Kenya 2023: Preparations

 Our trip to Kenya in 2019 was incredible. We saw amazing wildlife, had some real adventure, and met some great people. Since then, we have talked about that experience at least once a week. It also got us hungry to return to the Mara and here we are, headed back there now. This blog was written over the course of six months and it chronicles our preparations for a return trip.

Flights got really cheap in March of 2020 as the pandemic set in (like $600 round-trip non-stop cheap). We strongly considered going but the quarantine time was more than we could afford on either end with our work schedules. In 2021, Ed moved cross-country to Pennsylvania, so the prospect of returning dissipated again. While he continued to settle in during 2022, we agreed that 2023 would be the year for a return. Funding came, in part, from the sale of Ed's truck in 2022.

In November, we called the good people at Gamewatchers Safaris to line up a trip for next year. After a few weeks of back and forth, we settled on the details: Five days in the Maasai Mara staying at Keekorok in a chalet, with one hot air balloon ride over the Mara. We requested our guide, Lenny, from our first trip. After almost a week with him, we felt that we had built a good relationship and could not imagine having another guide take us back into one of the wildest places on earth. We've kept in touch with him over the last four years and we consider him to be a friend.

If you've followed our Kenya adventure before (A Plan Comes Together, Nairobi, Nairobi to Nakuru, Maasai Mara Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4, Hindsight), you know the kind of trip we had and you might be wondering why we would want to return for an almost identical trip. For one, we felt that our first trip was a really good introduction to a quintessential African safari. We saw and experienced a little bit of everything: lions, elephants, a kill, leopards, and hundreds of thousands of wildebeest. Typically we would roll up on a species, shoot for 15 or 20 minutes, and move on in hopes of adding to our list. It was all about seeing and doing as much as possible because we didn't know if or when we would return. This time, we're planning to spend more time with some of the key species in hopes of capturing more of their behavior. There are some species of animals that will be there regardless of what we do (wildebeest, gazelle, elephants, hippos, zebra) so we don't need to really focus on those. We're on the hunt for the big cats: leopards, lions, and cheetahs and, in particular, we're interested in cubs. Also on our list is to see a river crossing. We saw the aftermath last time, but we want to see these great herds in action. It's one of the reasons we're going a little later in June. The Great Migration moves north out of Tanzania and the southern Serengeti into the Mara in early July, so there's a good chance we'll start to see some of the herds on the move. We're also really interested in some of the smaller details. We want to see some siafu ants or different bird species (being avid birders here in our own backyards). Secondly, with as wild a place as the Mara is, there is little chance that we'll have an experience anything remotely similar to the last one. 

The downside to all of this is that the trip is six months away. In terms of gear, we know what we need and don't need to bring based on our experience last time. We've got a long six months to wait. The anticipation is killing us. For better or worse, we used a custom Excel sheet that started a countdown on January 3rd. This Whoo-hoo calculator, as it's known, tells us the remaining days, hours, minutes, and seconds to wheels up.

The upside is that this time we don't have to try to cram all of our preparation into six weeks.

At the end of 2022, we started looking at flights. Although we toyed with the idea of finding a long layover in Europe (Paris or Paris+Reykjavik or London), we couldn't justify the time or the added cost. In the end, a round-trip nonstop flight from JFK to Nairobi on Kenya Airways was our best bet. This flight route also puts us into Nairobi mid-day Saturday instead of very late, thus giving us more time to get settled, gear up, acclimate, and check out the market again.

NOTE: If you're going to start booking trips with foreign airlines and outfitters, you may want to contact your bank. My attempts to pay the deposit and book the flight were flagged as possible fraud, and rightfully so.

By mid-March we booked our hotel in Nairobi: the Four Points by Sheraton near the airport. The hotel has really nice accommodations, great views, good food, and is readily accessible. The hotel staff were very helpful in providing transportation last time.

One of the things we wanted to do is be able to shoot low to the ground from inside the truck using a custom mount for our cameras that would be relatively lightweight, strong, compact, and affordable. The low angle would provide a different view if we find lions or cheetahs with cubs. However, there are few things on the market that met those criteria. The risk of building something ourselves and having it fail with $5,000-$20,000 worth of camera and lens on it would be disastrous. We accepted our limitations, but will be on the lookout for something like this in the future.

Near the end of March, the Whoo-hoo calculator clicked past the 50% mark. Our excitement started to grow.

Ed took up learning Swahili in earnest again. Prior to the first trip, he had spent time learning a few words and phrases with YouTube and that brought some respect from the locals when we used it. However, Ed wanted to be comfortable in conversation, not just winging out quips and phrases. Starting in 2021, he worked his way through the Duolingo Swahili course and completed it in six months. The course is fairly basic and fails to touch on some important parts of the language, but it was enough to get started. After we booked the trip, he restarted the course in January with the goal of completing the course by the time the Whoo-hoo calculator reached 100%. This would require about one unit every 4 days. Additionally, he picked up several audiobooks and a course from 2Seeds, which is a non-profit organization focused on sustainable community development in Tanzania. They have a crash course for ex-pats designed to take them through basic speaking in 12 units.

By mid-April we crossed into the 2-month mark, at which point the remaining balance of the safari was due. Things were picking up. We started a true daily countdown at around 65 days. And although there was a lot of excitement, our plans had been pretty well cemented already, so there wasn't the rush of activity like we had last time. We got the next phase of preparations started with enrollment with the US State Department and applications for Kenyan visas. The State Department has a service called STEP (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program) where US citizens can enroll their travel plans. In case of emergency (natural disaster, political unrest, etc), the US government can direct its citizens to safer areas or in extreme cases, extract them entirely. It's the only time we really want the government knowing where we are. Kenya recently saw protests from the opposition party on the streets of Nairobi and there's the brewing unrest in Sudan (now an all-out conflict) so being enrolled in the STEP is a good backup plan for us. Most European countries don't require a visa (just a passport) because a pact exists between the two entities to allow free travel. Kenya requires a visa and the process was long, but simple: some basic questions on residency, duration and destination within the country, previous travel, some passport information. Last time, the approval process took more than a week, but this time the visa was approved within hours.

At the end of April, it was time to get vaccinated. Flu and covid are givens these days. Last time, we got yellow fever (a requirement), typhoid, and cholera vaccines as well. Yellow fever and cholera are lifetime vaccines, so no need for additional jabs this time. Typhoid is recommended every two years, so it's time to get another. Walgreen's pharmacy can order vaccines for travelers, but there is a cost. In addition to jabs, we got a prescription for anti-malarial pills, although we felt that insect presence was fairly low where we were.

In May, we hooked up with our friends at Lensprotogo.com to rent additional gear. The mirrorless platforms have really taken off since our last trip, and although we wanted to try one out for a future upgrade, we went for the full-frame 600 mm lens again. It was worth every penny we spent last time and succeeded where our own 600 mm could not. This time though, we added on a Nikon D6 though to go with it. The D6 is a high-end professional dSLR with high mega-pixels and a fast frame rate. The D6 and the Nikkor 600 mm lens combine for a value of about $20,000. An extra full-frame in our lineup allows us to keep the 200-500 mm and the 24-70 mm on full-frame bodies, which they were designed for. Whether you're looking to rent a lens for a specific occasion, or you want to try out a platform before you buy it, we highly recommend their service. They are quick, reliable, and have very knowledgeable staff.

Rather than drive the four hours to reach Greg, Ed opted to take the train from Harrisburg to Newark. The four hour ride cost $50 and courses along the Susquehanna River south of where we paddled last year, through Amish country in Lancaster County, past Philadelphia, and finally up to Newark. A transfer to NJ Transit put him within a mile of Greg and eliminated the need for long-term parking.

Our Whoo-hoo calculator clicked into the green at 80% in mid-May. One month to go. Our excitement became palpable. Towards the end of the month, we got money changed over into Kenyan shillings. Most banks offer a currency exchange, but depending on the type and the amount, you may need to wait a few days. The exchange rate was about 138 Ksh to 1 USD. $500USD = $62,000Ksh.

On May 30th, we reached 90%. At this point all our vaccinations were complete, visas approved, money changed over, and packing started in earnest. So, what all are we bringing?

The safari is five days (three full and two half days) and we have a two days of travel and two days in Nairobi: nine days in total. We're packing clothing light and planning on wearing the same outfit several days. We'll be in the bush, so we can be a little grimy and smelly. If you're going on safari, plan to bring some light colored, neutral-tone clothing with long sleeves (khaki or green). The light colors will help you blend in a little. The anti-malarial pills you'll likely take will make your skin more susceptible to UV rays, so a long-sleeve shirt and/or some sunscreen will help protect you. We have several pairs of lightweight zip-off style pants to switch from cooler morning weather to warmer daytime. A hat (either wide-brimmed or baseball) is highly recommended. For footwear we've got boots for the truck, sandals for camp, and some more comfortable shoes for airports and planes. A lightweight jacket or sweatshirt is also a good idea. Although Kenya doesn't get truly freezing temps in June, lows can be in the low 60's and for a morning hot-air balloon we definitely want a jacket.

And now for the important gear: cameras. We have the following with us:

One D6 full-frame, two D750 full-frame, one D7200, one D7000, one D5300, and battery grips for all. We have one Akaso adventure camera for video, plus our phones.

One Nikkor 600 mm f/4 behemoth, one Nikkor 200-500 mm, one Sigma 70-200 mm, one Nikkor 24-70 mm, one  Sigma 17-50 mm, one Sigma 18-300 mm, one Nikkor 35 mm, and two Sigma 1.4x teleconverters to give us extra reach on the 500 and the 200 mm lenses.

More than half a terabyte of memory cards, laptops, and external hard drives for backing up during the day. Ed has a field notebook for documenting what we see and do throughout the day.

We have one Manfrotto tripod, two Lenscoat sandbags, and a Joby Podzilla for one of our phones. Greg has his Nikon binoculars.

For the hot-air balloon ride, we've got our Cotton Carrier vest and Wanderer to hold two cameras very securely while airborne. Because we're going at sunrise time, Ed has a graduated neutral density (GND) filter for the 200 mm lens.

As an insurance policy, we have a small accompaniment of fine tools: screwdrivers, wrench, allen keys. We've also both got our Leatherman multi-tools and half a roll of duct tape (it came in handy while Ed was in the Congo last time. Can't go wrong with duct tape).

We each have a PowerBear power strip with adapters for overseas outlets and we each have a portable solar charger for phones. And of course we have a plethora of phone and camera charging cables that we need to stay running for the week.

Surprisingly, the camera gear packs into two bags: a Canon shoulder bag and an Endurax backpack.

The past two weeks have been a blur of work and little odds and ends that needed to be finished. We went from counting days into hours. 

The big lens arrived early the Saturday before we left, which was lucky because it turned out it had a squeaky autofocus. Lensprotogo.com was incredibly helpful and expedited a replacement lens. 

And with that, we're off to the airport for another exciting adventure! Stay tuned for stories and photos from the wildest place on earth!

Cheers!

-Ed and Greg