OUT&ABOUT: The thrill of a camel safari

Date activities in Nairobi can get redundant very fast — everyone’s mostly just heading out to eat and drink.

I definitely enjoy a good Sunday brunch but tend to get restless very fast. It was therefore out of sheer boredom that I was looking around for ideas for a quick weekend getaway that would be memorable without breaking the bank, and decided to head out to Soysambu Conservancy, which lies on the southern border of Lake Nakuru National Park. Nakuru is also close enough to Nairobi that I could drive there and come back, and still feel energetic when I reported to work on Monday morning.

Whenever I’m out of town for a leisurely getaway, I want to be waking up at 10am with someone serving me breakfast in bed, preferably chewing it up and feeding it to me like a bird, except that would be disgusting. The 5am wake-up call from a camp is therefore a struggle, but exciting things lie ahead! We shuffle towards a Land Cruiser Van like zombies, hop on and drive to an open patch where we find our guide Barabara waiting with camels.

The saddles are draped in colourful Maasai shuka and complete with a metal frame to grasp onto, are sturdy and secured in place. The padding is also comfortable, but after about 10 minutes, I can tell that this ride won’t be comfortable over a long distance or faster pace. For men, it’s probably even worse. I wonder out loud if I might perhaps be too heavy for the animal, but I am quickly reassured that their legs are incredibly strong and can carry up to 400kg. This certainly came in handy for nomadic pastoralists when they had to pack up their belongings and move from one manyatta to go set up base in greener pastures.

The sun is still mercifully not overhead in all its scorching glory. As though we had set up a meeting and they showed up on time, we encounter a herd of giraffes browsing on leaves and they seem unperturbed by our presence even as we get as close as 100 metres.

A HAVEN FOR WILDLIFE

Their indifference reminds me of my neighbourhood M-Pesa lady. To me, we might as well be eye to eye trying to see who’ll blink first. I have rattled around parks in a 4X4 van and gone on walking safaris, but this is an altogether new perspective. It is almost as if we are no longer spectators but are actually part of the wildlife. Camels can reach speeds of 65km/h; imagine the thrill of tearing across the plains alongside these giraffes, heart pounding and wind against your face, as though trying to get away from a lion. There is a high chance you would die, but still …

“One camel can cost up to Sh80,000 and if you own all these, you would be considered wealthy,” suggests Barabara, in response to a question I have asked. A mischievous grin spreads across his face. “Traditionally, if you got married and your father received two of these as your dowry, he would be a very happy man!” he finishes gleefully. Great.

For the next hour, I rock back and forth on my saddle as the camels slowly make their way towards Lake Nakuru, which seems ever so near, yet so far. Barabara breaks into song and invites us to join, birds and cicadas call out, curious zebras, giraffes and elands stare at us curiously. Eventually, we get to the lake just as the sun is starting to rise over the horizon, its orange reflection glistening in the water. At this point, my legs are really sore and I am dying to get off the camel.

Lake Nakuru is a haven for numerous bird species, and is particularly a magnet for large flocks of flamingos that paint the water a soft blush pink with their plumage- it is indeed a sight to behold! We collect feathers from the shore and take pictures, but mostly wait for flamingos to gather in one part of the lake so we can sneak up to them before they get alarmed and take off, wings fluttering in unison as though part of a well-choreographed ballet dance.

To crown an already perfect morning, we drive up to a clearing where we find that Mbweha camp has set up a lavish English bush breakfast, and the entire thing is so well thought out that I half expect them to pop out a ring, get on one knee and ask me to stay at the conservancy forever.