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Honeymoon – Day Nine

Laikepia

The day began as the others had, with a 5:45 morning alarm, tea and juice being left outside the door. We decided to have a lie and join everyone at breakfast at 9. Nim went to let Steve and the others know and then came back to bed for another chunk of sleep. 

I made a friend during breakfast as I was about to put some honey on my pancakes when a bee came and sat on the knife with the honey. I decided to let the bee enjoy the honey and I swapped knifes so I could eat my breakfast too. The bee did seem to get into a bit of a mess as his legs were almost sticking together but he managed to sort himself out alright.  Our morning drive saw more weavers nests, this one was the black backed weaver, who’s nest is a lot neater than the others we had been seeing. 

We went to look for the elephants, who would most likely be hanging out by a water supply of some sort. This is because as it’s getting warmer, the elephants need to remain cool, so being in the water is one way to achieve this. They also like to throw mud around on themselves and each other as it creates a layer of something cool on their skin and it keeps the heat off them. Groups of elephants were found in most of the dams, ranging in numbers and size and we stayed to watch them all for a while. 

Lunch was held on a ledge overlooking one of the dams and we were joined by a small group of elephants as well as two adult hippos and a tiny baby hippo. Ollie, who had earlier in the week said that he wouldn’t mind going swimming with a hippo, was requested to fulfil this statement. He did buck up and have a small swim on the opposite edge to the hippos but he didn’t get as close as we reckon he could have done. Jasper also had to go wading into the weedy shallows of the pool as there was a creature that we were trying to fully work out what it was, so Steve threw Jasper’s hat into the area so he would go and collect it and find out what the thing we were looking at was. Needless to say that we didn’t fully decide what it was but Jasper did manage to be closer to the hippos than Ollie.  

We sourced some more elephants in the on the way back to camp as well as a striped hyena and some of the other animals that live on the ranch

After tea and cake, we headed out for another go at tracking the lions. We went for a long drive, pausing regularly to check the tracker but unfortunately had very little luck. We didn’t manage to find any as Steven ( one of the guides ) thought that the lions were the other side of the valley which is a ranch that they don’t have access too. We continued our drive home, pausing to see if a leopard was in a tree where we thought she might be. She had recently made a kill of a baby impala and had stashed it in a tree, away from the birds of prey and the hyena.  When we got there, she was no where to be seen and the impala had either been eaten or she moved her kill. 

Dinner was welcome and tasty, after a long day of driving. Nim, Ollie, Jasper and myself stayed chatting for a while after dinner, it was lovely to just chill for a bit. Bed, however, was definitely needed so we said our good nights and headed to our tent.

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Honeymoon – Day Eight

Laikepia

The day began once more to the sound of Nim’s watch and phone almost simultaneously beeping and ringing us awake, bright and early. The fact that it wasn’t all too bright as the sun hadn’t woken up yet made it even harder to haul ourselves out of bed. Juice, coffee and cookies were deposited outside the tent again for our wake up call which were well and truly enjoyed. As the cookies haven’t been gluten free I have been able to eat both of them, taking one for the team! We meandered down to the mess tent for fresh fruit and drinks before jumping into the trucks to go exploring. 

We took the trackers out again but we went looking for the wild dogs for the morning. On the way we also spotted many of the other animals, zebra, impala, dicdics, scrap hares, some elephants, guineafowl and giraffes. The dogs were found chilling in the sun in their pack, 3 adults with their 5 puppies from last year. They were so calm with us around which meant we could have a good look and see them in a solid amount of detail. 

We headed back for breakfast of eggs, although mine got lost somewhere as I think someone else ate them! We also had sausages, toast and pancakes. Nim got delivered a tray with a selection of gluten free pancakes and toast as the camp have been great on making sure he’s being fed correctly. Much appreciated by the both of us! 

After breakfast we all grabbed swimming things, flipflops and made sure we had sun cream on. I needed the factor 50 whereas Nim opted for the 30. We made our way down with Steve, Ollie, Jasper ( another of the guides ) and another family to a part of the river where we could do some rafting. Nim and I jumped in with Ollie, who steered but didn’t always have the best direction. The ranch has 4 dogs; Boris, Trigger, Philly and Buster and they all decided ( with Steve’s permission ) that they wanted to come and play too. Trigger was the happiest in the water whereas the other three decided to stay on the bank running alongside us with Jasper. Trigger did get hauled into Steve’s boat when he got tired before Steve took him back to the bank for Jasper to look after. 

We found some rapids which Steve attempted first to make sure that it was alright to play on. The other family were taken down, one at a time, by their dad whereas I got into the front of Steve’s raft and he splashed our way down. Ollie bought Nim down and I think Ollie had great fun as he volunteered to take both Nim and I down again. It was lots of hard work lugging the rafts up around the sand to get back to the top but it was well worth it. Once we had played, we continued down the river drifting in the nice current until we spotted some Hippos. We decided we wouldn’t play with them, as we knew we wouldn’t win so we jumped back into the truck, which Jasper had driven down along the river by us. 

We made our way down to the waterfall we had been to for sundown yesterday where we scrambled over some more of the rocks, Nim and I found it so much easier barefooted rather than in Vans. Jasper jumped into one of the rafts and paddled out to check if there were any hippos by slapping the water with a paddle and making grunting hippo noises. It was very funny to watch and once he confirmed there wasn’t any in the pool then we went to play! We all clambered up more of the rocks to get to a rock ledge overlooking the pool. It was a lot of fun jumping in from the ledge, but I did ask Ollie to go first so I had someone to follow!

After we had all had some time messing around, we headed out to meet the rest of the campers ( who didn’t come with us ) for some lunch. On the way back to the ranch after lunch, we had a small encounter with an elephant where he didn’t seem to like us and was giving us a showdown. We all stayed very quiet and let him calm down before we continued back to camp. 

For the afternoon, after tea and cake, we headed off to see the wild dogs again as we hoped that they would be hunting at this time of day. Luck so had it that they were hunting and we got to track them to see the start of a hunt and observe what they caught. The dogs are fast and their usual lunch is dicdic. They make a twittering sound while they hunt so they know where the others are and also to communicate during the hunt. It’s so interesting to watch and see how it all works. 

We had sundown a way away from the pack and I spotted on the way home. We saw a hippo, some impala, more dicdics, scrap hares and an elephant but not a lot else. Dinner and bed was in order as it had been a jam packed day!

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Honeymoon – Day Seven

Laikepia

The alarm was a horrible and rude awakening at 5:40, a well and truly stupid time of morning especially when away on holiday. Coffee, juice and a couple of cookies were bought to the tent to encourage us out of bed. Once we were ready, we wandered down to the mess tent for some fruits and juices. 

We were then taken out on a long drive for the morning. It was a rather chilly start to the day and Nim had left his jumper in the tent so we wrapped up in a blanket in the back of the truck. We had decided to go on a mission to find some of the lions. There are a couple who are collared to help with tracking ( this has been done by a neighbouring ranch ) which made it a bit easier. Only trouble, is that the range for the electric tracker is 10 kilometres, rather a large area to scan! Along the way, we had the pleasure of seeing elephants, a journey of 28 giraffes, lots more dicdics, impala, a water buck, a spotted hyena and her two cubs and lots more. We did manage to get a small glimpse of the lion, but he didn’t stick around for long, the rumble of the truck didn’t seem to impress him very much. 

We headed down to a viewpoint where we met everyone else and had some lunch, very much needed as we were both rather hungry! Afterwards, we headed back to the camp to change into swimwear so we could go and have a play in part of the river. The water was extremely murky and chilly but we had some fun playing and gliding down with the current. Nim decided we should “swim like the otters do” and hold hands while we floated. 

Post swim, we came back for showers, tea and cake and decided what the plan was for the afternoon. Steve and Ollie decided to take us and another of the families staying on the camp up to ‘Baboon Rock’ for sundown. This meant a short drive before abandoning Ollie with the car and walking the rest of the way. We scrambled up the rock face, vans maybe weren’t the best option of footwear but they are definitely better than flipflops. After a wander through a lot of grass seeds and bushes, spotting a scorpion or two and seeing an ant trail where all the workers were bringing back food, we came across a spot overlooking a waterfall and a small pool. We had sundown sitting on some rocks, admiring creation in all it’s beauty!

We headed back to the tent to get ready for dinner when we heard someone calling from outside explaining that there was a leopard settled just outside of camp and we should come and see it ( if we liked ). We quickly ran to the truck and bumped our way down the path to where the leopard was. She was so calm and chilled, not minding the truck’s headlights at all. We all had time to admire her before heading back to camp for food. Dinner consisted of steak, crispy potatoes and a chocolate toffee pudding which was most delicious. Bedtime was most welcome and sleep wasn’t hard to find as it had been a long day.

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Honeymoon – Day Six

Laikepia

The day began with a natural start, waking up slowly to the sound of rain outside. Nim described the events of the night and I was seriously shocked and very apologetic. He explained that once more, I had stolen all of the covers during the night alongside forcefully kicking him out the bed. Apparently, I had joined him on his side of the bed and kept moving until Nim had to cave and move out the bed for fear of falling out. When he was getting back into the bed, I did disturb slightly but definitely had a more settled night than he did.

We enjoyed our last breakfast outside the main house with a gorgeous view of the ocean and then made our way back to the cottage to finish off our packing.

It was very sad to be leaving but they made it very special as we left to the sound of drums with the gift of a rather superior packed lunch. This was made up of chicken salad, a fruit parcel, bread rolls and crossoints.

We drove to Diani airport where we arrived just in time to board the plane. The propellers were already warming up on the runway. We flew to Wilson airport, Nairobi, and were transferred via the apron to our waiting Cessna caravan, which had 5 of us on it. It was my first diddy plane and Nim had a good view of the pilots flying the plane. He did attempt to describe this all to me, but I fell asleep pretty quickly. We dropped off the other three passengers and then continued on our flight to Nanyuki.

Once we landed, we were shown to a car where we met one of the safari guides Ollie who, on route, gave us some background details and information on where we would be staying. Ollie pointed out different wildlife along the way and we even went off roading so we could get a better view of some elephants!! We arrived at the Laikepia Wilderness Camp about 2.5 hours after leaving the airport where we settled into our tent, which was lovely and even had an ensuite bathroom outside. It was definitely not what my version of camping is and can only be described as glamping. 

It was then time for tea and cake where we met a few of the other people visiting the camp and who worked in the camp. The homemade banana cake was delicious and what was even better is that they made Nim a whole mini gluten free cake, just for him! Steve, who runs the camp, asked us what we wanted to do for the rest of the day and suggested to Ollie that we went out, up the river towards ‘Baboon rock’ for sundown. On the drive we saw some giraffes, dicdics, a gerbil, elephants, a zorilla, impalas, hares, birds, zebra, a range of birds including guineafowl and weavers and lots of hippos. Ollie told us that the giraffes they have on the ranch are meticulated giraffes, which are the common ones that zoos keep, and the differences is in the type of pattern on their skin. The grevy zebra are also the most common zebra who, similarly to the giraffes, have a different stripe pattern; the stripes are closer together and are thinner. They also have bigger ears, not too different to bunny ears. We also spotted the bee hives, which hang from the trees so that the honey badger can’t eat the honey. This was alongside seeing some of the black weaver’s nests, which aren’t necessarily neat, Ollie described them as “the Nokia of bird as nests”.

On the drive back to the camp, after sundown, Nim sat on top of the car spotlighting so we could look for leopards. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful but we did manage to spot some great rocks, a buffalo and a firefly or two. We also saw a hippo on the other side of the river bank but once we had turned the car around to be able to fully see it, the hippo got cross and went into the water to hide, as well as making its way towards us. We decided to get out of it’s way rather rapidly, just in case.

Back at camp, we freshened up and wandered up to the mess tent for dinner. We then discovered that a romantic dinner had been set up for us, next to a fire, on top of the rocks and straight under the the stars. It was a great end to the beginning of a great adventure.

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Honeymoon – Day Five

Another beautiful day began with Nim once more reading Harry Potter and drinking coffee on the veranda. His second cup of coffee was bought back to bed, where he automatically but accidentally disturbed me. Over breakfast Nim delighted in telling me how great I am at being bad at sharing a bed, apparently I had fully wrapped myself in all the covers, wiggled over onto his side of the bed and kicked him a few times.

The morning was planned to be spent on the beach reading ( for me ) and building sandcastles. Nim wanted my help so said I would join him shortly as I was only just settling down to read. But he had only just started digging, when an almighty gust of wind bought a large chill and a few spot of rain which caused all of the staff to run and start gathering the cushions and bedding on the loungers. We followed suit to find shelter on the veranda of the cottage.

This meant that the morning was actually spent playing more cards. I managed to win racing demon 2:1 but did get a little grumpy when Nim won his game.

After a hunt for lunch, we went for a wander and explored parts of the resort we hadn’t been to before. This led us to finding the most picturesque gym, which overlooks the sea from the top of a cliff. Nim remarked that if this was the view, he might actually contemplate joining a gym.

I headed over to the main swimming pool, while Nim had a small siesta, to read. Nim joined not too long after and was settled for a while before he got bored, This lead to me finding a diving stick, sitting at the side of the pool and technically playing ‘fetch’ with Nim. He did challenge himself to collect them in one breath, starting from where I was sat. Once he was slightly worn out, which did take a while but allowed me to read a good amount of my book, he sat on the side and created diving challenges for me.

As the sun was setting we thought it best to get ready for dinner. We meandered over to the main villa and played some more Othello ( I definitely have the most skill in this game ) while enjoying a cocktail or two. To our surprise, we were collected for dinner as apparently we weren’t dining in the main lounge as it was our last night. We were taken to the main pool which was dotted with lamps and beautifully lit, giving it a blue and glowing tint. Dinner was eaten, it was as delicious as ever, wine was drunk and conversation was relaxed.

We both collapsed into bed for what, without our knowledge, was going to be an interesting night. 

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Honeymoon – Day Four

Kinondo Kewtu

For the first morning of the holiday we woke up without the need to be somewhere super early. Nim spent the first hour of the day sitting outside on the veranda with a cup of coffee, reading a book but we all know that couldn’t last for long. He soon got bored and decided it was time that I woke up too. Nim gently stroked my forehead to wake me, I was cocooned in the covers so well that my forehead was the only visible part. He did cave and let me have another half an hour dozing, using my Nim pillow while he read me a book on the Geography, Climate and Human Landscape of Kenya. 

After a slow start and a delicious breakfast, consisting of locally sourced fruits, pancakes and chocolate sauce, eggs, bacon and tomatoes and fruit juice, we hit the beach. We wandered, read books, snorkelled ( Nim was way better at this than me ) and chilled out in the sun. Snorkelling was a bit of a disappointment as the water was rather murky so we didn’t manage to see anything. 

We set off on our daily meal adventure; part one is always finding our table. This seems to be shuffled around on a regular basis and today we dined by the boathouse. 

After lunch the rain hit, we retreated back to the veranda with a beautiful view of the sea to play Othello ( where I is always the winner ), Racing Demon and Rummy. Cards were Nim’s forte. 

After the rain stopped we decided it was time for a swim. We bumped into the only other people, a family of four, at Kinondo Kewtu. The boys were trying to see how many inflatables they could squish onto themselves whilst still being able to jump into the pool. This created some great holiday chat and entertainment, for both us and their parents. We decided to play around with a diving stick and see how far and fast it could be retrieved from the four metre deep pool. 

After retreating back to the cottage to get ready for dinner, we wandered over for drinks, snacks and a game of chess. I was very upset when Nim won, especially as the game had seemed to be mine for the most part. 

Dinner was a series of firsts for me. Tuna capachio to start, which surprisingly I enjoyed, tuna has never been something I have liked so it was a very hesitant first bite. This was followed by lobster and rice, lobster might just be be a new love as it was extremely tasty! We rounded off the evening with a coconut and lime purée which we enjoyed with a third glass of wine at a candlelit table with only the sounds of the waves as company. 

Needless to say, after a long day of new experiences and learning how to entertain Nim while trying to read, it didn’t take long for the ocean to lull us to sleep. 

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Honeymoon – Day Three

Kinondo Kewtu

Another stupid o’clock start was needed to make our way down to Kinondo Kewtu. This involved a 1.5 hour car journey and a 1 hour flight on Abi’s first turboprop. 

The afternoon was spent exploring the 2.5 km beach, swimming in the sea, splashing in the pool and chilling in the sauna. To top it off we had two of the most delicious meals for lunch and dinner. 

One highlight from lunch was as we were sitting happily drinking wine and eating our food, a monkey jumped down onto the table. The monkeys are regular guests at Kinondo Kewtu and are really rather cheeky. We saw this cheekiness first hand when the monkey on our table stole a chunk of bread before looking me directly in the eye and taking the second roll which was immediately popped into his mouth while he jumped off the table so he could run up the nearest tree.

After a full day, we went to bed excited with the thoughts of not having to travel tomorrow, the sounds of crashing waves and most importantly for Abi, no ‘stupid o’clock’ alarm. 

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Honeymoon – Day Two

Nairobi

We left at stupid o’clock, at least according to Abi, on the morning of the 2nd of July. We took the tube to Heathrow Terminal 3 to check in for our flight to Kenya. I ate a full English ( in a sandwich ) for breakfast while Abi had some toast and fruit with yoghurt. This all gave Abi her first taster of Gold Card service. After a dash to the airplane, we settled in for Abi’s first long haul flight. 

I spent the flight watching films, as per usual but I did also remark at one point that “This isn’t quite as good as flying with Jono, as you won’t split up the films with me so we only watch the good ones.” Abi choose to use the flight as the opportunity to watch a film and then use her new personal carry on pillow ( me ) to have a nap. I, however, did get extra brownie points here for being the dutiful husband and waking her up when they brought magnums around. 

Once we landed in Kenya, we were transferred to the Crowne Plaza Hotel for a short night before our transfer down to the beach. Tomorrow was going to be busy and we would be up early so sleep was found quickly.

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Honeymoon – Day One

The Langham

Last night after the wedding we took a taxi to The Langham Hotel. This was a surprise for Abi, who spent the day unsure of where she was sleeping that night. I had always wanted to stay at the Langham and thought that staying on the night of the wedding was the best time to fulfil this wish.

I had left a box with the holiday itinerary and tickets inside on the bed so that when Abi came back into the room, she could find out where we would be going on holiday. Needless to say, she was very excited and happy when she opened it to discover a short holiday on a beach resort and a Safari trip in Kenya followed by a week in the Seychelles was waiting for her!

After a mornings breakfast we made a quick pop into the apple store, in classic ‘Nim style’ as apparently I can’t seem to get away, even on honeymoon. We headed off to our favourite haunt, Regent’s Park and Primrose Hill for a slow wander and some good chats.

Then we had to head home to pack for our holiday. This was quite uneventful but we definitely discovered that my packing and Abi’s packing is definitely very different. Regardless, I let Abi pack as I knew it would be best. Sleep was very welcome, especially as there was to be an early start in the morning.