Buzzing Around The World With Fellette & Doug

Part 3: Three days in Kenya...

Part three of a three part series.

A 5.30 wake up knock on the door and down to breakfast where the resident fish eagles did their swoop and dive show for us. Back to the vans and out to look for game again before heading to Mombasa and the ship. Shimba Hills is not noted for game, it is only 12 miles square, so my expectation level was low. For the first time we had Sophie with us in the front seat. She has only seen a bit of game although she has lived here all her life. Soon, the driver spotted an elephant on the road about 1/4 mile ahead, he quickly drove down, shut off his engine and we coasted to a stop, slightly short of two animals on the right side of the road. Barely visible in the bush on the left side were several others, waiting to cross once they felt comfortable. We were treated to a bit of a display of ear flapping and facing us head on as if threatening us but it was just their way of saying don't mess with us. Singly or in pairs they gingerly trundled across the road

and in a matter of short minutes the landscape was empty of any trace of their having passed there. Luck of the draw.

Shortly, a small herd of Cape Buffalo popped onto the road in front of us, acting more like cattle than a wild animal. We next came to a herd of about 20 or 25 Sable Antelope. This is what Shimba has that very few if any other game parks have. The males are black and the females are roan in colour. We could not get closer than 200 yards to them because of their sticking to a large meadow that was not accessible. By this time we had been viewing animals for three days and unless there was a leopard sitting on a giraffes back with an antelope in it's mouth it really didn't do too much for me. I don't think that Jim had yet reached that point.

Time to head for Mombasa. An interesting 3/4 hour run on half decent roads, gassing up again at our somewhat tense little town.

The road up is very rural but getting more dense and tatty the closer we got to the Ferry that connects Mombasa, an Island, to the mainland.

The Ferry Experience can be frightening. There are literally hundreds of people lined up waiting to get across. Passengers ride free, vehicles pay.

There are security people on the ship for the 5 minute crossing. We had armed security guards roaming the ship from an armoured car firm. This is the only time that the girls felt uncomfortable we were told later.

Meanwhile Jim and I have our heads popped out the top looking around innocently, somewhat like a Pope-Mobile. I wished I was invisible because the scene is really indescribable with words,

the video could help capture a sense of it but I daren't point a camera, that draws nasty looks and gestures. Jim seems to be somewhat more immune to their glares than I am and pops away like a kid shooting floating lightbulbs in a pond with a BB gun. He has some great shots though.

A short ride through the old part of Mombasa harbour. It has cleaned up somewhat since we were last here and I really wish we had more time to browse but one look at the girls and we knew that was out of the question. I think visions of a cold shower were flashing through their minds.

Last stop, The Woodcarvers Co-op. Reputedly 10,000 carvers work at one time or another here. It was organised by the Government many tears ago to unify and generate a marketing tool for these highly skilled but poor carvers. The sheds are rows and rows of iron roofed sheds with barely head clearance for us.

The workers space is about four to five foot square, they sit or squat and chop, chip, carve and polish wonderful pieces of work, some as simple as elephant bookends that you all may have seen to some absolutely wonderful and creative pieces of art.

Fellette and I and Craig have visited this years ago, twice, our first visit was 17 years ago and I cannot believe the increase in the quality that there has been in those years. This work is done basically by one tribe that has been doing carving for generations.

17 years ago it was rather crude and rough looking stuff. Not so today although most of the giraffes that came aboard are made for the tourist trade haven't changed much in those years. There are some beautiful pieces that come out of those sheds, made under pretty crude conditions.

Next we were at the ship where we said farewell to Dickson and Sophie.

Back on the ship... Shaking our heads in disbelief what had happened to us in the previous three days. A bonus was the modest price we paid for this rather spontaneous adventure.

In the next few days we heard of other passengers experiences while the ship was in port. Some were euphoric about their time on safaris or other more modest excursions closer to home. Others could not wait to get underway and head away from East Africa. I think that some people expected Kenya to be like South Africa, which has not had 45 years to deteriorate to the level that it finds itself in.

That is the end of our three days in Kenya, in a word, Wonderful!

Some of the pictures of our lovely travelling companions were taken under rough conditions. The last picture is proof positive that they can rough it in the bush, but still clean up pretty darn good!

Talk to you after the Seychelles.


Postamble ramble...

This is written about 20 hours after coming back on board after three days off-ship in Mombasa. The time on safari was wonderful. Our new-found freedom from shipboard routine and all-too-familiar faces was greatl. There were times when I wanted to stay on land forever. However sometime about 4 to 5 hours before saying goodbye to our new friend and guide, I felt a twinge of longing for the ship again. It turned out I was not the only one feeling that way.

Time on land tours in Africa can be trying. The hustle, smells, traffic, poverty, bugs and periodic concerns about safety take their toll. When we finally got back on it was like coming home after months abroad.

Fellette said in bed last night, I never thought I would say this but this sure is a nice bed! Hot showers, clean fine linen sheets, no mosquito repellent, on our face and hands, it felt great. On our bed when we came in was the latest "gift" from Holland America, two of the cutest stuffed giraffes you ever saw.

Thanks Mr Holland, great to be back!

posted by Doug and Fellette @ 8:08 PM