Goodbye Kenya

 

On the last day one can almost sense that the animals and the place are saying goodbye to you. Will this be the last time we ever go? 

We're reminded that some farewells are more final than others. (Vultures, however, are a sign on a healthy ecosystem and that efforts to deter the use of poisons against large cats are working. Vultures are killed by contaminated leftovers.)

It's also a relief to see Leopard Tortoises which are at risk of being poached for the Chinese market.

The female kudu are always close to the house and the lodge where they get added protection from the large predators. 

A salute to my Mum, who passed on her love of Africa to me, and whose ashes are laid at the bottom of this rock.

Patrick's dove watches over her eggs.

Farewell to Patrick and Loisaba. 

We are greeted at the other end by Joseph and his two teenage sons, Anthony and Kevin; one wants to be a vet and the other a doctor. 

We all went to the Giraffe Centre in Karen where we could look over Giraffe Manor which is at the posh end. Betty and Jock Leslie Melville once lived here and took care of Daisy and Marvin, two translocated giraffe babies. Since then the centre has been dedicated to breeding the endangered Rothschild Giraffe and setting free the offspring of the resident females. I can recommend the book Raising Daisy Rothschild but I cannot lend you mine - I never get them back.

This giraffe is also called Daisy IV, after the original female who arrived at Karen in 1979. What I love about this place is that it is so focussed on its Kenyan audience with lower entrance fees for residents and a really welcoming atmosphere. 

I couldn't say the same about the Karen Blixen Museum - Karen Blixen, under the pen name Isak Dinesen wrote the book Out of Africa describing her life in Africa. There are the days when the pioneers came for new adventures and lived without rules. I can understand completely their desire to be in Africa, and Karen Blixen did some very good things and seem to have treated the black Kenyans well, but there is seemingly no questioning of any of this within the museum which seems to be focussed on English and particularly Danish tourists. There seemed to be nothing of relevance to the two boys.

There was a very nice cat called Sophie.

Tom had recommended that we go to his brother's pop-up restaurant, known as Cultiva in Karen, and it was outstanding. Predictably the two boys opted for hamburgers but they were somewhat more substantial and nutritious than the ones in MacDonalds. We had a really great time and these two have learned Kiswahili Sanifu which is proper Swahili and could correct and encourage me when I was speaking. 

And then it was definitely all over.