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When we went to bed the night before at the Simba Lodge at Lake Naivasha, Kenya, we all agreed to wake at 6:30am, before sunrise, and take a walking safari around the grounds to see what animals would be about.  Our first view was herds of waterbucks that had bedded down for the night right outside our door and who eyed us cautiously as we quietly began our stroll.  At the gate to the lake, we met up with some Brits with the same idea as us, and their guide, who told us that on yesterday, they had seen a local giraffe that was ready to give birth.  As we walked in the cool morning mist, we saw groups of zebras, waterbucks and finally a group of about a dozen giraffes.  After circling the giraffe family, we found a giraffe mom protecting a newborn only hours old in a clump of bushes.  The newborn giraffe was downy and not able to stand yet, with mom protectively standing over him.  After observing and taking pictures for a while, we headed back to the lodge for breakfast, checked out of the Simba Lodge and began our trek onto the Masai Mara plains. From our guide and driver, we learned the differences in the types of Acacia trees, from the large, lone Acacia Umbrella tree, (which our son Tony particularly liked), to the scrub brush acacias that thrive and survive through their symbiotic relationship with local ants. Once we approached the area, we saw the traditional Massai villages and the classical herding of the Massai Zebu cows.  These cows are protected and honored by the Massai, and provide them with nearly everything that they need to live.  As such, they share their living space with the herds, as well as believing that the cow was a special gift specifically to the Massai people from God, and historically they would view any other people or tribes owning cows as having stolen their “gift”, as all cows must belong to them only.  For centuries, this was a major source of tribal wars in this region of Africa.

 

Along our travel, we were particularly impressed with the growing abundance of Euphorbia “cactus trees”.  These beautiful trees stretched 40-feet high, and dominated large stretches of high plains semi-arid grasslands.  Just outside of Masai Mara Park, we arrived at our accommodations for the next two nights, the Nyumbu Tented Camp located on the Ngili Plains.  Here we checked in, ate lunch, met the camp’s owner, Chilo (Adam), and then went for a visit to the Olepolos Massai village.

 

At the Olepolos village we were met by John, a 20 year old Massai warrier.  All Massai warriors are single men between 14 and 27 year old.  They typically attend ~7 years of local school, taught by missionaries, between the ages of 7 and 14 years old.  This village is a larger, well established village of 102 residents and 120 cows. Their Village is a circular camp of huts surrounding a yard where the cows are herded to each night.  Their huts are made of mud and cow-dung, packed and smeared over sticks.  Each hut is only ~3m by 3m with stick & cow-hide cots for one man and his wife and a small room for any youngsters. Each hut is built by the village women over a 6 month time period.  At 7 years old, the children are separated from their parents, and get their own hut to sleep away in. For welcoming us, 12 village women sang songs and danced. Then, the warriors sang and demonstrated their prowess by jumping straight up.  The Massai believe that how high a Massai man can jump indicates how many wives a warrior should pursue during his life.  The village yard was an unsanitary, mushy area that was a mixture of mud and dung and the local little children were surrounded by flies.  It was a heartbreaking view!  We visited their local craft shop, thanked them, and then left for safari in the park.

Upon entering the park, we immediately came upon Storks, Ibis, and Secretary birds, and then observed a group of 4 Ostriches.  We traveled towards Paradise Plain, crossing the Ntiaktiak and Olare rivers, when our driver, Fred, became excited and indicated a surprise was coming.  We bypassed a herd of elephants in the distance and came up on male lion patiently stalking a herd of vigilant Topi and Gazelles.  After he tired of the stalking, the lion came up to our vehicle and laid in the shade created by the shadow of our truck.  Now the vehicle inside of which we were, had the roof raised for viewing, creating a 2-foot opening all around, and if we had wanted, we could have reached over the side and tugged this lion’s mane!  When the lion left, we moved on as well and came upon a large herd of water buffalos (over 200).  Up ahead a little further, was an adult female cheetah with her adolescent cub that was resting and playing on a small hill.  At this point, we headed back towards the elephant herd we had seen earlier. This was a group of 12 elephants with 3 babies.  We watched them eat and frolic near a small local stream before we moved on again. Just a little ways ahead, we came up on another male lion up on hill.  As these we younger males, we wondered if in fact that these two that we saw were working and hunting together in a pair.  Afternoon was waning and an angry sky indicated a storm was coming, so we headed back across the rivers, which by now had risen, almost submerging the doors of our vehicle.  On the way back, we saw Hartebeests, a very large group of Baboons (100 to 200), a Hyena stalking a herd of Gazelles, and two groups of 3 Jackals each, hiding in the grass.  We came upon a family of Mongoose and a large family of Ostriches before we finally sighted our camp on other side of valley.  As the sun set, we made it back to camp.  This left time for a hot shower, an elegant dinner and conversation with an old friend, a U.S. educated Massai Warrior named James.  Finally, we were escorted to our tents by our Massai protectors, and went to bed, where we fell asleep with the roar of lions just outside the camp echoing in the valley.

During the night, the storm passed, and the camp was visited by giraffe and impalas, taking refuge from a lion kill that took place just outside of camp. We awoke for breakfast and left early for a day of game drives through the Masai Mara Park.

This time, we entered the park through the Talek Gate, and immediately came upon small herds of Topi, Gazelles and Impalas.  Animals tend to stay near the Gate, since its location and activity wards off predators.  We saw a number of Warthogs and a group of Ostriches, and then came upon 4 Hyenas, on which the male was outfitted with a tracking collar.  At first he led the pack on a stalking of the herds, but then, he gave up and lied in the middle of the road. We went to the top of the hill where 2 Cheetah brothers had just killed a Thompson Gazelle and were feeding on it.  We observed this for 30 minutes, while the two devoured most of the carcus. After we left them, we soon came upon a lion couple, lazily sleeping on the side of the road.  Male and female lions are only together during mating season, and this male and female were obviously a mating couple, apparently worn out from their courtship.  After they rested for 15 minutes, and just as we started our vehicle’s engine, the male lion arose, approached and mounted the female while roaring lowly in her ear.  After a brief encounter, the male left her and went back to sleep while the female rolled to her back and slept as well.  Apparently, this will be the hourly routine for much of a week, after which they will resume their separate and solitary lives once again.

We then took a long excursion south across the Masai Mara park to the Trans Mara crossing into Tanzania, where we crossed the Mara river over and back and then went on to Lookout Mountain for lunch.  After lunch, we went back to the Mara River on the Kenya side, where we went to the hippo pools and saw the largest hippos, yet.  These river Hippos were huge compared to the ones we saw in the lake, and they were in large groups of ~20.  Further on, along the banks of the Mara, we encountered a group of water buffalos and then came upon 3 very large crocodiles sunning themselves on the river’s banks.  These crocodiles were up to 5 meters long, weighing over 1 ton each.  We finally began our long trip back, encountering mongoose, ostrich, numerous elephants, giraffes and herds of other grazing animals along the way.  As we approached the exit to the park, we came up to a large female lion resting comfortably near an intersection in the road.  She had a view of the valley in every direction from here, and was likely waiting for dusk, and a wandering victim.  After passing waterbucks, topi, gazelles, warthogs and more hyenas, we exited the park and headed back to our tented camp for showers, tea, a little rest and then dinner.  During our dinner that night, four local Massai Warriors surprised us with a series of warrior dances, which we very much enjoyed.  Then, we were off to pack and a good night sleep, in preparation for leaving the next day.

We rose early, had breakfast and said our goodbyes.  On the return trip to Nairobi, we took a final drive through the park by entering at Talek gate and exiting at Sekenani Gate.  This was a cool overcast morning, and we saw only the typical herds of grazing animals on this travel.  We arrived in Nairobi early enough to take time to visit the Nairobi Giraffe Centre, where we hand fed Giraffes, observed Leopard Tortoises and took a leisurely nature walk.  As dinner time approached, we headed to the Carnivore Club – an African Churascio serving multitudes of meats including pork, beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, ostrich and crocodile!  The club also has a sports bar area, where we sat with the locals and watched Arsenal chalk up a “win” in the English Premier Football League.  We were then seated for dinner, ate all the meat we could handle, and finally, began the closing of our trip by taking Tony and Stephanie to the airport for their return flight to Holland and the U.S.  After dropping them at the airport, Julie and Rocky headed downtown to the Safari Club Hotel for a brief night’s stay, before flying back to Lagos, Nigeria on the next morning, Easter – 2010.

 Spring/Easter Break – 2010.  Our son, Tony, and his betrothed, Stephanie, who are Middle School Teachers in North Virginia, finally had a week off to come see us in Africa.  We met them on Saturday evening at Murtola Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, and took the company airport shuttle bus back to our 3-bedroom apartment in Ikoyi.  After decompression, dinner and a good night’s sleep, we started their week’s adventure with a Sunday boat trip up the coast to our Beach House. 

A day of sun, surf and food was followed by evening dinner at the American Embassy’s Guest Quarters Restaurant, and a relaxing evening.  Monday brought exploring the Lekki Nature Conservancy, a 4km trek through a monkey-inhabited forest, including a 150ft climb up into the forest canopy observation “tree house”. 

The day included shopping the local crafts at Lekki Market, and Julie’s famous “Taco Night” – even in Nigeria!  Tuesday morning allowed for some local sightseeing around Victoria Island and Ikoyi, but ended with a trip back to MMIA for flights to Nairobi, Kenya.  This experience started poorly with lackluster service at the Airport Lounge, followed by unannounced flight delays, a closed concourse, and finally being stuck on the plane, where we were delayed on the runway for 60 minutes with no air conditioning.  The flight then went from Nigeria to Kenya on Kenyan Airways via Cotonou, Benin, and went from bad to worse as we sat again at the gate in Cotonou for nearly an hour again with no AC.  Finally, we took off for an uneventful 5-hour flight to Nairobi, where we were greeted by our guide and driver, Fred.  Unfortunately, our travel delays put us square into the middle of rush hour traffic, but finally, Fred eased our way out of the city and we headed to our first destination in the Great Rift Valley.

In spite of recent rains, Kenya over the past year and a half had been the site of very serious drought conditions, and the consequences were evident everywhere.  As we passed along the edge into the Rift Valley, mature dead trees stood out in contrast to the renewed life that the recent water nursed, Mt Longonot, at 2770 meters, is tallest mountain in the local valley, and our first destination, Lake Naivasha, is the highest lake.  All along the way, we passed new crops and farmers working and moving wares via the ever-present donkeys and cart.

Before turning off the main road and heading to the Lake, we stopped at a tourist/curio shop with life-sized wood-carved lions in various poses. Although beautiful works of art, the logistics of shipping a 250kg wood carving from this remote location boggled the mind. 

Upon arriving at Lake Naivasha, we contracted a local fishing camp for boat tours onto the lake to see the hippos.  The Lake is 8-10 feet lower due to the previous drought, and the boatmen must navigate long, narrow waterways to now access the lake.  Once into the lake, we saw numerous hippos, but our boat’s motor soon died, and we washed ashore at a large island we waited for help from the village with a replacement boat.

While waiting, we walked along the island’s coast viewing hippos from shore. Local boys were fishing for, and catching, 15-inch carp.  When our replacement boat finally arrived, we continued our tour by approaching 2 more hippo families of 8 hippos each. Our boatman then took a dead 5-inch silver fish up in his hand, spotted a Fish Eagle in a coastal tree, let loose a shrill whistle and waited.  The Fish Eagle immediately spread his wings and left his perch.  The boatman then threw the fish into the water, and we watch transfixed as the Fish Eagle swooped down to get it!

We then went ashore on another large island, which sometimes connects to the mainland, where we began a walking safari.  Small herds of zebra, wildebeest, waterbucks, Thompson gazelles and water buffalo eyed us warily, and moved cautiously from our path.  On the way back to boat, a serious thunderstorm started forming causing us to hurry back to the boat, head back to our launching spot, and jog back to our safari vehicle, just in time to beat the storm.  We drove 30 minutes through a driving rain storm to the Lake Naivasha Simba Lodge, and checked in.  By then, the rain had stopped, so we ate lunch, settled in our rooms and reconvened to our safari vehicle for a short trip to Hell’s Gate Park. In the park, we saw baboons, zebra, giraffes, Thompson gazelles, Grant’s gazelles, impalas, warthogs, and guinea fowl. 

We walked to a vista point above the gorge, and then drove up to see one of the largest geothermal wells complexes in Africa, and its associated power generation station. Then, it was back to the lodge for drinks, dinner, and bed at the end of a long but exciting day.

March 23, 2010

Eko is the ancient name for Lagos.  This morning I attended a coffee and trunk showing of African jewelry by Ruth Omabegho.  Ruth , an  artist (she has a PH. D. in art)  and her husband Billy, sculpture and furniture maker, have lived in Africa for 29 years.    You can see Billy’s work (sculpture Zuma, 24 foot tall) in New York City in front of the Nigeria House. 

Ruth has taken African influences and combined with semi-precious stone, beads, silver, leather, and silk has produced a dramatic range of contemporary jewelry.  While Ruth brought a large trunk of jewelry to show, she also talked about the beads that she has seen and collected over the last 30 years in Nigeria and Africa. Not all “trade” beads came to Africa from the European traders. Trade beads were originally used in trade for gold, oil, and cloth.  The village “Oba” (kings) eagerly collected trade beads as they were a sign of wealth. The Oba wore as many beads as he could at one time which necessitated the need for men to help hold him up on both sides so that he could move and walk as the beads were so heavy.  As the years progressed these beads were then used for slave trading.   There is also a theory that one threw beads on the rivers for good luck and people still claim they find beads in river beads and where the rivers meet the oceans.  Early beads also came from Egypt where all the ingredients needed for glass beads already existed.  One should closely exam trade beads and note that old beads are drilled from each end and sometimes the hole does not exactly meet in the middle. (If drilled from one end only they crack, of course,  that was before there were laser drills which are used today). Ruth states her jewelry is really re-cycled objects (i.e. trade beads and other beads from a variety of African countries).  She started making clothes and robes from African fabrics never knowing that she was famous and successful. Then one day while traveling on a plane she watched the movie “Arthur” with Dudley Moore and saw him wearing one of her robes in the movie! Eventually her talent turned to jewelry making.  Her jewelry is sold here in Lagos, London and New York City.  She also casts miniatures of African Artifacts in Gold and Silver.  She will be participating in a show in November at the Museum of Art & Design in NYC.

 

Ruth’s Jewelry creations.  She never makes more that 3 of any one design.

Beads: eye beads, amonizonrite beads, chevron beads, excavated beads, russion blue, moon stones, and fancy beads (origin – karakumba Housa), just to name a few.

Today the door prize was a pair of earrings – “Buffalo Earrings” adapted from a ceremonial African mask. 

March 20, 2010

I know it is not yet Easter but we are a community of expatriates who when the holidays arrive we all travel out of Nigeria.  And the children get 2-3 weeks of Spring Holiday at Easter from school. Thus, holidays are celebrated early and hence, we had an Easter Egg Hunt for all Shell residents this past Saturday.  Actually the hunt was for the children and the adults drank a few beers and “ooh”ed and “aah” ed and smiled as we were shown all the eggs collected. 

I am a committee member of the Residents Committee who over the course of a year will host 5 to 6 events for the Shell residents.  First we had everyone that traveled in February bring back plastic eggs and a few items ordered over the internet (we can not live without the internet here).  From there we organized 3 egg hunts for children of 1-12 years, grilled hot dogs, and had a soft serve ice cream machine.  We hired a few nannies and drivers to help with the set-up and cooking logistics.  We set up craft tables, with coloring, quizzes, glitter glue, making of chickies, scratch offs, and egg decorating.  (You are correct that I helped organized the crafts!)

 

Everyone had a egg-cellent time!  At the end of the afternoon the children all received a treat bag with a beautiful Cadbury Easter Egg.

March 20, 2010

 Last year Rocky & I participated in the first “Run for the Cure” here in Lagos.  It was pretty amazing  that  about 300 runners and a few sponsors raised enough money (9 Million Naira or $60,000) to buy and support a Mammogram machine in the Women and Children’s Hospital in Calabar in Cross Rivers State  (this is where my driver is from and also where his 17 year daughter goes to university) and give a donation to the Susan G. Komen Fund in the USA. 

 

This year the Run toward the Cure theme is “The Power of 10”.  If everyone who enters asks 10 people to enter or to donate even more could be raised.  The goal was to raise funds to purchase another mammogram machine for here in Lagos and to continue supporting the breast cancer ward in the hospital in Calabar. The organizer is a teacher at the American International School Lagos (AISL).

 

Race morning saw so many people, more than 1000 particiapating in a 6k run or walk.  There were corporate sponser banners everywhere. The color pink dominated the school grounds.  There were policemen to shut down the roads for the racers.  There was water and donuts once you finished and awards.  Shell won for raising the most money and having the largest team.  Yummie Mummies (a group of mothers with children at AISL) won best t-shirt.  The spirit of friendly competition prevailed and fun was had by all.  A very successful race day!

And the Finish Line!

March 5^th, 2010 

March is “Women in History Month” here in Africa.  The AWC (American Women’s Club) had an idea to host a luncheon of 2 prominent American business women to celebrate Women in History in their honor.  Chosen were Ann Picard (Shell VP of African Operations) and Robin Renee Sanders (US Ambassador to Nigeria). Unfortunely, Ann was called out of town on business and was unable to attend.  However, we had a wonderful buffet luncheon at a new hotel on Ikoyi at the Protea Hotel Westwood.  The Honorable Madame Sanders was our guest.  It was a no press event (i.e. no cameras at all).   Our guests included 10 women directors and managers from UBA (United Bank of Africa), Danielle Fortin, the Canadian Ambassador (High Commission), Princess Sarah Adebisi Sosan (the Deputy Governor of Lagos State), and Donna Blair, The US Consul General. A sponsor provided a case of champagne to toast these famous Women in History which is a wonderful way to start a luncheon.

Madame Sanders willingly hosted a question and answer session with the guests.  She is a well informed and well spoken lady that discussed her role as Ambassador here in Africa.  She fielded questions on politics both local and global and the US position on several issues as well as the questions on security and American safety here in Lagos and the Niger Delta.  She has traveled to all 36 states in Nigeria to meet the people and the local governors.  Princess Sarah Sason congratulated Madame Sanders on the travel accomplishment as she herself had not been to all the states in Nigeria.  Princess Sason is also a well spoken and accomplished woman.  She took notes of the questions and had answers ready when Madame Sanders was done speaking.  She answered several questions discussing local issues (i.e. Road repairs, beautification, power, petrol and other improvements in Lagos).  What should have been 30 minutes turned into a 2 hour discussion and was so interesting. We closed the luncheon with a quiz about famous women in History and door prizes.  I was lucky enough to win a luncheon for 2 at the restaurant in the Protea Hotel complete with wine!

Oh Rocky and I went this Sunday past and sampled the luncheon buffet and drank our bottle of wine sitting water side in the restaurant having excellent service and a quiet enjoyable luncheon.  

This is my Nigeria!

January 30, 2010

We have all attended events where you  buy a ticket or buy a table in support of a charity or organization.  Typically the event is indoors with some form of entertainment.  However, Music in the Air has a twist on the usual venue.  The setting was the lawn of the United States Consulate Generals Residence which is located on the waters edge in Ikoyi.  The event was a fundraiser for a Performing Arts Center for the American International School of Lagos. The event was a magical evening with a concert on the lawn.  The dress was formal – Red Sea Rig – in other words tuxedos minus the jacket. You brought your own gourmet picnic to enjoy and you received complimentary Moet champagne as well as red and white wine.  Roc and I gathered some friends and hosted a table for this event.  We began with nibbles of olives and crisps, followed by bacon wrapped shrimp in raspberry chipotle and salmon on petit crackers. We then moved onward to the main course which was cole slaw, potato salad, brisket, ham, quiche, and stuffed tomatoes.  Desert was brownie bites and mini cherry cheesecakes.  Of course one them must have cheeses and pate.  All the while we had a beautiful concert in the background: a symphonic band, a tenor , Brian Vaughn, and a pianist, Maria Asseva.  An elegant night of music under the stars with a wonderful fireworks finale!

 I love the black champange glasses!

 Katherine & Rocky

 Sue and Ian

January 27, 2010

Wednesday Night Football has become a religion to the guards, staff, drivers, and expatriates at Queens Drive.  Attendance is anywhere for 15 to 25 players.  Recently a large brick Barbeque grill was built on the water side of Queens Drive outside the tennis court where Wednesday night football is played.  So it was decided to Baptize the grill after having a little friendly football competition.  Four drivers were selected as Captains:  Richard, Sunday Ujie (our driver,short Sunday), Sunday (tall Sunday), and Emmanuel.  They each had to select 6 players from Queens Drive (expats, guards, staff or drivers) for their team and then play a mini competition.  After the competition the residents would then serve the team a Barbeque feast.   We have a resident grill master, Eric, who cooked Chicken, Hot Dogs, Burgers and Brisket (the brisket came all the way from Texas) while the competition was being played.  He was assisted by a residents cook, Emanuel.  The teams were evenly picked and play was fast and furious but fun.  Wives and children came to watch.  One young player, Martin, was the team photographer in between playing.  Every one enjoyed the barbeque of their choice and refreshments. The yellow team won captained by our driver, Sunday Ujie!  He was so proud!  Ping Pong (table tennis) match for the non-footballers.  The new grill  Grillmaster Eric and Chef Emanual  The winning team! Captain Sunday (standing in black far right).   The Blue Team & Captain (tall) Sunday (on the far left standing).  Captain Richard (standing far right) and the Green team.  Captain Emmanual (standing middle) and the Red Team.  Notice Rocky front and center.  Kay and sons  Players (martin the photographer on the right) Below (5 pictures); players, family and friends………

January 26, 2010

This morning American Women’s Club meeting was not the usual speaker and coffee instead it was a fashion show!  A young American-Nigerian lady who started modeling at the age of 10 is now an up and coming designer.  Kiki was educated in Massachusetts (Harvard) and Paris.  Kiki produces only 25 pieces of any design. Omakaa is her female formal wear line.  Z.bird is a female playful avant garde design line of casual wear for today’s’ women who want something different.  Kiki also introduced her men’s line in her show to us today.  EKZ is inspired by the passion and colour of the 2010 FIFA world cup in South Africa.  Then there is the Arm Kandy or handbags.  Kiki uses 100% leather, assorted furs, ostrich, python, crocodile skins or a combination.  Kiki had music and lighting and an assortment of models.  For a moment we were all transported to New York City’s Fashion Week!

Z.bird Fashion Line

EKZ Fashion Line

Casual Dress Commenorating World Cup 2010

Omakaa Fashion Line

Arm Kandy (i.e. Handbag)

Designer Kiki

January 30, 2010

Sunday at the Yacht Club  here is so relaxing.  Usually ,I see the Yacht Club only from the water as we cruise by on our way to the beach.  Today there is a craft sale at the yacht club.  The Yacht Club sits out on a peninsula of land that gets a marvelous breeze.  So a friend and I took the opportunity to browse the sale and have refreshments at the water edge.  A very nice way to chill on a Sunday afternoon.