For some reason I was able to upload today from our internet connection here at the house. I actually haven't tried an upload since we've moved into the new place, so perhaps the connection is slightly more reliable? Either way, here is the clip!
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Saturday, November 25, 2006
New photos
Here are some random shots from the past couple of weeks. I have videos completed for our Kapiti trip and for our Lake Magadi trip but unfortunately the only computer I can upload them from isn't available till Wednesday. They should be up by Thursday!
Navigation here just got a whole lot easier!
Navigation here in East Africa just got a whole lot easier because Google has just released a new overlay in Google Earth called Tracks4Africa. I was so excited I had to blog about it! Apparently the data layer comes from 6 years of work from the fine people at Tracks4Africa, a non-profit organization dedicated to the accurate mapping of off the road tracks and destination in Africa.
Here is an example of what I've been using to plot out routes on our GPS (here, our recent trip to Hells Gate National Park, click to enlarge):
And now adding the Tracks4Africa overlay in Google earth, you get the following (click to enlarge):
It's not just the main roads that lead to the park which are overlaid, but even the secondary, off-road, and hiking tracks! On top of that there are point of interest, national park boundaries, lodges, gas stations..... it's incredible. In the picture above, Hells Gate is at the bottom left, Lake Nakuru is on the top left, and our next destination, Aberdares National Park, is just barely visible on the right.
More on Google earth here.
And more on Tracks4Africa here.
Here is an example of what I've been using to plot out routes on our GPS (here, our recent trip to Hells Gate National Park, click to enlarge):
And now adding the Tracks4Africa overlay in Google earth, you get the following (click to enlarge):
It's not just the main roads that lead to the park which are overlaid, but even the secondary, off-road, and hiking tracks! On top of that there are point of interest, national park boundaries, lodges, gas stations..... it's incredible. In the picture above, Hells Gate is at the bottom left, Lake Nakuru is on the top left, and our next destination, Aberdares National Park, is just barely visible on the right.
More on Google earth here.
And more on Tracks4Africa here.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
We are proud new parents!
We are happy to announce that we are the proud new parents of a beautiful baby girl! She has a nose like her father, and the appetite of her mother.... and we couldn't be more happy. Here is a copy of the "birth certificate":
And here is a shot of our new bundle of joy:
Our good friend Emma, who is from Ireland and doing some post-doc work here at ILRI, adopted an orphaned elephant at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust here in Nairobi. It's a center where they rehabilitate baby elephants that have been orphaned in the wild. Anyhow, she invited us to visit her elephant tonight (foster parents get to come in at a special time and get to see the elephants up close and personal). As a gift she ended up adopting one for us too, and we now find ourselves parents of a baby elephant!
Her name is Galdessa, and actually the shot above isn't her, but it is one in an adjacent pen which is about 15months old or so. Ours is only 3 months so it is much smaller! It was airlifted just today from Tsavo National Park where it was found in a generator shed by one of the park staff. Since it has only arrived we didn't spend too much time with it because it is still a little spooked from the trauma of the past 24 hours. We'll have some shots of her when we go back to check on her progress in about a week or so.
As her "foster parents" we get continuous email updates about her progress. Also we get the special privilege of coming in after viewing hours and actually being able to pet her and generally spend some time getting to know her (something which you can't do during regular hours!). Anyhow, we look forward to blogging about her progress. As I mentioned, she seems to have suffered some trauma over the past while, so we hope that she settles into her new surroundings.
The link below is for the project's website, and it has some great information:
And here is a shot of our new bundle of joy:
Our good friend Emma, who is from Ireland and doing some post-doc work here at ILRI, adopted an orphaned elephant at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust here in Nairobi. It's a center where they rehabilitate baby elephants that have been orphaned in the wild. Anyhow, she invited us to visit her elephant tonight (foster parents get to come in at a special time and get to see the elephants up close and personal). As a gift she ended up adopting one for us too, and we now find ourselves parents of a baby elephant!
Her name is Galdessa, and actually the shot above isn't her, but it is one in an adjacent pen which is about 15months old or so. Ours is only 3 months so it is much smaller! It was airlifted just today from Tsavo National Park where it was found in a generator shed by one of the park staff. Since it has only arrived we didn't spend too much time with it because it is still a little spooked from the trauma of the past 24 hours. We'll have some shots of her when we go back to check on her progress in about a week or so.
As her "foster parents" we get continuous email updates about her progress. Also we get the special privilege of coming in after viewing hours and actually being able to pet her and generally spend some time getting to know her (something which you can't do during regular hours!). Anyhow, we look forward to blogging about her progress. As I mentioned, she seems to have suffered some trauma over the past while, so we hope that she settles into her new surroundings.
The link below is for the project's website, and it has some great information:
Farewell Dr Lee PhD!!
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Off to Africa Night!
It's been a busy week. Tonight is "Africa Night" here at ILRI, and as you can see there is a strict dress code in place!
More pictures to come...
More pictures to come...
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Back from Kapiti
We stayed at an ILRI-owned ranch for the weekend called 'Kapiti'. It's a fantastic old colonial house with several wings, and secret tunnels connecting them.
The area surrounding has some great wildlife, and we should have some video up soon. We had a whole lot of rain during the night, so this mornings game drive was a muddy one and Battlecat is filthy!
The drive yesterday was gorgeous. We ascended a small peak on a nice little dirt road in order to spot game down below. We headed down towards where it looked like the most animals were, and ended up having tea amongst a group of 38 giraffes! We also saw lots of zebra, gazelle, hartebeest, jackal, wildebeest, and warthog. It was a great trip, and we look forward to returning since ILRI staff get to stay there at a very reasonable rate.
We should hopefully have some video posted early this week...
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Two adventures for the weekend!
We have two one grand adventures planned for the weekend. First, a day trip where we return to the Rift Valley once again to the southern-most lake in the valley called Lake Magadi (something came up at work today, so we're going to save Lake Magadi for next week!). Second, a two day trip to the ILRI-owned ranch in Kapiti. Here is a shot from Google earth that shows lake Magadi to the left, and Kapiti to the right (click to enlarge):
Lake Magadi:
During the dry season, Lake Magadi is 80% covered by soda and is well known for its wading birds, including flamingos. It is a saline, alkaline lake, approximately 100 square kilometers in size, which is made up of a dense sodium carbonate brine. In places, the salt is up to 40 m thick. The lake is recharged mainly by saline hot springs (up to about 80°C), and there is a single species of fish, a cichlid called Alcolapia grahami, that inhabits the hot, highly alkaline waters of this lake basin. The lake is featured in the film The Constant Gardener, although in the film the shots are supposed to be at Lake Turkana.
Kapiti:
We don't know too much about Kapiti, other than the fact that it's a ranch that ILRI owns and there's lots of animals there. In fact, some lions apparently got into the sheep pens not too long ago and killed quite a few of them! It's not too far away from Nairobi, and the road is good getting there. We were invited to come by some friends here at ILRI, and we couldn't pass it up!
Pictures/video to come!!!
update: We still managed to have the afternoon off today, so instead of Magadi we got some supplies at the local market. One new piece of kit that we picked up is a spotlight for our 4x4 (which is henceforth named 'Battlecat'). One of the really cool things to do when on safari is not just day trips, but also night trips because it's a whole different game at nighttime. You have to have a spotlight though, cause that's how you find animals and also identify them from afar (ie predators eyes tend to reflect a bit different colour than grazers). Anyway, where we're going tomorrow is apparently very good for night trips, so we're excited to have the new gear. It's also probably our best chance of finding lions since they're often hard to spot during the daytime cause they're hiding out from the heat. Hopefully we'll have some good video ready for posting sometime next week (I've now figured out a way to get footage from our real video camera online instead of our digital camera, so the quality should be much better!).
Our new house:
Also, here are just a few shots of our new place for those interested:
This is the view coming down the stairs into the living room & dining room:
And this looking across the dining room into the kitchen:
And this is looking up the stairs:
Lake Magadi:
During the dry season, Lake Magadi is 80% covered by soda and is well known for its wading birds, including flamingos. It is a saline, alkaline lake, approximately 100 square kilometers in size, which is made up of a dense sodium carbonate brine. In places, the salt is up to 40 m thick. The lake is recharged mainly by saline hot springs (up to about 80°C), and there is a single species of fish, a cichlid called Alcolapia grahami, that inhabits the hot, highly alkaline waters of this lake basin. The lake is featured in the film The Constant Gardener, although in the film the shots are supposed to be at Lake Turkana.
Kapiti:
We don't know too much about Kapiti, other than the fact that it's a ranch that ILRI owns and there's lots of animals there. In fact, some lions apparently got into the sheep pens not too long ago and killed quite a few of them! It's not too far away from Nairobi, and the road is good getting there. We were invited to come by some friends here at ILRI, and we couldn't pass it up!
Pictures/video to come!!!
update: We still managed to have the afternoon off today, so instead of Magadi we got some supplies at the local market. One new piece of kit that we picked up is a spotlight for our 4x4 (which is henceforth named 'Battlecat'). One of the really cool things to do when on safari is not just day trips, but also night trips because it's a whole different game at nighttime. You have to have a spotlight though, cause that's how you find animals and also identify them from afar (ie predators eyes tend to reflect a bit different colour than grazers). Anyway, where we're going tomorrow is apparently very good for night trips, so we're excited to have the new gear. It's also probably our best chance of finding lions since they're often hard to spot during the daytime cause they're hiding out from the heat. Hopefully we'll have some good video ready for posting sometime next week (I've now figured out a way to get footage from our real video camera online instead of our digital camera, so the quality should be much better!).
Our new house:
Also, here are just a few shots of our new place for those interested:
This is the view coming down the stairs into the living room & dining room:
And this looking across the dining room into the kitchen:
And this is looking up the stairs:
I Felt the Rain Down in Africa...
Hello All!
So I thought I was leaving the West Coast and its rain behind...but...I was wrong. Right now Nairobi is getting a taste of the "short rainy season" where there are huge dumps of rain all day in short or long spurts. The positive side is that it's still quite warm except at night when it can get quite cold! I know what you must be thinking, "This doesn't sound like African weather! Kenya is situated on the equator for gosh sakes!" But I assure you it rains every day and gets cold every night! My only consolation is that it will get smoking hot in December/January...temperature should rise up to about 35 degrees!
In other news, Matt and I have been upgraded to a house at ILRI! It's quite a bit larger with two bedrooms, a living room, dining room, and huge kitchen with more cabinet and counter space than I can use! I felt kind of reluctant to move in at first because it's so huge! We can hardly fill it up with our meagre possessions and I'm sure as heck not about to buy a whole bunch of stuff to fill it up with! So Matt and I are having to listen to our echoes every time we talk for the time being.
I'm hoping to visit the Masaii Market soon so we can try and find some cheap decorative things to place about the house...not to mention try and find an Africa get up that I can wear to Africa night! I'm really looking forward to it! It's an annual soiree that they have here at ILRI where everyone dresses up in African clothing and there's a night of dancing, entertainment and games! Excellent! And, even though Matt and I haven't been out safariing for a while, we're definitely still having fun meeting people and going out for meals. In fact, we went out to a restaurant yesterday where I tried Eland for the first time! It was delicious! So as you can see, life continues on in Kenya for us! We really miss everyone, though, and I can't wait to come to Mexico and see some of you! YAY!! Well, will post again soon...I promise!
So I thought I was leaving the West Coast and its rain behind...but...I was wrong. Right now Nairobi is getting a taste of the "short rainy season" where there are huge dumps of rain all day in short or long spurts. The positive side is that it's still quite warm except at night when it can get quite cold! I know what you must be thinking, "This doesn't sound like African weather! Kenya is situated on the equator for gosh sakes!" But I assure you it rains every day and gets cold every night! My only consolation is that it will get smoking hot in December/January...temperature should rise up to about 35 degrees!
In other news, Matt and I have been upgraded to a house at ILRI! It's quite a bit larger with two bedrooms, a living room, dining room, and huge kitchen with more cabinet and counter space than I can use! I felt kind of reluctant to move in at first because it's so huge! We can hardly fill it up with our meagre possessions and I'm sure as heck not about to buy a whole bunch of stuff to fill it up with! So Matt and I are having to listen to our echoes every time we talk for the time being.
I'm hoping to visit the Masaii Market soon so we can try and find some cheap decorative things to place about the house...not to mention try and find an Africa get up that I can wear to Africa night! I'm really looking forward to it! It's an annual soiree that they have here at ILRI where everyone dresses up in African clothing and there's a night of dancing, entertainment and games! Excellent! And, even though Matt and I haven't been out safariing for a while, we're definitely still having fun meeting people and going out for meals. In fact, we went out to a restaurant yesterday where I tried Eland for the first time! It was delicious! So as you can see, life continues on in Kenya for us! We really miss everyone, though, and I can't wait to come to Mexico and see some of you! YAY!! Well, will post again soon...I promise!
Monday, November 06, 2006
Moving on up...
Well, we have no adventures to report on from the weekend unfortunately. We're thinking of getting away for a 3 day trip this weekend down towards the Tanzanian border however, so we'll keep you posted!
Saturday was another big day for me at work because I had to "harvest" my remaining tryp-infected mice in my current project which is now almost coming to a close. The project isn't quite complete, but we are at a bit of a roadblock until some additional reagents arrive from the UK at the end of the month. I'm now moving on to two new and very interesting projects. One involves looking at a correlation that has been found between trypanosome-resistant mice and their physical size. The other involves looking at several strains of congenic (mice which genetically only differ at one genetic locus) mice and analyzing their response to trypanosome-infection. Both projects involve gene expression and immunology -- which are my two primary fields of interest -- and so I'm quite excited to get started on them.
In other news, we have been 'upgraded' here at ILRI with regards to our accommodations! We're moving from our hostel room into one of the staff houses tomorrow, and we're looking forward to having lots more space (especially in the kitchen!). We'll still be on campus, and the house is actually only about 200 meters from where we're currently staying. It's a two bedroom house, so that means that anyone coming to visit gets their own room! That means you Jenn & Paul, Chris, and Chelsea (and whoever else might be coming to Nairobi)! There's a garden area in the back, a fireplace, large living room with cathedral ceiling, dining room, and a much more functional kitchen than what we're currently using.
I also spent the weekend getting more familiar with the mechanics of our new 4x4. I have to say that I'm pretty happy with the purchase so far (knock on wood), and I'm excited to get it equipped for our planned longer-term adventures. So far we already have two spare tires, tools, and an extra jack. I have to say that the GPS we brought has already got us out of a few tricky navigational situations, so it too is indispensable. I'm currently sizing up some 20 L jerry cans which will mount on either side of the spare tire on the roof rack, and we will also need a fire extinguisher (not just for fires, but lions too!) and jumper cables. The goal that we still have in mind is to make it to a park in southern Tanzania called 'Ruaha'. It is supposed to be incredible, but quite a bit more remote than some of the parks in the north of Tanzania. Still lots more research to do, but we hope it will be a go.
That's about it for now!
Saturday was another big day for me at work because I had to "harvest" my remaining tryp-infected mice in my current project which is now almost coming to a close. The project isn't quite complete, but we are at a bit of a roadblock until some additional reagents arrive from the UK at the end of the month. I'm now moving on to two new and very interesting projects. One involves looking at a correlation that has been found between trypanosome-resistant mice and their physical size. The other involves looking at several strains of congenic (mice which genetically only differ at one genetic locus) mice and analyzing their response to trypanosome-infection. Both projects involve gene expression and immunology -- which are my two primary fields of interest -- and so I'm quite excited to get started on them.
In other news, we have been 'upgraded' here at ILRI with regards to our accommodations! We're moving from our hostel room into one of the staff houses tomorrow, and we're looking forward to having lots more space (especially in the kitchen!). We'll still be on campus, and the house is actually only about 200 meters from where we're currently staying. It's a two bedroom house, so that means that anyone coming to visit gets their own room! That means you Jenn & Paul, Chris, and Chelsea (and whoever else might be coming to Nairobi)! There's a garden area in the back, a fireplace, large living room with cathedral ceiling, dining room, and a much more functional kitchen than what we're currently using.
I also spent the weekend getting more familiar with the mechanics of our new 4x4. I have to say that I'm pretty happy with the purchase so far (knock on wood), and I'm excited to get it equipped for our planned longer-term adventures. So far we already have two spare tires, tools, and an extra jack. I have to say that the GPS we brought has already got us out of a few tricky navigational situations, so it too is indispensable. I'm currently sizing up some 20 L jerry cans which will mount on either side of the spare tire on the roof rack, and we will also need a fire extinguisher (not just for fires, but lions too!) and jumper cables. The goal that we still have in mind is to make it to a park in southern Tanzania called 'Ruaha'. It is supposed to be incredible, but quite a bit more remote than some of the parks in the north of Tanzania. Still lots more research to do, but we hope it will be a go.
That's about it for now!
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Video: Trip to Lake Nakuru National Park
(Sorry about the flying snakes in the video.... next time I'll make sure the lens is clean!)
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
The Elusive White Rhino Adventure
It was another early morning start for Matt and I this last Saturday. This time we went a little further north to Nakuru, Kenya's 4th largest city. Just south of Nakuru is Lake Nakuru which is home to even more wildlife than Lake Naivasha which Matt and I visited the weekend before. We went in hopes of adding flamingo, waterbuck, and the famous white rhino to our growing list of sighted wildlife.
We arrived in Nakuru bright and early to go get supplies for our weekend trek. Nakuru is a bustling town and is definitely a larger city. It is a popular destination for tourists as the neighbouring lake is such a good spot for wildlife viewing. However, like most things in Kenya, things aren't very well marked and we end up spending a while trying to find the main gate to the park! I have to admit, it is mostly my fault as I am not used to navigating and don't co-operate well when under pressure. But, like good explorers we trudged on and did finally find the park!
Once we arrived at the gate we were greeted by Vervet monkeys. Little things with mostly grey fur except a ring of white surrounding their black faces. They were very curious and we even ended up seeing some climbing on people's cars! Once we got in, we immediately saw a huge waterbuck male! Very much like a larger deer with dark brown fur....and one pair of large horns...hmmm...so not very much like a large deer but I think we have some pictures of some! Matt and I then drove up to the banda which we would be staying in. They're sort of like circular huts with thatched roofs. Very...rustic. At this point I think I ended up taking a nap because I was feeling a bit tired and cranky. I believe it was from the "roads" that led up to Nakuru. Although, I don't think I would call them "roads"...more like bits of cement in an immense field of potholes the size of Lake Nakuru itself. Nonetheless, after the break Matt and I set out and had an awesome wildlife viewing. We saw all the previous animals...zebra, warthog, Thomson and Grant's gazelles and LOADS of baboons! They were everywhere! I have to say I really enjoy watching primates though! They're very uninhibited and remind me of what humans might be like if we weren't restricted by the rules of being in polite society.
After some time, Matt and I wandered around to the South side of the lake where we had a little drink by a flock of flamingoes. The lake edge was like a moonscape because it was all dry and all was left was white. We continued by the water's edge and found our first white rhino! SO BIG!! And skittish! There was a long procession of vehicles though, so after we waited for them to pass, Matt got out of the car to get a shot. The rhino didn't really like this though and charged in the other direction. He then faced Matt as if he was going to charge at us! But, ended up doing nothing. Wuss. Haha, no just kidding. It's actually quite scary being in the presence of wild animals...you never know what they're going to do!
Anyways, we ended the day by crashing into a local swanky lodge located inside the park. While driving there we ended up seeing our first predatory animal: a spotted hyena. He was just walking up the road when we spotten us and continued walking right by us in the car...amazing! Anyhow, when we got to the lodge, we lounged outside their very spacious bar, drinking Tusker and Pina Coladas. The tables and chairs were then cleared for some traditional African dancing. It was quite the treat. Matt and I finished our "African" experience at the lodge in the restaurant at an all-you-can eat buffet. SCRUMPTIOUS! Then, we left the lodge and went back to our meager banda. Haha...it was pretty neat!
Well, I'm sure you've read enough by now so I'll leave you there. I'll keep you posted on our other trips in the future. Right now I am working on getting some STD research work and am making some progress! Keep reading to see what happens....Miss you all and will see you soon!
Jessica
We arrived in Nakuru bright and early to go get supplies for our weekend trek. Nakuru is a bustling town and is definitely a larger city. It is a popular destination for tourists as the neighbouring lake is such a good spot for wildlife viewing. However, like most things in Kenya, things aren't very well marked and we end up spending a while trying to find the main gate to the park! I have to admit, it is mostly my fault as I am not used to navigating and don't co-operate well when under pressure. But, like good explorers we trudged on and did finally find the park!
Once we arrived at the gate we were greeted by Vervet monkeys. Little things with mostly grey fur except a ring of white surrounding their black faces. They were very curious and we even ended up seeing some climbing on people's cars! Once we got in, we immediately saw a huge waterbuck male! Very much like a larger deer with dark brown fur....and one pair of large horns...hmmm...so not very much like a large deer but I think we have some pictures of some! Matt and I then drove up to the banda which we would be staying in. They're sort of like circular huts with thatched roofs. Very...rustic. At this point I think I ended up taking a nap because I was feeling a bit tired and cranky. I believe it was from the "roads" that led up to Nakuru. Although, I don't think I would call them "roads"...more like bits of cement in an immense field of potholes the size of Lake Nakuru itself. Nonetheless, after the break Matt and I set out and had an awesome wildlife viewing. We saw all the previous animals...zebra, warthog, Thomson and Grant's gazelles and LOADS of baboons! They were everywhere! I have to say I really enjoy watching primates though! They're very uninhibited and remind me of what humans might be like if we weren't restricted by the rules of being in polite society.
After some time, Matt and I wandered around to the South side of the lake where we had a little drink by a flock of flamingoes. The lake edge was like a moonscape because it was all dry and all was left was white. We continued by the water's edge and found our first white rhino! SO BIG!! And skittish! There was a long procession of vehicles though, so after we waited for them to pass, Matt got out of the car to get a shot. The rhino didn't really like this though and charged in the other direction. He then faced Matt as if he was going to charge at us! But, ended up doing nothing. Wuss. Haha, no just kidding. It's actually quite scary being in the presence of wild animals...you never know what they're going to do!
Anyways, we ended the day by crashing into a local swanky lodge located inside the park. While driving there we ended up seeing our first predatory animal: a spotted hyena. He was just walking up the road when we spotten us and continued walking right by us in the car...amazing! Anyhow, when we got to the lodge, we lounged outside their very spacious bar, drinking Tusker and Pina Coladas. The tables and chairs were then cleared for some traditional African dancing. It was quite the treat. Matt and I finished our "African" experience at the lodge in the restaurant at an all-you-can eat buffet. SCRUMPTIOUS! Then, we left the lodge and went back to our meager banda. Haha...it was pretty neat!
Well, I'm sure you've read enough by now so I'll leave you there. I'll keep you posted on our other trips in the future. Right now I am working on getting some STD research work and am making some progress! Keep reading to see what happens....Miss you all and will see you soon!
Jessica
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Photos from Lake Nakuru National Park
We've returned from our maiden voyage in our new 4x4, and the new steed definitely did well. The last 30 km or so of the road getting to Nakuru was bumpy to say the least, and the Suzuki performed great. The park itself was incredible, and there were lots and lots of animals to be seen. Some of the new species that we saw: White Rhino, Waterbuck, Ostrich, Spotted Hyena, and Vervet Monkeys.Right now I'm pretty tired from the drive back, and just getting caught up on some work but we'll post some stories tomorrow. Video in a few days hopefully!
Click the link below to go directly to the album:
* * *
Also, I put a few links in the side bar on the right (you might need to refresh your browser) for those of you who wanted to know more about the work that we are doing here in Nairobi!
Friday, October 27, 2006
Back on Sunday!
We got our new 4x4 today! We took it for a test drive, and everything seems to be going well with it. So we're off to Lake Nakuru for the weekend, and should be back before 6pm our time on Sunday.
Pictures coming soon!
Pictures coming soon!
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Heading back to the Rift Valley in our new 4x4!
We have finally secured ourselves a 4x4, and we're going to be testing it out this weekend (assuming we get our insurance sorted before then) on a trip back up north to the Rift Valley. It's a 1993 Suzuki Sierra, which is similar to the Suzuki SJ's or Samurai's on the North American market. Sort of like a small Jeep. I'll have a some pictures/video of it up soon, but for now here's a shot that I pulled off the internet which is somewhat similar:
The roof on ours is quite a bit taller, with small windows above the rear windows. Also, there is a cargo rack on top for storage and an extra spare tire. It's a small little 4x4, but it's supposed to be great off road, and also very good on gas.
This time we will be going a little bit further than last week to a lake called Lake Nakuru. It's about 150km away from Nairobi, and is just north of Lake Naivasha where we were last weekend. The lake is famous for it's numerous flamingo which come to the lake to feed on the abundant algae which thrive in its warm alkaline waters. There is a larger variety of animals at this park than at Hells Gate (where we were last week), and we're hoping to see Rhino, leopards, lions, waterbuck, and possibly even pythons! Here's a satelite photo of the park, and you can see Lake Naivasha just beyond it (looking south), and Nairobi (where the 4 thumbtacks are) at the top middle of the photo:
This time we will be going a little bit further than last week to a lake called Lake Nakuru. It's about 150km away from Nairobi, and is just north of Lake Naivasha where we were last weekend. The lake is famous for it's numerous flamingo which come to the lake to feed on the abundant algae which thrive in its warm alkaline waters. There is a larger variety of animals at this park than at Hells Gate (where we were last week), and we're hoping to see Rhino, leopards, lions, waterbuck, and possibly even pythons! Here's a satelite photo of the park, and you can see Lake Naivasha just beyond it (looking south), and Nairobi (where the 4 thumbtacks are) at the top middle of the photo:
* * *
In other news, this Friday is a big day for me as I will be sacrificing half of my 40 lab mice to test their blood for specific type of bacterial toxin. We infected them with the parasite that causes African Sleeping Sickness about a week and a half ago, and the whole experiment is now two weeks in the making. Hopefully the results are good! Since we are testing for bacteria in their blood, the big risk is contamination during the experimental procedure which could lead to false-positive results. That's what we have controls for though, but if contamination does occur then the past two weeks will be lost!
Monday, October 23, 2006
Video: Trip to Hells Gate National Park
Note: Sorry about the pixelated-ness of these videos. We are soon going to be experimenting with some new software, which should allow us to use our DVD Handicam instead of our little digital camera for video.
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Hell's Gate
Our first wildlife adventure was one of the best things I've ever experienced! I was so excited I could hardly contain myself! Matt and I went up north of Nairobi to lake Naivasha, which is about an hour's car ride away. Anyhow, there's a wildlife park there called Hell's Gate National Park and is located in Africa's Rift Valley.
After going to the town of Naivasha to stock up on supplies, we showed up at the gate to the park where we found a rather large gathering of cars. I guess Matt and I didn't pick the best time to go as this past Friday was a national holiday (Kenyatta Day). But, I volunteered Matt to go up in line as he was a much more intimidating presence than I was! That didn't stop people from trying to budge in front though! We waited a good hour at the gate I think before we entered the park! It was crazy! Once we did get in though, we were surrounded by steep cliffs on either side of us and what seemed to be endless grasslands dotted with low shrubs and the odd Acacia tree. Our first animal sighting was zebra! It was so exciting to know that the animals were wild and free to roam! Matt and I then turned off the main trail to our camp site which was actually situated midway up the cliffs. On our way up we spotted a small family of warthogs, a mother and 3 of her little children! So cute! They were very skittish though and it was hard to get a good picture of them. After setting up camp, we went back down to finish the circuit of the park. That day we ended up seeing zebra, warthogs, gazelles, hartebeests, and elands. Then towards the end of the day we ended up seeing my first giraffe! So impressive! And so large! I didn't expect them to be so big. It was almost like stumbling upon a brontosaurus or something.
The next day, Matt and I woke up early to get a good sunrise in and to finish the other side of the park. There, we ran into African buffalo, more of everything we saw yesterday and a family of giraffes! We were able to get quite close...it was amazing! Then we took a drive through a shrub/acacia forest. It was beautiful. On our way out we thought the new animal sightings were over, when we looked to our left and saw a whole field of babboons! It was insane! There was even a baby riding on one of the mothers' backs! So funny!
All in all, it was a pretty amazing trip. I can't wait for all our other future trips! I think the next adventure will be at Nakura National Park! I'll keep you all posted! Miss all of you and hope you're all doing well!!
After going to the town of Naivasha to stock up on supplies, we showed up at the gate to the park where we found a rather large gathering of cars. I guess Matt and I didn't pick the best time to go as this past Friday was a national holiday (Kenyatta Day). But, I volunteered Matt to go up in line as he was a much more intimidating presence than I was! That didn't stop people from trying to budge in front though! We waited a good hour at the gate I think before we entered the park! It was crazy! Once we did get in though, we were surrounded by steep cliffs on either side of us and what seemed to be endless grasslands dotted with low shrubs and the odd Acacia tree. Our first animal sighting was zebra! It was so exciting to know that the animals were wild and free to roam! Matt and I then turned off the main trail to our camp site which was actually situated midway up the cliffs. On our way up we spotted a small family of warthogs, a mother and 3 of her little children! So cute! They were very skittish though and it was hard to get a good picture of them. After setting up camp, we went back down to finish the circuit of the park. That day we ended up seeing zebra, warthogs, gazelles, hartebeests, and elands. Then towards the end of the day we ended up seeing my first giraffe! So impressive! And so large! I didn't expect them to be so big. It was almost like stumbling upon a brontosaurus or something.
The next day, Matt and I woke up early to get a good sunrise in and to finish the other side of the park. There, we ran into African buffalo, more of everything we saw yesterday and a family of giraffes! We were able to get quite close...it was amazing! Then we took a drive through a shrub/acacia forest. It was beautiful. On our way out we thought the new animal sightings were over, when we looked to our left and saw a whole field of babboons! It was insane! There was even a baby riding on one of the mothers' backs! So funny!
All in all, it was a pretty amazing trip. I can't wait for all our other future trips! I think the next adventure will be at Nakura National Park! I'll keep you all posted! Miss all of you and hope you're all doing well!!
Saturday, October 21, 2006
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Off to the Rift Valley!
We decided today that it will be much easier to search for cars if we rent a car for a couple days so that we can go to all the dealerships, bulletin boards, etc. So we phoned up an ILRI-recommended rental place, and we got a great deal on a small sedan. They even came and dropped it off for us here at ILRI. I've never driven a right-wheel car before, so we took a few spins around the campus for practice, and then we were off! It was pretty easy to get used to the left hand shifting, and other idiosyncrasies of a right-wheel drive car. The blinker/wiper discrepancy was a bit weird at first, but then I realized that no one here signals anyway, so I gave up on it all together!
We got a lot accomplished today in the car search, and we've got some very good leads I think. Tomorrow is a holiday, so we've decided to head up north towards Lake Naivasha. We're going to camp just south of the lake at a national park, which is right in the middle of the rift valley (at least it looks like it is on Google Earth):
It's supposed to be an incredible place, so hopefully I've have some shots/video up soon!
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Connor and the quest for a vehicle
We've now been in Nairobi for almost two weeks, and we do not yet have any pictures of wildlife other than cow, goat, mice, or sheep! 
Our lack of wildlife viewing and adventure is going to have to change very soon or else we're going to get a bit stir-crazy I think. We have had a bit of wildlife viewing in the form of a new roommate named Connor. I saw Connor on the very first night that we got here just by the door of our new residence. He's a local, and likes to eat lots. I didn't see him for about a week and a half, and then only a few days ago he moved into our room. Jessica was a little hesitant -- and even a bit frightened -- at first, but I explained to her that Connor moving in was a good thing because he could help out with the household chores. Namely, getting rid of the mosquitos which never cease in their craving for Jessica's sweet blood.
Speaking of which, here is a shot of Jessica in her mosquito-proof fortress:
And, here is a picture of our new roommate, Connor:
Connor is now a proud member of the family, and he is welcome in our house anytime.
~~~
Our lack of wildlife viewing and adventure is going to have to change very soon or else we're going to get a bit stir-crazy I think. We have had a bit of wildlife viewing in the form of a new roommate named Connor. I saw Connor on the very first night that we got here just by the door of our new residence. He's a local, and likes to eat lots. I didn't see him for about a week and a half, and then only a few days ago he moved into our room. Jessica was a little hesitant -- and even a bit frightened -- at first, but I explained to her that Connor moving in was a good thing because he could help out with the household chores. Namely, getting rid of the mosquitos which never cease in their craving for Jessica's sweet blood.Speaking of which, here is a shot of Jessica in her mosquito-proof fortress:
And, here is a picture of our new roommate, Connor:
Connor is now a proud member of the family, and he is welcome in our house anytime.
Anyhow, back to the wildlife sightings. Right now, our wildlife viewing is contingent upon us securing a car. So far we've been focusing on private listings, and notice boards that you find in shopping areas. These avenues have produced a few leads, but nothing too promising. This weekend coming up is a long weekend, and we are dying to get away to one of the nearby lakes, or wildlife areas. This desire has given us the motivation that we really need in order to find ourselves a vehicle, and we are both going to take Thursday off so that we can search some of the dealerships surrounding Nairobi which specializing in importing vehicles from Japan. Toyota, Mitsubishi ... and at relatively cheap prices. So! Hopefully we will soon be planning our first roadtrip!Some more shots:
Here is another shot from the pastures at the southern end of the campus:
Here are some goats and myself:
The Jacaranda trees here are in full bloom right now:
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