Malindi - A Time To Relax
Posted On Saturday, August 20, 1994 at at 12:45 AM by AlvinAfter visiting the Mara, we flew out of Nairobi to the coastal town of Malindi where we enjoyed a spot of the Indian Ocean and caught up with some reading of this fascinating country.
We boarded the plane in Nairobi and landed 2 hours later in Malindi airport which was basically a wooden hut with some official looking dudes checking our bags and grunting "Checked ! Next !" Other than these dudes, there was absolutely nothing at the airport; no information desk, no money changers, no welcoming parties etc. Luckily, I saw an overhead sign (and not for the first time, an overhead sign saved the day) at the airport lounge "Driftwood - Lovely Beach Huts just for you !" So we asked the cab driver to head to Driftwood and the owner was so surprised to see these oriental creatures on his doorsteps and he showed us a very well-equipped beach hut with all sorts of mod-cons (fridge etc) and served us a fantastic cocktail before dinner ! We could get used to this we thought...
The coastal areas were such a difference to the inner gaming areas and we missed the dawn outings of seeing the big 5 munching their breakfast ! Here are two cubs with their mother lioness that we saw during a dawn game viewing outing. We missed them !
We boarded the plane in Nairobi and landed 2 hours later in Malindi airport which was basically a wooden hut with some official looking dudes checking our bags and grunting "Checked ! Next !" Other than these dudes, there was absolutely nothing at the airport; no information desk, no money changers, no welcoming parties etc. Luckily, I saw an overhead sign (and not for the first time, an overhead sign saved the day) at the airport lounge "Driftwood - Lovely Beach Huts just for you !" So we asked the cab driver to head to Driftwood and the owner was so surprised to see these oriental creatures on his doorsteps and he showed us a very well-equipped beach hut with all sorts of mod-cons (fridge etc) and served us a fantastic cocktail before dinner ! We could get used to this we thought...
The coastal areas were such a difference to the inner gaming areas and we missed the dawn outings of seeing the big 5 munching their breakfast ! Here are two cubs with their mother lioness that we saw during a dawn game viewing outing. We missed them !
Jambo Bwana !
Posted On Saturday, August 13, 1994 at at 12:33 AM by AlvinJambo Bwana ! Hello Mister ! This was our first time in East Africa and we absolutely loved it ! After getting over the jet lag (we flew from Rome via a stop in London, and thanks must go to Adrian for taking care of us in Wimbledon!), we ventured in to downtown Nairoboi and had some very memorable experiences such as being offered "warm beer" and deep fried fish that looked (and tasted) more like a plastic toy fish, turquoise blue in color... Afterwards, we went to the Masai Mara for 2 weeks of game viewing, mainly during dawn and sunset when the Mara got cooler and animals were out socialising, killing each other and had a drink afterwards down by the local watering hole; yeh, it's nasty out there ! Also we camped under the stars and met a couple of Masai Warriors on the way, you know, they were alright, handsome lot, just mighty fearsome and apparently even the lions ducked out of their way !
Then we took off to Lake Nakuru and found an amazing sight awaiting us where thousands of pink flamingos gathered on the lake shore, thus forming a pink carpet covering almost the entire lake. The lake was highly saturated with alkaline and it suited the feeding of the flamingos without problems; but no swimming for us fragile humans please !
Then we took off to Lake Nakuru and found an amazing sight awaiting us where thousands of pink flamingos gathered on the lake shore, thus forming a pink carpet covering almost the entire lake. The lake was highly saturated with alkaline and it suited the feeding of the flamingos without problems; but no swimming for us fragile humans please !
