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Into Africa

By Hank Lowenstein

Karen Blixen (Isak Dinseen - “Out Of Africa”) describes an experience which must have been excruciatingly painful for her. Once you go into Equatorial East Africa the experience is permanently etched into your brain. I had the extraordinary opportunity to visit Tanzania and Kenya for three weeks in late 2004 and early 2005, and the experience exceeded my wildest expectations.

I had wondered why the U.S. Sate Department issued a warning to Americans not to visit Kenya. After spending three days in Nairobi the answer was clear. The U.S. Navy had asked the Kenyan Government for permission to build a large base in northeastern Kenya, and the Kenyans had rightly refused saying, “if you build a base here, the terrorists will come to Kenya like they did to Iraq.” Our Bush-led government responded by slapping a State Department warning against travel there, almost halving tourism, Kenya's largest industry.

East Africa is arguably the most beautiful, bio -diverse place I have ever seen. water buffalo, tanzania, kenya, africa

Kenya has banned hunting countrywide, and has dedicated hundreds of thousands of acres to protecting their abundant wildlife. There are areas where animals have not been hunted since 1970, and the animals do not fear man. From our Land Cruiser, we were able to get as close as five yards to rhinos, lions and elephants, buffalo and giraffes. My group rode camels and horses which enabled us to get even closer.

We were able to visit authentic Masai and Samburo tribal villages where women were in the process of changing hundreds of years of cultural degradation by entering the business world, then using the profits to pay for school teachers, books and pencils so their children could attend school. We heard the children singing in English and Swahili and were moved by the happiness and hope we saw everywhere we went.

We arose at six each morning, and our days ended with what the locals call “Sundowners”, a hike or drive to the top of a hill to watch the sunset over the African Plain while sipping our favorite cocktails. The sun sets in Africa are truly spectacular. The colors are vivid reds, oranges, yellows and lilacs, like a palette of impressionist

paints intertwined with the deep purple mountains all around us. After dinner we were in bed by ten, listening to the sounds of lions, leopards and hippos all around our camp as we were nodding off.

We were taken on darting trips to save a rare Grevy Zebra, and a sick elephant in the north of Kenya. We watched as brave scientists and conservationists risked life and limb getting close enough to bull elephants to fire darts that would enable them to administer antibiotics into their thick skins. We flew, drove and trekked through the thickest bush, in the most remote places we have ever been, and were elated by the effort and the results.

My traveling companion unfortunately broke her wrist crossing a small stream while we were searching for Jane Goodall's chimps in Mahale, on the edge of Lake Tanganika, but our guides flew us out and got us to Nairobi where we were able to get excellent care at the Aga Kahn Hospital. We did manage to see the chimps before we left and while a broken wrist was a high price to pay, the experience was amazing. The animals walked right up to us, sat down and acted as though they wanted to talk!

Of all our experiences the most memorable came on our next to last night. Until then theonly animal we had not seen was a leopard. I awoke at three in the morning to the sound of a saw cutting through wood, exactly the sound a leopard makes when stalking prey. At five that morning there was a loud knock on our door and a hushed voice saying, “Come quick.” Not a hundred yards away there was a leopard in a tree with a dead gazelle! I felt a mixture of unadulterated excitement mixed with a sadness only a New Yorker who had never been to Africa could experience.

We went into Africa with high expectations of seeing “The Big Five”, and left with memories of people, wildlife, landscapes and conservation efforts that will last a lifetime. There are still serious problems in the Dark Continent, not the least of which is AIDS, which has all but killed off an entire generation there. Poaching exists becausethere are people in Japan, India and the U.S. who will pay exorbitant prices for ivory and rhino horns. The Kenya Wildlife Service has orders to shoot to kill armed poachers, and this tactic is reducing the numbers of poachers there.

Three weeks was barely enough to scratch the surface and we have vowed to return when we can. We made many new friends and better understand the commitment and passion of these people. Going “Out Of Africa” was difficult, but the experience there was exhilarating .

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