We had a mini-safari and little camping weekend

This weekend we left for Lake Naivasha with Shaun, Sharon & Zach. It was 3 days full of fun.

Not too far from Nairobi, we enjoyed the greenery, lake and animals of Africa. A very special treat!

We would have to say that the animals were most awe-striking. We could have stayed and watched them for days.

Camp Carnelly is where we set up for the weekend. Thanks to Sharon's organization, we rented a couple bandas (cabins) and enjoyed the quiet surroundings, our super friends, some big rain and a large grassy area in front of the lake where we stayed.

We assumed there were hippos around but didn't see any... until the last night.
We went down to the lake front after dark and watched a big hippo graze around the boating area. We were a short electric-fence away from a multiple-tonne animal who could kill us if she felt like it, but thankfully she was more interested in eating grass. She was so neat to watch. HUGE!
We figured out why hippos come out of the water and eat at night: they don't want anyone to see their physique! Little, stumpy legs and big, bulging bodies. And the noisiest grazers you will ever hear. That was a fun event to experience together. Sorry, no pictures, we didn't have our camera with us :(.

On Saturday we headed for Crescent Island. A once-island that we drove to and, with a guide, went on a walking safari. There aren't any big cats or elephants on the island so it is relatively safe (if you use common sense).
Wayne tested the limits. He said to our guide, "After we ride the giraffe, I want to wrestle a Cape Buffalo." Bernard (our guide) quickly responded, "Oh NO, you can't! They are VERY dangerous, they will kill you!"  Wayne tried again a little later asking Bernard, "After we are done, can we swim with the hippos?" who quickly responded, "Oh NO, they kill more people than lions every year!" ... poor Bernard... he probably thought he had a winner of a group, his work cut-out for him and likely thinks Canadians are mad (meanwhile the rest of us split a gut).

It was a-MAZING to walk beside a huge giraffe... watching him eat lunch at the top of a tree, mingle with the zebras, stand a safe ways back from the cape buffalo, see all the brand new wildabeest babies run with their moms and watch all these species co-exist together... really incredible. It was a safari to remember. Asante sana tena Shaun & Sharon!

Pictures of Lake Naivasha trip

Camp Carnelly's - Lake Naivasha, Kenya

we saw a hippo that came out of here

Wayne's big dandelion 'wisher'... or fancy broom

hippo skull

Wayne, Kami, Sharon, Zach & Shaun
Crescent Island, Lake Naivasha - walking safari !

Sharon, Shaun, Bernard & Zach

we met Gerome

"whoa! here he comes"

Cape Buffalo

a wee zeebee

up close & personal

love birds?

"My eyelashes are as long as Wayne's"

impala

wildabeest

warthog family

waterbuck

not an out-of-the-ordinary-site when driving in Africa

Wayne's Sudan adventure

Some of the interesting stuff that I experienced while up in South Sudan.


How I got to be a part of this neat experience: we are staying with friends of Kami's, Shaun and Sharon Rix. Shaun is a pilot for Samaritans Purse (the christmas shoe box organization). Samaritans Purse (SP) is focused mostly on refugees fleeing their home land in North Sudan. The north is wanting to cleanse the nation of anything but Arab descent. The refugee camp I was helping supply was Yida, about 8 miles from the north, south border. The UN has reluctantly done activity here (in way of supplying food and other support) because it is so close to potential artillery. But the people have built shanties so SP has been doing all it can to save lives. We brought some sourgum seed up on one flight and the SP lady on the ground said, "just wait till the UN guys take off". 

 So I was invited to help out at the hanger one day. While I was there, it was suggested to Shaun by his superior that they could use my help. I said "yes of course", trying to hold in my excitement, "but let me ask Kami first." Kami is such a great wife so she said of course I could go.

The camp has 60,000 people in it right now. There are others camps that are over 160,000. I am amazed at the need and craziness of humanity. I was privileged to see people displaced and totally reliant on outside help. These people are displaced because their own government wants them dead. I wish I could do more... I felt a great deal of urgency. I was up there for only part of a week, the pilots are active up there almost every week. And then there are SP people on the ground full-time, helping in distribution, education, different ways of sharing the gospel and medical.

My job was to help shuttle supplies 20mins flight from Rubkona straight north to Yida. I helped by packing supplies on and off the plane. I was in Sudan only three days and was sore all over from loading and unloading.


The runway in the picture was cleared by hand, roots and all, and then a land cruiser packed with people went tire width by tire width and packed the area. The runway is not 100% so the already hard to fly DC-3 is piloted by very focused pilots when landing and taking off. The white and blue dots are the tarps that the UN and SP hand out to the people to put roofs on their huts.


I found it amazing that we were flying in a plane made in 1945 and that it is still useful today with major engine replacements and cockpit overhaul. If my rememberer is right, a payload would be about 3500 pounds.


The pipe and black square things are to assemble "squatie-potties" to try and create some form of sanitization along with a lot of soap bars.

Wayne went to Sudan...

And they are OFF!...

Runway (Sudan)

unloading

loading

Cargo:
 "Plumpy Nut",  a fatty,  nutritious food supplement

Sudan refugee camp

"Hello?"  tame little guy

leopard kittens

Hard workers, home at last

Kenya & Sudan

"July 18th ALREADY?!" That was the thought that fell out of my (Kami's) mouth today. Where does time sneak off to anyway? Hm.

Wayne & I have both said, "It's more comfortable coming back to Kenya this time." Dare we say this country is becoming more familiar and less strange? It's not home, but I think so. My Kiswahilli has come back easier than last time (I just need to be bolder in using it). The people are still the same... very relational, willing to drop everything to come see & spend time with you, readily &'unapologetically change plans on you multiple times :). It's "African time" I guess. In Indonesia they call it "rubber time". It works for the non task-oriented folk... and teaches the rest of us patience.

 Right now Wayne & I are in different African countries. Crazy that. But totally amazing, the opportunity Wayne has to be in southern Sudan right now. He is working with Samaritan's Purse flying in food to a refugee camp. The guys (3 on the crew plus guys on the ground) are working very hard. Yesterday they loaded & unloaded 15 tonnes of food by hand. They were tired to say the least, but what incredibly rewarding work, knowing you are helping save lives. This is the longest Wayne & I have been apart since we got married (3 whole days! :)), but the best way to spend time apart. I am very proud of my husband (& his muscles!). He called last night and said, "Guess what I just got to play with?" After a few guesses I said, "A lion?!" and he said, "Close!"... it was 2 LEOPARD kittens, 8 weeks old, abandoned and being cared for by the niece of the owner of the hotel in Sudan. I now feel a strong calling by God to go to the mission field of southern Sudan and care for leopard kittens :). *sigh* .... how cool are these experiences? Thank you God!

More stories about Wayne's time in Sudan after he is back.

Yesterday afternoon there was a robbery, shoot-out (20 shots) & 4 guys shot by police outside of a restaurant in Nairobi (Amani, see previous pictures) that Sharon & I went to that morning. Sobering. Thank you to those who pray - for us and others. We feel enveloped in many ways.

 We are very well, and honored to be where God has brought us.

Kibera slum, Nairobi (~1 million ppl in 1 square km)

In Kibera slum with friends Wycliff (he grew up in Kibera) and Martin Maina

See the chicken?

Contrast - golf course bordering slum

Pigs rooting through garbage

Train

Wycliff explaining life in the slum

:)