Hell’s Gate National Park

Ryan:

Hells Gate National Park (Kenya) is located in the Rift Valley next to Lake Naivasha. The park is most famous for its two volcanic cores (50-150ft spires) that have remained over time after the more fragile surrounding rock has weathered. Much of the park trekking runs between the metamorphic cliff walls of a descending canyon. The basin of the canyon has been filled with the sediment of cliff erosion, compacted into sandstone rock layers, and then carved (by thousands of years of water flow) into a maze of winding gorges (not unlike those found in parts of Utah).

We were on foot for most of this trip, passing within feet of zebra, impala and warthogs as we moved along. Occasionally we needed to divert from the path to avoid a pair of malnourished buffalo that had strayed several miles from the rest of their group (these buffalo are big and they can become dangerously aggressive if you get to close). Upon first arrival at our camp site, we discovered a hungry resident baboon digging through the trash bin.

This being our first backpacking trip of the summer, it was not without its trials and tribulations.

Night 1 - Back in the states, I had removed the lighter from my pack in preparation for airport security. This item was never replaced (meaning no functioning camp stove) so we spent our first night in the sticks eating dry ramen noodles + flavoring out of a zip-lock bag.

Day 2 – Teizeen was determined to correct our stove situation. After eating an apple and a few raisins, we hiked 3k back to the ranger station to buy a lighter. While we were at the station, the desk attendant asked us if we had packed up our tent, “because the baboons could tear it apart looking for food.” As he was speaking, I was recalling/exaggerating (in my head) the size of the baboon we saw at our campsite and the determination with which it was sifting through the trash bin. In anticipation of possible animal problems, we had brought all food items along with us – but we had not packed the tent. In fact, I might have even left my toothpaste in the tent!

Our day already slipping by us, we decided to rent mountain bikes, race back to the camp site, pack/hide the tent, and continue the rest of our day trip on wheels.

Back at the campsite no damage to the tent – whew! But the baboon was right there – it was looking at us – and I knew it was thinking about causing trouble - I could see it on its chubby baboon face!

So we packed up everything.
Question to self: “Now that we have packed all our stuff, where do we hide it so that the baboon won’t run off with it?” Well the obvious answer was to hang/lock our packs inside the filthy smelly pit latrine. Teizeen does not like this idea but reluctantly goes along with it.

Ryan: “Ok – problem solved – let’s get to the good stuff!”
Teizeen: “My bike has a flat tire”

Doh!

We take a second trip back to the ranger station &, after a brief disgruntled exchange with the rental folks, get a new bike for Teizeen. Finally, by around 12:00, we are off to the canyons.

Carnivorous Trees

Teizeen:

Carnivorous trees: trees that kill other trees – they grow around an existing tree, extending their root system like tentacles suffocating the older trees and eventually enveloping the whole tree with new bark. Meanwhile, the older tree slowly withers and dies, leaving a hollow interior inside the new tree, which flourishes. The whole process can take more than 100 years. Kakamega Forest is famous for these carnivorous trees, along with Colobus monkeys and hundreds of bird species.

Moving On

Teizeen:

Tomorrow is our last day volunteering with SANA International, after which Ryan and I have a number of things planned. What this also means is that we probably will not be able to upload any more photos since we won’t have the good internet connection. But we’ll be posting blogs as we can.

We were going to go backpacking to Kakamega Forest, not to far from here for 2 nights this weekend. However, we asked about the park fees local Kenya Wildlife Service office and it costs $20 per person per day to enter the park and another $15 per person per day to camp the night – that racks up to $140 for the two of us for 2 nights! They have student rates, but they only apply if you’re traveling in an organized student group. Unfortunately, Ryan and I, both students, don’t constitute an organized group. My expired Kenyan passport might get me resident rates, but that didn’t work in Masai Mara. So, we’ll see. We’ll pack for 2 nights but probably just stay one if we can’t get lower rates.

Next: paint the outside of the Kiwanis Nursery School (which Rachelle runs). That is, if they approve the design that I sketched out. The nursery school shares space with a church, so the church has to approve the design before we can paint, and then we have to get some paint donated. We only have next week left, so if things move along fast enough, this might happen.


After this, we have a combination of things planned after returning to Nairobi: Lake Naivasha, camping at Hell’s Gate National Park (this is supposed to be a spectacular place with gorges, two extinct volcanoes and hot springs), meeting up with my old friend Libby from high school who I haven’t seen in 9 years, return to Mombasa, go to Lamu (island that has just one emergency vehicle and otherwise only donkeys and bicycles), swim in the Indian Ocean, and spent some more time with my family.

Old lady at Jubilee Market

Old lady at Jubilee Market (open fruit & vegetable market)

Muzungu!

Teizeen:

Yesterday, we were on our way to visit a school for a technical assessment in a rural area about 1.5 hours drive from Kisumu. Before we got there, however, we had to stop at another school to drop something off.

As soon as the school children saw our truck rolling into their compound, they spotted Ryan’s white face and ran in a big group to his side of the car, swarming around it, pointing at us, and shouting, “Muzungu! Muzungu!” (Which is the term used for a white person). It was almost as if the young African school kids were the tourists and Ryan was the prime sightseeing attraction.

Swimming orphans

Teizeen:

Yesterday, I joined my friend Rachelle and her friend Elizabeth for a swim at Kiboko Bay Resort. This is a fancy local hang-out place with expensive food, two small swimming pools, and a view of Lake Victoria. It is frequented mostly by expatriates, visiting tourists, Indian families and generally, the richer local population.

Elizabeth works at a local orphanage and she had a wonderful idea: to take all 20 or so of the orphans, ranging from 2 years to 14 years in age, swimming at Kiboko Bay Resort (in the pool, not the lake). I offered to help out in the pool. The whole platoon of kids was quite a sight. They were absolutely excited about swimming, and scrambled out of their clothes into all assortments of swimming gear ranging from actual swimsuits, to underwear, to other clothes. One of the kids, Sylvester, had recently had surgery on his foot and he got to dip one of his feet in the water while the other hung outside the pool, wrapped in a plastic bag. Sylvester played catch with a ball for over a half hour in that position, with the other kids who were in the pool, the smile from his face never fading.

One of the staff tapped Elizabeth on the shoulder and asked her, “Are they all swimming? How many are there? There is a fee, you know.” Elizabeth assured him that she had talked to the manager about bringing all the kids over and was well aware of the fee, and would count the kids and tell him how many there were.

Almost everyone in the resort, lounging in chairs around the pool, stared at us and the kids splashing and screaming in the pool, having the time of their life. We pretty much took over the pool space. But the kids had no idea that people were staring. They simply had a blast. They even got soda pops.