Weekend Wanderings

It’s been another good weekend in and around Kitale. We went to Jack’s uncle’s game sanctuary on Saturday about an hour’s drive away towards Mount Elgon and the Ugandan border. The road was quite challenging in parts but it was worth the trip out. It’s a beautiful place, an oasis in the Kenyan bush. You can also camp in your own tent, rent a pre-erected tent or stay in one of the bandas or spacious bungalows situated in the grounds. I would definitely recommend it to anyone coming up to Kitale and using it as a base to explore this part of Kenya. The grounds are beautifully kept with lush grass and bordering shrubbery.



We put on our boots and were led out to the game sanctuary on the other side of the campsite. Our first stop was to see Mike and Selina, the two rhinos wallowing in a mud bath in the afternoon heat. We were led past the electric fence and into the field where the rhinos were lying – I wasn’t so sure to begin with as we approached ever closer to the rhinos but was assured that they were quite friendly. We got to within 20 metres or soand was pretty special to see them so close up. However, as the rhinos got up from their mud bath we retreated to the perimeter fence and had a chance to get really close and give them a friendly pat.





Our next stop was to see the zebras, elands and gazelles in the adjacent field. We managed to get reasonably close to a group of gazelles and watch them run and jump through the long grass. The zebras were being a bit more elusive while we got a good sighting of the two elands – one of them was called John.

We were then taken to the “ostrich ring” where you have the chance of riding an ostrich. As we got close I saw two of them prancing around this ring about 5 metres in diameter. One of them had a saddle attached to its back and it was this one that was meant to be our ride. Unfortunately, he was new to the game (the usual and more tame ostrich had called in sick) and was not really keen on taking part, so it decided to sit on the ground in protest. He was a bit jumpy in any case so the ride would have been interesting.



Instead we mounted horses and took a ride around the grounds and passed by the field where Tom the giraffe had made his home - he came over to say hello as we rode by.



After our ride we were then shown the sustainable vegetable garden that supplied those staying at the game sanctury. We were told how they grew certain crops next to each other to ward of insects such as aphids – onions were always a good bet in these situations. She also explained that they planted Kales next to flowering plants – the latter attracted ladybirds, which would in turn lunch on the aphids,who in turn were more partial to the Kales. Fascinating stuff.



All this talk of food was making me hungry and by late afternoon we sat down for a delicious chicken stew with rice, kales and chapattis. The restaurant and seating area were on an elevated wooden platform, a bit like being in a tree house, where you could look out through wire meshing on either side. If you were lucky you could see Tom. After lunch we had a few games of pool and then said our goodbyes to the staff before heading back to Kitale.

Sunday was a nice relaxing day back at Jack’s house. The weather had been really kind to us over the weekend with the sun out most of the time compared to the frequent downpours we had had during the week. There is a nice seating area in the outside yard where you can eat breakfast while soaking up the early rays and pass the morning talking to the boys or catching up on a bit of reading.





In the evening we had an excellent barbecue – goat nyama choma (the last bit means roast meat in Swahili). Apparently the best bit of goat to roast are the ribs and they were delicious - expertly cooked by Kesito and Paul. We sat out talking until late before turning in for the new week ahead.