Sunday, February 24th

Greetings from Mount Kilimanjaro! This morning we left Nairobi and drove south to Amboseli National Park, which is in Kenya, bordering Tanzania. Our lodge, Ol Tukai, is inside an electric fence - outside the fence are elephant, zebra, hippoes, hyenas, lions, etc. AND Mount Kilimanjaro (just inside the Tanzanian border) is visible to the southwest. Tomorrow morning we'll be up and out at 6:30 to see sunrise on the mountain and to take an early morning game drive. I'm completely psyched to be here watching the elephant roam on the plains in front of the mountain - we've been lucky to have a good view because clouds obscure the summit for as much as two weeks at a time. This will be my last post before returning home. We return to Nairobi on Tuesday afternoon, and then begin the long trip home to Massachusetts. I can' wait to share photos and all of the details! -Liane

Saturday, February 23rd - Day 7

Back in Nairobi! The evening after my last post was filled with elephant activity. Everytime we tried to sleep, a mama elephant would begin trumpeting just outside the hotel. She would chase a couple of hyenas around the water hole, followed by two baby elephants. The noise was incredible! Eventually she was joined by some of her family, and the persistant hyenas were finally chased off. The next day we traveled on to Lake Nakuru, a national park within the East African Rift Valley. The lake is long, relatively narrow, and one of the few freshwater lakes within the rift. We set off on our first game drive that evening, and we saw: greater flamingoes, lesser flamingoes, pelicans, waterbuck, bushbuck, zebra, warthogs, cape buffalo, black-faced vervets (monkeys), white-faced vervets, baboons (surprisingly cute), white rhinos, black rhinos, and a hippo... The next day we did another game drive before heading out to Malewa River Lodge in Kigio. It's amazing how many animals there are - you can see them all - hundreds of them - everywhere you look! The lodge at Malewa River is a sustainable, environmentally friendly lodge - all materials are local - energy is solar, etc., etc. We stayed in a thatched cabin overlooking the river - amazing! At the lodge I had the chance to take a nature walk with the local naturalist - he's very interested in learning more about geology, so I had a chance to describe the rocks to him, and we plan to stay in contact. Anyway, he showed us the obsidian deposits that come from nearby Mount Longonot. After Malewa, we went to the Maasai Mara - more game drives, a visit to a local village (cannot begin to describe), and more game drives. We finally saw a pride of lions, and we found a cheetah! Friday morning we took a hot air ballon ride over the plains and had a champagne breakfast under an acacia tree - we've been completely spoiled! Now we're back in Nairobi, getting for our last couple of days - we're going to Amboseli National Park. Geologists - tell me about the plate tectonic setting in the rift valley - what type of volcanoes do you think I've found?

Day 2

Sunday evening - 7:30 Kenyan time. We're here, we're safe! After one long flight from Boston to London, a day spent in London, and one very long flight from London to Nairobi, we finally made it. Not a lot of sleep! When we finally arrived in Nairobi, all the flights were worth it. We drove through the city on our way to our hotel. The hotel seemed like something that Disney would plan - all tropical - lots of birds, huge flowers, four-poster beds with mosquito nets. We went to Karen Blixen's estate (author of Out of Africa - nice, but not so patient with the museums - show me the rocks and the animals!). Then we went to the Giraffe Manor, where we fed giraffes with long, sandpapery tongues. The night was spent at Carnivore, a restaurant that serves meat (duh!), and we tried the ostrich meatballs and the crocodile. Day 2 began with a drive from Nairobi to the Mount Kenya area. We stopped at a small artsy cooperative where we had to barter with the salesmen - they started the price at about $1000 for the items we wanted to buy - you can believe we didn't pay that much! From there we came to the Serena Mountain Lodge - it is amazing! We have a balcony overlooking a watering hole. We took a nature walk around the forest, where we saw evidence of hyenas, elephants, and other creatures. Then we came back to find two elephants at the watering hole. Soon they were joined by a herd of Cape Buffalo - about 22 of them, including a baby. I'm trying, but it is indescribable, and there are so many things I'm leaving out! Finally - geologists - I can sit in my room and look at the summit of Mount Kenya (volcanic) and gaze on the equatorial glaciers at its peak. Awesome! If you're in NASC130, post comments here - give me a fact or two about equatorial glaciers! Next post in a few days, hopefully. Having a blast! - Liane

Countdown: 3 Days!

If I can make it through two (!) more snowstorms, I'm going to Africa! It hit me after my last class today - all of my geologists are prepared for my absence, and I'm good to go! So many of you have inquired about the safety of a trip to Kenya at this point in time. Yes, we are nervous after the political unrest and violence, but we are assured that we are not making a poor decision. There has not been any negative news lately, and many areas are returning to relative calm. It is also reported that peace talks have increased in intensity and an agreement may come soon. The State Department travel advisory to Kenya has not changed since 1998, and our tour company (Go Ahead!, out of Cambridge, MA) has run two successful tours to Kenya in the last few weeks. They even tell us that their most recent tour successfully spotted all of the "Big Five" - African Lion, Leopard, African Elephant, Cape Buffalo, and African Rhino (gray and white). In fact, we hear that the National Parks are less crowded - all the better for us! For my part, I'm looking forward (oddly) to the millions of flamingos that flock to Lake Nakuru, turning the lake to a sea of pink as in this photo from http://www.doughebenthal.com/Gallery/Places/Africa/Story/default.htm - by the way, the photos on this site are awesome!

Getting Ready for Safari

We're leaving on February 15th for our 13-day safari to Kenya! The trip is a prize won through the WBUR Summer 2007 fundraiser - it pays to give to National Public Radio! I'll post information here as we prepare to leave, and I expect to have internet access a few times while in Kenya. I hope this is a good way to keep you all informed. Anyway, I'm off to do more errands - with only twelve days until departure, preparations have become overwhelming. The image of the Masai Mara is from: http://www.shoortravel.com/maraserena.html