Left Nakuru and drove up the escarpment out of the Rift valley and along the Abadares to Mt. Kenya. Arrived late in the day, but in time for afternoon tea. Got a really nice room here – fireplace in the living room that gets a wood fire at night, and great views of the garden with Mt. Kenya in the distance.
Next day headed out to Ol Peleta park where we spent a long day driving 100km over bush tracks. Saw antelope, elephant and zebra, but alas no cats (big sigh from Gill). Rescued chimpanzees were in a couple of large enclosures – they were greet to see in good surroundings after their horrific early lives.
A bit of a rough spot on the drive had the car make a bit of a noise as a steel plate underneath was ripped off on the rocks. Car didn’t seem to go any slower, so it probably wasn’t an important bit.
We managed to have a pleasant lunch in the car without it being stolen by baboons as happened in Nakuru – and yes baboons are partial to custard creams as it is their main diet.
Thursday spent the whole day at Mt. Kenya Safari Club – animal orphanage in the morning seeing the breeding and re-introduction programmes for various species; afterward a round of golf on the par-3 course. Was a bit unnerving hearing a lion roar as I was hitting off the fourth tee – assume it was lion for “in the hole…”. Lost plenty of balls and didn’t bother looking for them – hence alive at the end of the day. Our caddies were very polite and only laughed quietly as the round progressed and Gill handed me a healthy defeat. After that took the Club’s two Labradors for a long walk – great dogs.
Looks like the referendum on the constitution has passed, and most Kenyans we’ve spoken to are optimistic for the future.
back to Nairobi tomorrow.