Tanzania and exams

Hello again!

The shore of Lake Tanganyika from Gombe National Park

When we last 'spoke,' the cohort was still in Angiri camp in Kenya. The day after my last post, we went to the Nairobi airport and shipped ourselves off to Tanzania. We had a layover in Dar Es Salaam, which I absolutely loved flying over. It was so beautiful! We boarded a sketchy little boat and had a three-hour ride to Gombe National Park, where Jane Goodall started her research on chimpanzees. Gombe was beyond gorgeous, and I loved being in the forest. My first lodging was seriously at least three-quarters of a mile from the beach where we arrived, which was not even a little ideal to walk at 10pm after a full day of travel. However, I woke up the next morning feeling much more at peace with my mildly rustic shack and all of the cutesy spider inhabitants who allowed me to stay in their spare room. I started my day with a swim in Lake Tanganyika, which has the clearest water I have ever seen. The depth was deceiving because of the clarity of the water: more than once I thought I could touch the bottom, just to reach down and realize that where I was wading was easily ten feet deep. 

The aforementioned Sketchy Little Boat™

Later that day, they told me that my stay in Spider Inn was a one night special, so I lugged my stuff back to the beach and then another quarter-mile beyond that to a cutesy little tent with some super adorable ants rotating a dead lizard they had found! It just spun and spun! Seriously though, I know I joke, but being in Gombe was most certainly one of the best experiences of my life and I don't have anything genuine to complain about. I woke up every morning and walked 3 feet from baboons, and I fell asleep at night to the waves of Lake Tanganyika.

The chimpanzee feeding station

In Gombe, we had a tour of the veterinarian's lab, the herbarium, and the osteology lab, many lectures, and two field exercises: one on chimpanzee vegetation, where we got to see Jane's Peak and ran back down the mountain as it down poured, and the other we were chimpanzee trekking! My group went chimp trekking after it has been storming all night and into the morning, so the path the other group took was flooded and we got to go through the bush rather than on the trail. We detoured again, going along the shore of the lake, and the waves were crashing up to us on the shore. I was not able to appreciate the beauty of wet boots in the moment, but I'm there now. A bit further into the hike, we climbed what our guide called the "baby hill" which was very deceiving. The baby hill consisted of the steepest incline and decline I've ever had the pleasure of hiking, and a muddy hillside where we inched side by side downhill with our hands uphill in front of us. We learned about how slave traders planted mango trees to mark their paths. Those same mango trees stand today. We followed four chimps: a baby, a mom, a grandma, and a male. At one point, the male came down his tree and walked right by me. I expected him to walk around me, but if I hadn't side-stepped at the last second, he would have brushed up against me. It was a really incredible experience. We took the boat back to the research center and visited Jane Goodall's house. 

Baby, mom, and grandma

Walking up to our vegetation study plot

Once leaving Gombe, we went to Kigoma, Tanzania, where there's the Kigoma branch of the Jane Goodall institute. We got to go canoeing on the lake on our free day, and the next day had lectures on TACARE, Jane's holistic approach to conservation and the betterment of local communities, and on the national forest. We got to swim in the lake one last time and went to the director of the TACARE program's house after dinner. The next day, we headed back to Kenya. 

Once we got back to KBC, we had a debrief, a day of rest, and then one day working on our final films for our human dimensions of the environment class. After presenting those films to each other and a few members of the community, we had two days of studying for our three finals, and then two days of actually doing the finals. Yesterday, we were introduced to our directed research options and had many hours of statistics class.

Mount Kilimanjaro! It's good to see her again.

Yesterday marked the crossing over of the halfway point in this program! It's a bittersweet moment: I've loved my time here and I've learned so much, I'm also excited to go back home to see my family and friends, and part of me never wants to have to leave Kimana. I'm sure that the final half of the program is going to speed by and be over before I know it, which makes me sad. On a happier note, I immensely enjoyed my time during expedition and am excited to properly start directed research. The project I'm in is on grey crowned cranes and the degradation of their habitat. 

My habitat study group and me in front of a waterfall in Gombe National Park

Kitwe Forest Conservation Area

Jane's Peak

Canoeing on Lake Tanganyika

Thanks for tuning in! Hopefully I'll be able to update the blog more consistently now that I'm back at KBC. Til next time, 

J

Nanyuki!

Hi again!

Look how good I'm being about posting regularly. Josh owes me a cookie now. I would also settle for a coffee.

A sign in Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Tomorrow is out last full day in Nanyuki, Kenya. On Tuesday, we'll drive to Nairobi to catch our Wednesday morning flight to Kigoma, Tanzania. 

Sunrise in Maasai Mara

Nanyuki River Sign

Giant bluegum

Nanyuki has been lovely. We started with two free days, which I spent writing two papers, calling family, and napping. The sixth was an academic day. We had a guest lecturer talk about Grevy zebras and then we went to the William Holden Education Centre (WHEC). The center itself was very interesting: they had some interesting ideas on composting, energy use, and environmentalism as a whole. They also had an arboretum which anyone who knows me will know that I LOVED. However, I found their animal rehabilitation center very cruel. The animals were in VERY small enclosures which were all much too small for them. They had lions, hyenas, a leopard, a hyrax, Sykes monkeys, baboons, and a few more animals all in cages. They said that all of the animals were either being rehabilitated for release in the wild or were severely injured and wouldn't survive in the wild. Even if this was the case, it was still (in my opinion) completely unethical for them to have the animals in as small of enclosures as they did. They had a baby giraffe, some llamas, an ostrich, and a mountain bongo just walking around on the grass right next to us. The mountain bongo tried to lick my professor. It was all very random and fever dream esque. 

Albino zebra (WHEC)

Fever dream

Lioness and lion at WHEC

Anyways, the next day we went to Ol Pejeta and got a lecture on black rhinos! I really, really enjoyed learning about the ecology and rehabilitation of the rhinos. After our lecture, we got to go visit Baraka, Ol Pejeta's blind black rhino. He was very friendly, and we all pet him. Then, we had another quick lecture on the white rhinos and the rehabilitation efforts for them. Ol Pejeta has the last two northern white rhinos in the world: Najin and her daughter, Fatu. We were lucky enough to go into their extra special enclosure to see them which was an incredible experience. Then, we visited the chimpanzee sanctuary, where 35 chimps share 140.54 square miles. Chimps are a lot bigger than I thought they were. And we'll see them without an electric fence between us in a week. Finally, we went on a game drive in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

Najin

Baraka

Fatu

Yesterday, we had an exercise on the population dynamics of whistling thorn acacia as well as the species' symbiotic relationship with ants. I also really enjoyed this. We divided the study area into grids and recorded the height, length, damage, and presence/absence of ants on each seedling found. Then, we recorded the height, damage, presence/absence of ants, and diameter of tagged trees. The conservancy has been collecting data on this for 23 years if I remember correctly. Then, we were able to go see the critically endangered Grevy zebra in their special enclosed area. They're much bigger than the common zebras and have a lot more stripes. They got very close to us which was really cool. On our game drive later that day, we saw a hybrid Grevy-common zebra. On the game drive, we also saw a warthog mud bathing, a lot of giraffes, elephants, rhinos, and cape buffalo, and some hartebeest and water buffalo. Then, I finished yet another paper. Tomorrow, we have one class and then the rest of the day free to pack and write (you guessed it!) another paper. I've really enjoyed my time in Nanyuki and am excited to go to Tanzania! 

Thank you for keeping up with my time in Kenya! Til next time!

Mount Kenya

Grevy zebras

Baby zebra!

Hybrid zebra

(Mostly) Maasai Mara

 Hello again,

I feel like I've lived about a hundred days since my last post on the 21st. I have been very busy (though not unpleasantly so) with assignments, classes, and the start of expedition at Maasai Mara!

The last few days at KBC I spent doing my assignments. The presentation went smoothly (mother will be proud), and the two papers... are done! I have another paper due on the 4th and 2 more due on the fifth, though. So far Kenya feels like a never-ending cycle of dishes, laundry, and assignments. Although, I guess that's life as a whole. Anyways, on our last drive to Amboseli, we saw some hippos pretty close!

Hippos (Amboseli National Park)

We drove to Maasai Mara on Wednesday. The drive was beautiful, and we got to see many different towns and environments. Once we got there, we unpacked into our tents (3 people per tent) and I sat in my tent and read A Little Life. The next day, we had a guest lecturer from the Mara Elephant Project and then we went on our first game drive which was AMAZING. The reserve is gorgeous, and though it feels like there are fewer animals than Amboseli National Park (since the reserve is so much bigger), we've had a lot of luck seeing carnivores. On the first day's game drive, we saw the last two male cheetahs in the Maasai Mara reserve. 

Cheetahs (Maasai Mara)

We've seen spotted hyenas each day we went on a game drive, lions three of the four days, and cheetahs the first day. We've also seen jackals, topee, wildebeest, buffalo, impalas, giraffes, gazelles (Thomson's and Grant's), and a bunch of birds.

Giraffe (Maasai Mara)

The second day we had a lecture from the Mara Predator Conservation Programme where we learned about the conservation of lions and cheetahs. Then, we went on another game drive where a lioness came VERY close to our car (5 feet away), and then we got to drive right next to prescribed fires that were burning. The difference between the burnt and the healthy grassland is beautiful. We also visited the Tanzania Border.

Lioness (Maasai Mara)

Lioness (Maasai Mara)

   

She got even closer than this!

Fire line (Maasai Mara)

Group photo at the KE-TZ border

The third day, we visited the beading museum by Maasai Mara and then we had a guest lecturer at a private conservancy! Then, we visited the Tanzanian border again (this time at the Mara triangle) and the Mara River! At the Mara River, we got to see hippos and crocodiles very close.

Me at the Tanzania border

Mara River

Mara River

    

Beading display

On the fourth day, we went on our last game drive in Maasai Mara, then we had a lecture from a KWS veterinarian who let us shoot the dart gun! Very fun. I've really loved Maasai Mara, and though I'm sad to leave, I'm excited to see Nanyuki, Mt. Kenya, and Ol Pejeta private conservancy (not to mention Tanzania)! 

Thanks for the childhood BB gun lessons, Boppa!

Thank you for reading the blog post! Let me know if you have any questions or want to see any more photos of anything! Til next time. 

Smoke line above a stream

01/31/2025 through 02/20/2025 in Kenya

 Long time no see! So sorry I failed to keep up with my posting once a week promise.

Just a warning that this is formatted really poorly because I'm having a hard time configuring the photos to look nice, so sorry in advance!

This is our last full week of classes at Kimana Base Camp, unfortunately. Next week, we will be heading to expedition. For those of you who don't know, we were originally supposed to go to Rwanda on a mountain gorilla trek. However, the current political issues in Rwanda and near the border of where we would have stayed caused our plans to be changed. Instead, we will be going to the coast of Tanzania to trek Chimpanzees. Though I'm disappointed to not be seeing mountain gorillas, I am still very excited to see the chimps, and I think it'll be awesome to be near the beach and right next to the rainforest. First, we'll visit Maasai Mara (6) days, Nanyuki/ Mount Kenya (7 days), and then head to Tanzania. 

Since I haven't talked to most of you in like a month, here's a breakdown of what I've been doing the past three weeks (highlights only).

The 31st was our first full day of classes. We're taking Swahili, human dimensions of endangered species conservation, ecology, and endangered species conservation. All of the teachers are very kind, and the classes have been very informational. This day, we went on a field lecture to see clean vs dirty waterways and the wildlife corridor that Big Life helped install. 

On the 2nd, we had our first free day. We hiked up part of a mountain and went to see a waterfall. Then, we visited a Mama's boma. It was very interesting; they make their houses out of cow dung and sticks, and they have a cook pit in the house. They also sleep on cow hides as their beds. I really enjoyed speaking to Mama Joyce; she was very kind and happy. We went to another homestead and collected interviews about how the Maasai live and about human-wildlife conflict on the 3rd as well. 

Waterfall 02/03

Livestock market 02/04

Livestock market 02/04

On the 5th, we went to Amboseli for the first time! I saw giraffes, elephants, zebras, a spotted hyena (!), a bat-eared fox (!!), Thomson's and Grant's gazelles, impalas, hippos, olive baboons, warthogs, buffalo, secretary birds, and wildebeests. When we went to Amboseli on the 9th, we saw five cheetahs. We also interviewed members of the Osiligi Women's Group in Oloitokitok. They are a group of widowed women trying to make income without their husbands. 

Amboseli 02/05

Hi mom! Amboseli 02/05

Jake & me Amboseli 02/05

Amboseli 02/05

Amboseli 02/05

Amboseli 02/05

Cheetahs 02/09

Women's group trees

On the 12th, we visited Amboseli for the third time and visited a cultural manyatta, which is similar to how the Maasai normally live, but is bolstered a bit since they do tours. On the 13th, we walked around farms interviewing the farmers about their experiences with human-elephant conflicts. It primarily arises during times of drought because the elephants will eat the crops, since no other forage is available. 

On the 15th, we went into the bush to count giraffes! It was very cool since we got to get out of the vehicles and walk around in the bush, since we had to take photos of the giraffes' right sides. We got very close to wild giraffes and zebras!

Giraffe counting 02/15

So far, I've turned in two individual papers, one group paper, two group presentations, and one packet assignment. I have another paper and a packet due on the 24th, and a presentation and essay on the 25th. I have another paper on the 2nd and two more things to do on the 5th but I'm losing track and assume none of you care that much so I am going to move on. The point is they're keeping us busy.

Yesterday, we went on a homestay with three students per group to local mamas. We started by milking the cows and goats. We did dishes, took the cows to the pasture and left them there, then made tea. The tea was delicious. After tea, we went to the field and got grass for the cows. We went and got firewood in the bush, then took the trash out just before starting lunch. We had cabbage with onion and tomato, meat, rice, and ugali (made of corn meal and water). Afterwards, we got water, fixed the walls of the house (using cow manure!), and made more tea before walking back to KBC for a very thorough shower and dinner. 

Milking a goat

Getting grass for cows

Walking back to boma

Cutting up cabbage

Lunch

Gathered sticks

Making the house

After building the house

Making tea

Okay, that's all for now. I'll do my best to post another blog before I leave for expedition, since I 1) don't know if I'll have my laptop (which presumably makes this much harder), and 2) have been informed that Wi-Fi access is minimal and poor when present. I tried to keep this fairly concise but let me know if you want more information or more photos (I have literal thousands). Hopefully you've enjoyed this blog post. I'll (hopefully) update soon!