| Challenging Nature Photography: On Safari in Kenya | |
|
My
wife was helping me make my last minute preparations the evening
before my trip to Kenya for a safari when the telephone rang.
The couple that was accompanying me to Kenya had to cancel because of
a family emergency. Traveling
alone is something that was accepted when I was working and healthy.
However flying to Kenya and making two plane changes with my mobility
difficulties and not able to speak was intimidating.
I
retired in April 1997, to pursue a second career as a nature and wildlife
photographer and writer. Everything
was falling into place with my new profession when I began having
difficulties with tripping and speaking.
In April of 1998, I was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
(ALS) and had my world turned upside down. While trying to sort out my
thinking after my diagnosis, I found comfort and purpose in my photography
and decided to continue as long as possible.
During
the years since then, I have developed a personal philosophy. Simply stated, I try and live each day as if it was my last
day. Every day I get up and
check my energy level and balance it against what I want to do that day.
Whatever I don’t have enough strength to accomplish simply falls
off my list. I
woke up that Saturday morning and felt strong enough to attempt the trip by
myself. My wife drove me to the
airport and we checked in and passed through security.
Traveling with mobility limitations forces one to economize with
luggage. In my case, I take a
small backpack holding my film and camera equipment and one other bag for my
clothes. With all of the
assistance I require, I learned that two bags were all that I could manage
with minimal difficulty. I decided to leave my portable communication
computer at home to minimize the amount of items to carry. My
backup plan to communicate was with a pen and small tablet.
It worked exceptionally well on the airplanes and in Kenya.
Fortunately for me English is the official language in Kenya and most
everybody speaks, reads and writes in English, even the Masai!
Communicating by pen and paper worked well even allowing me to
“haggle” with vendors for souvenirs.
For some reason, Kenyans have a fascination with pens and my biggest
problem was keeping my pen after the conversation. Prior
to my arriving in Kenya, I spent a good bit of time communicating by e-mail
with the tour company advising them of my limitations and needs to make sure
that they could help. I found
that being open about my illness and limitations resolved a lot of my
concerns several weeks before arriving in Nairobi.
My willingness to discuss the disease also provided me with a means
to educate others about ALS and to raise awareness. Kenya
was far different from the country I had envisioned from Hollywood movies.
The country between Nairobi and Aberdare National Park was more
hilly, greener and had more trees than I anticipated.
Our lunch was scheduled at the Aberdare Country Club The
Aberdare Country Club was set in a beautiful location with a super view of
Mount Kenya. The driveway
leading to the reception area was lined in vibrant colors of Bougainvillea
in peak bloom. The restaurant
was built from rough-cut blocks of stone allowing the visitor a momentary
return to an earlier version of Africa.
Inside the building was an inviting buffet with an assortment of
delicious looking food. One of
the other tourists volunteered to bring me lunch and I ate on the veranda
and watched the wildlife. The
main lunch show was a family of wart hogs that scurried by oblivious to the
people enjoying their lunch. After
lunch I transferred to a smaller bus to make the 45-minute drive to the Ark,
which is located inside the park. Shortly
after the bus entered the road to the Ark, the driver stopped along the road
to point out a herd of water buffalo near a water hole.
Even at several hundred yards away the animals were menacing with an
obvious air of defiance and hostility.
Later on I had an opportunity to see them much closer and learned
just how intimidating they can be. The Ark was built at the edge of a salt lick and a pond.
There were two observation decks (one was enclosed) that provided
unobstructed views of the animals as they came for water.
At night, the lodge turned on floodlights for wild life viewing.
Soon
after breakfast I boarded the bus back to the country club and resumed the
Safari. The next stop on the trip was Lake Nakuru in the Rift Valley. The lake is home to an unbelievably large number of pink
flamingos. There are so many
birds that the shoreline One
thing that I look for in a tour is the ability of the tour guide to take me
to the animals. Long walks are
very tiring for me and impossible in heat and humidity.
For this reason, a minibus tour was an ideal way to see and
photograph the animals. I did
not anticipate that we would be able to approach the wildlife much closer in
the buses than would have been possible on foot.
It was also infinitely safer to photograph the predators and larger
mammals. One of the lodges was
very willing to help and suggested that we use the minibus to bring me as
close to my room as possible. This
small concession made it much easier for me to get to and from my room. After
our arrival at the lake, the guide said there was time for a brief game
safari right before lunch. He
located rhinos, various antelope, zebras, and Rothschild’s Giraffes but
not the elusive lions. He even
took us out on the flats at the edge of the lake to get a I
woke up the next morning to the sounds of lions.
Now that is a sound that will create goose bumps in a hurry!
The trip to the Masai Mara that day was going to be a long six-hour
drive. The countryside changed
to the more familiar rolling grassland with the occasional acacia trees
typical of the African plains. Civilization
disappears and the grand remoteness of Africa takes over as you approach the
park entrance. Small Masai
villages and large herds of cattle and goats became more and more prevalent.
Shortly after entering the park, the guide stopped the minibus and
pointed out a family of cheetahs sleeping a short distance from the road. It
was a glimpse of what was to come. The
variety of wild life in such proximity is astounding.
Yellowstone is impressive but nothing can prepare you for what it is
like to see the diversity and numbers of animals. It is not difficult to find and approach to a safe distance
to watch and photograph a herd of elephants.
As big as the females were, the male elephants dwarfed them.
The
only time I felt threatened during the trip was while trying to photograph a
herd of water buffalo. I was trying to photograph a large bull that was
obviously watching us. The bull
was a bit cranky and made the guide nervous enough to rapidly back up the
minibus. He later explained
that the animals were aggressive enough to charge a bus.
I The
entire next day was spent in the Masai Mara observing and photographing the
animals. An extra feature of
the safari was the chance to visit a Masai village and to talk with the
Masai. I found the Masai to be
friendly and as inquisitive about me as I was about them.
The sky that day was a brilliant blue with occasional fleecy, white
clouds that only served to enhance the experience of seeing the animals. It
was a perfect day to spend in the Masai Mara.
The next morning, Saturday, I boarded the minibus to return to
Nairobi to rest before boarding the plane to return home. None
of us asked to acquire a disability, but that doesn’t mean that it has to
rule our lives. There is no
reason that we cannot live our lives to the best of our ability.
I always tell my audience that, although it may take me a little
longer to get there, the view is just as beautiful.
Hakuna matata! N.B. Originally Published in The Lancaster News
| |
Maintained
by Angelo Sciulli
| |
