(2) Makrand and Bhagyashri Dekhane - IITK90 batch reunion in Kenya (Jul/Aug 2023)
Recently, I and Bhagyashri (aka Mrudula) attended our IITK90 batch reunion in Kenya.
We visited Nairobi, Masai Mara National Reserve, Lake Nakuru park and Lake Naivasha - all with lots of friends, and their family members. It was a fabulous gathering and a great experience, to do this with friends.
Here is a short write-up
capturing the highlights of the trip. Hope you like reading this, as much as we liked experiencing it.
Reunion dates: 28-Jul-2023 to 3-Aug-2023
Day-1 (28-Jul-2023) Fri
Cape Town --> Victoria Falls --> Nairobi for IITK90 Safari Reunion 2023
Some of you may be aware that we were visiting Cape Town and the Garden Route (S Africa) just before this reunion.
On this day, at Cape Town, we had breakfast, checked out of the hotel and got to the CPT (Cape Town) airport by 11.45 am.
We comfortably checked in, and went to the airlines lounge. Had something to eat, and relaxed there.
The
excitement to meet friends from IITK batch, and having the reunion in
Nairobi and Masai Mara, was just too great. We were very eager to fly
off to Nairobi.
Victoria Falls (as seen from the plane)
Another interesting point:
We had visited Cape Town just before visiting Kenya. For that, our flight from Mumbai to Cape Town had a lay-over at Nairobi. And, when that flight from Nairobi (to Cape Town) took off, we saw Mt. Kilimanjaro, covered on top, with ice. It was a fantastic sight.
We reached Nairobi at 10.15 pm, for the IITK90 batch reunion, with batchmates attending this with family members.
We got picked up by Raju Bhai's (our tour agent, tour arranger, and fellow-traveler with us, for the next 7 days) team, and quickly got to the hotel - Hotel Concord. It is a nice comfortable place, with decent rooms.
At the check-in counter itself, we met a couple of batchmates, and their families, and realized that the long-awaited reunion had begin in full earnest.
Considering the hectic schedule and the resultant excitement in store for us, from 29th morning - we decided to sleep it off then.
Day-2 (29-Jul-2023) Sat
Nairobi
Context / Terminology Reference
Before I start the travelogue, I would like to set some context, to the way this whole trip/itinerary was planned. This should benefit the reader in appreciating this a little more.
(1) Masai Mara is the largest game reserve in Kenya covering about 1510 kilometers square of stunning grassland - a vast scenic expanse of gently rolling African Savannah plain - bordering the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania to the south.
(2) We realized that this time was peak migration period, when wildebeests and zebras migrate from Serengeti Park (in Tanzania, just across the border; border here defined by Mara river) to this side where Masai Mara reserve is.
Fun-fact: Serengeti Park is about 10 times bigger than Masai Mara reserve.
(3) Game Drive: A game drive is an adventure that means viewing wildlife in a sturdy safari vehicle (which can open up on top), and it is a sure way to give one
(4) Over all the Game Drives over the few days there, we saw many many animals, notably - wildebeests, zebras, bucks, deer, impalas, gazelles, elephants, giraffes, topis, warthogs, cheetahs, lions, lionesses, lion-cubs, leopards, hippos, ostriches, flamingos, and lots of other birds etc. So, the I have tried (to the best of my ability) to organize the photos as they occurred (day/time wise), but it is likely that there has been errors, and I apologize for that
(5) All the photos posted in this travelogue, are taken collectively by all 88 participants in this reunion. While it is a bit difficult to put photo-credit (PC) accurately to every photo included here - I want to thank each and everyone who had taken and shared photos - for capturing the beauty and variety of the experiences that we all had.
And, in the same vein - I might have missed some really good photos. Sorry for that.
(6) One highlight (or tough-point - depending on one's point of view) of this itinerary was that we were to get ready very early in the morning (everyday). Latest for us to be ready fully, must have been 8.30 am. While this troubled most (and especially the young adults) initially, we all embraced it (with no frowns) easily.
Also, we figured that we ALSO had to pack our bags (almost) everyday AND be ready early - to be able to fully enjoy the trip and ensure maximum sighting of animals etc. Again, we all 'rose' to the occasion (no pun intended), and did this with very limited complaining.
Kudos to us all - for that: especially, young adults and spouses.
Now, back to the actual travelogue 😀
It was a very (ful)filling breakfast time for us. We met all our batchmates - some earlier, and some later - at breakfast table. It was great to meet everyone, and be ready to start the fun together.
Out first stop was at the 'Giraffe Centre'. The Giraffe Centre is the creation of the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (A.F.E.W. Kenya), a Kenyan non-profit organization. Its main purpose is to educate Kenyan school children and youth on their country’s wildlife and environment. It is just as well that local and international visitors get an opportunity to come into close contact with the world’s tallest species, the giraffe.
Some photos from the Giraffe Centre
From there, we went to 'Under The Swahili Tree' - an African theme lunch place.
It was a very easy-going place, with very well-mannered staff and very well-stuffing menu.
Menu included, among many more items: Welcome drink (virgin Mohito); starters (samosa, potato pakoda, banana fried); lunch (rice, roti, rajma, spinach, ugali, chanaa), served liberally with alcoholic drinks).
Some of us, I am confident, learnt about Tamarind Margarita variety only that day.
After a sumptuous lunch there, we went to Bomas show.
We enjoyed Kenyan traditional music and dance (probably representing ethnic communities in Kenya). With live percussion, string and wind instruments, and diverse, authentic and energetic dancing, it was super nice to watch BomasHarambee Dancers.
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And, we could see and enjoy active participation from our group (batchmates, spouses and young adults) with the performers.
Just a glimpse of that below....
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In the mean time, some of us had gone out to a mall nearby, and bought the local (Safaricom) SIM cards.
As you can see - it included eating, having fun (singing and dancing)....
Day-3 (30-Jul-2023) Sun
Nairobi --> Masai Mara
We started from hotel Concord (Nairobi) at around 8 am (as against the planned time of non-negotiable 7 am 😄).
It was about 5 hours' road trip to Masai Mara lodge. Some of the towns we passed through were: Narok, Nkoilale, Sekenani etc.
We stopped at a place (restroom break), where there were souvenir items and some of us happily engaged in shopping there.Funnily, we saw a 'Liquor Library' board on a shop - on the way, and we were wondering what can be 'issued/borrowed' from there, and how one returns it intact 😀
And, then we reached the Masai Mara National Reserve's Sekenani entrance
We had to wait here for almost an hour, to get the tickets/cars identified and recorded, before we could get in - to reach the lodge/hotel, for lunch.
As soon as our cars were parked, we had quite a few enthusiastic seller women showing off their items to sell (ornaments, jewellery etc). We quickly managed to learn a few words/phrases, to tell them about lack of our interest to buy a lot.
For example, 'Sina Pesa' in Swahili means 'No money'; Or, 'Hapana' means 'No'.
Finally, we were allowed to enter the reserve area. We knew that the game drives are disallowed after 6 pm. So, it was decided that we would quickly have lunch and go for the afternoon drive, and make most of the available time.
The way from the entrance to the lodge/hotel was small and a bit
rough, but we saw zebras and other animals on the way.
We reached our destination 'Muthu Keerokok Lodge' - our hotel - at lunch time.
Lunch arrangment was quite nice. The spread was good and so were desserts. Everyone had a nice lunch.
Then, started off for the Game Drive at 3.30 pm.
Highlights captured by various group members are posted below.But, before that, we had our 'Paisa Wasool' ('got the worth for our money') moment, when we saw a lion walk towards our car, look for a shaded place to sit (after the kill and his lunch), sat for a few seconds right next to our car, and then, moved to a distant location
Wildlife seen:
After the exciting day, we were all happy to have experienced thrill, on our very first Game Drive. We all went to the hotel and had drinks, fun, and then, dinner.
For the next day (31st), the plan was to go on the hot air balloon ride and we needed to get up very early.
So, most of us went off to bed. It was mandated that we request for security guards to go to our rooms, since there would be hippos eating grass near our rooms (as you can see below). And, as you would expect, one wouldn't want to be charged at, by hippos ever. We also saw zebras grazing grass near our rooms.
Day-4 (31-Jul-2023) Mon
Masai Mara
At the take-off point, we were briefed by our pilot of the balloon ride there. We, then, took off at 6.30 am.
It was our first hot-air balloon ride ever and it was a very different experience seeing things from 1000 ft above ground. We saw Talek river nearby, Mara river at some distance away, and lots of animals.
Lot of us captured the sunrise (around 6.50 am local time), from the balloons
Views from the balloons
The highlight of this hot air balloon ride is, actually, on the ground AFTER the ride is over. The ride is usually 60-75 minutes long, depending on the animal sighting and wind speed/direction etc.
The ride ends with Champagne Breakfast, near the landing point. Everyone is treated to champagne (and/or other juices of choice), along with a very lavish breakfast spread. The breakfast spread included live counters for omelettes, and the breakfast menu included poha.
We all enjoyed the breakfast in these relaxed environs, in the open - almost next to where the wild animals roam about.
Those who had gone on the Game Drive (instead of the balloon ride) had equally exciting viewing of animals.
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Then, we all went to the hotel (Muthu Keekorok), to check out from there. Then, we went to our next lodge/hotel - Mara Sopa Lodge. It was also very spread out and beautiful.
One thing that we noticed was, that we needed to descend 2 flights of stairs to just get to the lobby (most action would happen/start-from there), from the road. Then, if you were unlucky like (some of) us, then, you had to "trek" about 400 meters of pavement uphill and then reach your room. We were certainly lucky that there were enough helping staff, to 'port' our bags to our rooms.
And, because there was no AC/heater in the room - we requested for a pedestal fan, to ensure ventilation in the room. It turned out to be a very wise step, for us.
After settling down there, and having lunch, it was time for the afternoon game drive. We saw many animals again.
Some more salient/beautiful captures (below)
Fun-fact: Hippo needs to stay in the water during the day, since its skin develops cracks (which may lead to bug-bites, infection etc.) in the sunlight.
So, it stays inside water for most of the day, and only comes out in the night-time (as we could see near our rooms) to eat grass, being a vegetarian animal.
Day-5 (1-Aug-2023) Tue
Masai Mara
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We had packed our lunch packets and all of us had lunch in the wild (hopefully, away from animals).
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We, then, continued our game drive, after lunch.
In the evening, we visited Masai village nearby, and had a couple of hours of insight into their daily lives, their dance, their lifestyle.
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We were tired, and went back to the lodge/hotel, and rested after having a couple of rounds of drinks, and dinner.
Day-6 (2-Aug-2023) Wed
Masai Mara --> Naivasha
We reached lake Naruku first. We were to see rhinos, flamingos,
pelicans, other birds, zebras, giraffes etc. there. We were lucky to see lion pride also.
Then, we proceeded to Lake Naivasha Sopa Resort. It turned out to be another fantastic resort. We had a hurried lunch, and started off for the lake Naivasha boat ride, at 3.30 pm.
Lake Naivasha is a huge lake. It is spread over 175 sq km, with a maximum depth of 180 m.
We saw a few hippos in/over the water, water bucks and a few birds, notably - African fish eagle, sacred ibis etc.
We captured all the vehicles that were taking us to the game drives daily, and the drivers.
After this, it was time to prepare to unwind and celebrate it, like there was no tomorrow.
We went back to the resort, and rested a bit, before we all came back for the Farewell Dinner. It included drinks, dinner and music. But, it started off with dance performances of the local dancers, which our group members were very happy to join in.
Here are some photos...
Day-7 (3-Aug-2023) Thu
Naivasha --> Nairobi
We checked out of the Naivasha Resort at 10 am. Most of us captured nice photos as we walked the long-ish paved trail, from our rooms to the reception lobby.
It was a 3 hours' drive to Nairobi. There was fog on the way, and it looked nice, although it was probably difficult for the driver to navigate on the highway.
We all gathered once again at hotel Concord, in Nairobi.
Then, it was time to say 'good bye' to those who were still around. And, head towards Nairobi airport (NBO). The check-in process was easy, and after going through a long queue at security check, we settled into the airlines lounge, to relax, and have a cup of well-made cappuccino with some biscuits/pastries.
The flight took off as scheduled, at around 9 pm local time. We reached Mumbai on 4-Aug-2023 early morning, at around 5.40 am. After passport-control and baggage collection, we had a brief detour into the Mumbai Duty-free shops, at the International Arrival side.
Then, we got into our cab, and headed for Pune. We reached Pune by around 10.15 am.
And, thus ended
Here's the latest addition to our currency collection...
