Up until today, our travels in Kenya have gone surprisingly smoothly. But, this morning, we got a taste of the adventure of traveling in another land!
We rose for our last game drive at 6:30am and had a morning full of Masai mara scenery and very few animals (apparently after yesterday's rain they went elsewhere). We returned to eat breakfast and pack up and pay our bill. We were running a little late after getting stuff together and hurried to reception to be informed that our flight would be delayed because there were no flights going in and out of the regional airport that we flew out of because today is heroes day in Kenya (note to self: never book a flight on a national holiday in another country). We took this as good news (we would rather stay in the Mara than go back to busy Nairobi) and set about to watch hippos again.
Bless those hippos -they were out of the water and basking in the sun (something we had not seen)! We watched for a long time and then checked back in at repception where we were told that there was still no flight for us so we explored the other end of the resort. As we turned to go back, a guard at the gate (yes there is a security gate and electric fence around the whole place) called us over and asked who we were and said that they were looking all over for us! The plane was waiting at the airstrip.
We were whisked to the airstrip followed by our bags and loaded on to a very small plane (much to Jeff's joy). The pilot (who also served as flight attendant) said that they were dropping us off at another airstrip to catch a different flight. Hmm.. that was different from before we thought.
Tiny plane served to give us another awesome view of the plains and then landed (about an 8 minute flight) at an airstrip we had not seen before (flight there had 4 stops). There we joined 25 retired Australians who were stranded because of the airport situation in Nairobi. Pilot/flight attendant (there were actiually two pilots, the other one was about 15 years old) was kind enough to call AirKenya to see if we could wait at a local lodge for our next flight since they did not know when it would come.
And so we waited (see photo of us). The Aussies went back too (it was where they had stayed) and were great company while we wondered what was next. After about 2 hours their leader announced that it was time to go. We assumed that we were on the same flight and follwed. We assumed wrong. The were flying Safariair, we were not. Their plane was full so we could not beg a ride.
So we waited at the airstrip which fortunately had a shelter, a few "employee," a bunch of resort drivers waiting to pick people up, an outdoor choo (latrine) and 12 African Elephants hanging out nearby.
Again we waited (maybe only 20 minutes) and then heard the sweet sound of another plane coming in for a landing and to pick us up! We actually got to fly into the regional airport and found a taxi quickly and now we are tucked into the Hilton until tomorrow morning.
All in all, a pretty good adventure. I am recommending a Kenyan safari to everyone. For those who like things a little more controlled, I would also recommend a tour service.
So many more stories...
K
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