Legal Alien

We left for Nairobi on Sunday the 5^th after a bit of agonizing over how to find the right matatu. It proved fairly painless and we made it safe and sound to the capital. Charlotte had booked us a permanent tent at the Milimani Backpackers – a VERY popular spot for backpackers of all ages and nationalities. We were both exhausted and ended up just spending the rest of the day sleeping and reading.

In our tent at Milimani

Our safari was to feature four other people who we met the next morning as we gathered outside the reception waiting to board the car. Daniel – a Swede, Tom – an Australian and the Irish couple Sharon and Tony. Going from Nairobi to the Masai Mara is a longer trip than I had anticipated. The Mara lies on the border to Tanzania in the southwestern corner of the country and spills into the Serengeti on the Tanzanian side.

As we came out of Nairobi the great Rift Valley opened up in front of us as we headed down the mountainside. It was quite a spectacular sight and I’m sure that it would be even more beautiful in the spring after the rainy season.

We headed through the valley and spent another few hours going up and down hills before stopping for lunch in Narok. From there it was another 2-3 hours before we arrived at our camp: an anonymous yet cozy spot with 4 or 5 permanent tents, a little shed with a kitchen and dining tables, a primitive shower and toilet, no running water and no electricity. The others were complaining that we wouldn’t get to go to the actual national park that day, but both Charlotte and I was pretty happy to be out of the car after the six hour drive. Instead one of the local masai took us for a walking safari for a couple of hours around the area which was really nice. We walked the plains and shared the space with herds of gazelles and wildebeest (gnu) while the lions (un)fortunately were nowhere to be seen.

Charlotte heads across the plains with our guide as gazelles grass in the front of us

Tom takes a picture of the wildebeest

When we came back, Charlotte and I watched the sun set before the chef who had come with us from Nairobi had a fantastic dinner ready for us.

I was exhausted from the drive, the walk and the heat, so I went to bed fairly early while Charlotte stayed by the fire talking to our two masai guards. It was amazing to lie in bed and listen to nothing else but the sound of the wind in the trees and the gentle rustling of the tent as well as the occasional dog barking or cow bell.

We left around 7 Tuesday morning and headed for the Mara. It was a good hour there on the rocky roads but worth it to again encounter gazelles and zebras casually grazing along the road.

Right inside the gate of the park we were surrounded by game – a great mix of zebras, warthogs and gazelles of various kinds.

As we drove on we encountered a group of giraffes that came fairly close to the car and a group of buffalos that had a few aggressive members that charged at the car as we drove away. No harm done though, I think they were just showing who was boss of that place.

If you compare this giraffe to the pictures from the last entry, you might notice a difference in the pattern. There are apparently 3 types of giraffe and this is the Mara giraffe that lives in this particular area.

Sammy, our fantastic guide, told us about the animals and constantly kept in touch with the other vehicles in the park. At one time we were just about to turn left when Sammy exclaimed “cheetah!” and quickly turned right for the cheetah casually strolling down the road a little further ahead. We got pretty close to it, but as it was walking away it was hard to get a decent picture of it before it headed into the tall grass as more vehicles approached.

We drove on with Sammy on the constant lookout. Having worked at the Mara for six years prior to his current job, he knew all the roads, all the signs of game and all the right places to look for them. Not long after the encounter with the cheetah, he spotted the lion: a statuesque lioness lying on a slightly elevated plateau where she had a good view of the vast savannah in front of her spotted with lunch-opportunities.

A lone hartebeest seemed to be the prey of interest however. In the shade of the bushes behind her were another ten or so lions resting, but with no sign of the male. We were the second car to arrive, but not long after the rumor of the lions had spread and cars started lining up around us. After perhaps 10 minutes the lioness got up and headed down the sloped plain towards the hartebeest soon followed by a second lion. The two split up and headed slowly towards the prey. We lost sight of the first lion as she hid in the tall grass but the second seemed to purposely make itself visible to the hartebeest.

After about 20 minutes of intense staring both on our and the lion’s part, Sammy announced that we had to move on as we still had a lot of ground to cover, so unfortunately we missed the actual hunt, granted that one occurred. As we headed for the Tanzanian border that runs through the park and that you can cross without a visa, we came upon more varieties of animals such as elephants, a couple of elusive hyenas, hippos and crocodiles as well as a large variety of birds. Safari vehicles have this cool device where the roof can be raised to allow 360 views and standing room, and it really is very beneficial for everyone because you are not restricted to your own little more or less openable window.

The day was really hot and dusty and we did a lot of driving but it was worth every dollar spent and every heated minute, especially when Sammy’s trained eye spotted the leopard as we were more or less headed out of the park. It was sitting in some bushes but after a while and the arrival of another couple of vehicles, it got up and moved toward us. There was some stopping and going before it passed right by us and zigzagged in-between the 20 or so cars that had turned up to cross the road and disappear into the tall grass.

Cars scramble to get one last look at the leopard before it disappears

I will not hesitate to call it one of the best days I’ve had here so far. I love the space of Africa – those enormous plains that stretch as far as the eye can see where giraffes tower over the horizon or elephants move slowly across grassy fields. I guess it is the “curse” of living in a small country that the open spaces are limited and, compared to Kenya, almost becomes claustrophobic. So I will enjoy the space while I can.

A view across the savannah towards Tanzania in the horizon

If you look closely you can see a lone elephant in the middle of the picture

That night I was again exhausted and went to bed listening to the wind with images of wild animals strewn across the inside of my eyelids.
Wednesday we got up even before the crack of dawn as we headed out of the camp at 5:30 to get to the park when they opened at 6:30. The morning light most certainly did not diminish the beauty of the plains.

A hyena looks after its mate - I will spare you the R-rated picture that came 2 minutes before this!

A herd of elephants cross the savannah in the early morning light

We were one animal away from the Big Five (African buffalo, black rhino, African elephant, lion and leopard) and the early rising paid off when Sammy again spotted the apparently very elusive black rhino. A mother and her young were quietly grazing but as more and more cars approached, they were scared off and wandered back into the bushes and disappeared.

After a few early morning hours in the park, we headed back to camp, ate breakfast and left for Nairobi where we arrived around 4 pm.

We passed several tea and coffe farms on the way back to the hostel. Here it's tea.

Due to a slightly inefficient booking system we had been reserved two beds in a large dorm at Milimani, which we really did not want. Neither of us are dorm-people but fortunately a room would become available later that evening when the guest occupying it left. So we hung out in the “restaurant” and played cards for several hours until the room finally emptied. We settled in and I fell asleep to the sound of a Christian youth group singing songs about Jesus. Charlotte had some last minute shopping to do before going home, so Thursday morning we headed to the most American mall in Kenya, Westgate. I did not manage to refrain from purchasing two more books to add to the weight of my luggage, but being in the need of some fiction I allowed myself. We spent an hour or so walking back to the hostel where Charlotte started packing and I started reading. Around 8:30 she left for the airport leaving me all by myself in Kenya. We had a great finish to our joint venture with the safari and none of us felt sad about the “break-up”. After being together 24/7 for 2 ½ months, we both needed time to ourselves. It has gone surprisingly well but we were both ready for the separation.

Friday morning I headed for the immigration office as I needed to extend my tourist visa. Teresia had warned me that I might need to apply for legal alienship, but I somehow hoped that it would not be necessary. The grumpy lady at the office however was less agreed and asked me to fill out the forms and give her two passport photos. Of course, I only had one, so I took the forms and headed out to find a place to get my pictures taken which was easily found and done. It ended up taking an hour to get through all the workings of the immigration office being herded from one window to the next apprehensively leaving my passport at one window just to get it back three windows later from a different person. I even got fully fingerprinted and confusingly called by my middle name, which I did not respond to before the woman starred vehemently at me and called Amalie in a distorted accent for the third time. As I ended up at the window I had initially come to the woman handed me my passport back and told me to come back in six weeks to pick up my Alien Identity Card. I left there with a smile on my face at the chaos of it all and the fact that I would be leaving in seven weeks. But at least I am now a legal alien in Kenya.

After the immigration office I went back to Nanyuki to figure out with Teresia what the plan would be for the last seven weeks. I met up with her at Kongoni Friday night and she informed me that a new team leader had taken over the regional office and the best would be to meet with him in the coming week and talk about the options. Unfortunately he was in Nairobi and I in Nanyuki and long story short we only managed to meet on Saturday to discuss the situation. As violence had broken out in Isiolo again the day we left, I knew that it would not be an option to go there and it is now completely out of the question, so a different solution would have to be found. Because my wonderful cousin Marie is coming to visit and celebrate her birthday with me in the first week of March, we agreed that I stay in Nanyuki until then, spending next week with Francis when he returns from a meeting and then the last three weeks of March will be in a placed called Mwingi where they work with some of the same issues as in Isiolo.

Again, I feel confident that things will work out for the better(attempting to not sound too naive at this point) and for the time being I’m enjoying some off time spending my days at Kongoni, where the internet is fast and almost consistent, to work on papers for school and getting some reading done.

Before I sign off for now, here's a link to three videos we've made: http://www.youtube.com/user/rikdane1?feature=mhee They are in Danish as they were intended for school, but I'm sure the English speakers can at least enjoy the images.

We haven't had a flower picture in a while