soon we realized the land cruisers are not completely water proof

Day 52 (10/26)
We woke up, ate breakfast, packed up the cars and the white rhino, and then left KBC at 8:30. We drove for a while, and then all of a sudden there was a paved road…where the bumpy dirt path used to be. Everyone was SO excited. But it felt so weird to be on a smooth road, it felt like the Land Cruiser was standing still. There were a few times we had to get off the paved road for a few minutes and the familiar feeling was back…there was one pot hole that sent all three of us in the last row flying out of our seats (we all had our seat belts on but I still flew up and almost hit my head on the roof). And on the way it started to rain too. The air smelled so sweet and cold and fresh. Everything is intensely more green and lush then in Kimana (even though things have begun to sprout overnight). The closer we got to Nairobi the more green and more it rained. We learned the Land Cruisers are not exactly water proof and some of us got a little bit leaked on haha.

We drove for about 2.5 hours and then stopped at the churio shop that we stopped at the first day to use the bathroom. Its amazing that you can be outside for about 15 seconds but if its moderately raining here you are completely soaked. Then we drove for a few more hours and stopped at a grocery store/clothes store/furniture store called Tusky’s it’s a little bit like a Walmart but not quite as big. On the way to the store it was all we could talk about…we talk about food on a daily basis and what we are craving or what we want to buy. Then out of nowhere we realized we were getting extremely worked up over going to the grocery store haha.

There was so many choices of ice cream, and t-shirts, furniture and some good things. Not a lot of candy (no Kenyans celebrate Halloween) we are all getting excited for it though. We spent an hour there and all ohh’d and ahh’d about the things we could get. Then we got back into the car and headed to NPS, about 20 minutes later, after going through some huge fields and hillsides galore we arrived at a large metal gate that was connecting an 8 foot electric fence. This area is so different from the farmland and barren land that was surrounding the Kimana area the first time we came.

The camp is like a little island oasis, with trees and endless grass. The air smells exceptionally fresh, clean and dust-free. We are situated in a little crater, uphill on both sides but very woody and the staff bandas are trickled along the hillside. The chumba (our common area) is located in the middle of the camp and basically set up the same as in KBC, with the kitchen, library and study room attached, with a common room. The student bandas are on either side, with an outdoor shower towards the front and the indoor showers and bathrooms behind them. Neither showers have heated water. There is a large fire pit about 100 feet in front of the chumba, but closer to the woods and the fence. There is also a grassy volleyball court near the fire pit, but we didn’t bring our volley ball because a huge thorn popped it a few weeks ago. Opps.

The bandas are also set up a little bit differently then at KBC. There are still 4 people to each building but they have 2 sides, with a wall separating them (it doesn’t go all the way up to the ceiling so you are still a little bit connected to the people on the other side). It’s sort of like a duplex, with 2 doors right next to each other and a front porch. There are 2 beds and 2 sets of shelves.

This camp has a very different feel from KBC. One of the most unique things about it is that we are allowed outside the fence (with a buddy). There is a soccer/basketball field on the top of the biggest hill next to the camp. It is one of the most stunning views that I’ve seen here. You can literally see for miles, and the Nairobi skyline kisses the top of the rolling hills. The weather is considerably cooler and it feels like fall (a New England fall, its so perfect.) Because it rains much more the clouds will be dark and threatening on one side and then beautifully white and pure on the other.