60 clicks north of the Namanga border lies the sleepy Maasai town of Il Bissil. Driving passed on the main road you would have absolutely no idea that on the right, tucked away, is a shamba (farm) where a small community of fabulous people have made their home. Michelle being one of them. Shelly and Col have been big buddies since they were teeny boppers. Her open planned, off the grid house in the bush, is what I think heaven looks & feels like!
Twelve of the fourteen species we have on our mammal list were seen sitting on her verandah (including giraffe, impala, wart-hog, ostrich and the white-tailed mongoose just to name a few). Here is where we spend our time, catching up, reading, working, eating, drinking, snoozing, bird watching, chatting, laughing, and chatting some more! Its bliss. The above activities take place from her veranda, from the plunge pool (where skinny dips have been replaced by chunky dunks), from the dining table, or the lounge. It doesn’t matter where you find yourself – you’re in the outdoors!
Here is also where I learned about the ‘East African Way’. A real sense of community, where strangers from all walks of life are welcomed. People in this part of the world are incredibly friendly, immensely welcoming, non-judgmental, easy going and always up for a giggle. When we arrive here for a weekend, there is always a sundowner, a dinner, a coffee or a rugby match that we get invited to, and we are always welcomed like long lost friends. It’s the best!
From Bissil we drove north to the foot of Mount Kenya, to spend a week with Cols folks who are in great form! Knowing that we are keen walkers, they proposed we do a safari to climb Mount Ololokwe in Samburu. There is a wee community camp called Sabache camp on the foot of Ololokwe, we could use this as our base and hike from here.
A bit about the camp…. well… let’s just say the lesson of ‘the happiest people in life don’t have the best of everything, they make the best of everything’ rings true. Earlier that morning we wondered if we should pack swim suits – do you think they have a pool? A pool?! The toilet in the public area didn’t even sport a toilet seat – so no… there was no pool. There was also no drinking water, no sodas and no hot shower water. There was: plenty of attitude, crusty table cloths, warm beer, and a loo in our tent that was so high, my feet couldn’t touch the ground when I was on the throne. I literally had to launch myself off it.
All jokes aside, we did have a good time, and this little camp has big potential. Being a community run campsite you have investors, community, and staff that need to all pull in the same direction to form a good product. As with most things, once politics starts to play a role (and politics always ends up playing a roll) things start to fall apart. The food, although basic, was tasty and the people working there (with the exception of the grumpy manageress) had the best of intentions but just lacked in the know how.
The vistas on the hike were out of this world, and reason enough to come back. Once at the top we were covered in mist, but as this lifted, we had very dramatic views which stretched for miles across Africa. Being at eye level with vultures riding the thermal waves just in front of us was a bonus. All in all, it was very impressive.
Coming up next, our trip back to Tanzania and onto Tarangire National Park.
