what a wonderful phrase! And yes, also the song I had in my head for the entire 4 days we spent in Masai Mara on safari!!
On our first day in the park our driver, Leonard,attempted to cross a small river and failed. So we watched for an hour as he and several other drivers worked on getting us out.
We knew it would be a while when they took out a canvas rope to tie the van to another vehicle (TIA - this is Africa). After the rope snapped (obviously), we had a good laugh, and then watched as the next plan, which involved a cable wire managed to rip a metal hook right off the front of the van. THEN they decided to get out a chain, which they tied in a knot to the cable wire...miraculously it worked and we were off again.
Our first day scored us 4 of the big 5 and a ton of other animals. We saw a lioness and what was left of the wildebeest she took down, then we found 2 lions mating which was incredible, and unfortunately for the lady, quite quick! 2 brother cheetahs were catching some shade under an acacia tree and then we saw a solo female doing the same. Heards of buffalo, zebras (my fave), wildebeest and antelopes were everywhere. Luckily we got to see a leopard, and she was so beautiful. We saw loads of giraffes, elephants, vultures, bright and colourful birds. A few animals turned up that we hadn't really thought of, like, jackals, warthogs (quite possibly the cutest animal on earth...I would seriously consider having one for a pet). Funny story actually...on our 3rd day in the park, we sa all this commotion with wildebeest and zebra running everywhere. Get this! It was a warthog chasing them! Freakin hilarious!
We also met some fantastic people on this trip...Becky from Virginia, who's here to volunteer for the next 6 months, but we think she should consider being a tour guide...this well travelled 22 year old took us into big bad Nairobi! And Joe, from Switzerland, who has done a ton of traveling in her time and was hilarious on our game drives, coaxing all the predators to go for the kill and baby talking the big cats. We also met Rachel and Simon from the UK. Simon's here to work for AMREF and he offered us some incredible advice and tips for traveling in India. And ironically enough, we all met James,who Simon is replacing at AMREF. James has been here for 8 weeks with his girlfriend Lee. They were finishing up their last few days in Kenya, then making a quick visit home to the UK, and a week later moving to Australia, where Lee is from. They were nice enough to offer us a place to crash when we get to Sydney, so we're looking forward to meeting up with them later this year. James left us with a fabulous new term - "type 2 fun". For example, climbing Kili would be "type 2 fun". It sucks the whole time, but it's worth it in the end. Hmmm...in some ways I think triathlons could be considered type 2 fun as well?
The 4 days up in the Masai Mara with these 6 people was certainly NOT type 2 fun...it was fun all the time...
OK I'll try to post some pics soon
We knew it would be a while when they took out a canvas rope to tie the van to another vehicle (TIA - this is Africa). After the rope snapped (obviously), we had a good laugh, and then watched as the next plan, which involved a cable wire managed to rip a metal hook right off the front of the van. THEN they decided to get out a chain, which they tied in a knot to the cable wire...miraculously it worked and we were off again.
Our first day scored us 4 of the big 5 and a ton of other animals. We saw a lioness and what was left of the wildebeest she took down, then we found 2 lions mating which was incredible, and unfortunately for the lady, quite quick! 2 brother cheetahs were catching some shade under an acacia tree and then we saw a solo female doing the same. Heards of buffalo, zebras (my fave), wildebeest and antelopes were everywhere. Luckily we got to see a leopard, and she was so beautiful. We saw loads of giraffes, elephants, vultures, bright and colourful birds. A few animals turned up that we hadn't really thought of, like, jackals, warthogs (quite possibly the cutest animal on earth...I would seriously consider having one for a pet). Funny story actually...on our 3rd day in the park, we sa all this commotion with wildebeest and zebra running everywhere. Get this! It was a warthog chasing them! Freakin hilarious!
We also met some fantastic people on this trip...Becky from Virginia, who's here to volunteer for the next 6 months, but we think she should consider being a tour guide...this well travelled 22 year old took us into big bad Nairobi! And Joe, from Switzerland, who has done a ton of traveling in her time and was hilarious on our game drives, coaxing all the predators to go for the kill and baby talking the big cats. We also met Rachel and Simon from the UK. Simon's here to work for AMREF and he offered us some incredible advice and tips for traveling in India. And ironically enough, we all met James,who Simon is replacing at AMREF. James has been here for 8 weeks with his girlfriend Lee. They were finishing up their last few days in Kenya, then making a quick visit home to the UK, and a week later moving to Australia, where Lee is from. They were nice enough to offer us a place to crash when we get to Sydney, so we're looking forward to meeting up with them later this year. James left us with a fabulous new term - "type 2 fun". For example, climbing Kili would be "type 2 fun". It sucks the whole time, but it's worth it in the end. Hmmm...in some ways I think triathlons could be considered type 2 fun as well?
The 4 days up in the Masai Mara with these 6 people was certainly NOT type 2 fun...it was fun all the time...
OK I'll try to post some pics soon
Wow! Sounds so awesome!! Can't wait for pics :)
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I've been thinking about your for days and days and thinking "I need to read the blog and write an email." Finally found a few minutes today. Your trip sounds amazing so far, Ren...I cannot wait to see pictures. I'm glad you're finding your way through the people you meet, and it makes me feel better to know that, while you're far away, you and Aran have each other at the end of whatever journey you've been on each day. I love you to bits and am loving the blog. Will write a longer note by email soon. Take care, my FFLOL. xo.
ReplyDeleteWow guys this awesome. Keep up the great narrative Rennie, and the photos are beautiful. Love the excellent mix of scenery, culture, food and fun. Continued fun and safety to you both. Lovin it all and thank you.
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