Leaving the Valley

Yes, it's true! As this post is aired today, we'll be on our way to the airport. We're flying out of Kenya to an undisclosed destination.  I should be online again on Friday and will mail you from our new country. 

We're leaving with very, very sad hearts but it's for the best. (more about our new life later, promise) Right now I'm more concerned about our three cats who fly out with us. Shadow is a seasoned traveller; he entering his fourth country! Ginger and Ambrose were born in the valley and apart from two trips to the vet in Eldoret, they've not been anywhere else.

However, all three cats' health documents, passports and general health and well-being are in in order and they're safely locked in their travel cages until their destination later this evening.

I hoped to do a post before I left, on what I'll miss about Kenya, the valley and the camp. But time just ran out on me. I will post about this later, because as I said last week, this is the best place we have spent time in.

Our last view of sunrise over the valley as we travel up the mountain to Eldoret Airport

My garden early yesterday morning. It's no wonder that I'm sad to leave here...

My house was always surrounded by birds, birdsong and calls. These Black-headed Oriole were permanent visitors in our garden and their call sounded to me  like "Gerald Durrell"! (I use mnemonics to remember things like bird calls)

I can tell you that Ginger was much happier in the garden

Or resting on the settee rather than being cooped up in a cage on travelling to a strange country!

Ambrose loves sitting on my desk in front of the window...(Note how his tongue protrudes like Ginger's above)

Here he is on the luggage in the spare room (You're not leaving without me!)

For Shadow it's just another day at the office. C'mon guys, it's only a trip in the car and then on the airplane. Easy when it's the third time for you, Shadow!

To everyone reading this, please think of us as we travel with trunks, suitcases, backpacks and three cats to our new destination. I'll be back online as soon as I can!

Our World in the Valley

As mentioned in my Friday post, Stanley and I often walk along the mine road to collect plants for our garden. We also, on a quarterly basis,  visit the lady at the club with medication for her two dogs, Mbwa Moja/Dog#1 and Mbwa Mbili/Dog #2.  (Read here about our first visit to the dogs)

Mbwa Mbili not even fazed by our visit to his garden at the club! (I didn't see Mbwa Moja that day)

We left the club property and walked a little further down the road to the general dealer store

I needed salt, flour, plastic packets which are all available from Josephine (above) who owns this shop. I also bought a dozen pancakes: sweet dough cakes which have been deepfried and bear no resemblence at all, to pancakes. I gave the treats to Naomi and Stanley to share when we got home

While I was chatting to Josephine, a small goat was bleating behind the counter. I asked her if it was a pet, but she said no, it just wanders in and out of the shop. She lifted it onto the counter so I took a photo!

Then Stanley and I walked back up the hill to the camp

As we strolled along the lane to our house, I heard the screech of a parrot. We stopped and Stanley who is very good at spotting birds, pointed to the Meyers Parrot in the tree above us

As we passed my neighbour's house, I heard an African Green Pigeon's call. Stanley and I walked to the Wild Fig Tree and spotted a pair of these beautifully coloured birds on a branch above us. Of course we spent another fifteen minutes there while I clicked away

When I walked into the kitchen the cats were waiting for their lunchtime snack!

For more scenes around the world, click here (Thanks to Gattina, Arija, Lady Fi, Sylvia and Sandy for keeping this meme going)

Common Sandpiper

The Common Sandpiper is one of the birds frequently seen at the concrete bridge at the river below the mine offices.

I love the way that many birds are able to stand on one leg for an extended period of time!

The Common Sandpiper is a small wader with a short, sharp bill and short, greenish legs. The dark grey-brown upperparts contrast with the white underparts and the white on the breast curves over the shoulder. I use this "C" formation - C for Common -  to help me identify the bird !  This bird has a characteristic horizontal stance and often bobs its head and tail. Like the African Grey Flycatcher which I've posted about before, this bird is quite tame and stays relatively still while you photograph it!

Egyptian Goose

Last week after visiting the market, Sue and I drove to the dam for a spot of birding. She'd told me about a pair of Egyptian Geese with five goslings and wanted to show them to me. When we arrived, there was no sign of the little family. Nevertheless, we watched and photographed the other birds around the dam.

Malachite kingfisher

Grey Heron and it's beautiful reflection in the water

A small flock of Cattle egret wandering around on top of the pondweed in the dam!

African Grey Flycatcher; endemic to North East Africa. This is one of the most rewarding birds to photograph as it sits still for ages while you click away!

Then Sue located the family of Egyptian Geese on the other side of the dam. We walked quietly towards a mound on the bank above the birds and took up our positions to get really close photos.

The Egyptian Goose is a large brown waterbird with pink legs and a pink bill. It has a conspicous rufous patch around the eyes and a dark patch in the centre of it's belly. The genders are alike although the male has a thicker neck than the females.

Egyptian Goose male and five goslings

Papa Goose on duty

Male Egyptian Goose on the right of the photo (note thicker neck than female) and female with their fluffy family

Female Egyptian goose stretching her wings, with the male in the centre. An African Jacana shares the little bay with the Egyptian geese

The male Egyptian Goose stands protectively over the goslings while the female looks for dinner

And a close-up of three of the little ones...

For more bird posts around the world, click here

One year in the valley!

This week marks a year that we've lived in Keirio Valley, in Kenya. I've made up a few tiles of life here in this beautiful remote valley within the Great Rift Valley.

From top: flying into Kenya; staying over in the Sarova Stanley, Nairobi; a view over the Great Rift Valley; the 24km road into the valley; arriving at the guest house; last photo: the lane leading to my friend, Sue's house

Our house in the corner, bordering the African bush; a beautiful bougainvillea in my garden; a view over my garden; Ginger, the cat we inherited as we arrived; I celebrated my nth (!) birthday in that first month; a luncheon at the guest house

An avid gardener, I found a kindred spirit in my Kenyan gardener, Stanley. Together we changed the existing garden from primarily exotic to 80% indigenous. We also revived and revamped the neglected rose garden at the side of the house.

Stanley my loyal gardener and two of the many birds which visit our garden

The middle photo in the first collage in this post is my "before" garden. Above is our "after" garden

In May we brought our Sudanese cat, then living in South Africa into Kenya! Although he hunts lizards with a vengence, he has no interest in birds, which is a relief!

Company management flew into the valley for meetings during the middle of the year.  Sue and I helped the Guest House to cater for their stay. I also joined Sue for an ice-cream and soda party at school one Monday morning

In July a security officer arrived at my door with a bedraggled kitten. So now the Hedges have three cats in Kenya! In the photo bottom left, carpenters are attaching screen doors which were for our own account. This is to keep monkeys (of which there are many in our camp) out and to keep cats in!

In between during the week, Sue and I would go birding around the dams and in the bush on the mine

Over weekends Grant and I went birding on the mine property

Among other interesting activities we attended school functions

In October I held a formal tea at my home. All three the ladies on camp (at the time) attended!
Every five weeks we go up the steep, winding mountain road for monthly shopping. There is always something interesting on this trip: birds, large lizards, Black-and-white Colobus and Blue monkeys; new-born lambs, and runners (Kenya has world champions) in training
The last full moon for 2011. It was a lunar eclipse!

An important young man?

Stanley and I created a welcoming display of potplants at my front door

After months of training on a leash, (like I'm doing with Ambrose now) Shadow has the run of the garden

A week before and the Christmas weekend was spent in the Masai Mara, on Lake Baringo, at Lake Elemtaita and at Sarova Lion Hill Game Lodge, Nakuru. Divine! 
 On the last day of 2011, Grant and I attended a wedding with a difference: the bride never arrived!
On the 1st day of 2012, Grant and I went out birding around the mine and I got my best photo of a Fork-tailed Drongo

Sue and I have been birding recently as well. Apart from this awesome heron and its reflection, I have several interesting photos. More about that tomorrow.

Anyone visiting my blog for the first time, you can scroll back over the past year and read about all I have spoken about and shown in collages above. And more... I can honestly say that this has been one of the best - if not THE best - year as an expat!

 

For more on other people's worlds, click here

Kenya Safari Part XII continued

Finally, I'm posting the end of our Kenya safari. I'm using this opportunity to thank every one of my readers for enjoying this trip with us! I also want to try and answer a few questions which have arisen over the weeks. Arija, the Goliath Heron is the largest heron in the world and stands 154cm tall. I'm 164cm so it would reach up to my shoulder. It's a very graceful bird and although we didn't see any young, it was thrilling to see these birds on the top of the tree!  BTW, I couldn't resist posting my favourite photo of it again!

Goliath Heron seen on Lake Baringo on our tour in December 2011

Dearest Betsy, I'm sure my Christmas card from you will arrive via the mine office shortly. It goes to Eldoret where it waits at the Posta (Post Office) until a driver goes to town for business and brings it home. I'll let you know as soon as I receive it!

Fred, thank you for reliving Kenya with me through my general posts and recently in my meanderings through the Kenyan Parks and lake resorts.  

Eileen, re the lion's injury around the eye area: I think this is an old male and he's been pushed out of the pride by a younger stronger lion.  Perhaps he'll be OK, but he might starve to death having no females to hunt for him. Sad and cruel, but that's nature...

After a delicious Christmas dinner at the lodge, we rested until late afternoon when we went out for a last ride around the park. We still firmly believed we'd see a leopard, but sadly didn't! We did see many many birds on the lake, storks, comorants, gulls and of course, pelicans. We also saw a small family of flamingo. As the other 999,997 Lesser Flamingo had flown off the Lake Natron, their natural breeding ground, I was thrilled that I managed to photograph these three remaining flamingo.

The only pair of Lesser Flamingo at Lake Nakuru...

...and their offspring - a juvenile flamingo!

The next morning arrived all too soon and then it was time to leave the park.

Even leaving Lake Nakuru National Park is a pleasurable ride through fever tree forests

I managed a photo of a baby buck (fawn) with the herd before the mother walked in front of it, concealing from view

And a baby baboon catching a ride!

Incredibly, as you exit the Lake Nakuru National Park gates, you enter the town of Nakuru.

Every house along the road just outside the park has murals of wild animals

 I loved the artwork on the walls with washing on the lines and life in Africa going on as always

Soon we were on the B24 heading for home

And the final 24 km into the valley!

Although it's almost a month since our holiday, I still remember every animal, bird and experience. I will be posting about birds over the next few weeks. Thanks for joining me on this wonderful safari across Kenya.