Isabella, Megan & Mica Mae

We awoke to the crisp morning air (we are at > 1800 metres above sea level here), and to the sound of a robust dawn chorus of birds at 6:30 am. We had an early breakfast -n delectable as always – at 8:00am to be ready for the exhilarating boat tour of Lake Naivasha and visit to Crescent Island we had ahead of us at 9:00am. We loaded into the boats with our four wonderful boat drivers. Before embarking, we were treated to the sight of two fish eagles enjoying a free meal (courtesy of our boat drivers).  After following along the bank, we encountered our first close up sighting of a bloat of hippos. Farther along to the journey to Crescent Island, we came across submerged rose farms, homes, and snags (likely fever trees) from over a decade of flooding.

73 000 shillings later, we entered the Crescent Island Game Sanctuary to be greeted by Walter, our expert guide for the morning. He started off the tour with a brief history of the sanctuary and its formal beginnings with the movie “Out of Africa” starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. He explained this region’s volcanic origins as evidenced by the presence of pumice and obsidian. Walter gave us an introduction on the reproductive ecology of vervet monkeys and how the Dik-diks mate for life (Elizabeth and Isobel were particularly excited to meet the Dik-diks). During the group photo with the ostriches, (as Walter was taking professional quality photos from every angle) Megan got a special greeting from a curious ostrich with a poke on the backpack.

Then, we meandered up to the museum that was filled with various animal skulls and a traditional boat. Walter gave us an informative overview on some of the animals we were about to discover. When we left, we had an surreal interaction with a herd of zebras. We learned that zebras are black with white stripes to deflect sunlight and repel aquatic insects. Suddenly, our attention was captured by a male water buck chasing his son that Walter explained is done to encourage genetic admixture with other families. The males produce a suffocating smell that comes from a toxic compound in their sweat to ward off predators. They also have hollow fur to promote buoyancy in water – hence their name. We couldn’t help but notice the father’s large horns, which contain rings to represent each year of their lives – just like trees.

Just before a confusion of wildebeests – apparently known as one of the “Ugly 5”  (although we disagree), we spotted elands, impalas, and Thompson gazelles. Walter explained how wildebeests were essentially made up of “leftover parts”. After, Dilini found a Crowned Lapwing and took an awesome photo! As we moved on, we saw a hippo sunbathing on its way into the lake. Walter explicated how mother hippos must leave with their male babies to prevent infanticide for their first 3 months of life.

Our attention was quickly diverted to the trees where we spotted giraffes patiently waiting for their photo to be taken. While making our way up close, we noticed (along with the three adults) there were two calves lounging in the long grass with small ossicones pointing jauntily out from their fuzzy crowns. We made our way to the shore to hop back in our boats and as we left, we thanked Walter effusively for his ebullience and prodigious knowledge.

On the boat ride back, Jeremy (one of the boat drivers) had a friendly competition with the others to make it back first to the delectable meal awaiting us. After some down time to recharge from the morning, we finished up the afternoon with a series of article presentations from our peers including Olin, Hannah, Lauren, Mica Mae and Brianna – they all did amazing! We may be biased as today’s writers, but this was our favourite day of the trip so far! 

On the boat with Yuxiang

In the skull museum

Loading up the boats

Assembling and putting on our life jackets

Hiking on Crescent Island

Dilini with giraffe. Dilini is the smaller one the foreground

group shot on Crescent Island

giraffe close-up

giraffe calves

male waterbuck

waterbuck in motion

zebra close-up

red-billed oxpeckers

Kirk’s dik-dik

Adam overcome at the majesty of the small did-dik antelopes

Brianna presenting her paper on ecosystem function

Isabella and Isobel on the shores of Lake Naivasha

Sarah, Olin, Vikas, Rosstin and Lauren en route to Crescent Island

Goliath heron

Fish eagle swooping by our boats

Writing the blog lit by the computer screen

Lauren, Mikaela, and Olin

Hello, for those of you hanging onto the edge of your seats, expecting to hear about our hippo escapades aboard the SS Minnow, hang on a little longer. Tomorrow, I promise! We did however try to see some hippos from land after our debrief last night. It became apparent that running with flashlights, screaming “HIPPO!” at the smallest sign of movement was not an effective strategy for catching a glimpse of the elusive beast. Defeated, we repaired to our tents.

At night, we were serenaded by an orchestra of amphibians and birds alike. This was no Met. The cacophony had some standout vocal stars, yes, like the white-browed robin chat. But their sweet song was invariably interrupted by the horrible, squawking, ear-shattering hadada ibis. Think holiday school concert. There’s some talent, but it’s overwhelmingly drowned out by children not destined for a career in music. It still has its charm.

So, after this night of mixed rest we awoke anew, bright eyed and bushy tailed. Oh my gosh, MONKEYS?! Wait, what are they doing? No, get out of that bag, drop Vikas’s aloo bhujia (Indian snacks)! 

Within about ten minutes, it went from “He’s five feet from me!! I literally could never get sick of this,” to “Urgh, monkeys.”

And then we had breakfast. Next up, time for class.

Enter Dr. Lougheed’s crash course in birding. “These magnificent creatures offer a window into ecology.” Something often overlooked, like the shape of the beak, the size of the bird, or the flying pattern it follows, is in fact a visual shortcut into the intricacies of each species’ habits and happenings. For example, we learned that the sunbirds have decurved beaks to get to the nectar of the corolla of the flower. 

Next, it was off to the races for our practice birdathon (practice for the real deal coming up). Skill varied – some darted about, identifying birds left and right (ahem, Mikaela), while others (ahem, everyone else) waddled about like headless chickens. For a bunch of beginner birds, though, we weren’t half bad by the end of it. Species of note included the lilac-breasted roller, white-eyed slaty flycatcher, and the Fischer’s lovebirds, with the hamerkop was a crowd favourite.

The afternoon saw the group learning about the use of GPS units to guide us through our geocaching activity. First, we had to figure out latitude and longitude. This was a group effort, and when we had our waypoints set, Dr. Wang and Dr. Abeyrama signalled the start. This activity gave us to opportunity to test our knowledge on Kenyan natural and cultural history. From the evolution of hippos to Kenyan independence, teams raced around the campground. But they could only be one winner… our group took the prize.

The class settled down for our series of evening presentations by students, which have provided all of us with some theory behind the awe-inspiring sights we’ve seen so far. Then, close to shore, we heard the unmistakable puff of surfacing hippos. We calmly walked over, took a deep breath, and enjoyed the hippo style sychronised swimming. There’s a lesson here somewhere… good things come to those who wait.

Renée writing the beginning of her novel

Olin contemplating the universe

GPS units for geocaching exercise

John (foreground) and Kevin cooking

black crake strutting in the macrophytes along the water’s edge

Hadada ibis

lilac-breasted roller

white-eyed slaty flycatcher guiding the way to our outdoor showers

June 6th blog – Renée, Hannah and Rosstin

With our bags packed and spirits high, we bid adieu to Kolping Conference Centre after indulging in a mother delicious warm breakfast prepared by our beloved Bunduz chefs. We boarded our grand tour bus (with all tents, bedrolls, cooking equipment and luggage for our journey), a vehicle which never fails to catch everyone’s attention on the streets and set off for a four-hour journey to our next destination – Lake Naivasha, where hippos awaited us. Katie braided Mica’s hair as we prepared to board the bus, adding a touch of camaraderie to our morning routine.

Our first stop was the Kiambethu Tea Farm. As we merrily ascended towards the tea farm, the stark juxtaposition of small abodes and shops pushed in ‘cheek by jowl’ road caught our eyes. We come from a privileged part of the world, where we can enjoy the biodiversity and wildlife of Kenya, while millions live on far less money. This contrast gave us much to ponder and should inspire us to work towards societally-engaged and equitable biodiversity conservation with a renewed sense of purpose.

We noticed the soil getting redder in colour owing to the increasing acidity and iron content, which is ideal for growing tea. However, the proximity of the road to the landscape edges highlighted the soil erosion evident from the loose, runoff soil. Upon our arrival at the tea farm, we were greeted by Fiona, the owner (and granddaughter of the founder of the plantation) of the Kiambethu Tea Farm, which has been part of the Kenyan tea legacy for over a century. They specialise in Camellia assamica, brought from Assam, India, as the name suggests, by her grandfather’s friend when they started tea farming despite being architects from London. The subtleties of tea flavour depend on the conditions they’re grown in, and the farming methods used. However, small-scale plantations like Kiambethu lose their identity once they sell their tea leaves to the factory, which brands the tea under “Pure Kenyan Tea,” reducing tea to globally recognised borders instead of acknowledging the specific ecology and labor that goes into its production.

Julius, who has dubbed himself fittingly as ‘Doctor Julius’, took us on a medicinal tour through a local patch of native forest that Kiambethu has preserved, where we saw a magnificent Mugumo or fig tree, considered sacred in Kenya. It was interestingly connected to the McCoy tree through roots, which is used to treat malaria.As we ventured further into the depths of the medicinal aromas, Julius Doctor Julius showed us the Citronella plant, also known as lemongrass, used as a mosquito repellent. We did consider smuggling some for our forthcoming war with mosquitoes at Lake Naivasha. He also taught us the difference between coffee and tea leaves, the latter being more serrated at the edges, and handed us a bark that can be boiled to treat a sore throat.

We spotted vibrant species of birds, insects, and chameleons. Sarah marvelled at a female chameleon (species to be confirmed) while Renée captured a butterfly (species to be confirmed) in Fiona’s garden.

After our tour, Dr. Wang showcased his sword-fighting skills using Julius’ weapon – an armament used in guarding the forest. We concluded our tea expedition with Fiona’s amazing home-cooked cuisine, including homemade ice cream! Over some Kenyan beer (and our table as there were two other tables were we had assembled), Dr. Wang shared the story of the ‘Tuscan chamber’ research published in the journal Nature, wherein empty Tuscan beer bottles were used as a chamber in the methodology. We learned that research does not necessarily need fancy equipment—sometimes, a beer bottle will do just fine. The amazing meal filled our bellies, as we prepared for the upcoming field expeditions.

Our second stop was the Great Rift Valley, spanning 9600 km from Mozambique to the Red Sea, one of the richest biodiversity hotspots in the world. Dr. Lougheed and Dr. Wang told us that it is also an important spot for palaeontologists and anthropologists exploring ancient hominid fossils. The site was awe-inspiring, triggering an emotional response as we realised we were standing near the evolutionary origin of all humanity. This is where it all started.

It was ironic to see Coca-Cola, a large corporation, promoting one of the significant areas of unique biodiversity. We made friends with Susan, a local guide at the Great Rift Valley, who taught us that the famous phrase “Hakuna Matata” means “No problem” and “Simba” means “lion” in Swahili. These words are Swahili and of course not original to the the Lion King (yet another reminder that the world is much more than the West).

Our journey to Lake Naivasha became even more wonderful after some giraffes blessed us with their presence on the way in.

As promised, our field expedition at Lake Naivasha began with setting up tents (no, it’s not as easy as it seems). We helped Lucas and Idris set up the big dining-hall/lecture room tent, which demanded almost a dozen pairs of hands.

Our day concluded with a debriefing session with the professors, wherein we discussed our observations and the implications of the tea plantation on the sociocultural and ecological milieu, providing a holistic lens to our collective experiences of the day. Looking forward to seeing the hippos in our boat ride inn the next few days – not to worry it will be at a safe distance!

Lunch at Kiambethu Tea Plantation

Lunch at Kiambethu Tea Plantation

Kiambethu tea plantation owner Fiona telling us about growing and harvesting tea

‘Dr. Julius’ giving us a tour of the local native forest that the medical properties of individual trees and shrubs

High-casqued chameleon

northern yellow white-eye

Shikamoo (greeting in Swahili)!

Today, we woke up at around 8 am to some suspicious noises – to later find out they were monkeys! After we made our way down from the room at 8:30, we enjoyed a yummy breakfast. We had fried dough (mandazi), beans, sausages, bread, omelettes and fruit made by our gracious chef John (the second, John the first being our capable driver). After our meal, we went around the corner to the back of the kitchen to wash our dishes. Following this, Professor Lougheed rounded all of us up for our first meeting of the day.

In this, we got to formally introduce ourselves to each other through an icebreaker activity as well as gain a better understanding of the itinerary of the trip and outline of assignments. He also explored the importance of field courses and immersing ourselves in another culture, and the unfortunate declining of such offerings across many universities. Through this, we gained insights into why these are important not just for learning about ecology but also on how to navigate life and spaces more thoughtfully. After our meeting, we explored the Kolping Conference Centre grounds,  focusing on  the flora and fauna on the property. Some of us brought professional camera equipment, and scored some great pictures (some shown below)! Such as the Hadada ibis (Bostrychia hagedash), White-browed sparrow weaver (Plocepasser mahali) , a large candalabraform euphoria (plant), Black kite (Milvus migrans), Variable Sun Bird (Cinnyris venustus), Speckled Mouse Bird (Colius striatus), eucalyptus (introduced), oleander/rosebay, Casuarina collina. Binoculars came in handy during this time, as some birds were perched far away and hard to spot. Some critters were hiding under our feet as well, disguised as blades of grass. We filled our field books with our encounters with new species, frantically writing and drawing all that we could see. After spending time working on our journals, chef John and his team made us a delicious lunch. Most notable for us, was the delectable pasta with cheese. As well, the papaya was grown here which we found impressive!

After lunch, we went on a wild excursion to a mall! Funnily enough, this was our first trip in Kenya outside of the Kolping compound – to Galleria Mall. It was at this point that we noticed the drivers in Kenya sit on the right side and drive on the left. Cool! Our first stop at the mall was the grocery store, where some of us went on a manic hunt to find new snacks we hadn’t tried before. After the grocery store, we dispersed into smaller groups. With some explore the bookstore for stories on the East African region, and others looking at different clothing stores to expand their wardrobe. As a whole, we had just over an hour to explore the mall on our own as the Professor was purchasing a local SIM card (with 100GB of data so that he can continue to post this blog). While most of us returned to the bus early or on time, some of us decided to grab coffee and snacks at a cafe within the mall. Sorry guys!

Coming back from the mall, we was Olive Baboons on the side of the road as well as matatoos (vans that have many seats used for local transportation for people). We also cracked open some of our chips, with our personal favourites being the strawberry popcorn and chilli boom boom flavours (different chip flavours not a single one). When we came back, we had around an hour to ourselves before the professor planned our next meeting. During this time, some of us took much needed time to nap, others took to sunbathing and reading, and extra smart ones took to filling their field books.

Afterwards, Professor Lougheed held a discussion on species distribution and primed our minds as to why certain species are distributed the way they are – some micro-endemics with incredibly small species ranges while others have immense sometimes almost cosmopolitan distributions. We dove into topics such as species diversity within and across biotic communities, as well as why range limits asking questions as to why species at range limits don’t simply adapt and expand. We spoke about endemism in the broad sense,  and what comprises a micro-endemic species, what defines biodiversity hotspots, and how vascular plants can act as proxies to represent biodiversity in other groups as well. Overall, we learned about the importance of conservation and maintaining biodiversity as well as our plans for tomorrow’s adventure to Lake Naivasha and a tea plantation. We will keep this a mystery for tomorrow’s group to explain for now. Right now we are manically writing this to finally get a portion of dinner as everyone is already reaching for seconds and we are getting hungry by the second.

Tutaonana baadaye (see you later in Swahili)!

After breakfast, we washed our dishes behind the kitchen.

New chip flavours!!

Cafe!

Touristing through the aisles of the grocery store — looking for new chip flavours we haven’t tried before.

We took time to write in our field books after our mini birdathon before lunch.

Some small metamorph frogs

One of multiple grasshopper species we saw in the compound.

While walking around during our morning birdathon, we stumbled across a sign – inspirational text from the founder of the Kolping network.

Visiting the Galleria mall.

striped skink on terra cotta roof tile

variable sunbird male, one of many species within the Kolping grounds

speckled mousebird

Baglafecht weaver male

Relaxing on the lawn

We all made our way to Pearson International Airport, our number trickling in at around 3:00PM. We checked our bags, some of us with two bags each laden with field guides and field equipment. Security was surprisingly light although those of us with camera gear got the extra special treatment in security. Dilini had fun getting the sat phone through. Our flight to Paris left at around 6:00PM local time. We arrived in Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport at around 8:30AM – our deplaning was somewhat delayed as an unruly passenger who had imbibed his own alcohol had to be removed by the local police (he had shouted the entire flight so some of us got little sleep). Other than that an uneventful flight. We went through more security, and, you guessed it, extra special attention for those of us with photographic equipment.  More security awaits us in Nairobi! Pretty spare culinary pickings in the Paris terminal with the usual StarBucks and convenience stores. Our plane from Nairobi left just before 11:00 AM. Back to back ~8 hour flights always a pleasure. We arrived in Nairobi at about 9:00 PM local time. The customs hall was incredibly hot but we made it through without issue, and joy of joys all our bags arrived. Mukhtar, owner of Bundle the company caring for us as we travel in Kenta was there to greet us along with our driver, John, and another Bunduz staff member Lucas.  We made our way to Kolping Conference Centre where we will stay for two nights. The Bunduz staff had prepared some snacks and tea for our arrival. We got sorted out with respect to our rooms. and crashed hard for the evening.

Class at Pearson Airport before departure for Nairobi via Paris

Our trusty winged steed to Paris

Vikas looking alert and ready

Lounging on the shady side of the terminal

Dilini in Paris Airport

Kolping Conference Centre at night