I've uploaded some more pictures taken by my traveling companions to my Photobucket account.
The albums can be viewed here , here, and here.
Here's some video from the trip as well:
Thanks for looking!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Pictures, pictures, pictures!
We finally made it home!
We arrived Saturday night to the airport in Nairobi, only to find that our flight to Paris had been canceled. We waited (in vain) until 11 PM to see if we could get seats on a flight to London, but that was a no-go. The airline put us up in a hotel so that we could catch the flight to Paris in the morning; the only thing was that we arrived at the hotel around 12:30 AM and received our wakeup calls at 2:15 AM. It turns out the flight from Paris was delayed until 7:30 AM, so it was a fairly miserable, sleepless experience.
We had to spend the night in Paris, but it was not as glamorous as it sounds. Our airport hotel was about 45 minutes from downtown, so we had hotel restaurant buffet food, then retired for the evening.
The flights from Paris to Newark and Newark to Rochester went smoothly, which has been the exception and not the rule for this trip!
Anywho, it's great to be home; but this has been the trip of a lifetime. I can't summarize everything I've learned in one paragraph. If anything, it's opened my eyes, and I'd like to think that I'll make it back to Africa someday.
In the meantime, here is a link to my Photobucket album: Kenya Photobucket Album
The pictures aren't posted chronologically, but if you play the slideshow, there's captions describing each shot. There are several hundred more pictures from the other people in our group, but I'd like to get permission (or better yet, links) from them before I post them.
Thanks for following along, even if the coverage was spotty!
We arrived Saturday night to the airport in Nairobi, only to find that our flight to Paris had been canceled. We waited (in vain) until 11 PM to see if we could get seats on a flight to London, but that was a no-go. The airline put us up in a hotel so that we could catch the flight to Paris in the morning; the only thing was that we arrived at the hotel around 12:30 AM and received our wakeup calls at 2:15 AM. It turns out the flight from Paris was delayed until 7:30 AM, so it was a fairly miserable, sleepless experience.
We had to spend the night in Paris, but it was not as glamorous as it sounds. Our airport hotel was about 45 minutes from downtown, so we had hotel restaurant buffet food, then retired for the evening.
The flights from Paris to Newark and Newark to Rochester went smoothly, which has been the exception and not the rule for this trip!
Anywho, it's great to be home; but this has been the trip of a lifetime. I can't summarize everything I've learned in one paragraph. If anything, it's opened my eyes, and I'd like to think that I'll make it back to Africa someday.
In the meantime, here is a link to my Photobucket album: Kenya Photobucket Album
The pictures aren't posted chronologically, but if you play the slideshow, there's captions describing each shot. There are several hundred more pictures from the other people in our group, but I'd like to get permission (or better yet, links) from them before I post them.
Thanks for following along, even if the coverage was spotty!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Up....up...and away!
Internet connectivity in Kenya is not like we have at home, as you can see from the erratic nature of this blog. It’s been a few days, so I thought I’d get everyone up to speed.
We left Mpala Research Centre on the morning of October 28th. It’s about an hour’s drive to the next town, called Nanyuki, where we stopped to get some diesel fuel for our Land Cruiser. After fueling up, we headed back north to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, in which the Sweetwater Tented Camps are located. We would be spending the balance of our trip here.
Ol Pejeta is a 90,000 acre wildlife conservancy and cattle ranch. Much of what we have been learning about has focused on conserving wildlife in addition to using the natural resources to raise cattle. As we are learning, the two are not mutually exclusive, and in fact, cattle can be used as a tool to conserve wildlife. (There will be much more on this later, as this has been our primary focus.)
After we were settled and had lunch, we took the Land Cruiser out for a drive to find and view wildlife. Basically, every waking moment that we’re not working or eating, we’re driving around looking for birds and mammals. What do you expect when you have five science geeks in a vehicle cruising around the savanna?
On the morning of the 29th, we met with Carolyn, who works in the ecological monitoring department of Ol Pejeta. She gave us a very informative presentation on the work being done at Ol Pejeta, and introduced to Jospeh Methenge, Ol Pejeta’s cattle operations manager. We learned quite a bit how Ol Pejeta is using cattle to create hotspots for wildlife while maintaining a successful cattle operation. This meeting was very informative, and Joseph took us to several sites where we could see what we’ve learned put into action.
During the evening, we went on a night game drive. It’s safe to say that we’ve been pretty spoiled with our daily game drives since we weren’t getting too excited about the wildlife we were seeing! We did perk up when we saw a white-tailed mongoose, but went nuts when we had our first lion sighting! There are 52 lions in the conservancy, so seeing one can be a rare occurrence.
This morning we met with Anthony King, director of the Laikipia Wildlife Forum, which has its office in a small shack at the Nanyuki airstrip. To say the least, this man was inspirational. He had a simple, yet profound definition of what he thinks conservation is, and was pleased to hear about our work on this trip. We spoke with him for about two hours, then Jim surprised us with a flight in a single-engine plane over the area that we’ve been exploring and learning about for the past week. Our flight was about an hour, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Kirin, our pilot, would ask where we wanted to go as we were in the air. If we wanted to circle above a working boma, we just asked him and he took us there. It was amazing!
Tomorrow, we have a meeting in Nairobi with Peter Ndunda, the GIS technical specialist for the Greenbelt Movement. It should prove to be interesting and will add another piece to our work here.
Until later, Kwaheri!
We left Mpala Research Centre on the morning of October 28th. It’s about an hour’s drive to the next town, called Nanyuki, where we stopped to get some diesel fuel for our Land Cruiser. After fueling up, we headed back north to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, in which the Sweetwater Tented Camps are located. We would be spending the balance of our trip here.
Ol Pejeta is a 90,000 acre wildlife conservancy and cattle ranch. Much of what we have been learning about has focused on conserving wildlife in addition to using the natural resources to raise cattle. As we are learning, the two are not mutually exclusive, and in fact, cattle can be used as a tool to conserve wildlife. (There will be much more on this later, as this has been our primary focus.)
After we were settled and had lunch, we took the Land Cruiser out for a drive to find and view wildlife. Basically, every waking moment that we’re not working or eating, we’re driving around looking for birds and mammals. What do you expect when you have five science geeks in a vehicle cruising around the savanna?
On the morning of the 29th, we met with Carolyn, who works in the ecological monitoring department of Ol Pejeta. She gave us a very informative presentation on the work being done at Ol Pejeta, and introduced to Jospeh Methenge, Ol Pejeta’s cattle operations manager. We learned quite a bit how Ol Pejeta is using cattle to create hotspots for wildlife while maintaining a successful cattle operation. This meeting was very informative, and Joseph took us to several sites where we could see what we’ve learned put into action.
During the evening, we went on a night game drive. It’s safe to say that we’ve been pretty spoiled with our daily game drives since we weren’t getting too excited about the wildlife we were seeing! We did perk up when we saw a white-tailed mongoose, but went nuts when we had our first lion sighting! There are 52 lions in the conservancy, so seeing one can be a rare occurrence.
This morning we met with Anthony King, director of the Laikipia Wildlife Forum, which has its office in a small shack at the Nanyuki airstrip. To say the least, this man was inspirational. He had a simple, yet profound definition of what he thinks conservation is, and was pleased to hear about our work on this trip. We spoke with him for about two hours, then Jim surprised us with a flight in a single-engine plane over the area that we’ve been exploring and learning about for the past week. Our flight was about an hour, and it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Kirin, our pilot, would ask where we wanted to go as we were in the air. If we wanted to circle above a working boma, we just asked him and he took us there. It was amazing!
Tomorrow, we have a meeting in Nairobi with Peter Ndunda, the GIS technical specialist for the Greenbelt Movement. It should prove to be interesting and will add another piece to our work here.
Until later, Kwaheri!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Starlings and students
Jambo! Another beautiful day in Kenya!
This morning, we awoke early at 5:30 AM for a brief stroll around the Mpala Research Centre to spot birds. I’ll leave the specific bird species we identified to the group’s ornithologists, but suffice to say, there were scads of them! As the sun rose, it was amazing to see how quickly vegetation is returning after the rains that we’ve had here. Grass is growing quickly, the acacia’s are beginning to bloom, and both the people and wildlife are clearly glad to see the rains return.
After breakfast, Wilson took us around Mpala to visit the superb starling nesting sites that he is studying. Throughout the day, we talked about the ecological role that glades play in the area. Of course, we saw all sorts of wildlife as we visited the starling sites, including dung beetles, thousands of ants marching back to their colony, each carrying a termite for the food stores, and best of all, we saw our first elephants! You have to understand that the landscape is littered with evidence of elephants: broken acacia trees that they have decided to eat, footprints, and I’m sure that you can imagine what else! We all thought for certain we would see loads of them, but until today, they’ve been quite elusive.
We had lunch, and then went to the Mpala Primary School with Wilson to observe the Conservation Club that he runs for grades 4 and 5. The club began with a short lesson on the characteristics of birds, and then the children went out to search for birds, evidence of birds, and examples of bird behavior.
Going to the school was an eye opening experience. I don’t think our students have a real grasp of how fortunate they are in the U.S. From their clothing, to the class size, the facilities, and the school supplies: These are clearly two different worlds.
We rounded out the evening with Wilson as our guide on a night game drive. Although we did not see a large number of species, we found some new animals that we hadn’t yet seen, including bat-eared foxes and an aardwolf.
Tomorrow we are off to Ol Pejeta Nature Conservancy where we will be staying at the Sweetwater Tented Camps for the next several days.
Kwaheri
This morning, we awoke early at 5:30 AM for a brief stroll around the Mpala Research Centre to spot birds. I’ll leave the specific bird species we identified to the group’s ornithologists, but suffice to say, there were scads of them! As the sun rose, it was amazing to see how quickly vegetation is returning after the rains that we’ve had here. Grass is growing quickly, the acacia’s are beginning to bloom, and both the people and wildlife are clearly glad to see the rains return.
After breakfast, Wilson took us around Mpala to visit the superb starling nesting sites that he is studying. Throughout the day, we talked about the ecological role that glades play in the area. Of course, we saw all sorts of wildlife as we visited the starling sites, including dung beetles, thousands of ants marching back to their colony, each carrying a termite for the food stores, and best of all, we saw our first elephants! You have to understand that the landscape is littered with evidence of elephants: broken acacia trees that they have decided to eat, footprints, and I’m sure that you can imagine what else! We all thought for certain we would see loads of them, but until today, they’ve been quite elusive.
We had lunch, and then went to the Mpala Primary School with Wilson to observe the Conservation Club that he runs for grades 4 and 5. The club began with a short lesson on the characteristics of birds, and then the children went out to search for birds, evidence of birds, and examples of bird behavior.
Going to the school was an eye opening experience. I don’t think our students have a real grasp of how fortunate they are in the U.S. From their clothing, to the class size, the facilities, and the school supplies: These are clearly two different worlds.
We rounded out the evening with Wilson as our guide on a night game drive. Although we did not see a large number of species, we found some new animals that we hadn’t yet seen, including bat-eared foxes and an aardwolf.
Tomorrow we are off to Ol Pejeta Nature Conservancy where we will be staying at the Sweetwater Tented Camps for the next several days.
Kwaheri
Monday, October 26, 2009
Mpala Research Centre
Jambo!
We finally made it to Mpala Research Centre last night, which was no small feat! The interesting thing about driving in Kenya, is that there aren't many road signs. There is, however, plenty of crazy drivers and hundreds and hundreds of people walking along the side of the road. Add to that the fact that one drives on the left-hand side, and you have an exciting combination!
After a good night's sleep, we woke up to a chorus of unfamiliar, yet beautiful bird calls. After breakfast, we were able to chat with a graduate student from UC Davis who is doing work studying the ecological impacts of bomas and glades. Bomas are fenced in areas, usually made from cut acacia trees, that are used to house cattle at night to protect them from predators and cattle thieves. Glades are treeless areas that are where former bomas used to be. (Usually bomas are used until the cattle dung becomes so deep that they have trouble moving. Then a new boma is constructed elsewhere for the cattle to spend the evening.) We also spoke with Mike, the manager of Mpala Ranch, about the challenges of managing a ranch to support both livestock and wildlife. These conversations were very helpful with the work we are doing.
Best of all, we saw tons of wildlife! On today's list were countless species of birds, impala, waterbucks, warthogs, giraffes, ostriches, vervet monkeys, and last but certainly not least: a leopard!!
Tomorrow we will be visiting some research sites where there is work being done on the breeding behavior of superb starlings. We will also attend a conservation club meeting at a nearby school and donate the nearly 350 lbs. of books that were donated!
On Wednesday, we head to Ol Pejeta Nature Conservancy.
As guessed, the internet connection here is sketchy at best, so pictures will have to wait. Trust me, there are tons!!
Kwaheri
We finally made it to Mpala Research Centre last night, which was no small feat! The interesting thing about driving in Kenya, is that there aren't many road signs. There is, however, plenty of crazy drivers and hundreds and hundreds of people walking along the side of the road. Add to that the fact that one drives on the left-hand side, and you have an exciting combination!
After a good night's sleep, we woke up to a chorus of unfamiliar, yet beautiful bird calls. After breakfast, we were able to chat with a graduate student from UC Davis who is doing work studying the ecological impacts of bomas and glades. Bomas are fenced in areas, usually made from cut acacia trees, that are used to house cattle at night to protect them from predators and cattle thieves. Glades are treeless areas that are where former bomas used to be. (Usually bomas are used until the cattle dung becomes so deep that they have trouble moving. Then a new boma is constructed elsewhere for the cattle to spend the evening.) We also spoke with Mike, the manager of Mpala Ranch, about the challenges of managing a ranch to support both livestock and wildlife. These conversations were very helpful with the work we are doing.
Best of all, we saw tons of wildlife! On today's list were countless species of birds, impala, waterbucks, warthogs, giraffes, ostriches, vervet monkeys, and last but certainly not least: a leopard!!
Tomorrow we will be visiting some research sites where there is work being done on the breeding behavior of superb starlings. We will also attend a conservation club meeting at a nearby school and donate the nearly 350 lbs. of books that were donated!
On Wednesday, we head to Ol Pejeta Nature Conservancy.
As guessed, the internet connection here is sketchy at best, so pictures will have to wait. Trust me, there are tons!!
Kwaheri
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Arrival! (Finally...)
Jambo! I am finally here.
Granted, it was no small feat. Things were going along as scheduled until we were preparing to board for our flight from Newark to London Heathrow. As it was, we only had a bit more than one hour in London to connect with our final leg to Nairobi. Our flight from Newark was delayed 40 minutes! Then, as we approached London Heathrow, the aircraft was directed to take a holding pattern, adding another twenty minutes to the flight.
Suffice to say, we arrived at London Heathrow after our flight to Nairobi had already left, at about 11:00 AM London time.
Our fearless leader, Jim MaKinster, worked some magic, spending quite a bit of time at the ticket counter, and was able to secure three flights to Nairobi leaving at 8:00 PM London time. Unfortunately, there are five in our party. We probably broke one of the most important rules of traveling in a group: "Never separate!". Two of our party, Nancy and Courtney, were to take a 9:00 PM flight from London to Doha, Qatar, then transfer and arrive in Nairobi at 1:15 PM local time. (It is 1:45 PM as I type this.) With any luck, they will be arriving shortly to the hotel.
As we rode from the airport to pick up our Land Cruiser, I felt as if I was on another planet. We've all seen poverty on television, but it doesn't prepare one to see the living conditions that some of the people here live in.
Coincidentally, today was the annual Nairobi marathon, so traffic was rerouted around the city. As we rode, there were countless corrugated steel shacks and stalls, selling everything from unevenly cut lumber, to concrete blocks. Sprinkled throughout were advertisements for Coca-Cola, the local cellular phone providers, and other goods and services that seemed as out of place in this environment as I felt riding through it.
I am currently in the hotel lobby as I type this. We missed our planned "good night's sleep" in a hotel bed last evening, but were able to secure our rooms for a few hours today. After a well-needed breakfast, nap, and shower, I am ready for the 250 km Land Cruiser ride from Nairobi to the Mpala Research Centre. Hopefully we'll arrive early this evening.
Due to the speed of the internet connection here and my limited time, I will need to post pictures later.
That's all for now. Until later, Kwaheri!
Granted, it was no small feat. Things were going along as scheduled until we were preparing to board for our flight from Newark to London Heathrow. As it was, we only had a bit more than one hour in London to connect with our final leg to Nairobi. Our flight from Newark was delayed 40 minutes! Then, as we approached London Heathrow, the aircraft was directed to take a holding pattern, adding another twenty minutes to the flight.
Suffice to say, we arrived at London Heathrow after our flight to Nairobi had already left, at about 11:00 AM London time.
Our fearless leader, Jim MaKinster, worked some magic, spending quite a bit of time at the ticket counter, and was able to secure three flights to Nairobi leaving at 8:00 PM London time. Unfortunately, there are five in our party. We probably broke one of the most important rules of traveling in a group: "Never separate!". Two of our party, Nancy and Courtney, were to take a 9:00 PM flight from London to Doha, Qatar, then transfer and arrive in Nairobi at 1:15 PM local time. (It is 1:45 PM as I type this.) With any luck, they will be arriving shortly to the hotel.
As we rode from the airport to pick up our Land Cruiser, I felt as if I was on another planet. We've all seen poverty on television, but it doesn't prepare one to see the living conditions that some of the people here live in.
Coincidentally, today was the annual Nairobi marathon, so traffic was rerouted around the city. As we rode, there were countless corrugated steel shacks and stalls, selling everything from unevenly cut lumber, to concrete blocks. Sprinkled throughout were advertisements for Coca-Cola, the local cellular phone providers, and other goods and services that seemed as out of place in this environment as I felt riding through it.
I am currently in the hotel lobby as I type this. We missed our planned "good night's sleep" in a hotel bed last evening, but were able to secure our rooms for a few hours today. After a well-needed breakfast, nap, and shower, I am ready for the 250 km Land Cruiser ride from Nairobi to the Mpala Research Centre. Hopefully we'll arrive early this evening.
Due to the speed of the internet connection here and my limited time, I will need to post pictures later.
That's all for now. Until later, Kwaheri!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Welcome to my corner of the blogosphere!
This blog will be used to document my trip to Kenya through the Crossing Boundaries program. At this point, we are at T-minus one week until departure, and the reality of the trip is finally setting in. Regarding trip preparations: I do have all of my required and recommended immunizations, I have applied for and received my visa, and purchased some snazzy new lightweight/moisture-wicking/SPF 50 clothing articles that will hopefully keep me comfortable in the equatorial heat. We have also decided to bring some used children's books along to donate to a school or two upon our arrival.
I am not sure what sort of internet connectivity I will have while abroad, so posts to this blog may be somewhat sporadic. I will be keeping a handwritten journal throughout my travels, so if need be, I will transcribe my journal entries to this blog.
Thanks for joining me!
I am not sure what sort of internet connectivity I will have while abroad, so posts to this blog may be somewhat sporadic. I will be keeping a handwritten journal throughout my travels, so if need be, I will transcribe my journal entries to this blog.
Thanks for joining me!
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