Christmas Eve: sprear throwing and safari-ing

Trip Start Sep 22, 2003
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Trip End Dec 13, 2005


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Flag of Kenya  ,
Friday, December 24, 2004

The before breakfast game drive began at 6:30. We saw elephant, oryx (a large gray antelope), more impalas, and of course birds. More food. Then the activity person at the lodge talked Nancy, Jason and I to participate in some spear throwing. Some Samburu people were there to show us how it's done. The Samburu are the indigenous people in the area. They are similar to the Maasai in that they are nomadic herders. They wear red fabric and lots of beaded jewelry. The warrior men (aged 16-25) traditionally wear red make-up, which covers their faces, red cloths, and pretty beaded jewelry (the red is thought to scare lions). The women wear hundreds of necklaces and lots of other jewelry too. So the spear throwing was a contest to see who could throw the spear the furthest. Most of us tourists had trouble just getting the pointy end in the ground at the end of the throw. But the warriors showed us the right way to do it and they could throw it only about 3 times further with the correct end stuck in the ground. Very impressive, and they did it without showing any effort. I guess that's good, since these are the spears they use to protect their village and herds of sheep and cow from lions and other predators.

The afternoon game drive was the best yet. We saw 2 leopards hanging out on a log, one of them wanting to play with the other. Their marking were beautiful, perfect spots throughout the body and a striped black tail (such elegant and graceful creatures). Then we drove over to where a carcass of an elephant was and there were 4 lions hanging out, 1 male, 2 female and a young teenager. The 3 adults were lying in the shade, and the young one was tugging on the piece of meat. All of a sudden we look right beside us and an elephant has approached. He roars and sends the lions running a little, he shakes his head, flaps his ears open and throws sand around with his trunk. He was not happy that these lions are feeding off his dead relative. The elephant was mourning. The driver (and Nancy) informs us that elephants are known to do this, and can hang out with the dead for up to a week. Then a crocodile approaches in the river next to the carcass, which also keeps the lions on guard. So all these interactions were amazing to see, and definitely not something you'd get at the zoo. It was just a taste of what life is like out on the savannah.

We returned to the lodge and had a dinner outside for Christmas Eve. Highlights: good sliced pork, crepe/banana flambé. We were also fortunate enough to have local groups come and perform traditional music and dances for us, what a treat!
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