Dear Family,
We landed in Lewa (flew Tropic Air on a 16 seater and as
I flew in the co-pilot seat, I was able to convince my co-worker Rick to fly
around Mt. Kenya and another mountain so that he could stay at or below 9,500
feet so to not cause any swelling issues for Diane's arm and lymph system -
result of lymphnode removal in cancer surgery) a few days ago and were met by
our driver James and spotter Peter. Both
like William in the Mara are Masai tribe members and our camp, Sirikoi is on a
68,000 acre conservancy which breeds black and white rhinos.
Sirikoi's tents are a step up in luxury as the Roberts
family built this camp within the last few years. They and/or their family own 2 of the 3 camps
we're visiting, Tropic Air, the helicopter company and more. Plus the camp managers are relatives, including
Jay Jay who runs this camp. Our tent has
a nice bathroom with a claw foot tub and big shower and was built on hardwood
floors. We still need to be escorted to
and from our home when dark so that we don't become part of the ecosystem.
The animals here are a bit harder to spot except for
rhinos. The black ones are loners and
will charge the cars if not properly approached. That said, there are plenty of giraffes,
buffalo, lions, elephants, antelope, monkeys, etc, to see...
On birthday eve, we decided to ride horses. They warned me that the saddles would be
English and not Western which could cause an American like me some issues. As I couldn't recall what saddle was worn by
the horses on those machines in front of supermarkets that my parents would
deposit $.25 to give me a cowboy experience (thanks Mom and Dad - nice to
explain to bewildered people that I never rode a horse), I said I would do my
best to make the English saddle work. We
rode for almost an hour and a half with 2 guides. Zebras and giraffes (photo on Facebook)
didn't really care that we walked up on horses and thusly we got very
close. As would be expected (Diane's
words not mine), my horse "Scott" didn't really like going with the
program (he wanted to graze and not follow Keoni's "Rose" or Diane's
"Jubilee". Towards the end, he
nicely walked my leg into a sticker bush.
I hereby wish to make you witnesses at the new style of saddle that I
have thought up: English, Western and now Pillow. It will make for a more pleasant riding
experience for that part of your body which is connected to the horse.
After the first night, we were the only guests left in
the camp. The service which has been 5
star continued as we enjoyed the place to ourselves. The patriarchs Willie and Sue came to visit
with us. They have a large organic
garden which Sue is quite proud of and which is very impressive. My blends have been the freshest ever, Keoni
has hot chocolate whenever he wants and all of the food is incredible. The biggest concern for Kyle the Finnicky has
turned out to be one of the greatest pleasures for Kyle the Happy.
Unfortunately, when we arrived in Sirikoi, Diane started
having some stomach issues but she has been a trooper. We think maybe a side effect of the malaria
pills we're taking as I've had some issues of late as well.
That said, her birthday came in Sirikoi and I had planned
for a helicopter flight and lunch as Keoni's and my gift. Diane made clear before we left Los Angeles
that she had misgivings about flying in this machine (I think her quote was
"I would never want to fly in a helicopter which is why I haven't")
while Keoni was excited. When those two
things happen, Diane the person is nervous while Diane the mom wants to please
her son which leaves Diane the wife who is now pissed at her kind Prince
Charming. It should be noted that I had
no idea that she didn't want a chitty chitty bang bang experience when I booked
this as I don't try to intentionally make her grumbly...
The plans were set, we woke up to our tray of tea and hot
cocoa and biscuits (think cookies) and the birthday girl was a bit on the
stressed side. The staff packed up our
land rover with our flight provisions and we were waiting for the chopper. At the last minute, we were told that the clouds
were too low and we'd have wait and go on safari instead until they
lifted. Like a schoolgirl waiting to
take a final exam she isn't prepared for, Diane did not look happy as we went
out on safari for a couple of hours.
Finally the time arrived and we were taken out to the
runway in the camp where the helicopter had landed. We were ready to go but the pilot was nowhere
to be found. Yes, quite the gift I had
planned as Diane looked at me with that "thank goodness I decided to go
out with you back in 1986" grumpy smile on her face.
Mario, our Kenyan military trained pilot arrived and
assured Diane that she was going to have fun.
"Who would like to ride in front with me" he asked Diane,
thinking she would jump at it. She
quickly responded, "not me"!
Keoni quickly hopped in while Diane and I (along with Peter to assist
with lunch set-up) got into the back.
About 5 minutes after take-off, Diane looked
relaxed. We flew a couple hundred feet
off the ground and it was a magnificent flight.
After about 30 minutes, we landed on top of a sacred mountain which
towered over the area. We toasted
champagne (photo of FB) and enjoyed the spectacular view. Mario suggested we go to a different spot for
lunch and we could leave the back doors slid open during the flight if we
liked. Diane loved the idea as long as
she was in the front seat so Keoni and I on either side of the helicopter were
harnessed in and off we went.
he flight was a bit unnerving when we took off from the
mountain and were suddenly thousands of feet in the air with high altitude wind
blowing in our faces. Also a bit stomach churning when we were navigating over
a winding muddy river (think Apocalypse Now) and he would turn back and forth,
leaving Keoni or I on the low side of the tilt.
Very cool though as we quickly got used to it (see attached photo of
Keoni).
We landed on another mountain about 20 minutes away and
enjoyed a spectacular meal of my blend, vegetables, rice/veggies, chicken and
tea. See attached photo of the view from
our lunch mountain.
We then took off doorless and flew to a forest area where
James and a Ranger (was in a national park) were awaiting our arrival. We said goodbye to Mario, drove a short
distance and climbed up about 4 stories for a 450 meter canopy walk. A doorless helicopter doesn't bother my son,
but walking in a waist high wire meshed and steel roped sky trail was
unnerving. He completed it even though
father and son bickered a bit over the safety of Kenyan canopy walks. The car was waiting for us at the end which
was fine for Diane but I decided to walk it back and my little man followed
although our debate continued until we were back in the car.
We then drove up very rocky and wet terrain to a hill
where we parked. We walked down into the
valley where a stream flowed into a waterfall that filled a really pretty pool
surrounded by lush vegetation. Being the
poetic American, I thought it picturesque enough to film a Sprite commerical This was where we could jump into the water
from the various ledges.
We changed into bathing suits (Diane had hers under her
clothes) while Keoni and I chuckled at being au natural for a few moments. James then ran and jumped in giving a large
yelp at the chill of the very cold water.
I asked Keoni where we should jump from and he pointed to a ledge of
about 15 feet above the water. I
bypassed checking the temperature of the stream and quickly climbed the
ledge. What the hell was I doing and why
did I need to jump in and damned this seems high and don't face plant/belly flop. James was down below nodding at me the same
way Keoni was as he said, "go for it Dad". Diane focused the camera at me from across
the way.
Keoni stood on the 12 foot ledge (not the one he
initially pointed to) and simply jumped it (the little brave bugger who must
have been born from an extraordinarily courageous father whoever that is). That's where the impressiveness immediately
ended as no warrior face for him. He
came up gasping and swimming as fast as he could to warrior dad.
We were all out and Diane just looked at us. Keoni said, "come on mom, you need to do
it too". I have known Diane for
over half her life and this type of challenge is not in her nature. After some coaxing by James, Peter (who can't
swim and didn't jump), Keoni and me, Diane disrobed to her bathing suit and
walked back and forth up and down the ledge.
She looked at us with a squinting "I don't want to do this"
face.
fter some reassurance and James jumping back into the
unfrozen tundra water (Well done James!), Diane stepped to Keoni ledge and
stepped back. She then looked at me,
took a deep breath, looked down, stepped
up and leaped off (see terrible photo attached although it is definitely Diane
splashing in). She came up and didn't
seem to notice the imported arctic water in which she was swimming. She was simply ecstatic and it was very cool
to see!
We drove back, enjoyed nice, hot, long showers before
dinner. As always, the camp bar was
set-up, the fire pit was lit, hor d'ourves were served during our cocktail time
and another great meal was served. After
dinner, they presented Diane with a freshly made chocolate birthday cake (Diane
the pastry/confection maker noted "this is really good"!) and the
night was complete. It should be noted
that she told me that the helicopter trip was amazing so all Kyle-haters (yes,
they are amongst us Dad) please refrain from comments.
In the morning both Diane and I were struggling with
upset stomachs. She wanted to stay in
and rest while Keoni and I went out for an early morning safari. She looked
very happy at the prospect of sleeping in without our presence before breakfast
and then the short ride to our airplane.
2 hours later, Keoni and I arrived back at our tent. We unzipped the front door and noted that one
of our suitcases was blocking the entrance.
"What's up" I asked.
She said that a monkey continually unvelcroed and unzipped the door
before sticking his head inside the tent.
She had to get up and close the tent each time only to see the little
head re-emerge moments later. Diane then
raised a closed umbrella that she was sleeping with. I asked her what she was doing with
that? She said it was to bop the monkey
on the head if he came in.
Thankfully one of the staff was startled when he heard my
beloved yelling at the monkey so he came in and removed the hot chocolate and
biscuits which was the attraction for Diane's new little friend.
We said our goodbyes to James, Peter and the staff and
then met our pilot "Kyle" (great guy as you'd suspect) in his 6 seat
Cessna. We loaded up and off we went for
the 20+ minute flight north. As Keoni
sat up front next to Kyle, he must have had a Lindberghian look on his face as
Kyle invited Keoni to fly the plane. Our
newly minted driver was instructed to pull back on the wheel, then push it
forward and then maneuver right and left.
Diane and I looked at each other as the plane moved in
the different directions as Kyle held his hands up reminding all of us that
Tropic Air was not American Airlines.
While survival instincts along with a healthy dose of common sense would
seem to push one to tell the pilot that letting a 12 year old with no flight
experience fly us along at 6,000 feet is a bad idea, Diane and I sat quietly
taking photos (see attached) of our young Chuck Yeager.
We just arrived in Sarara which is our last camp in
Kenya.
A short nap, some afternoon tea (yes, my new thing) and a
safari walk, Kyle Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®
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