Chambers at Large in Kenya (1): Nairobi, A Coffee Plantation, Aberdare Park and The Ark
- Amelia Chambers
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Before going on safari in Kenya I did a wee bit of research which, as regular blog readers know, is not like me. I chose to go in November as (a) it is my birthday month and (b) I was more likely to see a plethora of wild animals as the grass is shorter.
I saw little of Nairobi, which seemed to be like many busy up and coming cities with modern, tall buildings alongside shanty towns constructed from corrugated iron. Throngs of people stroll along the pavements and it seems the Kenyans are happy to walk long distances with a purpose of going from A to B. (Not like in Europe where more and more people walk merely to keep fit!). Despite the number of pedestrians, the traffic was horrendous. Queues of multicoloured buses, tuk-tuks, cars and motorcycles weave in and out of the streets, many lined with small businesses. The ones that particularly enchanted me were those selling a stunning array of plants and trees, some of which I would have loved to have taken home.
As there is no welfare state in Kenya it is important to have a job, thus people are very entrepreneurial and there are market stalls selling local food stuffs, clothes and tyres, even the occasional car wash. If you wish to buy it, you will find it!
When travelling in Kenya the major obstacle is not the traffic, but the speed bumps. These are not particularly well marked, but my driver, Charles, managed to negotiate them with consummate skill.
On my first day I was taken to the coffee plantation where about one hundred people are employed. All the work is done by hand. The shrubs are planted by hand, the beans picked by hand then dried in the sun on long trays. After a few days they are sorted by hand, (the worst ones going to make instant coffee) and graded by size. They are finally roasted, then packaged with much of the coffee being exported. It is intensive work, but the coffee is delicious.
I was surprised to find out that an actual coffee bean is under a layer of pulp and a second layer called a silver lining. I don’t know how someone discovered that the interior of this bean contains the energising caffeine. All by trial and error I suppose.
The gardens at the estate were stunning, with beautiful flowers in full bloom, but my attention was drawn to a Traveller’s Tree, something I had not seen before.
I arrived at Aberdare Country Club in time for lunch, which was delicious. In the verdant grounds wandered zebra, warthogs, impala and deer. Baboons were plentiful too, and there were peacocks and squirrels running around the place.
The gardens are beautiful, especially the glorious jacaranda trees bedecked with purple blossom.
After lunch I was taken by jeep to a watering hole where a dazzle of zebra and a tower of giraffe had gathered. Much to my surprise, I was allowed to climb out of the jeep and stand relatively close to the animals, which were accompanied by Egyptian gulls.
Further afield were eland which, I was told, were bad mothers, as they would abandon their children when faced with danger. Unsurprisingly the eland population is dwindling.
My driver, Francis, had a wealth of experience confirming that giraffe do indeed have blue tongues and, like zebra, are ruminants. The black and white striped creatures cannot see the colour orange and therefore easy prey for a hungry lion.
Warthogs roamed the plains too and are thought to be stupid creatures because they’ve a short memory and very small brains. I found them charming, especially because they kneel on the ground to forage for food.
Having seen the biggest deer, the eland, and the smallest, a Sunni deer hiding in the undergrowth, I was taken to The Ark, a lodge in Aberdare National Park, by a large watering hole where I would be staying for the night.
In the evening, just before dinner, elephants, Cape buffalo came to the watering hole and then I had my first sighting of a wild hyena who sloped down to the water’s edge.
Due to the time difference I awoke at three in the morning and, not wanting to waste a second, I went down to the lounge overlooking the watering hole. In peace and quiet I watched the arrival of a hyena who did not stay long, but was quickly replaced by a Cape buffalo who enjoyed a luxurious mud bath. As the sun came up he was joined by several bushbuck and a flock of Egyptian geese. These were frightened away as a group of noisy humans arrived in search of a cup of coffee. (I swear humans are the noisiest animals on the planet, not to mention the most thoughtless and selfish.)
Returning to the Country Club I learned about the Aberdare Mountains in the park which are sacred site for the Kikuyu and others. The Mugumo trees are thought to hold the spirits of the Ngai and a great deal of water is sourced from there. The movies Out of Africa, Gorillas in the Mist and The Lion King were filmed in the area. It’s been a while since I’ve seen them, so I need a catch up.
My first days on safari in Kenya were a treat and I’d like to thank the staff at the Aberdare Country Club, at the Ark and at the Fairview Estate coffee plantation for their hospitality and for sharing their knowledge. However, I was ready to make my way to Lake Nakuru, which I will tell you all about in my next blog.
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I love seeing animals in the wild and was fortunate enough to see leopards and tigers in India when on safari. To learn more please click on the link.
I was also fortunate to visit a couple of National Parks in Sri Lanka, where I saw crocodiles in the wild for the first time. To learn more please click on the link:
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