Flat Stanley Goes to Kenya (10): Nairobi National Park

Nairobi is well known as "safari central," the place in Africa where most safaris go from, but what many people don't realize is just how much safari-like pleasure can be found close at hand. There will be further descriptions later of two of the near-by highlights (the Giraffe Center and the Elephant Orphanage, both of which captured Stanley's interest from the time we got out of the car), but the most satisfying site truly has to be the Nairobi National Park.

Just think about it: a huge park, full of wildlife, right at the city's borders. Indeed, as you see here, an early morning game drive can produce not only an amazing variety of wildlife - especially the big cats as they are wrapping up their night's chase and feeding, getting ready for lazing about in the sun - but the view in the distance is pretty amazing as well. It's Nairobi's cityscape, and as you are driven about in the park, it's just hard to believe. Sort of like having Yosemite National Park or some such between my neighborhood in Manhattan and the Hudson River.

Like all game drives, a visit to the Nairobi National Park starts early, with your driver calling for you between 6.00 and 6.30 am, to get you to the park gate when it opens at 7.00 am. Unlike the rest of us, Stanley had no trouble at all getting up, as the animals he had seen in other parks and game reserves had him excited to get to the Nairobi National Park. He knew he wouldn't be able to see any elephants (the park, at 117-sq-km - or 45-sq-miles - is too small for elephants) but he also had learned that just about anything else can be seen there, especially lions, rhinos, zebras, giraffes, and just about every member of the antelope family.

Stanley was not disappointed, and the rest of the group wasn't disappointed either. While I had had several visits to the park during the time I lived in Nairobi, with my most exciting visit (which you can read about here) in early June, nothing that's come before could compare with what we saw on this visit to the park. Within five minutes, it seemed, of coming through the gates, Mr. Charles (not only our driver but our animal spotter extraordinaire!) slowed the van down almost to a stop, turned off the engine, and whispered, "Lions." And there they were, Mr. and Mrs. Lion just strolling along the pavement of the park road, paying no attention to any vehicles anywhere, and just relaxing as they began their day. What a sight! Here are a couple of the pictures, and there are a few more at the Flat Stanley in Kenya album (and there will be more photos later).

Not to be outdone, no sooner had we (reluctantly) left Mr. and Mrs. Lion than we came upon Mr. and Mrs. Rhino, the first of several we would see during the game drive through the Nairobi National Park. As one of the country's most successful areas in terms of rhinos breeding, many of the black rhinos found in the park have been relocated from other areas. We were specially taken with this pair, though, since they seemed to willing to mosey about, not at all frightened by us, and not frightening to us either.

Masai Mara (12): Elephants

So perhaps it's time to 'fess up. If any readers of these posts have noticed a kind of lead-up, you're right. There has been so much to write about, and so much to see and share, and since we're all agreed that this is the experience of a lifetime for Mr. Guy (who ordinarily doesn't think of travel and adventure as something he would do, if he didn't have to, say, for work), I've tried to put some theme in these posts. Particularly this last one, to the Masai Mara Game Reserve, was just so full of adventure and splendid things to see, I just couldn't do it without some structure.

And typically for Mr. Guy, the structure has a shape leading up to something. So before we say good-by to Masai Mara, I will share what is probably going to be my one true love (well, in the animal kingdom).

Ever since last autumn, when I first arrived and Charles took me to the elephant orphanage (where I'm going again - with friends - this Sunday, as my own special treat to myself before I leave Kenya for a while), I've been fascinated by the elephants. I've always loved them, of course, but had no idea that seeing them in their natural habitat would be such a gripping experience. And since I didn't have a camera when I went to the elephant orphanage in November, we can expect some photographs of that treat next week.

In the meantime, though, I want to share the Masai Mara elephant experiences. I've felt a little slighted on these several Kenya safaris - the ones that have come before now - because so many of the places we go are too small for the elephants to roam freely, and you just don't see very many of them. To really enjoy the elephants, you have to go to a really big place, such as Masai Mara.

The African bush elephant is a pretty remarkable creature, and no matter how much I read about him, I continue to be amazed. First of all, he can weigh as much as 13,000 pounds (I find that really hard to believe but why not - he is huge!). And he communicates not only with that trumpeting blast you hear from time to time, but through very sensitive vibrations through the skin of the trunk and the feet. We human beings cannot hear these "subsonic rumblings" (one author called them) but for the elephants they can be sensed miles away.
Just amazing.

I love the fact that the elephants are so prone to stay together, although as the photographs at Mr. Guy's Masai Mara (12) Album demonstrates, we came across several situation where a single elephant was out in the area all alone. No matter. Charles and I had a good time watching them, and on the first occasion, it was Tomas - our Maasai guide - who found this guy all by himself. So we approached as close as we could, I tried to be very careful with the camera, and we sat silently for a long time, just watching and absorbing all he had to share with us.

And then, after he had had enough to eat, we watched him wander away and sure enough, there were some of his pals (family?) all in a bunch, and it was equally lovely to watch him join them and wander on into the forest. What a nice first game drive! And our first elephant.

Masai Mara (11): Giraffes

So the debate continues: What is Mr. Guy’s Favorite Animal? After all those affectionate words about the lion in the previous post, and all that’s been said in earlier posts about the docile gracefulness of the zebra, a picture seems to be falling into place.

Careful. We haven’t spent much time speaking about the giraffe and if you want to think about graceful, it’s hard to compare the movements – and the visual beauty – of a giraffe quietly moving across the plain, with some lovely foliage climbing up the hillside behind him. Pretty spectacular. George Balanchine couldn’t have staged it better.

As for the zebras… Their gracefulness will be pretty clear, I think, in a later post (but truth to tell, although there are plenty of them at the Masai Mara Game Reserve, for some reason there did not seem to be as many herds of zebra wandering about when I was there, just as I’ve observed on other safaris – again supporting the idea that a game drive is basically just a drive that provides the potential to see the wildlife – there are no guarantees).

But oh, the giraffes. Until I got to Africa, I never knew there were actually three races of giraffe, and truth to tell I’m not sure I’m clever enough to tell them apart. Apparently their distinctive differences have to do with where they live, the Maasai giraffe in the south and east of Kenya (and presumably what I saw at Masai Mara). In the north there is the reticulated giraffe – now endangered – and in the west the Rothschild’s giraffe. I remember Charles pointing the Rothschild giraffe out to me as we travelled on one of the safaris – I remember the name – but I’m afraid I didn’t look closely to see what made it different. Or perhaps it was when Charles and I visited the Giraffe Center in Nairobi last autumn at some point, or when I posted some pictures of giraffes from Hell’s Gate National Park on 6^th January.

But it doesn’t matter. No matter which of the three I see, I continue to be amazed at the beauty and the elegance of the giraffe, and it’s easy to see just how captivated I am, for I’m anxious to share even more giraffe photographs, these from Masai Mara, Mr. Guy’s Masai Mara (11) Album.

Masai Mara (3): The Game Reserve and Views

Probably the most famous and, as some say, arguably the best of Kenya’s national parks and game reserves, the Masai Mara Game Reserve is famous for both the views and the animals (I’ll try to describe the latter in future – probably several future – posts). It’s a great combination of features, with much open grassland and, since there has been so much rain in the past few months, the grass when I went to Masai Mara was especially high – hiding of course all sorts of things and beasts that don’t have to be exposed because the grass is short.

Indeed, the high grass provoked much fear in Charles and me at one point, as we grappled with the one truly stupid thing we saw on the trip.

In Africa, on safari and especially on game drives and when there is wildlife about, one never NEVER gets out of one’s vehicle. It’s just too dangerous, and the animals don’t know what to make of it. If you want a closer look, you look out of the vehicle or, in my case for this safari (and which many people do), you stand up and look out the roof of the van. But you don’t get out.

As we were moving along on one of our game drives, there were very few other vans and vehicles about, but up in front of us, about three-quarters of a mile away, we saw a van stop and three young men jumped out, obviously in a hurry to respond to the call of nature, as it’s delicately put in some circles. They did what they had to do and got back in the van, and drove away. We were not close enough to say anything, and it would have been inappropriate anyway (although when we saw this happen on another occasion – at Lake Nakuru National Park – our guide was a ranger and she make it clear to the offending tourist that he would be arrested if she saw him attempt to leave his vehicle again – and he hadn’t even got out but had only opened the door as if he were going to alight from his vehicle), but what we saw was frightening. These fellows were taking a chance, for with the grass so high, certainly hyenas and jackals could be there waiting to attack and even big guys like the cats could be well hidden. Stupid move.

Back to Masai Mara. The game reserve is big, some 1,510-sq-km (583-sq-mile) of it, and in addition to grassland, there are rocky hills, massive woodlands and forests, and simply beautiful views from just about anywhere. I’ve tried to capture a variety of views, shown here in Mr. Guy’s Masai Mara (3) Album – there is no (2) - and I hope readers get an idea of the genuine glory of this beautiful place. I’m particularly taken – as is evident from these photographs – with the sky, and how different in looks in parts of the Masai Mara. I love the different cloud formations, and it is at a time like this that I’m sorry I’m not a scientist. It would be good to have some of the scientific background for all this beauty. But then it might spoil the emotional pleasure, I suppose.

Game drives are a remarkable activity. When on a safari such as this, while there are campgrounds, with very limited facilities it seems. And I have no idea what kind of security one has sleeping in a tent on the edge of the jungle but since I don’t plan to be doing it, I won’t give it too much thought.

Depending on one’s relationship with one’s driver (or if one is part of a package deal in which a group of tourists will be going out together), the game drive is simply that, and nothing more: an opportunity to go out into the game preserve and observe the wildlife in their natural habitat. And with so much variety in the habitat, one never has any idea what will be seen. Of course people get their hopes up, especially wanting to see the so-called “big five” (African buffalo, African bush elephant, Leopard, Lion, and Rhino – all habitats, by the way, of Masai Mara Game Reserve), and there are so many other varieties of animals that it’s almost impossible not to see something. But there are no guarantees with respect to a game drive, and all sorts of conditions can affect what one sees.

Weather, for one, affects whether the wildlife will be out where it can be seen. Also the time of day is important. Most animals – especially predators – have had their chase and their fill by the middle of the day, and when it is too hot, that’s when they rest, sometimes going into as deep a sleep as they would at their normal sleeping times. Other animals, of course, are nocturnal so you’re not going to see them anyway unless you get up very early.

For me, the best method is just to plan a few game drives, at different parts of the day. I’m an early person anyway, so I’ve had pretty good luck going out about 6.00 or 6.30 am (most fairly nice lodges will prepare a packed breakfast to eat on the drive, since breakfast isn’t often served that early in the lodge). On this safari, I did that on two days. I’ve found the morning game drives to be the best, and you can schedule them for as long as you like (mine usually go about 3 to 3 ½ hours, and I get to see a lot). For late afternoon drives, we usually begin about 3.30 or 4.00 pm and stay out until dark (most lodges don’t serve dinner until 7.30 or so, sometimes even later).

Masai Mara is very famous as being the center of the famous “Great Migration,” when hundreds of thousands of grazing move from the Serengeti up through Kenya to follow the rains and the good grass. It’s said to be one of the most spectacular wildlife spectacles in the world, and I’ve seen films of it, and the Great Migration usually runs from mid-July to early September, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to return to Masai Mara this year. It would be a shame to miss it, but one can only absorb so much safari travel.

Secretary Bird and the Big Guys

I'm always perplexed when people ask me about my "favorite" anything. People
who know me know I'm an opera person, and as new friends discover that, the
next question is always "What's your favorite opera?" Can't say. It's
usually the one I've just come out of.

Same with the great cathedrals. After a couple of years of researching my
famous unpublished book on English cathedral libraries (and even while I was
working on it), I was often asked, "So what is your favorite cathedral?"
Can't say. Usually it's the one I've just visited.

So with the wildlife when I'm on safari. There's so much to see, and every
animal (and bird and plant - particularly the flowers) is just so
remarkable. But even if I can't identify a "favorite" I can have fun with
the different qualities of the different species. The old secretary bird,
for example. I first discovered her in South Africa, and I seem to remember
seeing her in a couple of other places (in Australia perhaps?). And I like
her a lot because she is so funny. This isn't a very good photo, and I'll
try to make another before I finish my African adventure because I love her
when she is waddling around with those great wings outstretched.

And why the "secretary" name? Apparently in the old days the protruding
feathers from her head (she's flattened them in this photograph - she knew I
was trying to capture her image!) look like the quills which in olden times
secretaries tucked behind their ears, stuck in their heavy hair-dos.

Perhaps. In any case, Ms. Secretary Bird could be a "favorite" candidate,
and she's just one of more than 500 species of birds at Lake Nakuru. I'm
sometimes sad that I'm not a birdwatcher, 'cause they sure do seem to have a
lot of fun (as noted - in a very ironic way - in the very sweet short story
in the 11 January issue of The New Yorker, "Safari" by Jennifer Egan).

As for the rhino (and here's your first peek at the flamingos - more to
come!), well, he may be big and cumbersome and (to some) very ugly but he
certainly is something to see. He's never very busy or frenetic (unless he
is disturbed or has to be on the defensive) but he's just there, cooling
himself in the water or munching away in the field. About a dozen white and
perhaps 50 black rhinos were brought to Lake Nakuru National Park in the
1990s and they've bred successfully, with about 100 of them at the park
today. And they are impressive, no question about it.

I seem to see the buffalo about everywhere I go, and I've got to do some
research, as I haven't yet discerned the difference between the water
buffalo and the Cape buffalo, both of which seem to be found here in Kenya.
I don't know which we saw here on the Lake Nakuru safari. No matter. They
are handsome fellows, and while this one seemed to be coming in our
direction a little closer than our guide liked (he - the buffalo - wasn't
moving fast but he was certainly determined to check us out), I was able to
grab at least one shot before we moved off.