Hey Everyone,
The news is out- I'm back in the States! I made a surprise appearance at the UCSD graduation ceremony and can no longer keep my return a secret. I'll be "around" for the summer, mostly in California, but continuing to be somewhat of a migrant.
I passed through 6 airports in 35 hours to get back- and barely in time to avoid the rainy season in Uganda. My last two nights in Kampala I got rained out of my tent, and my bags were soaked through with mud. It's good to be home- my first 24 hours home I took 4 showers and left a ring around the tub each time :) I made it back safely, though it took several days for my baggage to arrive, which is fine because it was all filthy clothing anyway. I washed it twice and let it suffice to say that I will never travel with a white shirt again.
Next up for the Great Ape Adventurer: The International Primatological Society congress in Edinburgh the first week of August, a gathering of primate researchers from around the world presenting their work. I'll soon after be heading to the University of St Andrews in Scotland for my PhD. I will continue learning about the great apes (and other primates!), continue traveling the globe, and continue having wild adventures!
Thanks to everyone who enjoyed reading my emails and blog, your responses were always appreciated even if I couldn't get back to you.
Have a great summer!
Katie Hall
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Hakuna Matata in Kenya
Jambo!
Sorry I left you all hanging with my pictures but no explanation! I just finished an action-packed tour through all the sights and scenery of Kenya, from the vibrant, bustling capital of Nairobi, to the serenity of misty Mt. Kenya, to a traditional and colorful Maasai village, and of course, to the vast expanse of the African plains, replete with wildlife.
The environment here is completely different from the forest in Uganda- I only wish I could jump out of the vehicle and run free through the tall dry grass as the zebra and giraffes do. Then I have to remind myself that lions and hyena also run around here. So maybe next time, after they invent predator-repellent. As you all know, insect repellent didn't do me much good...so it might be a while before this dream becomes a reality. Perhaps if I wore a bright red shawl, as the Maasai herders wear, and traveled with my 150 cattle I would be safer, but this would involve acquiring some cattle.
Anyway, back to the story. In Kenya, everything is very convenient (flushing toilets! running water!)- even all the important Swahili phrases are arranged neatly into a catchy little song that I cant stop humming. On the night of my arrival, not-so-fresh off of the 12 hour bus ride from Uganda, I was happy to finally scrub some dirt out from under my nails.
Among the long list of activities we covered in the day in Nairobi, I'd have to say our short trip to the National Museum takes the cake. The museum has just reopened following years of renovations, and we had a private tour through the "hominid skeleton" room. There were several skulls and skull casts of very early hominids, from australopithecus afarensis, to homo erectus, even a few others I had never heard of (shouldnt have skipped class that one time...) but it was interesting to see the progression of the size and shape of the brain case and relating structures and to ponder the environmental pressures and genetics that eventually led to our current brain size.
Though the highlight of the entire trip was without a doubt the animal viewing opportunities. In Amboseli national park, I spent hours surrounded by a herd of 50 elephants (there are about 1500 total in the park, so they are never far away). I enjoyed watching them slowly march across the plain towards the marshes, then as the young ones learned to use their trunks to sip and spray water, as well as pick up sticks and twirl them like marching band leaders.
The tour took me through Mt Kenya, though we didn't climb it. After sitting in the car for so many days, after averaging 20 km of walking each day, I was about to lose my mind! I was hoping to run around the mountain but unless we had a paid guide, we were not permitted off hotel property. Now what is it about having to pay people to allow me to walk everywhere I go? So Shannon and I snuck off the property with an armed guard (in case a forest elephant charged) and walked 8 km, a nice retreat to at least build an appetite for dinner.
I spent the night at Sweetwaters, in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, which is a tented camp overlooking a very popular watering hole. It was so fun to watch a 'journey' of giraffes splay their legs awkwardly to drink the water, wildebeest lock horns, and several warthogs run around with their tails in the air, and stop short as if they forgot where and why they were running to in such a hurry.
We visited a huge roadside curio shop for souvenirs, and even though you can bargain down the prices, its amazing what you get sucked into buying. So when our tour guide kept repeating that the next activity would be to visit an orphanage, I thought- "Is this some sick joke?" But in actuality we visited an animal orphanage, which was the most fun of the entire trip. Imagine a petting zoo of your childhood; now replace ponies with buffalo, goats with wildebeest, and chickens with ostrich. And dont forget the cheetah, suni, caracal, eland, pygmy hippo, and patas monkeys.
The young man who showed us around the lot, Peter, was our source of several peals of laughter. I couldn't contain myself as I watched him giggle like a 4 year old as he tickled the baby warthog, Chuckie. "Chuckie! Chuckie! Does it tickle?" He kept calling in his slightly nasally voice, interrupted by his own laughs and snorts. I also almost fell over laughing with Shannon. Lynn, the baby wildebeest, is a very headstrong (haha) individual, and enjoyed play-butting all the visitors. But Shannon of course didnt want the sharp horns poking her, so grabbed onto them for better control. Well, wildebeest are basically programmed to exhibit fighting postures and behaviors when their horns are locked like this, and the butting only increased. When you have the bull by the horns- what do you do? If you hold on, their desire to fight increases; if you let go, they will surely poke you; at what point should you let go? So as I am still catching my breath over the ticklish Chuckie, I hear Shannon's faint voice over the laughter- "Peter? Peter? I think the wildebeest is trying to impale me." We look over as she is feebly trying to maneuver herself out of this tricky situation, and Peter jumps in and grabs the horns so she can escape. This only leads to more laughter.
At the Maasai Mara, the game viewing is incredible. Our first night, the sun set over a pride of 5 female lions and 4 cubs feasting on an elephant carcass. We got within 30 feet of the crime scene and watched the cubs play "king of the mountain" as they danced over the elephant's body. We were close enough to hear the flesh tearing as the females gorged themselves. We had seen 4 of the "Big 5" so far- Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant, and Lion. The elusive leopard had escaped us narrowly before. So on our last game drive of the tour we were determined to see it. We circled the small patch of bush known to be her hunting grounds for quite some time, and our driver was ready to give up when I saw a black-tipped tail swish behind a tree. "I see it!! Stop the car!" We sat for several minutes before everyone in the car could make out the pattern against the leaves and rocks of the habitat. Leopards are SO well camouflaged, I thought I saw at least 30 before I actually saw the real thing. But there she was, majestic and relaxed. A cub was nearby eating an antelope, but was even more difficult to see- I didnt even realize it was there until after about 10 minutes of watching the mother. We also saw a vulture eating an antelope, and it was hilarious to see the "landing pattern" in the sky of all the other birds of prey circling down to get a bite. But of course the birds were so busy defending their piece of the catch that they didnt notice two jackals sneak in and slip away with their meal.
At the end of the day, we were surprised with a roaring bonfire at the hilltop overlooking a gorgeous sunset, and a small table with wine, beer, and other drinks on offer. What a treat!
If you havent seen the photos yet, check out my album on Webshots (and I have added more since last time, including lions and leopards): http://community.webshots.com/user/MsKatieHall
I'll be home soon....
-Katie Hall
Sorry I left you all hanging with my pictures but no explanation! I just finished an action-packed tour through all the sights and scenery of Kenya, from the vibrant, bustling capital of Nairobi, to the serenity of misty Mt. Kenya, to a traditional and colorful Maasai village, and of course, to the vast expanse of the African plains, replete with wildlife.
The environment here is completely different from the forest in Uganda- I only wish I could jump out of the vehicle and run free through the tall dry grass as the zebra and giraffes do. Then I have to remind myself that lions and hyena also run around here. So maybe next time, after they invent predator-repellent. As you all know, insect repellent didn't do me much good...so it might be a while before this dream becomes a reality. Perhaps if I wore a bright red shawl, as the Maasai herders wear, and traveled with my 150 cattle I would be safer, but this would involve acquiring some cattle.
Anyway, back to the story. In Kenya, everything is very convenient (flushing toilets! running water!)- even all the important Swahili phrases are arranged neatly into a catchy little song that I cant stop humming. On the night of my arrival, not-so-fresh off of the 12 hour bus ride from Uganda, I was happy to finally scrub some dirt out from under my nails.
Among the long list of activities we covered in the day in Nairobi, I'd have to say our short trip to the National Museum takes the cake. The museum has just reopened following years of renovations, and we had a private tour through the "hominid skeleton" room. There were several skulls and skull casts of very early hominids, from australopithecus afarensis, to homo erectus, even a few others I had never heard of (shouldnt have skipped class that one time...) but it was interesting to see the progression of the size and shape of the brain case and relating structures and to ponder the environmental pressures and genetics that eventually led to our current brain size.
Though the highlight of the entire trip was without a doubt the animal viewing opportunities. In Amboseli national park, I spent hours surrounded by a herd of 50 elephants (there are about 1500 total in the park, so they are never far away). I enjoyed watching them slowly march across the plain towards the marshes, then as the young ones learned to use their trunks to sip and spray water, as well as pick up sticks and twirl them like marching band leaders.
The tour took me through Mt Kenya, though we didn't climb it. After sitting in the car for so many days, after averaging 20 km of walking each day, I was about to lose my mind! I was hoping to run around the mountain but unless we had a paid guide, we were not permitted off hotel property. Now what is it about having to pay people to allow me to walk everywhere I go? So Shannon and I snuck off the property with an armed guard (in case a forest elephant charged) and walked 8 km, a nice retreat to at least build an appetite for dinner.
I spent the night at Sweetwaters, in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, which is a tented camp overlooking a very popular watering hole. It was so fun to watch a 'journey' of giraffes splay their legs awkwardly to drink the water, wildebeest lock horns, and several warthogs run around with their tails in the air, and stop short as if they forgot where and why they were running to in such a hurry.
We visited a huge roadside curio shop for souvenirs, and even though you can bargain down the prices, its amazing what you get sucked into buying. So when our tour guide kept repeating that the next activity would be to visit an orphanage, I thought- "Is this some sick joke?" But in actuality we visited an animal orphanage, which was the most fun of the entire trip. Imagine a petting zoo of your childhood; now replace ponies with buffalo, goats with wildebeest, and chickens with ostrich. And dont forget the cheetah, suni, caracal, eland, pygmy hippo, and patas monkeys.
The young man who showed us around the lot, Peter, was our source of several peals of laughter. I couldn't contain myself as I watched him giggle like a 4 year old as he tickled the baby warthog, Chuckie. "Chuckie! Chuckie! Does it tickle?" He kept calling in his slightly nasally voice, interrupted by his own laughs and snorts. I also almost fell over laughing with Shannon. Lynn, the baby wildebeest, is a very headstrong (haha) individual, and enjoyed play-butting all the visitors. But Shannon of course didnt want the sharp horns poking her, so grabbed onto them for better control. Well, wildebeest are basically programmed to exhibit fighting postures and behaviors when their horns are locked like this, and the butting only increased. When you have the bull by the horns- what do you do? If you hold on, their desire to fight increases; if you let go, they will surely poke you; at what point should you let go? So as I am still catching my breath over the ticklish Chuckie, I hear Shannon's faint voice over the laughter- "Peter? Peter? I think the wildebeest is trying to impale me." We look over as she is feebly trying to maneuver herself out of this tricky situation, and Peter jumps in and grabs the horns so she can escape. This only leads to more laughter.
At the Maasai Mara, the game viewing is incredible. Our first night, the sun set over a pride of 5 female lions and 4 cubs feasting on an elephant carcass. We got within 30 feet of the crime scene and watched the cubs play "king of the mountain" as they danced over the elephant's body. We were close enough to hear the flesh tearing as the females gorged themselves. We had seen 4 of the "Big 5" so far- Buffalo, Rhino, Elephant, and Lion. The elusive leopard had escaped us narrowly before. So on our last game drive of the tour we were determined to see it. We circled the small patch of bush known to be her hunting grounds for quite some time, and our driver was ready to give up when I saw a black-tipped tail swish behind a tree. "I see it!! Stop the car!" We sat for several minutes before everyone in the car could make out the pattern against the leaves and rocks of the habitat. Leopards are SO well camouflaged, I thought I saw at least 30 before I actually saw the real thing. But there she was, majestic and relaxed. A cub was nearby eating an antelope, but was even more difficult to see- I didnt even realize it was there until after about 10 minutes of watching the mother. We also saw a vulture eating an antelope, and it was hilarious to see the "landing pattern" in the sky of all the other birds of prey circling down to get a bite. But of course the birds were so busy defending their piece of the catch that they didnt notice two jackals sneak in and slip away with their meal.
At the end of the day, we were surprised with a roaring bonfire at the hilltop overlooking a gorgeous sunset, and a small table with wine, beer, and other drinks on offer. What a treat!
If you havent seen the photos yet, check out my album on Webshots (and I have added more since last time, including lions and leopards): http://community.webshots.com
I'll be home soon....
-Katie Hall
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