Safari Adventure

Jambo rafiki! We have just returned from an educational and adventure-filled week in the bush and boy are we bushed! :-) We started our day every morning with a 6 am wake up call of hot coffee and biscuits. As we rolled out of our warm hot water bottle heated beds and unzipped our tent - coffee cups in hand - the scenery immediately captivated our five senses. Our skin was alighted by the brisk morning air and the sweet molasses smell of red oat grass filled our nostrils. Our ears prickled with the “squeaky mattress” squawk of the African guinea fowl or the“yip purrrr… yik-yik-yik-yik-purrr” yelp of the hamerkop, active only at dawn and dusk. Our eyes drank in the view of the black-faced

vervet monkeys racing across thorny branches of acacia seyal trees, enjoying a breakfast of young shoot tips and entertaining one another with acrobatics as they leapt from limb to limb. And, peaceful serenity enveloped us at the scene of the completely mute reticulated giraffes sprawling out before the watering hole gracefully dipping their heads down for a brief drink, ensuring not to linger too long as this is their one position of vulnerability to a hungry lion.

By 7:30 am each day, we had eaten a hearty breakfast of eggs, toast, and fresh fruit and were loading up into the Land Rover or trekking out on foot with the protective accompaniment of the Maasai warriors for a day filled with wildlife encounters and experiential learning. During one particularly adventuresome early morning game drive, we encountered a pack of 8 lions returning home to their den from a successful evening of hunting. Luckily their bellies were full, as one of our tires got a puncture from the rocky terrain and had to be changed on the spot. Even though we knew it was highly unlikely that we would be dessert, our hearts still raced as 16 eyes watched through the tall grass while our guides quickly made the tire switch.

Each day we ate a delicious packed picnic lunch midday and then continued about that day’s activities until our sundowner and night game drive around 7:30 pm. This was when we observed the activities of many nocturnal animals, such as serval cats, mongooses, aardvarks, and hares. When we returned to camp, we showered under a gravity fed shower before dinner and ended our evenings with a drink and lively stories, music, and/or cultural exchange around the campfire. We would retire to our tents, exhausted after a long day of fresh air and loads of new information.

Throughout our 7 days, we collected 68 pages of notes, took 2,094 photographs, and collected over 2 hours of video clips, which we now have the delightful task of turning into lesson plans for our V.I.P. exchange! We met many new friends from around the world and had great opportunities to network and rally support for our project. We had extremely knowledgeable and supportive Maasai guides and were deeply honored when we were given Maasai names by some of the warriors from the local village – Terri was given the name Mwalimu Naserian (Teacher who blesses the children) and Danielle was given the name Mwalimu Naramat (Teacher who cares for the children).

The camp managers, staff, and local Maasai people were so enthusiastic about our project that they asked us to consider expanding the work in the future to include a Maasai school as well. As one of our guides put it, “It would be a wonderful opportunity not only to share Maasai culture with your students, but also for our rural Maasai children to get a chance to exchange culture with the urban Nairobi children. Each group of kids, although in the same country, live in totally different cultures!” As we did some research along these lines, we learned that laptops powered by solar electricity are a very viable reality for many educated Maasai and with some support and training could easily be applied to the classroom setting. We certainly have our work cut out for us as this project continues to unfold, but we are confident that this educational experience is only the beginning! Once again, thank you Fund for Teachers, Kilimani Integrated Primary, and Gamewatchers Safaris/Porini Camps! The Virtual Information Project partnership has only just begun!