Thursday, April 5, 2012
Puncture
Today began with a realization that US dollars aren't as magical as they may seem. We tried to exchange both travelers checks and cash but no banks in Nakuru Town do travelers checks anymore and any US cash older than a couple years isn't accepted anywhere in Kenya. Sheesh! Luckily the ATM worked and we had some cash newer than 2006!
Then we hit the road and headed to Aberdare National Park and a lodge called The Ark. It was our first taste of really getting "out there" on safari.
First off, Aberdare is up in the mountains and so is a jungle landscape.
On our game drive on the way up to The Ark we were surprised by a tusker elephant grazing on jungle bushes almost right above our heads on a skinny mountain road. It is amazing that something so big can hide so well right next to you!
Then after seeing some skunk monkeys (____________ for real), various asundry warthogs and bush bucks, our guest guide for the day talked in Swahili to his driver and then said in English, "Oh, I am sorry. We have a puncture." Apparently the left front wheel had blown and we were on our own with a bus full of Chinese and Argentinian friends to fix it. Anna and I were the only English-only folks there, plus the only Americans, so to avoid seeming pushy, we stayed on the bus and didn't lend any thoughtful gazing to the tire changing effort at all, but the rest of the folks certainly did. Especially after the guide told us NOT to get off the bus.
But the tire was successfully swapped out and we were on our way up to the top for a night in The Ark. The best feature of this hotel is the salt lick, pond, viewing deck, and flood light combo that allows guests to watch the late night antics of the creatures who come to visit. One bell rung in the middle of the night means the are elephants to see. Two bells equals rhinos, three; a leopard, and four; all other rare sightings.
About two-thirty in the morning we heard a single bell and hopped out of bed. When we arrived at the viewing platform we saw both a big old tusker elephant plus two black rhinos! They drank water, scuffled over who owned the salt lick and in general put on an enjoyable show. Then the bad guys showed up as a pack of hyenas followed, threatened and were ultimately rebuffed by a giant forest hog.
While watching these animals from the indoor observation deck, below us on the porch were two bush babies! One even came up the emergency stairs and looked Carl right in the face! Our guide Ashford stated that he has lived in Kenya all his life and never seen a live bush baby because they are so elusive. And guess what? We forgot to take a picture!
Did I mention that the Ark was built to resemble the biblical boat sitting atop Mt. Arararat? Well it is and certainly delivers on a similar amount of wildlife with it! It was a great way to see that part of Kenyan game culture.
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