As I sit in my office, come living room, looking out at the dark thunderclouds hovering above the ocean. I am sure as the evening arrives and the earth cools, the clouds will roll in and we will get another tropical rainstorm. This has been a constant in my life for the last month. We are so happy to get so much rain that the wells are filling up again which means I finally get to shower in fresh water!
I have been working with Jake, the designer of all the covers, and in my opinion, he has done some great work. I particularly like the imagery in this one. It follows all the other covers in the series, but this book is a little different as it examines Brody and Hassan’s faith. They are from two completely different worlds, and I thought it would be interesting to have a look at a modern Western person’s perspective of life juxtaposed against that of a strict Muslim believer. Obviously, it is all made up in my head and is an action thriller story, but I wanted to have some sort of ethos for the whole book. This helped me with direction, and, I hope, gives a thread to you, the reader. Anyway, I also hope it is just a great read, and you guys, along with a million other people, can’t put it down!
My daughter sent me an interesting book this month, ‘Through The Leopard’s Gaze.’ This is not the kind of book I normally read, but I was happy Olivia sent it to me. The author, Njambi McGrath, is an acclaimed comedian, and this is her debut novel. The story plots her journey from her birthplace in Kenya to the suburbs of north London.
The book reflects on McGrath’s early life and experiences. She follows several different threads throughout the book. I found the harrowing descriptions of the treatment the Kikuyu tribe received from the British particularly poignant. The descriptions of the concentration camps and the cruelty at the hands of the British or the British employed locals was eye-opening.
McGrath goes into great detail about her father’s decline into alcoholism and mental health issues. This, I believe, was a plague of the time. When the British left East Africa they did not leave any real legacy and just deserted the people to a broken cultural society that never really recovered as is still very visible today. Her father seems to be a metaphor for a considerable number of Kikuyu fathers that had to endure the British rule and then had to figure out how to build a new life after they had gone.
McGrath is great at interjecting new stories and ideas as the book progresses. I am sure that as many of you have either lived, or visited Africa, you will be able to relate to McGrath and her journey. I enjoyed ‘Through the Leopard’s Gaze’ and would recommend it as an interesting and enlightening read. Here is the link on Amazon if you would like to take a look.
Now back to my safari. If you missed the last instalment, then here is a link.
On the fourth morning of our safari, we all convened at the breakfast table a little after 6 a.m. It was still dark at Satao, but we could hear the hippos honking at each other as they made their way back to the watering hole, and the baboons were climbing down from their trees and wandering through the camp on the lookout for an unprotected sausage. After a hearty breakfast, we left the camp for a final drive through Tsavo East, heading towards Voi Gate. As we drove in the early morning light through the dew-covered savannah, we saw herds of zebras, gazelles, and elephants all heading down to the watering hole for early morning ablutions.
Voi is a very busy town on the main highway between Mombasa and Nairobi. You may remember it from a newsletter a while ago about Salaita Hill. Voi was used as a main junction on the original Lunatic Line; it was also the place they built the railway bridge over the Tsavo River, and the man-eaters of Tsavo story was born. Now the town is full of camel traders, mostly Somalis, walking from the deserts of Somalia to bring the camels to the port of Mombasa before they are slaughtered for meat. It is a great place to have fun haggling for a ‘Somali liter’ of fresh, warm camel’s milk!
We turned off the highway and onto the A23, leading to Taveta and the Tanzanian border. The area is very lush, with the Taita Hills providing the water. We drove through sugar plantations and massive sisal farms. Just before a town called Lumo, we turned left onto a dirt road. Then we crossed a large, flat savannah and entered Lumo Conservancy. Lumo is a special area; it is run by the locals for the locals. I much prefer these types of parks, as they cater to and help develop the local community. They are also much cheaper!
After a short stop at the gate, we entered the park and almost immediately climbed a steep cliff on a very rutted and bumpy road. As we rose, we were able to see the whole of the expansive park spread out in front of us. After a long uncomfortable, and at times terrifying trip up the side of what felt like a mountain, we arrived at Leopard’s Lair Lodge.
I love Leopard’s Lodge, as it is very small and intimate, with only four huts to rent. The rooms are built in the traditional style with woven branches to make the walls, and then mud is applied to make the walls draught-proof. The roofs are all makuti fronds. But the most amazing thing is the view. In the distance are the enigmatic and romantic Taita Hills, standing majestically above the African plains. Between the mountains and our huts was a vast expanse of open African plain with hundreds of different animals wandering around.
We took an early lunch then headed out on our first game drive, and we were not disappointed. Domu, our safari guide and driver, had visited Leopard’s Lair many times and was keen to take us to Lion’s Rock, which did not disappoint. We found a pride of lions dutifully sitting next to the rock, and the big male was proudly watching his hareem from the top. After taking about a million photos of the pride of lions, it was starting to get dark, so we headed back across the plain towards our lodge. Again, we were not disappointed, as we came across a huge herd of buffalo and zebra. After a wonderful dinner, we all retired to our cold huts, but the lodge had one more surprise for us; much needed hot water bottles carefully put to warm our beds.
The next morning, we woke for coffee and to watch the sunrise over the savannah, then we went for a lovely breakfast in the bush. We sat under an acacia tree in the middle of nowhere and had a plate of fried eggs, bacon, sausages, and hot coffee. It was a perfect end to our safari.
If you want to have a chat or need any information on East Africa, then drop me a line at [email protected]. As African Jinn gets closer to the release date, and you don’t want to miss the early bird price on Amazon, you can sign up to my newsletter here.
Well, that’s it for now. Have a great month and speak soon.
