Nairobi

We spent our first day in Kenya at a lodge on the edge of Nairobi National Park, a conservation area in the city limits. There is no fence on this side of the park, and guards patrol the lodge property all night to watch for lions. Guests are reminded to lock the doors to their bungalows, since baboons have a habit of entering and taking things. The little fuzzy guy you see peeking out is a hyrax, a distant relative of the elephant.




































There was a glass factory about a 20 minute walk from the lodge. That sounded easy enough... but nobody told us about the wire bridge over the ravine!

Oloika

On the third day of our trip, we drove from Nairobi to Oloika, the main town in Shompole. It's only a 3-hour drive, but much it is over dirt roads. We stopped for lunch at Lake Magadi, a soda lake that is inhospitable to all life but a few types of birds, including flamingos, that subsist on algae that thrive in the alkaline environment.












































The town of Oloika consists of little more than a dirt road, a quarter of a mile long, lined on both sides by corrugated metal structures. One is a pub, a couple sell basic groceries, another sells hardware. Our camp was at the town's southern end, and the school half a mile north.

The School/Work Site

The school in Oloika - the main town in Shompole - has about 300 students in grades 1-10. Its physical plant is woefully inadequate. We worked on two projects: the renovation of a set of classrooms, and the planting of trees for a live fence. We also painted a mural on one end of the classrooms.

We worked alongside community volunteers, and the community itself raised close to $4000 for these and related projects (through its conservancy). Oloika is really a model in the way the community takes responsibility for its own economic development. The work we did was incredibly difficult - my fingers are actually still stiff and sore from breaking up cement by hand - but we all loved doing it because it was truly a combined effort.














































A volunteer I became good friends with, Liinty. He didn't speak any English, and my Maa consists of little more than a few greetings and phrases like, "let me help you with that" and "it's hot today" and "I will see you tomorrow." But there was a lot of gesturing and smiling and laughing.

My Homestay

I spent a wonderful night in a boma (enclosed homestead with a corral for cattle, one for goats and sheep, and a small hut for each wife and her children). Two students and I arrived after work, just before sundown. We drank chai (in Kenya, that's strong black tea with milk and lots of sugar) and chatted with our host and our interpreter (though our host did speak some English) about Maasai tradition and life in New York. The children sang and danced for us, and we ate a tasty dinner of rice, beans and potatoes. Sleeping was interesting: the Maasai sleep on a raised bed of sticks covered with a brittle cowhide. I was a little tall for space and didn't sleep well. Or at all. I will never take a bed for granted again, that's for sure.


Our host is the fellow in purple just in front of me. Shani, our coordinator, is on the far right. The gentleman right next to me, in the cap, is an elder who happened by just as we were beginning to take pictures.








With our interpreter, Marasua.





































Taking the sheep out at dawn

Game Drive in Shompole Conservation Area

The Maasai in Shompole run their own conservation area. Admittance is highly restricted, and we were granted access because our in-country coordinator, Shani, is the director of the Shompole Community Trust. The community's assistant chief also came along with us. Nobody gets this kind of tour!

An unfortunate wildebeest. The area had good rains this year, but the previous several years were marked by terrible drought. This fellow might have starved... or been a lion's lunch.










The secretary bird is a carnivore that stomps its prey (it loves snakes) to death.

























We counted 14 giraffes in this spot alone!








Baboons













Whistling thorn tree. In an example of brilliant adaptation, the tree has developed a fascinating defense mechanism. When its long thorns fail to deter, say, a giraffe, the tree has a backup: large pods contain biting ants that, when bumped, swarm and bite whatever nose or tongue is in the area!

Farewell Assembly

On our final day in Oloika, community leaders, elders, teachers and some students gathered at our camp for a farewell. I spoke (pictured here with our World Leadership School instructor, Rebeckah, and our coordinator, Shani, who translated for me.











































The women pictured here gave us beaded necklaces in appreciation for our work, and some students gave a surprise performance of a traditional dance. Unfortunately, the video I took is a huge file and can't be uploaded. I'll try to compress it, as it is worth watching!

Game Drives in the Maasai Mara

We ended our trip with three days in the Maasai Mara. Westminster Safaris, which ran our camp in Oloika, set up a terrific camp for us in the Mara. The tents were comfortable (complete with a real bed and en suite shower!), the food delicious, and the staff fantastic.

Thompson Gazelle


















The annual wildebeest migration enters Kenya in mid- to late summer, depending on the quality of grass. Half a million zebra, nearly 2 million wildebeest and another half million other animals make their way from Tanzania to Kenya and back over the course of the year. We were too early for the migration in the Mara, but caught the very front lines:

















The unlovely buffalo (above) and a spotted hyena (below)





























Sunset... and sunrise
















Our expert spotters, Sengali and Lanyonyera, also known as Dennis and Robin.

The first annual Maasai Olympics. Maasai vs. Mzungu (white folks). The events were club throwing, spear throwing and archery. Final score: Mzungu: 3; Maasai: 6. Not bad, considering none of us had ever thrown a Maasai spear or club before!

Kofi, a two year-old white rhinoceros. The animals are so endagered, that they don't really live outside of special sanctuaries.




Kofi is friendly, and likes to be scratched behind the ears and above his front legs. If you've never pet a rhino before, I highly recommend it!