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Kekaha native fulfills dream in Kenya
  
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By Romang Tumbaga Peake - Special to The Garden Island
My dream to travel to Kenya goes back five decades.
We flew from New York to London, over to Paris, Athens, the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Sidra near Benghazi, the Sahara Desert, Cufra and Jeddah-Addis, on the way to Nairobi, Kenya. It was a long flight.
The vastness of the continent of Africa is awesome. The many colors of the mountains are spectacular and panoramic. The famous Nile River, Africa’s longest river, winds itself down the continent like a gigantic snake crawling down the mountains. To view this country from far up above is an experience by itself.
We headed toward Lake Turkana and then we landed in Nairobi, Kenya. This trip was to become a revelation — my visions of the Black Pharaohs and all the animals in Africa realized.
We went to feed the giraffes one day (see photo); they’ve got such long yucky tongues. They got so near and so close to us begging for food.
Our private night safari was unbelievable. We saw all the animals up close while riding in an open Jeep with one guide driving and the other with a spotlight. We saw the great lion, the lioness with her two cubs, the elephants and zebras, the silver black jackals and impalas, the Thompson gazelles, the hares and wart hogs, the giraffes, the rhinoceros, black-billed bustards and owls.
We could not drive to Mount Kenya because of the rains but the countryside was lush with acacia and bougainvillea trees, and also the mango, banana and beautiful purple jacaranda trees.
What was most startling to me was to see the poverty levels of Kenya. The shanty houses are worse than the plantation homes we had in Mana and it reminded me of the poor areas in Beijing and part of the Philippines as well. I guess it’s the same all over — poverty is everywhere, after all.
Kenya is beautiful, but the living conditions in some areas are deplorable and it was a rude awakening for me to see it. Nonetheless, my adventure in Nairobi, Kenya was a dream come true.
We flew from New York to London, over to Paris, Athens, the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Sidra near Benghazi, the Sahara Desert, Cufra and Jeddah-Addis, on the way to Nairobi, Kenya. It was a long flight.
The vastness of the continent of Africa is awesome. The many colors of the mountains are spectacular and panoramic. The famous Nile River, Africa’s longest river, winds itself down the continent like a gigantic snake crawling down the mountains. To view this country from far up above is an experience by itself.
We headed toward Lake Turkana and then we landed in Nairobi, Kenya. This trip was to become a revelation — my visions of the Black Pharaohs and all the animals in Africa realized.
We went to feed the giraffes one day (see photo); they’ve got such long yucky tongues. They got so near and so close to us begging for food.
Our private night safari was unbelievable. We saw all the animals up close while riding in an open Jeep with one guide driving and the other with a spotlight. We saw the great lion, the lioness with her two cubs, the elephants and zebras, the silver black jackals and impalas, the Thompson gazelles, the hares and wart hogs, the giraffes, the rhinoceros, black-billed bustards and owls.
We could not drive to Mount Kenya because of the rains but the countryside was lush with acacia and bougainvillea trees, and also the mango, banana and beautiful purple jacaranda trees.
What was most startling to me was to see the poverty levels of Kenya. The shanty houses are worse than the plantation homes we had in Mana and it reminded me of the poor areas in Beijing and part of the Philippines as well. I guess it’s the same all over — poverty is everywhere, after all.
Kenya is beautiful, but the living conditions in some areas are deplorable and it was a rude awakening for me to see it. Nonetheless, my adventure in Nairobi, Kenya was a dream come true.
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