From the Masai Mara we flew “directly” to Malindi on Kenya’s coast about half way between Lamu on the northern border and the main port of Mombasa. I say “directly” because, as with many scheduled flights in Africa, the planes are like flying buses, picking up picking up passengers at one stop and dropping others at the next.

After landing in Malindi, we drove two hours north, half on paved road then half on a dirt road, where the Orma and Pokomo tribes live in small, poor villages.  Then, we boarded a small boat which took us down the Tana River Delta to Delta Dunes Camp.  Set atop and nestled into tall bush covered dunes where the river meets the sea, Delta Dunes is a cool 7-bedroom property that offers a unique combination of experiences – part game lodge, part beach resort, part river lodge and part fishing camp on a 150,000-acre private conservancy.  The funky chalets either overlook the river delta and a 40-mile stretch of private beach.  Each room features comfortable beds with plenty of cushy chairs and lounges. Some units are designed for two guests while I had a roomy two-bedroom family unit which my wife and kids would have surely enjoyed.   Bathrooms feature twin sinks, flush toilets, and hot showers.  All units are the type that invite you to relax and stay awhile and enjoy the view, read your book and fall asleep as the breeze wafts off the ocean.

As the rising sun peeped over the horizon my first morning at Delta Dunes, I considered spending the day inside, but with so many activities to choose from, I was eager to get out. After my room steward delivered strong Kenya coffee and ginger cookies as my wake up, I took a morning jog on the wide beach. Soon after, our group took a boat trip up river and nature walk through the dunes to the beach and back to the lodge for brunch on the top deck open air dining area and lounge which provides a 360- degree view of the reserve and ocean.  After brunch I took a dip in the lodge’s  pool and then we had another boat trip and game walk in the mangrove forest, timed to coincide with the incoming tide which reaches many miles upriver. Here, a variety of species can be found including buffalo, elephant, baboons, vervet monkey, maneless lion, countless bird species, and the endemic Tana Delta bushbuck.  At night at the lodge we enjoyed watching the neighborhood genets (weasel-like tree-dwelling mammals) square off against the local bushbabies (diminutive, large-eyed monkeys) for the lion’s share of some tasty leftover fruit.  Later we sped along the wide beach on three-wheeled go-karts with large sails in a great sport called sand yachting or blow carting. It’s relatively easy to pick up and even easier to become overconfident, and I quickly found myself tipped sideways with a bruised wrist and sore elbow. Not giving up, I was later able to attempt a basic trick—to coast slowly while lifting one wheel off the ground.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to try the sea kayaking, boogie boarding, fishing, and other activities available to guests, but I have no doubt they would provide great entertainment.  Just about the only thing you can’t do here is snorkel or scuba dive as there is no coral reef in the area and the water is somewhat wavy and murky.

To finish off the day, we enjoyed a last sunset boat ride with cocktails, followed by a beachside dinner complete with bonfire. Food at the lodge was delicious and included lots of fresh fish and fruits, homemade breads, tasty salads and tempting desserts like chocolate brownies and mango-banana sherbet. The lodge, like many here, can cater to special diets such as vegetarian and gluten free.  The staff, made up primarily of local people from nearby villages, was very friendly as were camp managers David and Laura.  The only people the lodge cannot cater to well are guests with mobility issues, as there are lots of steep stairs and dunes with deep sand.
All too soon it was time to go, and after our last breakfast, we walked down to the beach to await our private charter flight, which landed right on the beach just yards from the crashing waves!  Taking off and flying low over the reserve, we saw how the mangrove forests soon give was to open bush and drier plains, then to small villages where local people eke out a living growing rice and coconuts and herding cows and goats.  Two hours later, we were back in Nairobi for lunch at the ubiquitous Carnivore Restaurant, then dropped at the airport for our flight home.

A quick 50-minute flight south from Laikipia is Kenya’s famous Masai Mara.  This trip we stayed at Serian Camp, located just north of the main reserve in the Mara North Conservancy, which is shared by 12 other safari camps and lodges.  Serian sits on the Mara river in the shade of many different African trees and with views of the nearby escarpment. With just 8 tents and with few close neighbors, the camp feels exclusive and remote. Serian’s tents are large at 12×24 feet and have a bathroom with flush toilet, double sinks, tub and shower.  Each has a clear view of the Mara river which also provides the soothing background soundtrack for the camp.  Tents have solar powered lights, but much of the camp is lit by kerosene lanterns and candles, hearkening back to the safaris of yesteryear.

The owners have also built a smaller 4-tented camp, Ngare, on a totally private 9,000-acre concession just across the river.  With a separate kitchen and lounge, this camp can be booked on a tent by tent basis or groups or families can take it over privately.  At either camp, managers Adrian and Rasheen, aided by brother Craig and a friendly camp staff, make guests feel welcome and provide delicious meals such as beef goulash, fresh green salad, roasted chicken, red cabbage coleslaw and homemade hot cross buns.

Certainly, staying at a camp in the semi-private Mara North Conservancy enables visitors to enjoy great game viewing without the crowds sometimes encountered in the main reserve. Here, just 5 vehicles can be at any given game sighting. On our visit, the most we had was 3, and we usually had it all to ourselves. Better yet, densities of animals were greater than in the main reserve due to high grass there.  In two days we saw lion, elephant, leopard, zebra, wildebeest, topi, giraffe, hippo, crocodile, hyena, and numerous bird species.  My favorite game experience was watching a mother cheetah and her young offspring who spent hours hunting, playing and relaxing.  Beyond game drives, Mara North allows for walking and night drives up to 10 p.m.

We also saw a good amount of game on our nature walks on Serian’s private land. I enjoyed the lush landscape and excellent views as we climbed up the escarpment toward the camps private treehouse, used for adventurous overnights and bush breakfasts.  Overall, Serian and Ngare are both good for safari goers who enjoy great game experiences and walking, and like to do so in casual comfort.

Stay tuned – next I visit Kenya’s Tana River Delta

What do you get the woman that has everything or wants nothing?  How about a gift to a charitable organization in her honor?  Here are three deserving charities that would be a great option to recognize and honor your mom.

With AfricAid you can help girls in Tanzania while you honor your mother.  There are two ways you can help;

1.  Come to Ten Thousand Villages in Cherry Creek (in Denver) on Friday May 11th from 5-8pm and a portion of your purchases will be donated to AfricAid.  OR

2.  Make a donation to AfricAid in honor of your mother, she’ll know that girls in Africa are receiving the gift of a brighter future because of her. Print out a donation certificate right from our website!!

Project C.U.R.E. - honor your mom (or the motherly cheerleader in your life!)  by supporting a mom in need through Project C.U.R.E.  Your tribute gift could send sterile dressings and supplies to an ill-equipped clinic so that a mom-to-be has a safe delivery, lowering her risk of infection. It could send a delivery table so that she doesn’t have to give birth on the floor. And it could provide incubators and infant warmers to keep her baby warm and healthy.

Make a donation to the Kellerman Foundation.  Since the Batwa pygmies were expelled from the Bwindi Impenetrable rainforest 20 years ago, they have lived in shocking poverty. Kellerman’s partner programs in Uganda are helping break the cycle of poverty through a broad-based approach of healthcare, education, community development, and skills training.

In the U.S., we celebrate Mother’s Day with flowers, food, and gifts. In southwest Uganda, mothers struggle to provide their children with a meager diet of rice and maize meal. This Mother’s Day, please consider a different kind of gift. Honor the women in your life by providing Batwa women a chance to change the future for their children.

Whatever you choose to do this Mother’s Day we at Africa Adventure Consultants wish you and your families the very best.

On my latest trip to Kenya we flew on South African Airways from JFK to Johannesburg then connected to Nairobi. The flights were smooth, the aircraft great and the connections short and sweet. Business class has full lay flat seats and great entertainment choices.

In Nairobi we stayed at Sankara, a newer 7-story 5-star hotel in the Westlands area.  Rooms are large and well-appointed with comfy beds, large televisions, desk and both a bathtub and a shower. On the top floor there is a small gym, sauna and steam room, and rooftop pool and bar. The restaurant on the second floor has a delicious buffet breakfast. The hotel is walking distance to the Sarit Center which offers good shopping (walking only recommended during the daytime). The hotel is great for visitors who want all the amenities of a western-style 4-5 star city hotel and who like to be close to good restaurants and shopping and businesses. The only downside is heavy traffic in the area and between it and the airport make it inconvenient for those arriving late and leaving the next morning.

A quick flight took us from Nairobi’s Wilson Airport to Sabuk, a camp in the Laikipia area in Central Kenya, northwest of Mt Kenya.  Rocky, hilly and dry, this area is ruggedly beautiful. The game here is sparse but regular sightings of elephant, impala, giraffe, zebra and more occur. In the previous two weeks, Sobuk guides reported sightings of lion, leopard, and wild dog. Really, though, this is a place to visit to enjoy walking, riding camels, line fishing and swimming in the Ewaso Nyiro River (water levels permitting).  A highlight for us was a visit to a local Samburu village where locals were celebrating the marriage of a young warrior and his bride.  We were told they had been dancing for a couple days, but they still looked to have plenty of gas in their tanks.  The warriors’ jumps would turn many NBA players green with envy.

Sabuk is an 8-bedroom lodge built into a steep, rocky hill overlooking the Ewaso Nyiro river.  When flowing well, the river provides a soundtrack not unlike crashing waves at a beach. The chalets are made of local stones with thatch roofing and much of the furniture is made from local wood, mostly gnarled and twisted. Verity Williams and her little dog Flicka are the owners and hosts and the staff is made up mostly of local Samburu.  The food – from pasta carbonara and chocolate roulade to chicken masala and  broccoli salad to quiche and banana ice cream – was some of the best I have ever had on safari. Sabuk is good for couples and small groups and they have a couple of special family units and a pool, which combined with all the activities, make it a great place for families as long as parents are ok with open rooms (the front side opens to the bush).  The only other caution is there are a number of stone floors which are uneven and there are lots of stairs and steep walkways along with a few sharp drop-offs.

Next:  Off to the Masai Mara

As we’re off to different corners of Africa we had a chat about what we have to have with us when we travel.  Not the list of ‘what to bring on safari‘ (though some of these items appear on that list), but what we wouldn’t even consider heading to the airport without.

Kent’s number one item is a flashlight or headlamp.  It is invaluable while on safari – whether for going to and from your tent at night, or reading while your tent mate is sleeping or simply finding something in the darkness.

Susan’s go-to item is a book.  You can’t endure two trans-continental flights without some good reading materials!  Better yet, many camps have small libraries where you can trade the book you came with for a new book so that you have fresh reading material throughout your journey.

Kim is wise in that she would never leave home without her hat and sunscreen.  Given that she’s going to trek Kilimanjaro in August and is training here in Colorado in the meantime, we all agreed that these are a critical packing items!

Jenny wisely brings a travel pillow for those long flights (and to augment your pillows in various lodgings if needed), as well as warm socks for the plane ride and those chilly nights on safari.

Gretchen won’t leave home without a compact pair of binoculars for every person that’s going on safari.  She just doesn’t like to share during a good sighting!

Check out our Safari Shop to link to online stores that have every one of these items so you’re prepared for your own safari adventure! 

I can’t get enough of this cookbook.  The photos are beautiful, there are fun, penciled-in recipes and there are vignettes and descriptions of lodges that transport me (however briefly) to Africa.  A Kitchen Safari by Yvonne Short is really that – a journey to Africa in your own kitchen.

Today’s recipe is from South Africa’s Eastern Cape; it is for roosterkoek.  It serves 6 and is delicious!

400 g cake flour
15 ml baking powder
50 ml skim milk powder
2 ml salt
100 g butter, diced
2 eggs
150 ml water

To serve:

60 ml butter – softened
6 slices prosciutto – lightly grilled
6 slices cheddar
100 ml apricot preserves

Combine flour, baking powder, skim milk powder and salt.  Rub the diced butter into the dry ingredients, working lightly with fingertips.  Beat the eggs and water, then add to the dry ingredients and mix well.  Knead the ingredients into a stiff, elastic dough then shape into 6 cakes.  Grill over medium coals (or in a cast iron grill pan) for 20 minutes, turning often.

To serve:

Split roosterkoek cakes in half while still warm and lightly butter both halves.  Layer with grilled prosciutto, cheese and apricot preserves, then serve immediately.

Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah is the story of a young boy’s coming of age with the backdrop (and a character in its own right) of a continent on the verge of irrevocable change by the coming of European colonialism.  This was Gurnah’s second novel, though the rich tapestry he weaves evokes images of a much more experienced author.

Sent to live with his ‘uncle’ (‘he ain’t your uncle’!), young Yusuf does not realize that he has been sold into slavery by his own parents to settle a debt. Despite his situation, Yusuf is relatively unconcerned and he is a favorite of his ‘uncle’, the regulars in his uncle’s shop and is nearly like a brother to Khalil, another of the ‘uncle’s’ slaves.  The story can be slow at times, but the reader gets an intimate glimpse into the changing culture of the time, as well as an introduction to African Muslims.

Throughout the book Yusuf learns shame, love, happiness and misery; both within his everyday shop-keeping context as well as on an epic journey with his ‘uncle’.  Certainly interesting fiction – it is well written and engaging.

We get asked a lot about packing for Africa. Many of our clients stress about the baggage weight restrictions but this need not be the case.  Packing for safari is easy.  Here’s what is in my suitcase (actually a 22-inch Swiss Gear rolling duffel – check our Safari Shop for resources where you can find this bag) on my current trip to Kenya and what I could have left at home.

2 pairs lightweight pants
2 pairs lightweight walking shorts
1 pair running shorts/swim suit
6 tee shirts
3 short sleeve collared shirts
1 fleece
1 hoodie
1 rain jacket
7 pairs underwear
8 pairs socks
1 pair Sketchers sneakers which can pass as casual shoes
1 pair flip flops
Toiletries including toothpaste, shampoo, medications, etc.
Snacks like beef jerky, tootsie rolls and granola bars (too many of these)
Plastic bags for dirty clothes
Washcloth
Photocopy of passport and immunization card

All this weighs about 25 pounds

I have another 8 pounds of stuff in my backpack including the following:
SLR digital camera
Video camera
Binoculars (8 x 20)
Nook
Book
6 magazines (should have left these back home)
iPhone
iPod
Sunglasses
Reading glasses
Cap/sun hat
Exercise band
Small gifts/caps
Flashlight
Spare batteries
Adapter
Extra zip lock bags
Passport
Immunization card
Printouts of itinerary, emergency contacts and flights

Counting the clothes I wore (jeans, belt, long sleeve shirt) I could have cut one pair of pants also.  Every place I am staying on this trip does laundry – either free of charge or for a small fee – so I actually could have even done with less.

Chef Bruce Robertson hails from Cape Town; more specifically the village of Scarborough on the Cape Peninsula route.  He’s been head chef of Boulders Lodge Singita, executive chef of the magnificent Cape Grace, opening the world acclaimed restaurant ‘one.waterfront’ with immediate acknowledgement as a culinary leader in Africa. His very own, ‘theshowroom’ restaurant took all top awards and set the benchmark for modern South African hospitality, cuisine and design, followed on with his sister ship, ‘theshowroom’ Café.

So with that resume in hand, we bring you a pleasingly simple but extremely savory recipe from Chef Robertson to try at home – Sardines On Toast.

Chef Robertson – Sardines On Toast

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS: 8 SARDINES ‘FIRM AND FULL’,24 STRIPS STREAKY (regular) BACON ‘LONG’

FILLING:
10 ml Oil
¼ c green peppers, small dice
¼ c yellow peppers, small dice
¼ c red peppers, small dice
20 black olives, pitted and chopped
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
4 small courgettes (zucchini) thinly sliced
1 tsp fresh picked thyme
4 tbsp tomato chutney
Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD: PREPARE FISH:1. Rinse Sardines under running water.  2. Pat dry and de-scale with a sharp knife. 3. Re rinse and dry.  4. Carefully cut off the heads and from the tail fin, belly side; cut a slit and open up the fish.  5. Remove the ‘Guts’ and the back-bone gently with the ribs.  (alternatively, have your fish monger do all of this for you!)  6. Store in cool place…  7. Place 4 cups of flour in a large bowl.

MAKE RATATOUILLE:  Always use a wooden spoon!  1. Heat up oil in a hot pan, add the chopped onion and garlic.  2. Fry until soft, add courgettes and stir in for a minute then add the peppers. Once the peppers are soft add the olives and thyme.  3. Stir together, then add the tomato chutney and remove from heat…  4. Mix well, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Recipe and photo courtesy Chef Bruce Robertson.  You can visit Chef Robertson and taste his food just outside of The Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve (not far from Cape Town).  Just ask and we can book lunch, dinner or a picnic as part of a full day excursion.

PS – this is extremely high in Omega 3′s so you can feel good about eating it!

Kim and Jenny are at it again – this time along with Shala Terfer, one of the folks lucky enough to get a spot on our AAC Friends & Family Kili Trek.  Their most recent training climb in preparation to trek Kilimanjaro in August was the Manitou Incline.  This is fantastic training as it covers quite a bit of elevation gain in a very short distance.  The climb is located near Pike’s Peak, just outside of Manitou Springs.

The Manitou Incline was completed in 1907.  It was a 1 mile cable tram built to support the construction of a hydroelectric plant and its waterline.  After construction was completed, the railway was turned into a tourist attraction. The incline boasted a 16 minute ride to “scenic splendors”, 10 miles of hiking trails in Mount Manitou Park, and claimed to be the “longest and highest incline on the globe.”

The Incline closed in 1990 after a rock slide damaged the tracks.  The decision was made to cease the failing operation and focus on the profitable Pike’s Peak Cog Railway.  The route has seen a steady stream of runners, joggers, hikers, walkers, and even some crawlers since closure.  Kim, Jenny and Shala conquered it in 45 minutes – well done!  Sounds like they’re in great shape to tackle Kilimanjaro’s Shira Route!

Stay tuned to the blog for more training tips and treks and call us if you’d like to plan your own Kili trek!

 Photos courtesy Jennie Salentine, Incline history courtesy manitouincline.net