Hi everyone, very sorry for the long delay in blogging from Kenya. I arrived in Africa last month after departing London for Nairobi on May 19th. So what I have been up to you ask? Well so much! I landed in Nairobi and went directly to Karen (a suburb of Nairobi on the outskirts of the big bad city) Honestly I have no desire to really explore Nairobi too much especially after what everyone has warned me about in terms of crime. It was suggested I book into this hostel/camp in Karen which is 5 minutes by car to the KSPCA where I had arranged to volunteer for 8 days. I was very happy to have made those arrangements as Karen Camp is a great place and very secure. Best yet they have three big dogs who act as part of their security on the property. They bark for anything that gets too close to the fenced perimeter and as I discovered on one of my last days at Karen Camp they also bark like crazy when there are squirrels or monkeys in the trees. Karen Camp is very close to the Nairobi National Park so there are animals everywhere in close proximity.
KSPCA. Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals. KSPCA will get its own blog following. I have been uploading like crazy as many pictures as I can to my flickr account so please, please, please check out my flickr to see some pics from my dog adventures.
After 8 days in Nairobi and working at the KSPCA I took a coach bus (a very nice coach I might add!) to Mombasa and from Mombasa I headed to Diani where I am now situated working as an eco-volunteer at the Colobus Trust . The Colobus Trust (again deserves their own blog so will write more about them later) is a fantastic NGO that was created here in Diani. I wanted to work with primates again as I did in Madagascar so I found the Colobus Trust which rescues and helps rehabiliate the endangered Angolan Colobus monkey as well as other monkeys from the area such as Sykes, Vervet and Baboon. However I have since learned that that Colobus Trust do so much more that just help with monkeys. They truly are a wonderful conservation NGO working with local Kenyans to promote the environment as well as keep the eco-system in place here. They do things from tree planting of indigenous trees in the forest and hotel areas as well as educate kids from all over the area in their learning centre. They also host eco-tours for the tourists and any visitors in Diani to help raise awareness about the Colobus plight as well as local conservation efforts. You can read more on their website and blog (which I have been helping to write the past two weeks) www.colobustrust.org
Now to dogs! Yes, I have seen many dogs since arriving from day one in Kenya. KSPCA I had the opportunity to meet and pet loads of their local residents who are so sweet. They also have the biggest collection of three legged dogs in one place! All very sweet and well tempered dogs that have been rescued or adopted by the KSPCA. There is the most amazing lady named Jean Gilchrist that runs the KSPCA. She has been there for over 40 years and is still going strong even though she is 73! You would never guess her age as she looks like she is in her 50's. Jean is one special lady and she has dedicated most of her life to helping Kenya with the care and support for domestic animals. She is heading back to the UK next month to pick up a long overdue OBE from the Queen herself. Jean was awarded one over a year ago but delayed it since there were more pressing emergencies at the KSPCA the last time the Queen was doling out medals. Her work is tireless and she often has about 3 or 4 dogs under her desk. I enjoyed working at the KSPCA so much and look forward to popping back in before I set off for my overland later this month.
Kenyan Dogs. I saw many mongrels, bush dogs, and african looking dogs at the KSPCA but Jean and others had told me that there is such a thing as a Swahili dog on the coast. I was very excited to head to the Colobus Trust as it sits right on the Kenyan coast and I would hopefully meet some people who could tell me more about the real Swahili dog.
Life is a beach. Now a quick update to where I am now and what I am doing at present.
The Colobus Trust is situated right in Diani meters from the beach. It is SO scenic and idyllic I think I will move here next year (actually it is very tempting to come back as a longer volunteer to be this close to such a beautiful beach!) For some of you that know me I love the ocean and I love the sun so Diani suits me perfectly. It is a lot warmer here than Nairobi (by many degrees) and you get the real tropical weather - humidity, rain and also the mosquitos to boot which is why I LOVE my mosiquto met even more. I have been getting up around 6 or 6:30 am and heading to the beach to run every morning and let the sunrise greet me over the lovely turquoise indian ocean. It is paradise here except when the beach boys hassle me (although I think I have managed to communicate through my weird exercise body language on the beach that I am unapproachable) Yes, I am that exercise nutter going up and down on the beach flapping my arms and boxer punching in the air to not only keep fit but to distract the beach boys from following me up and down the beach and guess what it works.
Second day in Diani on the beach I met Peter who works at one of the nearby posh hotels. Peter every morning walks two lovely pedigree type dogs (Keeshond and a Tibetan Terrier cross). Peter had a very kind way with the dogs and I started to chat to him about dogs (as I do everywhere I go in the world). Peter introduced me to Elvis and Kozo (Kozo is for short as I can't remember how to spell his very long name the TT cross) and we hit it off as dog friends. Peter introduced me to some of the other dogs on the beach and I asked Peter if he knew any real Swahili dogs where I might be able to visit and take some pics. He said of course I know! He was very excited to propose that he be my guide to some local villages to allow me to see some real swahili dogs. Many people think that Swahili dogs are just mongrels but there is a certain type of dog that has been bred on teh caost of Kenya for over hundreds of years. The dog is skinny, long tail that curls up and big ears. They are often white with brown or tan patches and sometimes can be black with brown markings. They are used for hunting in the bush as well as the most important job of these dogs today - guarding. They will bark for alerting any intruders or animals (such as monkeys or baboons) that get too close to the huts or houses.
I really wanted to see a real Swhaili dog in a local village.
June 7th I had the opportunity to finally take a day trip with Peter to not only his village but to his brothers' village in the North Coast of Mombasa. Here are a couple of pics and I will tell you more tomorrow!
The Dog Reporter
www.thedogreporter.com
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