Ciao Tobi - spending time at the moment in Rome and a lot out doors as we have approached olive picking season. We produce Extra Virgin Olive Oil - and this is the busiest time. Will continue with Part 2 as soon as I can ... grazie

No hurry, Cody! I'm patient! But don't forget !

doh, typical. First he makes us curious and then we wait ... ... ... ...

Cody: It is darn near impossible to do only several lines!

I must admit I don't have one favorite safari. I use Southern Cross Safaris in Mombasa to arrange all my Kenya travels. Instead of one favorite safari, I do have special and/or adrenaline rush moments that I will never forget and I'll share them with you.

SAFARI HIGHLIGHTS

1-23-01 First time ever staying in tent and a cobra was found in my bathroom! Men were having a hard time finding it after it spit in face of tent steward and then disappeared. As they started chopping apart the stone foundation to look for it, I was deciding whether or not to sleep in the safari vehicle that night! Adrenaline rush that night. Didn’t want to be a sissy about this event, but if they don’t catch the snake I
don’t want to be stupid either. In a sense I’m glad this happened on my first safari because it made me realize very quickly that I am in the wildlife’s home and it is my responsibility to watch out for them and
be aware of my surroundings at all times. Eventually the snake was found and all was well (though I didn’t sleep much that night). (Tsavo)

9-25-03 – 9-30-03 Dionysus, prolific Amboseli bull elephant loved by all the other elephants in Amboseli as well as humans, had been speared in the head and right front knee by the Maasai. The veterinarian
had treated him once but the resulting infection had gotten worse. We checked on him daily and he wasn’t feeding or going for water. On 9-30-03 I was with researcher checking on him and we drove up about 10 feet from him and talked with him for about one-half hour encouraging him to eat and drink to get stronger. He did indeed start groping greens with his trunk and eating! Two weeks after returning home I learned that Dionysus had died.

10-6-03 While talking with KWS ranger on my veranda a green mamba slithered up on the veranda about 3 feet from my bare feet. I jumped up on the sun bed and then took off running from the veranda.
Another adrenaline rush! (Tsavo)

1-31-04 Horrible spate of Maasai spearing in Amboseli. Watched one young female with very young baby who appeared ill or dying. Female would rush away from baby and then run toward her trying to
encourage baby to keep up with the elephant herd. Baby had no strength at all and we knew it was dying. Tried to reach researchers and KWS but no-one was available. Saw an adult female with horrible
spear wounds on right front leg on the same road. Several miles down the road we saw another female elephant who had been speared through the trunk. About ½ mile further down the road we saw another
adult female with two babies, one very young and another about 6 years old who had also been speared. Met with Cynthia Moss and showed her my pictures of the young female with dying baby and she said it was the young daughter and infant of Tulip, the elephant who had been speared through the trunk. In all, five of these elephants died due to the Maasai spearings. Hate the Maasai for doing this.

2-5-04 While on a game drive in Tsavo we are crossing the small bridge near Aruba Dam and look down in the the dry river bed. There is a huge coiled snake lying there. Due to its size I think it might be a
python but I’m told by two guides that it was a huge 15 foot black mamba. All of a sudden it awoke and in about two seconds slithered up the steep river bed toward our open vehicle! We got the hell out of there very fast!

2-11-04 Last morning in camp. I’m sitting on my veranda watching the elephants at the waterhole when a large black mamba is found at foot of veranda. Another adrenaline rush!

8-5-04 Trip to Voi Stockades to see orphaned elephants return from the bush for the night. BBC is there filming also. I’m standing on a stone wall awaiting their return when someone yells “RUN”. I start running down hill on gravel toward electric fenced area when I fall on gravel. Someone grabs my arm and pulls me under electric fence. When I’m getting up I ask what I was running from. The keeper tells me to turn around and look. When I do I see a wild elephant matriarch and her two babies. The mother had run down Mazinga Hill and nearly flattened me. I asked my driver how close she was to my back and he said about two feet when I fell. Perhaps when I fell it startled her and she stopped, because she was close enough to have killed me. I was very lucky that day!

8-6-04 Sitting on my bed writing in my journal when I notice sound of birds changed from chirping to squawking right outside the tent. Asked gardener to see if there was a snake there. At first he didn’t see one. Then he walked out with a red spitting cobra on a long stick. These critters seem to find me all too often!!

8-10-04 Sitting in vehicle on banks of Ewaso Nyiro River with driver and Samburu guide watching The Sporadics elephant family in river drinking. All of the sudden the Biblical Towns family came from the back of the vehicle trumpeting at the Sporadics (who are a subservient group). The Sporadics ran up the river bank to the left side of our vehicle with the Biblicals on the right, front and rear.
We are totally surrounded by rumbling, trumpeting elephants about 2 – 5 feet from vehicle!! I could have reached out and touched them!! We sat very quietly without moving as the elephant drama played out and the Biblicals chased off the Sporadics with one Biblical even tusking one of the Sporadics in the rump to hurry them along. The Biblical Towns then entered the river for their drink, with the Sporadics standing way back out of the way watching. Eventually when the Biblical Towns left, the Sporadics moved in for the daily water. Luckily the elephants knew the Save the Elephants vehicles and the driver and guide and did not overturn the vehicle during their argument. We were lucky we weren’t killed. Another huge adrenaline rush!!

8-17-04 While on game drive in Amboseli saw Odile, speared by Maasai seven times, twice in the head. She had been able to remove five of the spears but the two in her head remained. The veterinarian
came and darted her. Four men couldn’t pull out the two head spears they were in so deep. They had to use a spanner to knock them loose before they could extract them. The vet treated the head wounds but wasn’t certain if she would survive. (Odile did survive and lived happily with her family until she was speared again by the Maasai and died in the spring of 2009).

8-18-04 With researcher trying to find Odile to see if she had survived the the treatment. Couldn’t find her but found her family. One had a minor spear wound in back that didn’t need treatment but one had an infected wound on the leg. Veterinarian was called in and I was present when he darted her, cleaned out the wound and treated her with antibiotics. Again, thank God for Dr. Ndeerah!

2-6-05 Watching hippos at Aruba Dam when male lion, two lionesses and two yearling cubs walk past vehicle toward dam to get water. Rumor had it that one of the lions had swatted the rump of the baby hippo with her paw several days earlier. The Mama and Baby hippo swam to the side of the dam with the lions. and the lions retreated up the steep hill to the top of the dam. Mama and Baby continued walking up the hill and then split with the Mama running after the adult lions and Baby chasing the two yearling cubs. The dust was flying all over the place. Great and exciting to watch.

8-3-05 With researcher censusing Ambo elephants. At river see seven handsome bulls, one with a large part of his trunk missing from snare. Reminds me of story told to me by owner of camp at Lake Jipe. Said there was a bull elephant with part of the trunk missing. Two other bull elephant friends stayed with him feeding him with their trunks and putting water into his mouth until his trunk healed about six months later. Once he was able to feed and drink himself, his friends who had taken such wonderful care of him disappeared. Elephants are truly amazing animals!!

8-14-05 About 3 a.m. baboons started barking in the tamarind tree at the waterhole. Since I knew that baboons barking meant lions nearby whereas monkeys barking meant cheetahs, I got up and looked out
of tent to see if I could see any lions. Watched awhile and saw nothing. The baboons quieted down. Before returning to sleep I decided to have a quick trip to loo to pee. I had just sat down on the john when GRR, GRR right behind the bathroom wall! I panicked! Would they try entering the tent? After a reasonable time with me not being attacked I managed to get back to sleep. In the morning the askaris told me there were 7 lions lying behind the bathroom wall!! The manager also assured me that lions were not interested in getting in tents which smelled of humans as long as the zips were zipped and no food was around. The man-eaters of Tsavo today apparently are no longer interested in pulling people from their tents, thank God.

2-1-06 Sitting on my veranda watching animals at waterhole when camp manager walks to veranda and says “bring your camera and follow me”. I follow him across camp. As we approach his tent he tells me
to quietly sit in chair on his veranda and don’t move. I see two huge tusks protruding from bush on right side of veranda about 20 feet away. Suddenly this huge 45 year old elephant crashes through the bushes and starts drinking from the birdbath. After finishing his drink he stands and listens to us talk to him telling him what a good boy he is, to stay away from the Somalis, etc. After about 15 – 20 minutes he decided he had had enough of our talking and walked back into the bush. This is a bull I’ve seen since and he is truly an amazing creature. Just to think he survived the poaching holocaust in the 80’s and early 90’s is amazing and one can only hope he is savy enough to stay out of the way of the modern poachers with AK-47’s.

2-3-06 One of the first tourists to be allowed by KWS to drive north of the Galana River up to the Sheldrick Camp in Ithumba. Since poaching had been rampart in the northern sector, no tourists had been allowed in that area. On the drive up it was very thick bush most of the way and very few animals were seen from the road. We did see the Volkswagen van that the crew of an airline had used to safari in many years ago. The van broke down and the crew decided to walk for help. None were ever seen again. Checked into the extremely nice Sheldrick Camp which is totally self-service and then go to see the orphans coming in from the bush for their milk and mudbath. Actually get to hold their bottles for them and be very close. What a thrill.

1-23-07 Kenya had very good rains November – January. On arrival in Amboseli there is now a beautiful Lake Leakey full of flamingos. This is the first time I’ve seen this in Amboseli. The lake runs from Amboseli Lodge to Observation Hill to Airstrip Road.

1-26-07 Told by reputable person (a Maasai) that the Maasai in the area had killed nine lions and four cubs since my August visit. I hate the Maasai practice of retaliating against wildlife – it is barbaric –
particularly since there is now a compensation program in the works.

1-29-07 Arrive in Tsavo to find lots of water in the Voi River. It is the first time I’ve seen water there. There are catfish in the river and many, many heron, ibis, Marabou storks and fish eagles feasting on the catfish, and in about two days the river has totally dried up and fish and birds are gone.

8-10-07 Young bull elephant discovered with snare around his neck. The veterinarian was called and I was lucky to be present when he darted the bull, removed the snare and treated him. Thank you Dr.
Ndeerah!

8-11-08 The Memory of Elephants is amazing. On this day light rain and gale winds struck. One of the acacia trees very close to a tent blew down. The men were chopping off some of the limbs so that the majority of the tree could be moved by the tractor to near the waterhole for the elephants to eat. As soon as all the elephants at the waterhole heard the chopping noise of the pangas, they all fled in total fear,
which most likely indicated that the older elephants remembered the sounds of tusks being chopped out during the poaching holocaust. As soon as the tractor pulled the tree to the waterhole the elephants
returned to eat all the leaves.

8/09 Kenya has undergone the worst drought in many years. Every day I see many new carcasses in the parks, more in Amboseli than in Tsavo, and the majority of them zebra. In Tsavo, there are not as
many carcasses, but we do see starving animals. So very sad to see this. One can only pray that Kenya receives rain soon.

Ciao - sorry about the delay and thank you. In hospital in Rome at the moment (knee operation) and using another patient laptop. I will do the next part soon - when I am back in Tuscany. Regards to all -

Cody: We hope you are up and about very soon with no pain and able to be back with your family.

Your surgery is excuse enough for your delay