Our second camp…Lentorre Lodge” in the“ Olkirimatian Conservancy” in the Great Rift Valley, Magadi, Kenya

Tommie and I were in Africa in 2019 for my birthday and did 2 safari camps, Cape Town, Victoria Falls, and Botswana. The camps here so far have been a lot different….very dry, dusty, (no rain in a year) and an entirely different feel from the more lush camps we experienced in reference to close up and personal viewing of the wildlife in its natural habitat.

It’s a rocky bumpy ride to get anywhere and the game drives are pretty boring…BUT that said… The lodge is VERY nice.… And the staff is EXTREMELY friendly….and full of information about the Messiah tribe.

You can see Mount Shompole from the Lodge and behind the mountain is an active volcano (Mountain of the Gods). The villas are spacious and extra large… EACH WITH IT’S OWN SPLASH POOL for skinny dipping. My bathroom even has two bathtubs side-by-side …guess they were expecting honeymooners.

I think the best part about this Lodge is The Hide. You walk down from the dining area, which is all open air with fabulous views, and when you get to the end of the path, there is a door and it goes down into a cave ….basically that they’ve built so you can be eye level with a water hole to capture the animals and birds as they come to drink. They have air conditioning, and six beds in case you want to spend the night. A lot of wildlife comes in at night to drink and they assign a “spotter” to stay awake and wake you when a porcupine or a lion or a giraffe or any animal of interest comes to drink. It’s a really cool set up and we all enjoyed it. The problem being we couldn’t stop laughing and cutting up long enough to attract the wildlife …even though The Hide was built to be soundproof and you’re looking through one-way glass to photograph the animals, over time it has leaked a little a apparently you need to be quiet…not an option with this group. We cackled and Sarah snorted, and so when we were all down therethere did not seem to be much activity… I did get photos of Waterbuck, impala, rabbit, giraffe, mongoose and some birds. But once everyone left, except of course, for Rick, who spent the night…he was able to photograph several really neat animals. Later during our visit, I went by myself one afternoon and watched the baboons drink their afternoon cocktail.

Yelp, This is home to the Maasai Tribe. Maasai are polygamists. The marriages are arranged as early as 3-5 yes old…no sex before marriage. We visited a local village which consisted of the man, 4 wives, and many children. They live in stick huts with dirt floors. They let us herd in the goats and cattle at sunset…and educated us on their many customs. One of the customs is to take a cow, put a rope around it’s neck tightly and then shoot an arrow into its jugular vein, so that they can get the blood and mix it with milk to serve to a young man as he’s passing into manhood, their reasoning for this is that they get castrated between 15 and 18 and they lose blood during that surgery. THANK GOODNESS, the arrow was t sharp enough to piece the cow’s neck, so we’re spared the collection of blood. The men look after the animals, and guess what the women do? OF COURSE, the women do all the work, stating at 5am each day….including building the houses, which are made of sticks. The children walk approximately 5-6 miles a day round trip to another village where there is a school. Subjects are taught in English and Swahelee. The Maasai believe in one God, and consider themselves like Christians, but they do not have a Bible to go by…your just taught right from wrong. They do believe that if you do something to upset God, you are punished with things like a long drought. To get back in good graces, with God, they believe in animal sacrifices. They take a goat or a cow that is considered “pure “ as long as it’s white, with no blemishes or spots, and the person in the clan who they consider to be the most “pure”officiates at the ceremony. The village visit was a real eye-opener, and you leave there feeling like you’re blessed in every way to be an American and have access to so many opportunities and luxuries.

FACTS I learned…

Impalas have unique brush-like tufts of black hair that cover a scent gland located just above the heel on each
hind leg….that’s why they jump so much because when their ankles bend, the scent gland is activated and puts out a signal that tells them from which direction any danger might be….and they head the other direction. The females have no horns.

Blue tsetse fly tents are everywhere … they trap and kill these pesty little buggers. Tsetse flys are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. They cause “sleeping sickness” which causes fatigue, high fever, headaches, and muscle aches. If the disease is not treated, it can cause death. Yelp, I’m definitely avoiding these little guys! Hint: DON’T WEAR BLUE!

Giraffes can run 40 km… they run 2 legs one side followed by 2 legs on opposite side. It more of a gallop than a run. It takes 13 months for them to have a baby. There are different types of giraffes…the Maasai giraffe is predominant to this area. The Rothschild giraffe is near Nairobi and is the only species considered endangered.

Elephants take 22 months … almost 2 full years …to have a baby.

The Lilac breasted, roller bird is the national bird of Kenya

Lions – Don’t turn your back – Don’t run away. Face him down and it can take 5 minutes or more but he will mostly walk away. Then you can go change your panties.

Donkeys are their main transportation.

No toothbrushes…they chew on salvadora (or toothbrush bush) limbs

On our BABOON trek, we learned a lot…2 types in Africa….Orange & Olive
We visited the Olive Baboons as they are the most dominant and can live both on ground and in trees. A group of baboons is called a troop.
Females never leave their troop… but when the male turns 6-8 years old, they have to leave their troop and establish themselves in another troop. Strength is the goal…starting their own troop or challenging the alpha male in a troop is the goal. Females are born into a rank and stay there, but males can change to a higher rank depending on their personalities and social skills. Your rank determines you’re access to food…higher the rank, greater access. They can live for 25 years in a good habitat with plenty of food. If a troop gets up to 100, they decide among themselves who has to leave and form another troop.

FUN TIME- We had a great birthday dinner to celebrate Sarah’s birthday one evening…complete with the staff of locals performing a traditional “blessing” dance. Kept us all engaged and laughing. Great memory for all. Our friendships are growing every time we laugh together.

Unfortunately our last day, we sampled some berries our guide said was herbal remedy they use for colds…and almost immediately Connie got sick and had to stay inside for a whole day. Moral of this story…DON’T EAT THE BERRIES!

All for now….gotta go wash some underwear…Yelp, you read that right. Since there’s no women on the housekeeping staff, the men take the rest of your laundry daily to wash and return that evening…BUT they just throw your panties out of the basket into your shower and leave you a little bottle of soap to wash your own damn underwear. Oh well, I guess their multiple wives have spoiled them rotten.