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31 | 36 | Jan | content/safaris | On Safari in Kenya's Game Parks | article | d5600a8e-f4f2-4e1e-ae25-5e5ac9dba6c3 |
We regularly went on safari and saw the best of Kenya's wildlife. From Nyeri we mostly visited the Northern Frontier Province, based around Isiolo (now part of Samburu Game Park) but we also went to Tsavo, Nairobi Game Park, the Masai Mara and Amboseli. Mum and Dad went to Murchison Falls in Uganda with the Cawleys when we were all away at school later in the 60s.
At Isiolo in the early days we stayed in a camp on the Uaso Nyiro river which consisted of a few 'Bandas' – mud huts with straw roofs and very basic facilities. We slept on camp beds and ate on the verandah while the cooking was done outside. We had to take all our own food and Hassani came with us to cook (other families brought their own cooks as well). We always went with friends which was fun; these included the Sommervilles, Cawleys, Moffats plus our cousins the Smithes.
We would often wake up to find evidence that elephants had been in our camp while we slept; sleep would be disturbed by many animal sounds such as lions grunting but the smaller animals such as rock hyrax were often the noisiest. We were always up early: to be sure of seeing any animals we had to be on the road by 6am for a long drive round the park 'game spotting' before returning to the camp for breakfast. The same routine each evening as the sun went down as most animals sleep during the heat of the day. Sometimes we would hire an Askari or guide to help us track down elusive lions or rhinos. They were usually local tribesmen who knew where to look and had excellent eyesight. As well as copious numbers of antelope, zebra, giraffe, monkeys and baboons, we regularly saw lion, cheetah, even a shy leopard, elephant by the score, rhino, buffalo, hippo, crocodile and more.
From the top of a local landmark called Archers Post we would scan the park with binoculars and spot where the herds of elephants were heading, where the lions or rhino might be, then drive to the spot. The roads were very rough, a series of dusty switch backs full of pot holes and criss-crossed with dry riverbeds and sandy gullies, sometimes everyone except the driver had to get out of the car to avoid it grounding, or to push it out of the sand. Dad drove as close to the animals as he dared, even closer if we had an Askari in the car, taking his advice as to when to make a hasty retreat. You could get quite close if the wind was blowing your scent away from the animal. Mum would bravely walk towards animals with her cine camera. I remember being terrified when she was filming a rhino and kept begging her to get back in the car.
In the afternoons when it was scorching hot, Buffalo Springs was the place to be, this was an underground spring which had been blasted out by the army to create a clear deep pool which was perfect for swimming. No danger from game here, only the odd camel.
While living at Kericho, Tsavo was a convenient place to stop on the way to the coast, sometimes we stayed the night at one of the park lodges. After driving round game spotting we would sit on the verandah having a lunch time or evening drink and watching the animals coming up to the water hole - a very civilised way to see them. Mzima Springs, in Tsavo, was another wonderful place where there was a viewing room built under the water, where we watched thousands of talapia (fish) darted back and forth; if you were lucky you might even see a hippo swim by although mostly you saw them above the water line - dozens of nostrils poking out of the water and huge silhouettes just below the surface. Monkeys were everywhere and showed no fear of us, even back then they associated people with food.
In 1966 we went camping in the Masai Mara. I slept in the car because I was scared of all those animal noises in the night. My brother Mike dreamed of being a Game Warden and he enjoyed making a study of animal poo and matching it with up with their footprints or 'spoor'. Our friends from Nairobi the Westwells came with us that time (see cine film below, which also highlights the state of the roads)
As well as overnighters we did lots of day trips to see wild life, often to Nairobi Game Par k, the Animal Orphanage where abandoned babies were raised and the Snake Park where you could lean over the wall and watch snakes trying to climb out of the pit, safe in the knowledge that they couldn't. The more dangerous snakes were kept in glass cages. Then there were the Rift Valley Lakes - Naivasha, Nakuru and Natron which were home to huge flocks of flamingos and trips to Kisumu on Lake Victoria where crocodiles could sometimes be seen basking on the rocks.
I didn't go to Amboselli, another well known game park on the Kenya / Tanzania border, until 1981 when I was visiting my Dad in Kenya, with my husband, son and sister. It was a long, bumpy and dusty journey but rewarded by spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro. The holiday included Lake Baringo, another lake I had not visited before. We didn't swim in any of the lakes, for fear of hippos, crocs or contracting the deadly disease bilharzia.
I haven't included any of Mum's animal films here as they are very faded and scratchy and in no way compare to the amazing wildlife films shown on telly these days, but they were fun for us to watch at the time, reliving our safari excitement.
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**This a visit to Tsavo park with the Moffat family in 1961, you can see the outline of Mount Kilimanjaro. We are at Mzima Springs, the place where you can go underground to see the fish, and - if you were lucky - the hippo, swimming about. There were lots of monkeys running around as well, trying to get into the car.
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**This a visit to Tsavo park with the Moffat family in 1961, you can see the outline of Mount Kilimanjaro. We are at Mzima Springs, the place where you can go underground to see the fish, and - if you were lucky - the hippo, swimming about. There were lots of monkeys running around as well, trying to get into the car.
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**This film was taken in the Masai Mara game park in about 1966, were camping with friends the Cawleys and the Westwells. We had a new car by then - a citroen, which had rather dodgy suspension; the idea was that the suspension raised the car up above the bumpy road so avoiding damage below the car, however it once sank down onto the rOAD.
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**This film was taken in the Masai Mara game park in about 1966, were camping with friends the Cawleys and the Westwells. We had a new car by then - a citroen, which had rather dodgy suspension; the idea was that the suspension raised the car up above the bumpy road so avoiding damage below the car, however it once sank down onto the rOAD.
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