Expedition To Nairobi

After the seminars at Engorora and Soko, we were left to work in the nursery. Big E & Round L were concentrating on their Bar and I had been making a few changes in the way we set up the nursery. Josiah was back doing his studies and Missy asked me how we should prioritise to move forward.

I told her that we should start going out into the villages and that I would pin Big E down and talk about it. She too was keen to go into the villages and experience life there. I had started to be friendly with Mama B and the three kids. This was because the nursery was just behind the house (maybe I should draw a map), and each morning after I had had breakfast, I would walk past where Mama B and the kids were having theirs. Always Mama B would say, 'Karibu!' Welcome, but I would just pass and say that I have just finished mine.

One day Big E said to me, 'Each time you just pass, you never take tea with us!' Right there and then, I smiled and sat down with them, and from that day, I had two breakfasts every day! And enjoyed it too!

Usually on a Saturday morning and always on a Sunday morning, Big E was seedy from the night before, and he would take his tea by himself at around 9:00am in some sunny spot. He always wore his teal blue, toweling bath robe - only. Whenever he saw me, he would invite me to join him, ordering a chair to be brought to me and of course, my cup. When assuring Missy that I would speak to him, I had in mind one of these Saturday morning sessions.

The next Saturday morning I joined him in the warm morning sun and we talked about general things as we had become accustomed to do. After I thought he was comfortable enough, I broached the subject.

'We are making good progress in the nursery now, and don't you think it is time to visit the villages to begin working with the people?' I asked.

'Yes that would be good,' he agreed, 'but we have used the money set aside for seminars. Actually we don't have enough money to pay for petrol to travel into the villages.'

'How do you expect to deliver the trees we are growing, if there is no money for petrol?' I asked, 'and we need to be doing more that just producing trees.' I was a bit dumbfounded, but I kept calm and my voice low.

'We have to move along with the fundraising projects.' was his flat reply.

I had my ideas about those fundraising projects, they had been filed in my mental rubbish bin!

So I changed the subject and talked with him until he decided it was time to take a shower.

I mentioned my conversation to Jo, who was skeptical and said that Hifadhi should have enough money for the project as he had been successful in gaining funding - she was a bit angry. Still I decided to remain calm as it was 'early days yet'.

Now what follows had a certain impact on my assignment and the following is what I actually wrote in my diary - note that these days I would probably report it differently as I would see it through 'more experienced' eyes.

Day 54 - 8 Oct

Today Jo and I are to go to Nairobi to pick up Whiskers and Nettie, big noises - one from HO and the other from NZHC. Up early and sowed Cassia simea seed that had been water soaked.

Jo arrived at about 9:00am and we set off - me driving. I had been as far as the Losononi turn-off but after that for a time the area was treeless and quite barren. The grass is brown and dry - this is Maasai grazing land and is over grazed! We were leaving the influence of Mt Meru. The day was partly cloudy and it was warm.

Soon we encountered more trees varying sparse to quite thick spacing and they were mostly Acacia trees with flat tops and spreading crowns. Sometimes there is a sward of grass and other times the red earth is clearly visible and that means erosion problems are apparent. The road is sealed all the way, bit it is generally very narrow and there are places where large holes in the side of the road could cause a vehicle to roll if you hit it with a wheel! And of course there are potholes - some bad, most you can dodge.

Soon we spotted some Zebra in the scrub (first time for me), but we were past them before I could stop for a better look, so only saw the striped rumps. Suddenly, right on the side of the road were two Giraffe! I had actually expected them to be bigger, but I got out of the vehicle and took some photos. I tried the whistle I use to make rabbits sit up or stop, but it did not work. When they walk it looks like slow motion. In quite a few places we saw ostriches, the females are a dowdy brown, while the males are black with white wings - didn't see any running though!

Sometimes we could spot gazelles - Thompson's - and they look cute with smooth skin and distinct markings.

Alongside the road Maasai herdsmen, wrapped in their red blankets, tended their cattle or sheep or goats - some have elaborate decoration on wrists, around necks or on their ears - most are tall and thin (or is that lean) .

The border crossing into Kenya was a melee and very busy with tour parties' cars parked in disorganised rows. Men (touts) wanted to exchange money and Maasai women wanted to sell trinkets/crafts, one wanted to put a braclet on my wrist as a 'gift' and I had difficulty getting her to take it back - it was a scam anyway and she took it when she realised I wasn't parting with any cash.

The Border Post buildings were shabby and dingy (shaded) to stay cool, but the immigration officers were friendly and no bother to us. We had to book out of Tanzania first - just one small form to fill in - and then travel the 50 metres of 'no man's land' to the Kenya post. Another form to fill infor a temporary visa - they gave me 3 months and the cost was $US50.00.
This was my first actual border crossing, but Jo was used to it and well prepared because there customs stuff to attend to re the vehicle.

Jo drove the rest of the way to the Nairobi Airport and I sat back to relax and look at the countryside. It seemed to me the further we went, the more wealth became apparent. Don't know what I mean there, but probably : infastructure.

As in Tanzania, some of the Acacia trees are leafless because of the dry season, and some had bright green, new leaves and to me there seemed no apparent reason for the difference!

Saw a large area fenced off in the bush with cattle grazing - the cattle are the humped breed Brahama - that's probably wrong - Zebu.

Atop one hill there is a cement works, meaning there was lime nearby (sea in the middle of Africa?)

We came to a small village and there were street lamps - some were leaning over (bent) and perhaps only 50% worked but there you are... and the center line in the road was marked!

The road came to a T junction - left was to Nairobi, right to Mombassa, and the road had become a 4 lane highway! The turnoff to the airport was actually unmarked, but Jo found it ok by using me as a lookout, and soon we were parked in the airport carpark!

It is a big, busy airport and is made from local stone. The Arrivals Terminal is a separate terminal to the Departures and they are linked by an overhead causeway. Inside the Arrivals Terminal seemed a bit dingy because of the varnished panelling but it was neat and tidy (clean) and ok to sit in (cool). There was barrier to stand behind to wait for incoming passengers.There were stalls for various companies : Avis, Hotels, Safaris and there was an Information Counter.

As we were early, we went to the restaurant (up 5 stories) for lunch. This was a upmarket quiet and refined place (for me). Jo had actually been feeling queasy and was off her food, so we both settled for an omelet.
After lunch we went back down to the Information Counter to see when the plane would arrive,'Due to operational difficulty the plane was delayed until 5:00 o'clock'. We decided against going into Nairobi for the four or so hours because Jo did not know the city very well & anyway we had no spare money & didn't have a clue what we wanted to see there! And Jo's queasy stomach needed to be considered as we all know what that can lead to! So we sat down in a cool part of the terminal and watched the goings on. We had a few laughs at the expense of the travellers - our own fun in a way; airport fun.
We crossed the road to the Departures Terminal and Jo had a Konyagi (to settle her stomach) and I had a Tusker beer; but to be honest neither of us felt like a drink because we were a bit worried at the delay of the plane and thinking about getting home in the dark - late! Close to 5:00pm we asked at the Information Counter why the arrival was not noted on the blackboard! 'Delayed until 8:30pm'. Jo asked if the plane was actually in the air. 'We only have information when the aircraft is 45 minutes away, otherwise the time is only approximately.' Of course we were not satisfied with that answer but there was nothing we could do.

Jo had two bags with her so we took turns at guarding them while the other went for a stroll or to the loo (luck for Jo because she brought her own paper - bad luck too because she was needing it). On one of my walks, I found this guy in a computer room with a small slide window and he was monitoring all flights in and out of the airport. It was he who gave flight information, via a runner, who took it to the Information Counter for announcement. But this computer was right up to date. I chatted to the man in my most respectful Kiswahili and he was prepared to supply the news to me. He could not tell me why the plane was delayed, but he printed me out the manifesto which showed Mo and the others aboard. The latest ETA was 2:00 am which meant that the plane had not left Harare.

Oh well, we just had to wait it out! We had concerns that Mags at home will be worrying, but there was no way to get news to her. The people around the airport were friendly to us and the new shift of taxi drivers kept asking us if we needed transport into town! The guy at the computer did not mind me going back for information and a chat. Jo was on hot coals anxious for her husband Mo. Finally the guy told me that the latest ETA was 8:30am Monday morning! What to do? We decided to spend the night in the car (long wheelbase Landcruiser). The meals were off at this late stage and Jo managed to down a chocolate eclair and I had two Samosa - I must say my hunger remained, but we could find nothing else!

It was never dark in the carpark and for us trying to sleep, the lights annoyed us. Jo took the back seat and I the front - Jo seemed to sleep but I was too uncomfortable because of the gear lever!

Day 55, 9 Oct

It was not long before we found that it was getting cold! Even though Nairobi is on the Equator, the altitude makes nights to be cold. Jo wore only a T shirt and I a thin cotton short sleeved shirt, but I had a cotton sweater and like the gentleman I am, I gave it to Jo and froze myself!

In all the time we had been at the airport, we had not seen women dressed in kangas as in Tanzania, but when I extracted myself at 2:00am for a toilet break, I saw 5 or 6 women dressed in kangas mopping the tile floors of the building.

At about 6:00am I went to the Information Window and was surprised to see my friend there already; after our greetings he informed me that the flight was not in the air! We did not feel that good because we had nothing for morning ablutions (no toothbrush, no shave - well Jo didn't need to - no change of underwear etc) but we decided to take breakfast. The tea was the usual sweet, milky variety that I was beginning to look forward to; but the restaurant did not open until lunch time! After a while we abandoned the idea of the restaurant, and went to the downstairs cafeteria. We decided to have toast and sausage; I was very hungry. The toast was half cooked in toastie pie maker, and the sausage was about 4 cm long and 1 cm thick, which was small for a Kiwi guy! Jo was not hungry, her upset stomach and worry about the incoming flight disturbed her.

It was time to check on the flight - this time, if there was a problem, Jo did not want to know! However my friend confirmed that the flight was in the air and due to arrive at 12:00 noon! We had been worried about Mags back at Sanawari expecting us home last night - we knew she would be frantic with worry. The oldest of Big E's sons comforted her with the idea that we could have run off the road! Communication were difficult at best during that time, but at the airport, there was a post office, so we wrote an fat for them to send to the Agency Office where we knew Mags would go because she was covering for Mo & Jo when they were not there. There was a great deal of difficulty for the post office lady find a line to send the fax and 'policy was retry every 15 min.' Well finally the fax went through, but just as Mags closed the door to the office - as far as she knew, there was no communication!

Another flight arrived from Harare, the scheduled one, at about 11:00 am so we went in to watch the passengers arrive and we stayed there for the 'real' to arrive. When Jo caught sight of Mo, she flushed with excitement and relief, hugging me twice in her glee! I too was pleased to see him and the others as they approached - Whiskers was wearing a broad grin!

Apparently the hydraulics in the tail of the aircraft failed soon after takeoff and they were luck to land safely! The repairs took a long time - the replacement pipe could not be fitted, so the split on was brazed up! They had a frightening experience and some of the passengers refused to return to the aircraft.

Whiskers hinted strongly that he wanted a T-shirt from Nairobi, so despite our fatigue, we went into the city - I will describe the city later. So this delayed us for a couple of hours.

The trip home was uneventful and we chatted. I drove from the border back to Arusha, straight up to Sanawari, where we were greeted somewhat enthusiastically by Mags and Mama B and Maua who had been keeping her company.

Exhaused, I went to bed almost immediately!

But this event put me in the good books of Nettie who was to help with our assignment!