The end of the dirt roads

We relaxed at St Andrew’s for a couple of days before catching a ride on their school bus to Nairobi. The day before we left (5th of Feb), we finally cancelled our flight to Cairo (scheduled for the 7th of Feb) and booked new flights to Istanbul with budget airline Air Arabia. They were at least $500 US cheaper than other airlines. You can buy a lot of on-board snacks and drinks for $500!! We had arranged to stay with Edwyn & Edna Kiptinness in Nairobi. Edwyn is the chairperson of A Rocha Kenya’s National Board. I had been in frequent email contact with him during the National Director recruitment process, so it was nice to meet them in person. They had a full, busy house, with three boarders and two older children still at home. But they somehow managed to squeeze us in (I think some people got kicked out of their room!). We had calm, peaceful days in Nairobi, travelling only once into the city centre with Kimutai, their youngest son. He was successfully managing to juggle research for a Masters in biochemistry and an ever-growing cake making business at home. He kindly showed us around and took us to where I could get my lenses replaced. For $2 I had my eyes rechecked (my left worsening just a little) and POWW! I had new lenses installed 3 hours later for only $35. We were happily surprised not to be mugged or beaten during our stay but only narrowly missed being conned by a laundry powder scam and smooth talking, sob-story telling Zimbabwean.

Spotted when we arrived last year, I had to get a photo of this Nairobian chemist

Before we knew it the time to leave Kenya had come, two days shy of six months. At the airport we used up our remaining credit calling Henry and Colin who were on their way back from a birding adventure at the Tana River Delta. I had hoped to have one last Bitter Lemon soda before we flew out. Bitter Lemon is like a mixture of Lift and Tonic water or a bit like liquid marmalade – refreshing and delicious. However, the only store in the terminal didn’t stock it and we weren’t allowed out of the terminal. We munched on our stack of chapattis we had brought with us. At least we had those ‘very sweet’ oily rounds to savour as we waited for take off. Kwaheri Kenya!!

In the Jungle..

There was no time for rest for these weary travellers. The next morning we set off from St Andrews again, this time heading further west to Kakamega Forest – the largest remaining rainforest in Kenya. As we approached Kericho, we entered into tea country. Field after field was covered in a well-manicured sea of green. Hundreds of workers were out picking tea leaves into their woven baskets. Surprisingly beautiful. We continued west to Kisumu and Lake Victoria. As we climbed our way up from Kisumu, we pulled over to confirm we were on the right track and stalled the vehicle. It was here on these steep slopes we experienced the beast’s unwillingness to restart after it had been driven for any length of time. After my attempted reverse hill-start almost got us into further trouble, we had no choice but to wait for the car to cool down.

Ohhh, I'd luve a bush of tea

We wondered across the road to a store outside an orphanage and cooled ourselves down with a larger Bitter Lemon. Anna had a good opportunity to try her Swahili on the locals as we waited. Finally after about 20 minutes the engine kicked in and we were on the road again.

As well as visiting the forest, we hoped to visit Joanne Moyer. She had been conducting research about how people learn in faith-based development and conservation organisations. She began at A Rocha for three months before going to Kaimosi to research the Rural Service Programme of the East Africa that is run by a group of Quakers. We had become friends and we had missed hassling her since she had left. As usual, time was running out and the sun setting so we had to cut our visit short to make to the forest in time. We, however, missed the turnoff (because the sign faced the other way) and drove an extra 20 km in the wrong direction. It was almost dark, we weren’t actually sure where the camp grounds were and didn’t like the idea of setting up camp in the pitch black, so we headed back to Joanne who was most happy to have us stay. The next morning we were meant to be away by 6:30 AM to meet up with a guide who would take us around the forest. We slept in! We packed up supper fast, ate chapattis with bananas for breakfast on the road and ended up only 30 minutes late. Our guide, Job, took us for a 4 hour walk through the forest showing us four species of monkey, loads of birds, butterflies and plants. The definite highlights were super tall trees and Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill. This huge bird taps on branches causing chameleons to change colour and thus reveal themselves. Very clever! Joanne had left her head-light at a guesthouse a few weeks earlier so we decided to be kind and drop it off to her on the way back. A good thing too, as in our rush to get away that morning we had left behind our pillows!

That bill means business

The ants go marching one by one million. Safari ants pack quite a punch if you mess with their march

We farewelled Joanne for the last time and headed home determined to arrive before dark. On the long drive back we discovered another quirk with the beast. If you hold the clutch in too long, the gear box seems to ‘fall out’ and the engine turns off for a few seconds before the momentum kick-starts it again followed with the smell of burning oil or rubber. Was a bit scary the first few times but I soon learned how to avoid it. We also decided to pick a couple hitchhikers on the way back. Before we knew it, four people had crammed in the back. They were grateful to get a lift to the next town in their search for work.

And what would you know; we arrived back in Turi 30 minutes before dark. We had travelled over 1000 kms in the past 5 days, all made possible by the generosity of the Johnsons!

Caving in

Anna and I are generally cautious characters. We usually play it safe and stick to what we know. But occasionally we step out and take a risk. It was one such time that Wednesday morning. Rather than choosing to climb the popular and well-marked Mt Longonot we decided upon Mt Suswa, a double-crater peak with caves on its lower slopes. There are no marked roads to Mt Suswa, which is surrounded by private Maasai land. The only way to get there is to ask for a guide in one of the surrounding villages. We summoned the courage and asked some guys hanging out at a cobbler’s shop. It took us a few goes before we successfully communicated our request and one of the men took us to a general store. He didn’t speak any English and we little Swahili, but we got the idea that we would need to wait for the store owner to return and sort us out. Indeed, the store owner spoke excellent English and arranged for her younger brother to be our guide. Their family lives and farms up on the plateau between the two crater rims. Rueben must have been around 18 years old and had just finished primary school (Year 9 in NZ). He hoped to go to secondary school soon and guiding helped pay the school fees. In fact, he dreams of studying to be doctor to help care for Kenyans that live far away from any doctor surgeries or hospitals.

Parked on the precipice

We had no idea that we would drive for the next 1.5 hours on narrow, rutted, potholed and sandy dirt roads, up and over the outer crater wall. Without the beast we would have been stuck. We parked at the bottom of a ravine that marked the beginning of the inner crater and hiked up spotting some gazelle and rock hyrax along the way. Once we reached the first peak we realised we wouldn’t have enough time to reach the summit and visit the caves. After admiring the view we turned back. On the way to the caves we stopped at his brother’s inkajijik (house). It was so dark inside that I nearly sat on the baby! At just a short walk from their house, Rueben also showed us how they condensed steam from thermal activity into pure drinking water – a saviour in times of drought.

Summit of Mt Suswa in the background

Reuben and the water condensation device

The caves were created by volcanic activity and still display evidence of their past. They are now home to thousands of bats and baboons by night. As we approached the entrances we bumped into a group of Moran Maasai in their full colourful dress (possibly coming back from cattle rustling?). Down we went into the dark abyss armed with a windup torch and a clip-on book light between the three of us. From the onset these caves had our olfactory senses under heavy assault. First it was the Baboon Parliament (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00639mr), where baboons come to sleep at night and then it was the foot deep guano as we got closer to the bats. It was bad enough having to crawl through the stuff at certain points but when it started getting down my shoes and into my open blisters, I was not a happy caver. We explored the various rooms and caverns for a couple hours before returning to the fresh air.

Baboon parliament in the caves

Weird lava twists that look like tree roots

We dropped Reuben at the main road, wishing him all the best for his schooling and began the long journey back to Turi. As usual we didn’t give ourselves enough time and it was getting dark. My glasses lenses had also been etched by the dust, limiting the visibility even more. As we hoofed it home, I joined the ranks of crazy Kenyan drivers, performing manoeuvres that would cost me my license back at home. Anna feared for her life on a couple occasions (e.g. oncoming truck over-taking another truck on a blind-corner with a cliff to our left) and we tried not to think about the warning they gave us just before we left about the potential for carjacking roadblocks. But we made it back safe and sound even though we got lost on the last stretch. We were both relieved to be back at the Johnsons that night.

Camping on the Lake

Early Monday morning we were on the road heading south to Lake Naivasha. First stop was Crater Lake Reserve. After a drive around the crater walls, we stopped for lunch in the presence giraffes and black-and-white colobus monkeys. Down in the crater, a few flamingos fed at the edge of shore, whilst two fish eagles perched above looking for their next meal to surface. All around the edge of the lake there was evidence of buffalo. Thankfully we didn’t bump into them as we wondered around on the plains and the crater rim (we found out later that two people were killed last year by startling a buffalo with her calf). We did however get within 5 meters of a few giraffes and cute dik dik.

Black-and-white Colobus playing in the Acacia trees

Crater Lake as viewed from the crater rim

After our walk on the wild side we head to our campsite to set up before dark, stopping briefly at Lake Oledion along the way. This lake has become home for thousands of flamingos that are fleeing the increasingly toxic waters of Lake Nakuru. And best of all, it was free to visit. For the next two nights we camped on the edge of Lake Naivasha, with only an electric fence standing between us and night-grazing hippos.

Flog loads of flamingos

Chapattis and vege stew for dins

As you drive around Lake Naivasha you can’t help but notice the seemingly endless rows of hot houses. Flower growing is big business in this region, supplying flowers to all around the world. Before we left on our trip we watched a documentary called “A Blooming Business” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cW_Zp6dnrQ) about the flower growing industry at Lake Naivasha. It’s sad that the industry that provides so much employment causes so much damage to the environment and workers because of greed.

The hot houses cover much of the lake front and are slowly draining the lake.

We got up early the next morning to make the most of the cool morning. After chowing down our uji (a thin millet porridge) we loaded the landcruiser with two mountain bikes and head for Hell’s Gate National Park (named after the thermal activity in the region). Yesterday was the walking safari, now it was time for a cycling safari. We followed the Twiga (giraffe) Circuit through the open savannah. Giraffe, zebra and warthogs freely roamed around us – keeping a safe distance from the invading two-wheeled creatures. As glided down the side of a small hill, we startled a small herd of buffalo. We squeezed hard on our breaks, skidding as the buffalo charged across the road 10 meters in front of us. Hearts pounding, we waited until all the buffalo had scrambled away. Feeling safe I hopped of my bike to get a photo of the buffalo and bikes. However, just then a few buffalo started warning charges at us. Adrenaline pumping, we flew down the hill for 100 meters. The buffalo were happy with that distance and allowed us to take a few photos before we continued on our way. After 4 hours under the oppressive sun we were happy to give up the saddle.

Fresh-air safaris

Buffalo's are no match for our bikes

After lunch and a short rest at the campsite we went for a drive to other end of the National Park. On the way through a small town we came across a mob arresting a man accused of being a thief. This was the second time we had driven into such a frightening and unsettling event. With corruption rife amongst the police, locals often take matters into their own hands, sometimes beating, sometimes killing the accused. It is a very complex and foreign situation that is difficult for a westerner to comprehend and process. Thankfully(!?!), we didn’t observe a lynching, if indeed it did occur in this instance. I am certainly grateful that in NZ we have a police force we can trust.

Wednesday morning we packed up camp and set off for our next adventure on Mt Suswa.

Heading West

We travelled by overnight bus to Nairobi. Despite our fears of being robbed of our bags in the night, we arrived at 5:30 AM with all our gear and having slept quite a bit. This was to be first of many overnight bus trips in the coming months. Nairobi is no place to wander in the dark, so we joined the rest of the passengers in the office until the sun rose almost two hours later. Rather than risk our lives in Nairobbery, we promptly boarded the next shuttle heading to Nakuru. The shuttle broke down just outside of Naivasha – when Dad Bartlett called to warn us of the turmoil in Egypt, which we only had become aware of just as we boarded the bus. After squishing into another full shuttle we finally arrived in Nakuru and took our final shuttle to St Andrews School in Turi. My pack could not fit in the back and was strapped to the roof!! Several times on the journey I poked my head out the window to make sure it didn’t fall off as we hit pothole after pothole.

There is always room on the roof

We were on the way to stay with the Johnson family, teachers from St Andrews who had visited Mwamba early on during our time in charge. Before they left, Adrian and Carol offered us a place to stay as well as a behemoth vehicle and camping gear to borrow. We arrived on the weekend that parents and families of the boarding school were visiting and camping onsite. It was full and hectic, taking up most of the Johnson’s time. However, they made sure we were well fed (BBQ) and entertained (talent show) before an afternoon nap. In the evening we enjoyed a performance of the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe that left me intrigued about CS Lewis’s atonement theology (seems like Ransom Theory in LWW). After Chapel on Sunday, Carol and Adrian sorted us right and proper with all the camping gear we could ever possibly need (including a potatoe masher and chapatti frying pan), ready for tomorrow’s adventure.

Most of the Johnson family at St Andrew's School - little slice of England

Kwaheri Mwamba na Kenya

On Friday the 29th of January 2011 we left Mwamba Field Study Centre. It was quite an emotional time to farewell the unique place we had called home for the past 6 months. Not only were we leaving the beautiful Mwamba, we were leaving behind many new friends, most of whom we will probably never meet in person again.
Two days before we left they threw us a special outdoor dinner party with all the tasty Swahili food that I now miss – chapattis, especially. Kenya really left its mark on us, as we did ours.

Our farewell feast - volunteer corner

Lynton’s A Rocha Kenya Top 10 (in no particular order)

• Beach – magnificently warm and practically private white-sand beach. We swam with the fishes at least 3 times a week.
• Ringing – holding amazing birds in the hand, removing them from nets and releasing them back into the wild. I even got to ring and measure a few. My wing lengths required the formula: x + 2 mm to give the true measurement.
• Food – chapattis, coconut beans, michicha, pilau, kachumbari, coconut with green grams = delish
• Epilogue – active, faithful, worshipping community: our church.
• Sailing/Snorkelling – swarms of fish, piles of coral and the odd turtle
• Safari – Twice at Tsavo East NP. Camping amongst the wild animals was cool though a little scary
• Volunteers – hanging out, laughing, and as Francis would say 'chatting'
• ASSETS – experiencing the programme first hand and seeing the good it does
• Visiting Francis and Janet’s families out in the villages, especially staying at Janet’s house for one night
• Managing Mwamba over the Christmas/New Years – So much fun with our awesome guests. We certainly could do more of that

Home

Three weeks ago today we arrived back on Kiwi soil. It has been 74 days since we left Mwamba – a journey that took us through eight countries on our way back to the Land of the Long White Cloud. Rather than leave the story ending abruptly at Mwamba, we have decided to post some post-trip posts to fill in the blanks. Enjoy.

More photos up now!

New photos

We have had little time to blog of late but our flıckr has some photos from the past month. Enjoy.
www.flickr.com/lyntonandanna

Turkey in brief

You know you're in Turkey when ....

you have about a dozen tiny cups of tea a day

you eat the most delicious bread at every meal

you see cats and giant dogs sunnıng themselves on 1000 yr old ruins

you can go for a walk in the hills and discover stunning fresco-decorated cave-churches 

Admittedly you could also perhaps experience this in various other Middle Eastern countries so the most definitive:

half the men look like Dad

I’d like to be under the sea, in a coral garden beneath the waves

Whilst Anna and I were managing the centre over Christmas/New Years, we referred many of our guests to Mohammad for all their snorkeling and dolphin needs. He was very grateful for the business and thus offered us a free dolphin and snorkeling trip (though we still had to pay the marine park fees).

Due to the high cost of snorkeling ($15 US per person per day just for the permit), I had been only once and Anna twice (when she scored a free trip with a workshop she organised). We have, however, found a rock that is separate from the coral reef but still full of life. Particularly cool are the puffer fish and lionfish (my favourite fish as young child). En route to the rock, I have seen turtles three times and Anna once. So we have still been able to get our marine life fix without going broke.

Rarrrrrr!

The first part of the trip involved finding the dolphins. Thankfully we had a clever captain who avoided the crowded spots and headed south to find a pod that we could observe by ourselves. Apparently (we found out later) the dolphin watching code of conduct bans jumping into the water when you see them. This is not enforced at all, since the dolphin trips are advertised as swimming with dolphin trips. And swim we did. The dolphins seemed pretty relaxed about our presence, cruising underneath us as we struggled above. I was privileged to watch a mama dolphin help a baby dolphin to the surface for a breath, some 10 meters in front of me. Not only did we get to swim with dolphins, we also got to swim with tiny jellyfish that gave us many sharp stings. Fortunately the itchiness died off after half an hour. After a couple swims we all decided to leave the dolphins to get on with their breakfast.

These dolphins were apparently cruising around looking for a breakfast of soft corals

Notice the jellyfish in left corner. Actual size between 2-5 cm. Squishy to the touch.

Next stop was the coral garden. We were dropped off at one end and slowly drifted 500m to the other. Coral is amazing. Although much of it wasn’t very colourful, the shapes and patterns were beautiful. Hundreds of species of fish swam, ducked, nibbled, cleaned and hid around us, many with vibrant colours. God had fun with fish.

When we reached the boat again they threw bread out to create swarms of fish. Not very good for the fish (Supa loaf is not that good for humans either!). Such feeding practices and the significant coral damage by higher number of tourists at this end has greatly impacted the biodiversity of fish. Zebra fish were by far the dominant fish species.

We returned to dry land after some 3.5 hours in the water. The birding adventures of the night before (which involved getting up at 2am and ringing birds till dawn) were starting to take their toll, so we had some shut-eye for about 2 minutes. Re-energised with lunch, ‘rested’ and armed with flippers, we swam the 500 meters out to the reef for a second look. The tide was much higher and it was difficult to find the buoy marking the beginning of the reef. We happened across different sections of coral along the way and saw Murray the Moray eel and several stingrays. After 1.5 hours we were all swum out and made our way back to shore. Anna finally saw a green turtle on her way in. A very cool day in the sea.

"You may call me Murray"

 

And whilst we on the topic of seas; for my birthday, Anna promised a sailing trip around Turtle Bay. Ernest and Jean had raved about their trips sailing on Funboats hired from Turtle Bay Beach Club. Yesterday, we skived off out of a meeting to sail the high seas. It’s a great deal. They take the boat to the water, rig it, give you a brief lesson in tacking and send you on your way for an hour. As the winds picked up we flew around the bay, dodging sand banks, moored boats, swimmers, whilst all the time trying to stay upright and not let go of the rope. A great birthday present!

We don't know how blessed we are..

Late last year, Anna and I went with all the volunteers to visit Francis at his family’s home in Sokoke. Francis is a graduate from the ASSETS bursary scheme that was set up by A Rocha Kenya (refer to ASSETS post by LJ Baird, 2010) and is the only child in his family to go to secondary school. He had been invited to come to Mwamba as an ASSETS volunteer, to gain skills that might help him in finding jobs or further study. He was joined here by another ASSETS volunteer, Janet, whose visit has already been told (refer to Shamba Shenanigans post by AM Baird, 2010). Some of the things they were taught included catering, housekeeping and computer skills. Anna and I were given charge of teaching them these computer skills. We focused on Microsoft Word skills and Anna prepared an excellent set of 10 lessons that were accompanied with assignments. About once a week we would sit with them for an hour or so and show them the wonders of Word. Each assignment required them to practice what they had learnt and built upon the previously lessons by repeating some old tasks.

Francis with a younger brother standing in front of the trees ASSETS gave him to plant in the family shamba.

This teaching experience highlighted that I came with many assumptions and much subconscious knowledge. Things that are obvious to me or seem intuitive to me are completely foreign to a Kenyan who turned on a computer for the first time a month or so earlier. It was a good learning experience for me.

Although there is SO much more for them to learn about computers, these initial lessons will hopefully give them the courage to explore and learn through using the computer. They have been profusely grateful for the help we could give them.

Just before they left, we presented them with a certificate in Basic Microsoft Word Skills (from the Bairdo Academy). Certificates are highly prized in Kenya and can be given out for anything. These computer courses are so popular that Anna has now taken on two new students.

A drinks break Kenyan style

Another skill that we could share was swimming. Francis had never been in the ocean before his time at Mwamba and was very eager to learn how to swim. Anna was an ideal teacher, having taught many young children to swim. Francis was a quick learner and braver than most of her previous charges. It was hard to hold him back. And now he can swim, primarily with the doggy paddle, though he has basic freestyle in his repertoire .

Story time: Francis telling us one of his many tales: how he was 'born on the way,' the tortoise that spoilt the forest tree top party and how chickens left the forest to be warm by fires on their shambas.

When back at home he worked the family farm, looked after his siblings and prayed for divine intervention to allow him to keep studying at college. With college fees in the realm of 60,000-100,000 Kenyan shillings (Ksh) a year (about NZ$1,000 - $1,600), such dreams of college are practically impossible when an unskilled labourer can only hope to earn about 200 Ksh per day, if they can find work at all. This weight bears greatly upon him and saddens his usually high spirits.

We were, however, able to give him a ray of hope when we employed him as a casual over the Christmas/New Year period, which was followed up with him finally becoming the ticket officer at the ASSETS Gede Ruins Platform (one of the duties he was to perform during his original stint at Mwamba). By saving this money and with help from a few friends, I am confident he won’t have to wait for 5 years before his dream can come a reality.

Teaching Francis's siblings how to play with a fizbee

Something to crow on about

The Indian House Crow is an invasive pest along coastal Kenya. Introduced to Zanzibar Island, Tanzania to take care of the smelly rubbish, it not only competes with the native Pied Crow, it also eats crops, attacks and kills farm animals and is known to carry eight human diseases.

Up until 2005, a house crow control program was running in Malindi and Watamu to keep their numbers down through very selective poisoning. The crows were killed with bait poisoned with Starlicide, a poison that when consumed by the bird is metabolised to safe by-products prior to death about 12 hours later. The poisoning was strictly supervised resulting in the death of only a couple dogs and a half-dozen Pied Crows alongside the tens of thousands of house crows.

The poison was imported from the USA with permission of the Kenya Wildlife Service. However, after 9/11 the rules tightened and import required extra permission, which the Pest Control Product Board has refused to date.

Since then, their numbers have skyrocketed from double figures in Malindi in 2005 to over 3000 recorded across two sites this past month.

Hundreds of Indian House Crows can swoop past in one go.

A Rocha Kenya is continuing to collect crow data and letters of complaint from the general public as it builds its case to bring before the Pest Control Product Board.


Anna and I have been on many of the monthly full moon crow counts. We have clambered on many roofs to count the crows as they come home to roost whilst enjoying the sunset and majestic moonrise. Sometimes we were treated to huge fruit bats flying out to feed or a bat hawk on the hunt for dinner.

I see a full moon rising

A highlight of these trips was dinner at Zanzibar café. A great feed of chapatti, beans and mchicha (African spinach) with a soda for under two dollars. YUM!!!

Classic Swahili tucker

After filling up we go for a wee walk out at the Sabaki River Mouth, dodging the roaming hippos that are sometimes too close for comfort. Each trip, we enjoyed a revitalising and refreshing mud bath as we slipped and slid our way out to the waters edge. Near the river mouth, ‘we’ (more like Colin and Albert) estimate the number of terns roosting on the flats. We regularly got numbers exceeding 30,000 but never as high as the ~500,000 the estimated in January 2009. Nothing like birding adventures in the moonlight.

Moonlighting

ASSETS poster

After many months in the making, Anna’s brand new ASSETS posters are up. These masterpieces were slowly created with the help of Jordan; pieced together from old resources, discussions with Stanley, researching animal facts, photo hunting, cardboard sourcing, painting, laminating and final assembling.

The old poster at Turtle Bay Beach Club showing signs of its age.

The shiny new poster complete with school bag and golden-rumped elephant shrew

We hope that these posters will help explain the program to guests and visitors at both Mwamba Field Study Centre and Turtle Bay Beach Club (a local hotel very supportive of ASSETS). Anna has even produced business cards with more information about donating to ASSETS.

Business cards customised to where the poster is being displayed.