Masai Mara
on Kenya VSO (Kenya), 07/Jan/2010 09:16, 34 days ago
Christmas stuff in the Nairobi shops did pick up in the last few days before Christmas but not much. Of course the weather was not like a northern Christmas and more disconcerting was that the days stay about the same length throughout the year, for me with my european heritage Christmas besides being a Chritian festival marks the turning of the year and the start of gradually longer days.Many VSO volunteers took advantage of the Christmas break to go traveling although with a lot of Kenyans traveling to family gatherings the matatus were more crowded than usual. I joined a group of VSO 'Christmas orphans' in a party with a Christmas tree and party crackers. However we did not go as far as having turkey and we also avoided the common Christmas meat here which is goat.After Christmas we set off for the Masai Mara, yes a wild life safari is one of the things on the mzungu tourist list but being in Kenya the chance was too good to miss. Wild life in Kenya does create problems for farmers who lose live stock and crops but these are outweighed by the tourist money that they bring in. Not quite so much for us though as we got the trip at a good price and as long term visitors got a discount on the park entrance fees. Mostly the land around the Masai Mara park is too poor for crops although the grass and scrub can support cattle and goats.About the only animals that we did not see were rhino. The general consensus in our group ws that the joint favourites were the elephants and giraffes. The other animals were within the size range we were used to but the size and proportions of the giraffes was just looked so strange. The lions were not put out by the tour buses and went about their business, giving the occasional glance to us watching them, watching us. Meanwhile the mutual good wishes for a happy new year did not seem to have reached the ears of the Matatu operators, they called a three day strike in protest at police harrassment and corruption. While not getting into the rights and wrongs of the complaints it is not the fault of the passengers but I guess some corrupt traffic cops will have lost the chance to extort money and the other road users will be happy. Fares went up over Christmas but the loss of three days earnings shows how sore the matatu operators are.