AN UNUSUAL NIGHT

                                                           The Ark

          

           The first thing we did when we arrived at the Aberdare Country Club overlooking Mt Kenya was to check all our luggage except the overnight bag going to the Ark.

            After a leisurely lunch at the club we were on our way to the Ark. Upon arrival our guide instructed, “The only way to reach the Ark is over this long elevated trestle. It goes directly to reception.  You can take your time walking over the forest floor as you will see a lot of birds on the way.”  A bonus along the way was a huge cape buffalo grazing at the edge of the trestle.

The Ark in the forest is a unique structure  with a large elevated deck overlooking a salt lick and watering hole. A deck provided a great place for viewing animals as they came to drink from the pond and to lick the salt.

The ground level houses the lounge and dining rooms. The windows are very thick glass with a stone barrier base outside so you needn’t worry about a big water buffalo barging through the glass while you’re eating dinner!

While up on the observation deck everyone is asked to be extremely quiet. All the rooms are on the second and third level. Each room was equipped with a buzzer.  All night the buzzers went off when animals wandered into the area. Two rings meant large animals, rhino or elephant, were feeding. Three rings meant big cats had arrived.

        It really was too cold to sleep on deck that night although my son and another hardy photographer made it until 4AM when a little fog rolled in. The rest of us slept in our clothes and when the buzzers went off grabbed a jacket or wrapped up in a blanket and quietly and quickly made it to the observation deck. I saw rhino and two beautiful female lions. It was an interesting experience.

   We speculated that heat sensors at the perimeter alerted the watch that an animal was approaching. Then after a visual search and identification he would ring the buzzers. It was an exciting and unusual night.

The next morning as we were driving out from the Ark a beautiful spotted leopard crossed right in front of our van; my guess is he was going home to rest after a nights hunt. He was beautiful! What a bonus!

INTERESTING TRIVIA

BITS AND PIECES

Our hotel room in Stockholm, Sweden overlooked the Kings Hops Park where hops were grown in the 18^th century for the royal brewery. We walked to the town center ending up at King Garden Square. Five hundred years ago it was the king’s kitchen garden where he raised vegetables. Now surrounded by the Sweden House, NK dept store and the harbor front, it is a great place for people watching.

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The staircases are ubiquitous to Quebec City, Canada  and a reminder of the city’s past,. At one time as many as 25 such staircases connected the two parts of the hilly city. Upper Town was the home of dignitaries, religious and political leaders, where Lower Town contains the oldest neighborhood in North America. Once crowded with traders, workers and the disenfranchised, now it is a delightful restored smart shopping and historical area.

Breakneck staircase is the first staircase built in 1893. The 170 steps are built on the site of the original 17^th century stairway that linked the town. Today shops and cafés can be found at various levels. We walked sections of the staircase at various times as we wandered around the city as a means to get where we were going but did not climb it all at once just for the sake of doing so.

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In Italy a bar is an open-air sandwich shop. Food is consumed while standing at a small high table. Sitting for a meal is pretty much for tourists and in 1992 cost $2-$5 for the privilege of sitting.  We did find a chain restaurant, which had very good food at a reasonable price, and where we could sit for free. I learned Italians were not big on condiments on their sandwiches. On my next trip I’ll think about carrying some packets of my favorite condiments with me!

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The Carnivore Restaurant, located in the Nairobi outskirts is a popular and famous tourist restaurant. A large cooking pit is in the center of the restaurant where all kinds of wild game are cooked. Waiters come to the table to serve you and tell you what the meat is and you can try any or all of it. The food was good, although I’m not much for exotic dining. It was certainly a different dining experience. The view of the tropical landscaping was lovely from the dining room. Our interesting lunch was something one should do once and we both were game (no pun intended) to at least try everything.