Hippo Heaven – Kenya Safari Part 3

Posted on October 3, 2011 by kuwaitquilter

Taken from the Simba Resort website:

Located 90 minutes away from Nairobi by road, Naivasha has long been the place for those seeking to get away from it all. Joy Adamson, author of Born Free made the shores her home, so did Lord Errol and a host of other well-known personalities. At 1880m above sea level, the air is cool, crisp and reinvigorating.

The Naivasha Simba Lodge is situated on the banks of Lake Naivasha, the cleanest lake in the Great Rift Valley. This fresh water lake was once Nairobi’s main landing strip for the luxury Flying Boats that came all the way from London. Travelers would then proceed to Nairobi by bus. It has no known outlet, which is considered a requisite for a fresh water lake!

We arrived at Lake Naivasha Simba Lodge in time for a late lunch.  After a morning of flamingos watching and the drive around Mount Longonot, and extinct volcano, we were ready.  Funny how gawking our a window and taking photos whets the appetite.

Rooms found and suitcases stowed (this is really a luxury resort – just found out that double rates in peak season are $575 per night!!!), we headed through their little game preserve to the boat launch.  Unlike Lake Baringo, they had boats for everyone at the same time.  Prewarned by our driver, Anthony, we made sure that our skipper had some fish for the eagle (none of the others in the group knew this). We were off to see birds and hippos.

Lake Naivasha is home to a LOT of hippos. We had hardly launched when we came upon a family – they are quite used to people and were not too worried when 6 boats came close to take photos.I wonder what they are thinking about all the people watching them. They must think we look pretty funny as well, all with long black things up in front of our faces. Boring.A bit farther up the shore, we came to a gulp (some sources say “flight”) of cormorants.  These fellows were a different species than the Lake Baringo ones.We were on our way to the the pelicans (it’s a squadron, by the way), when we stopped to call the eagle.  Our boatman whistled, and a fish eagle came circling out from the trees – obviously, this is a rehearsed sight.  Amazing,  none-the-less.

He threw the fish up and it dropped into the water – the eagle swooped down to get it.  Here are a couple of shots of it – one just before he hit the water, and one just leaving with the prize.On to the pelicans – what strange-looking birds they are.  We had pelicans in Saskatchewan where I grew up – I remember a rhyme about them:

A wonderful bird is a pelican,
His beak can hold more than his belly can,
And I sure wish I knew how the H*ll he can.

Maybe not quite correct for the family channel, but…..  here the are – both on shore and taking off in flight.We also saw a cover (or raft) of coots – we call them mudhens back home.  it takes a lot of effort for them to get airborne – they look so funny “pedaling” across the top of the water trying to gain the momentum.  in a small inlet or creek mouth, we found a Pied KingfisherAnd our eagle, busy devouring his fish…… not a great shot as the camera was focusing on the leaves..You can see the resemblance to our Bald Eagles – but these are much smaller, and notice the brown plumage.

We also saw, in the distance, these ibises up in a tree.  They are long-legged wading birds – what in the world are they doing in a tree, anyway?  Again – not the best shot, but you get they idea, and they look so ridiculous that I had to include it.  Now, every time I see an Ibis Hotel, I will think of these birds.

On the way back, we saw lots more hippos, cormorants, unusual plants… and the sun breaking out of the clouds over the water…Once back on land, we saw this lovely family of giraffes – they look so ungainly, yet when they move, they are so graceful.  Aren’t the babies cute?Off to clean up for dinner.  We sat around a campfire singing for a long time – didn’t take my camera, so no shots of it, but it really made the evening special.

Day 2 in Kenya was great – and we hadn’t even been “On Safari” yet!!!

 

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Still on Hold!

Posted on October 2, 2011 by kuwaitquilter

We are still in a holding pattern – not sure just where or when we will be landing. Monday, either we will be unpacking our air shipment so we can camp out here for a couple of months before heading to Norway, or we will be moving furniture to its’ new homes, loading the container and preparing to head back to Canada. This has been a very hectic and trying week. But I guess I’m a tough old bird.

In the midst of boxes and cardboard scraps on the floor, I’ve been trying to clean up my computer files, and draw a bit.   I got out my watercolours the other day, and did this  on a sketch I did for the first quilt design class I took.  The colour scheme is pretty random, and the lights and darks are not as carefully placed as they need to be, but it’s a beginning.  I’ve spent the past 2 weeks reading Elizabeth’s notes and thinking about what she says, but not really getting either pen to paper or scissors to cloth.  time to change that.

Here’s another that more closely follows the original photograph, taken at Valensole in southern France last spring. It was done with watersoluable pencil crayons – I need to colour more instead of just sketching in a bit of colour. Now it is dry, I can rework it and darken some areas so there is some real contrast. I need to play with the colours I have to figure out how to get the colours I want.

We took three couples out for dinner at the club the other night – they didn’t know each other, but the ladies are all readers and quilters (or would like to be), and the men found lots in common to talk about (good grief – we had two Scotsmen – one from the east side and one from the West!) The tide was quite far out when we arrived, the sun was close to setting, and there were lots of crabs scurrying around on the beach. Lots of people on the beach as well – there usually are on the weekends.Today we got the export papers for the dog and cat, so if we do leave on Wednesday for Canada, we are prepared. And a lot has to happen before then – only 3 days to go.

Wish us luck!

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Mushroom Management

Posted on September 30, 2011 by kuwaitquilter

I just learned a new term that pretty well sums it up…. Mushroom Management. Keeping you in the dark and up to your neck in…… manure.

David put in his resignation the end of July…… and helped the HR fellow do the form for relocation on August 23……… and it had to be redone Sept 19 because no one had approved it in HR… and the guy who needed to was on holidays.  It had to go through 5 approvals before getting to head office where they could actually initiate the process.

As this was underway, David got a lead on a possible interesting job in Norway, and asked about it…….. more delays… it looked like there was no way the house would be packed up and we would make our October 3 flight to Canada…..

Then, last Tuesday morning, it all began.  A frantic call to a company in Czechoslovakia, of all places, then to a moving company here in Muscat – we had to be all packed up and moved by September 30.   Note, this is now September 26.

Insurance form to be filled out immediately (good thing I’d already been working on this). Estimate that evening, and the packers arrived Thursday morning.  Thursday-Friday is our weekend here in Oman, so these fellows are losing their weekend – I sure hope they get well paid for it.

So, here I am, trying to get everything sorted out as to what will fit in suitcases and what in an air shipment so we can survive for the next 10 weeks or so. The sofa set is sold, but not picked up. 

Likewise, the bedroom set, although I can’t seem to get in touch with the new owner the past few days. Five guys, all madly wrapping and boxing and the dog and cat hidden away in a back bedroom together, wondering what in the world is going on.

Trying to get the packers to use some of my fabric to wrap items, instead of the reams and reams of paper that they like to use. Here is my sewing room – almost packed.

And negotiations with Norway are still going on!

Exhausted at the end of the day, we took up on good friends offer of hamburgers, then made our way home for an early night.  And who is awake at 1 am, wondering what will fit in suitcases?  Yours truly.

Facebook has been my salvation these past few days – contact with the world outside of my four walls has been my sanity-saver. We should have known moving dates 3 weeks ago, not 3 days ago, so we could have been prepared for all of this.

One of my good friends from Kuwait, now in the US, used the phrase Mushroom Management.  It fits.

Oh yes – still stopping to smell the flowers – saw some on the frankincense tree yesterday.We will survive – and probably laugh at all this… but give me a few days.

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Another Design Class

Posted on September 23, 2011 by kuwaitquilter

On top of moving right now, I’ve just begun another quilt design class – from the same lady (Elizabeth Barton) as the first one. This one, Working in Series, is kind of a continuation – about taking the idea and stretching a few different but related ways.  It’s totally fascinating – but wow – what a lot of exercises to get through. we’ve spent the first week surfing the net (and looking at any art books that we have or can get our hands on) looking for artists in any medium that works in series and does something that we like – gradually helping us to decide what WE really like and want to focus on.  I’ve decided to continue my work on that French street, and maybe others like it.  Now, I need to figure out what it is that I like about it…… that is a bit tougher.

The next step then, is to sketch, do watercolour sketches, collages, photocopies, photographs…. anything to give us an idea of just how far we can take it…. and to help us really grasp what the focus of our fascination really is.  There are about 30 pages of notes and examples to go through, another 4-5 exercises, and I haven’t done the texture part of lesson 1 yet.

Guess I have my work “cut out for me”, so to speak.  Glad the watercolours aren’t packed yet.  Will there be room in my suitcase?

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This Moving Is Getting To Me…..

Posted on September 21, 2011 by kuwaitquilter

Gosh, am I ever tired of getting ready to move!  I’m tired of all the hassles getting through the company red-tape…. we still haven’t had the packers even come to assess the situation and give a quote, due to someone NOT authorizing the relocation, so the next 5 people didn’t even get a chance, so it still hasn’t made it to head office where the whole thing is really OK’ed and initiated.  Yesterday, David got them to OK getting a quote ahead of time… but REALLY!!!!!  Two weeks from today, we should be arriving in Calgary.

Rant over, I think. First, I’ll show you an interesting pattern of clouds as the sun was rising this morning – see, it’s not all bad, I can still take time to smell the flowers.  I’m not sure what this tree is, but this strange plant is commonly called a Desert Rose….. it is native to the Salalah area, and, grown from seed, has the most amazing bloated, gnarly trunk.  This luck person had four lovely ones outside the gate.

Last Saturday, I posted “For Sale” ads in three of the local supermarkets.  And the phone calls began!  Sunday was crazy…. Monday slightly less-so.  We have met some absolutely lovely people…. like Fawzi, a Palestinian who was living in Amman, Jordan in 1967, and has never been able to go back to his ancestral  village since,  or Ali, a big Egyptian with a wonderful laugh and a bright twinkle in his eye. He made a list of what he wanted, and then went to get his wife, and finalized the sales……. trying to get the price down a bit more.  I laughed and said I thought I remembered him trying to sell souvenirs to us at the pyramids……. he grinned and called me his sister.

Through the ad, I met Dianne, a Canadian who has just been here for 4 months – she came for an iron and stayed for a coffee and a great visit

Yes, inspite of the hassle and the rush of people coming all at once, and calling at 11 pm (I turn my phone off now when we go to bed), it has been fun.  I’ve sold most of what I needed to – almost everything with a cord, as the electricity is 220 V here, and 110 at home…. and I’ve trailed around a transformer with my sewing machine for almost 5 years and know what a pain it can be.

Hopefully, the packers will come and say I can take everything else (except those boxes of old notes that David has to sort through), and they will have it all packed up before October 3, so that we can both used our plane tickets and arrive home to family on the 4th.

Two weeks isn’t a lot of time – especially when you are saying goodbye to such good friends…… but we can always get together again.  One thing our time in the Middle East has taught us is that it truly is A Small, Small World,

 

 

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Millions of Flamingos

Posted on September 21, 2011 by kuwaitquilter

After lunch, the first thing we did at Lake Baringo was go for a boat ride on the lake. The lake water is the colour of mud  – all the water seems to be as there is so much erosion of the topsoil because of the goats and cattle grazing.  I had my new camera instead of my binoculars – 30X zoom instead of 10X – but as we got going I was a bit worried we’d tip and it would be gone. Silly me – we were quite safe -once the seven of us jostled for position and got settled.  David brought his camera as well, and a lot of the shots in this post are his.

The area is well-known for birds. Almost as soon as we were out, we saw this cormorant.  The ones I’m familiar with are all black except a bit of white on their throats – notice how the stripe along this guy’s tan head makes a perfect camouflage.  It reminds me a bit of a bittern – they have stripes going up their throats, and when they try to hide, they just point their bill straight up and look like reeds – except if you are near, you see these little beady black eyes peering around the neck at you. We had one in our yard in Kuwait once, and it was quite amusing to see, especially as the camouflage didn’t work so well against white walls and green grass.

Next – hippos.  there are quite a lot in the lake, and they told us that they come quite close to the boat jetty at night, and even come out on land there as well. We did see them in the water in the morning, and heard them grunting during the night – they sounded much closer than they really were.  Hippos only come out of the water at night, as their skin would crack in the heat of the sun.  They are very large, and could easily destroy our boat if we annoyed them – which we DID NOT!

A bit farther along the shore, we came upon this Goliath Heron.  He stands about 5 feet tall – and was not in the least concerned as we sat and watched him.

There are quite a few islands in Lake Baringo – we headed over toward one, and met these two fishermen. Look at the fish – this small one is a catfish – and at the tiny boats they are in.  I’m sure that they fish with just a line and hook – I’m wondering how stable they are when you catch a big one!

There was a fish eagle flying around the island, and his next in a big tree.  The tall reddish tower is a termite hill – the height signifies that there is a queen in residence.  Some of them are 8 feet tall (the towers, not the queens).These children were fishing and playing along the shore – what lovely, shiny smiles.Our good friend, Dena Crain and her husband came to the resort to have dinner with us.  Dena stayed with us in Kuwait in 2009 when she judged our quilt show and taught two classes (Design Lines and Crystal Quilts) to us. It was a lovely evening, and so nice to be able to “place” Dena in her surroundings.

We were scheduled to leave Lake Baringo early as we had a lot to do on Friday.  Delayed a bit by some sleepy heads (that’s the problem with traveling in a large group), but soon we were on the road.  Back through the ford, and along the road we came up on, until we arrived at Lake Bogaria.While we wandered around, checking out the displays and bought some local honey, they extended the tops on the vans, and we were ready to SAFARI.

We weren’t sure just where we were going or what we would see, standing up and gazing around us. Suddenly, there was the lake – but it was PINK! All along the shore were great drift of flamingos – hundreds and thousands of them.  We were allowed to get out and walk closer……. as we neared the birds on the edges lifted in flight – how can such an ungainly bird be so graceful? We stayed probably half and hour, took dozens of photos, and I found a couple of tiny feathers – not all pink, but almost white with a deep, rich rose-colour on the outer edges.

We went back to the vans, and proceeded around the lake, passing this male ostrich. We didn’t see the female, as she may have been sitting on the nest.  Anthony told us that the pair shares the egg-sitting duties.  The female sits during the day, when her dusty-brown feathers blend into the grass and shrubbery.  At night, the great black male sits on the next, looking more like a big bush than anything else in the dark.  Amazing protective colouring, don’t you think?

The end of our journey took us to the hot water geysers.  When the lake is lower, they can spray up 6 feet into the air, but the water is very high right now, and they just bubbled up from the surface.  They must be hot though …… look at the steam over the water.Before we left to continue our journey to Lake Naivashu, I took this 180 degree panorama shot – this neat new camera will do a full 360 – if I’m ever in a place where it’s flat all around me.

On the way we slowed down to watch this small leopard tortoise cross the road – they can reach 24″ long, so this one must be fairly young (they will live for 80 years, and I saw a photo of one about this size and they said it was 20). they are very popular as pets, I have read. His markings were very pretty, anyways, and as they are vegetarians, shouldn’t be hard to feed – you just have to plan on living a long time.

Now, on to Lake Naivashu.

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Kenya Safari – the beginning

Posted on September 15, 2011 by kuwaitquilter

I’ve been trying to go through the photos we took in Kenya over Eid.  I bought a new camera just before we left – another Fuji fixed lens, but with a 30X zoom and a lot more manual adjustments.  Lovely little camera, and I learned a lot about it and about taking photos on the trip.  I also learned a lot about what NOT to do… and have the photos (well, OK, many already deleted) to prove it. David used the old Fuji – and really took some great shots as well.

We landed in Nairobi very early in the morning – and the first stop was breakfast.  We were in vans of 6-7 people, so everyone had a window. First impressions – just what I thought it would look like from old movies etc….. ancient vehicles ( one big bus, painted brown, was named “Amazing Grace” in pink letters – too dark to take a photo though) and people walking along the side of the streets and highways. There were lots of newer vehicles as well. Lots of vehicles period. We didn’t really see much of Nairobi – just ate and got out on our way to the Great Rift Valley.

I’m not sure what I expected of the scenery – but I was surprised at how green it was.  There were many varieties of acacias, as well as what appeared to be giant cactus trees, but are, in fact, a type of euphorbia that we see as a houseplant in Canada.

I also was unprepared for the villages we passed through… the huts made of sticks and the shops along the road made of old, bent corrugated metal sheeting. And the colour – almost everything was painted in bright blues and yellows and reds.  I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised at that, as I know how African love vibrant colour.

The highway was very busy – two-way traffic and lots of large trucks.  As we zoomed around them when the coast was clear, our driver, Antony, explained that this highway is the direct passage between the Kenyan port of Mombasa and Uganda. As Uganda has no access to water, all their trade comes through Kenya.

The Great Rift Valley is quite a sight!  It is here that the continental plates are pulling away from each other – the valley is very deep, and will get deeper and deeper until the ocean floods in and separates the eastern part of Africa from the rest (don’t worry, this will take thousands of years).We stopped at one of the view points, lined, as usual, with all kind of souvenir shops. The view was amazing, and so were the wares in the shops.  We discovered that the ebony tree has pale-coloured bark and wood, with only the core being the hard black that we associate with the name. We looked, but were not ready to buy yet.

It was here that we spotted our first wildlife –  spider monkeys on the branches of a nearby tree.We drove along the bottom of the valley now, past a series of lakes, Magadi, Elmenteita, Bogoria, Nakuru and Naivashu, many of which have a high mineral content as they have no outlet to the sea.We stopped at the Equator – suitably marked by a huge sign and a demonstration of how water flows in different directions on each side of the equator.  And shops……… the lovely lady who took our photo beside the sign then had us hooked to buy some of her wares.  We bought some coasters, and a really neat stone box-shaped like Africa, where the key piece to remove is Kenya. I paid way too much, but it is still really nice.

After came some really bumpy roads, and we had to ford the river where it was flooding. Some boys were there guiding the vehicles through to make sure they stayed on the path and didn’t hit any rocks. We finally arrived at Lake Baringo about 2 pm,  all famished. We got our rooms, ate, and then went in small groups for a boat ride on the lake.

But I’ll show you that in a separate post.

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Morning Musings

Posted on September 14, 2011 by kuwaitquilter

This has been a long day.  It began at 3:20 am, when we couldn’t sleep anymore, waiting for the alarm to ring.  David was leaving on an early plane for Houston.  He had packed last night, but still, there is always something you are scrambling for.  This morning, it was cords and adapters for phones and computers.

At the airport at 4:15 – dropped him off to go in and check in while I parked the car.  When he was through, we had time for a coffee and last chat before he left…… amazing what you can find to talk about at 4:30 in the morning.

We still haven’t heard from Houston regarding our move.  When they start the ball rolling, there will be inventory lists to be made, and they will finally book the moving company.  They will come to tally up how much we have to move (lots) and decide how long it will take and when they can do it.  We are hoping that it is finished only a day or two before out flight on Oct 3, as it is difficult to find somewhere furnished when you have a dog here.

I’ve advertised and sold a few items already – all electrical appliances, for example, as they run on 220 volts here, and North America is 110.  Then, I need to decide if the big California King bedroom suite we bought in Kuwait should go, will we find a bedroom large enough to use it?  and the three-piece sofa set……. yellow-gold pattern with tons of cushions.  It’s not the kind of thing one sees in Calgary stores, but it is very well made (custom in Saudi Arabia) and oh so comfortable! I’ve taken photos and will run the ads, and if they sell…. I guess we were not meant to take them home with us.  Part of me wants to really lighten the load, and part wants to keep the familiar.

When I got home from the airport and it got light out, Snoopy and I went for our morning walk.  Sunrise is a bit later now, but it’s still important to go as early as possible, as temperatures have been in the high 30’s with high humidity. I’m beginning to feel like it won’t be so bad to be a bit cooler.  I was looking at my arms as we walked – the first real tan I’ve had in my lifetime, I think…… and it will disappear over the winter… after 4 1/2 years.  Strange thought.

The other thing I will really miss is the trees and especially the flowering ones.  The bougainvillea here are amazing. Walking in the dark, you realize how many sweetly scented flowers there are – no Rangoon Creeper, Oleander or jasmine in my garden in Canada, I’m afraid.  Probably no squash growing up trees or along the top of walls either. Maybe a hibiscus in the livingroom window.

We pass this construction site quite often – they are preparing the exterior walls to put on tiles.  They always rough the surface, but I’ve never seen this kind of creativity…. it almost looks like quilting designs.

Headed to the bank this morning to transfer some funds to Canada, and hopefully to the post office to mail the postcards that David wrote in Kenya.  Then a final book club meeting, and hopefully a nap in the afternoon.

And then back to the work of preparing to move.

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Blurry Computer-Eyes

Posted on September 8, 2011 by kuwaitquilter

‘After a lovely walk along the beach with Snoopy this morning, I have spent most of the day on the computer, checking rental sites for a place to stay when we arrive in Calgary Oct. 4.

The trick is to find something that can be rented for a short term (2 months or so until we know if we will be staying in Calgary or moving elsewhere) , will accept pets, and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. We don’t want anything huge, but on the other hand, if we remain in Calgary, it would be really nice to be able to stay the winter without having to spend mega bucks on storage when our shipment arrives.

I was amazed at the number of sites and listings.  The best one seemed to be Kijiji, with quite a few on Craig’s List as well. Anyways, sent at least 16 emails – so I really hope that one suits.  I’m also really hoping that either my son or sister-in-law will agree to go and see places for us.

Guess now it’s time to get back to the sorting and tossing.  Ugh!

And sorting of Kenya photos as well…… stay tuned – it was a marvelous weekend!

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Back From Kenya

Posted on September 6, 2011 by kuwaitquilter

We arrived back in Muscat around midnight (Tuesday morning).  It was a long day – up before 5 am to pack and drive to the Nairobi airport.

I will start on the thousand or so photos that I took while we were in Kenya – not to mention the ones David took…. and will try to start telling the tale of our wonderful 4 days on safari.

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