce on each other, using their mother’s backs as springboards.

 

 

The pair of jackals from earlier amble up, and as one lioness rises and glares, they keep their distance. Buzzards also hop about hoping for a bite of the Impala’s remains.

 

We found a herd of about 12 elephants and we actually got out of the vehicle to have our picture made with them behind us. We had to wait for them to move off to about 20-30 yards or so, as they were only about 20 feet away when we pulled up. Even being the biggest land animal in the world, they can outdistance an Olympic sprinter!

 


 

Dominic wanted to see if we could catch the hyena pups at the den he showed us yesterday, so off we went. It’s amazing how he can navigate through the rolling grassland that appears much the same in all directions to me, arriving unerringly at a hole in the ground.

 

It helped I suppose that a sizable hyena straddles the hole, and there between her legs huddled two adorable black pups. It’s unbelievable that anything that cute could grown up to be as ugly as a hyena.

 

 

That ended our game drive and we went back to camp to shower, pack, and have another enormous breakfast. It’s sad leaving this place where I have experienced such wonder and joy, not to mention being totally spoiled by the attentive staff. We were the only guests yesterday so were doted upon; they even did our laundry.

 

We can’t imagine anything comparing to this experience, but let’s see what the next adventure brings.