They’re procreating like rabbits.

After the birth of two litters of bunnies in as many weeks, Matt decided it was time to come up with some serious family planning.  So on Saturday (the day before Jeff left), they got to work rebuilding our old chicken coop into a divided house for the bunnies.  This would allow us to keep the males separated from the females and also create a maternity ward for the new moms who were nursing.  They did an amazing job getting it all done in one day. 

The five bunnies that were born the week before Christmas (one for each kid).

Matt left with Webb and Jeff for Kenya on Sunday after lunch.  Not even hours later we heard a screeching from outside, so we went to investigate.  We noticed two of the 3 week olds had gotten out of their day pen.  (Think of it as a pack ‘n play for bunnies that allows allows them to eat the grass out in the yard).  We went to investigate how they got out.  Well one of the older bunnies had dug a burrow underneath a corner of it….interesting...then realized Oh crap, there are newborn bunnies in the middle (like minutes old..not the days or weeks old ones that we already had).  Quick scurry of our kids to round up escaped rabbits and then grab all but the mom and new babies from the pen and put them away.  The mom was literally still giving birth and one of the males was on top of her.  As Tierney said “Why does everything always go all crazy as soon as Daddy leaves?”

Six newborns in the burrow:

I know that we’re not supposed to touch the new ones until they have hair, but I was also pretty sure that they weren’t safe out in the open.  I called Matt who confirmed that I should move them inside (without touching them). 

Our new maternity ward.  6 on the left born yesterday (pretty sure one won’t make it due to a huge gash along its back) and 3 on the right from a few days ago.

Problem seems to be that the boys can jump the fence to get into the girls’ dorm rooms.  Now I can’t even tell what mom goes with what babies or even which ones are males and females.  There may be a few more litters coming before we have this whole family planning thing all figured out.

Mama Jackie is ready for a lesson in dressing a bunny.

 

The kids also caught a little baby hoopoe…super cute, but I made them put it back in the bushes because I wasn’t about to take on anything else.

Kilimanjaro: One week countdown

We’re in the final stages of planning our climb that begins one week from today.  I’m excited, anxious, and nervous.  I’m fairly confident in my fitness at this point because several people that I’ve talked to (including our guides on Mt. Meru) have said that Mt. Meru is a more difficult climb, but Kilimanjaro is just longer and at really high altitude. I’ve also been doing lots of jumping, squats, burpees, stairs, and lots of time on the treadmill at high incline.  It’s the altitude that has me worried, but I figure I can’t control my reaction to it, so I’m trying to not spend too much time worrying about that. There is a drug that is used to assist with acclimatization called Diamox, but it’s a sulfa based drug and I’m allergic to sulfa, so that one is out for me.  I know others in our group of 6 women are debating whether or not to take it themselves. I also can’t control the weather, so I’ll do my best to stay warm, but that’s all I can control. As you can imagine reaching the summit of the highest peak in Africa and the largest freestanding mountain in the world is the goal, but you can see the last two days (descent) are no joke either with each day hiking almost 17 miles. 

There are 6 main routes up Kilimanjaro and we are doing the Marangu Route. The primary reason for choosing this route is that it is the only route that has huts instead of tented camping.  And, yes, we will have guides, cooks, and porters supporting us the entire way.  

Of course, I created a spreadsheet to get a visual of what each day would look like.  Each book/website that I looked at listed different times and distances, so this is more of a rough estimate than anything else, but it still has me intimidated. 

Anyone happen to read Mets’ pitcher, R.A. Dickey’s blog in the NY Times about his climb of Kili last week?  He climbed with Rockies’ pitcher David Slowey and Met’s catcher Dave Racaniello.  They climbed a different route, but it’s a reality check that even professional athletes were not immune to the effects of altitude (spoiler….they all made it).

I like the succinct summary of the climb below.  It’s mostly taken from another outfitter’s website.

Day 1 (Mon 1/23): Marangu Gate (1980m) - Mandara hut (2700m)

Hiking time: 5h
Distance: ~12kms
Habitat: Montane forest

The drive from Arusha to the Kilimanjaro National Park gate probably will take just over a couple of hours. The journey passes through the village of Marangu, which is located on the lower slopes of the mountain.  At the park gate, we will sign in at the Park office and make final preparations for the climb. Porters will be seen arranging and loading their packs, containing the food, water, cooking gas as well as most of your equipment. We will carry our daypack items. Leave the Park gate and ascend on a cleared ridge trail through the rain forest. The forest, suffused with mist and dripping with beards of moss, is also where most of Kilimanjaro's animals are found. The first night stop, Mandara hut, is a group of wooden A-framed huts in a forest clearing. Each hut features 6-8 sleeping bunks with solar generated lighting. The total capacity of the camp is 60 climbers. Water is piped into the camp from springs above and there are flush toilets behind the main hut.

Day 2 (Tues 1/24): Mandara hut (2700m) - Horombo hut (3720m)

Hiking time: 6h
Distance: Approximately 15kms
Habitat: Moorland

From Mandara hut the trail passes through a short stretch of forest, then skirts the base of the Maundi Crater and then emerges into the transition from rain forest to moorland. It is well worth a short detour to scramble up the rim of the Maundi Crater for your first really impressive view of the Kibo Crater. On a clear day, Kibo will glimmer in the distance, showing off her majestic glaciers in the morning sun. Once you are in the open moorland you will get the chance to see some of Kilimanjaro's most spectacular plants - the endemic giant lobelia which grows up to 3 m in height and the giant groundsel (Senecia Kilimanjari), which can reach heights of 5m! After about 6 hours from here you reach the Horombo hut, where you will have hot washing water, rest; an evening meal and overnight.

Day 3 (Wed 1/25): Horombo hut (3720m) - Acclimatization day

Horombo hut is a village of huts perched on a small plateau, with buildings similar to Mandara, but with a total capacity of 120 climbers! Horombo is normally bustling with hikers, guides and porters, with an atmosphere of adventure and excitement. You will meet both ascending and descending hikers here. This extra day and night at Horombo is for additional acclimatization. A hike towards the Mawenzi hut, passing the Zebra Rocks on the way (about 3 hours up and 1.5 hours down) is strongly recommended. This hike will further assist with the process of acclimatization.

Day 4 (Thurs 1/26) Horombo hut (3720m) - Kibo hut (4700m)

Hiking time: 6h
Distance: Approximately 15kms
Habitat: Alpine desert

After breakfast you now continue your ascent into the Alpine desert habitat. From Horombo there are two trails to the "Saddle" (which refers to the area located between the peaks of Mawenzi and Kibo). There is an upper route (right hand fork) and lower route (left hand fork) to choose from. The upper route (right hand fork) will be very familiar, as you will have climbed most of it the previous day towards Mawenzi hut. It is very stony and eroded. The recommended lower route (left hand fork) is much easier and nearly an hour shorter, and it also passes the last watering point at 4130m. You will have to fill your water bottles with all the water you will need until your return to Horombo hut in two night's time. Once again remember to slow down and drink enough water!!
Situated in the barren Alpine desert is Horombo hut, a stone build block house which has bunk beds for 60 climbers, but no streams with water nearby. It is however possible to buy mineral water and soft drinks at the camp office. There are platform toilets behind the hut. The summit is now a further 1195m up and you will make your final ascent the same night. To prevent freezing it will be wise to carry your water in a thermal flask. Go to bed at round about 19h00 and try to get as much rest and sleep as possible.

Day 5 (Fri 1/27…if all goes well we’ll be summiting around sunrise Friday morning while the US folks are just going to bed on Thursday night): (Summit Attempt) Kibo hut (4700m) - Uhuru Peak (5895m) - Horombo hut (3720m)

Hiking time: 8h to Uhuru, 6h to get to Horombo
Distance: Approximately 6kms ascent, 21kms descent
Habitat: Stone scree and ice-capped summit

You will rise around 23h30, and after some tea and biscuits you shuffle off into the night, and this is where the going really gets tough. The first section of the trail consists of a rocky path to the Hans Meyer Cave (5150m), also a good resting spot. The path then zigzags up to Gillman's point (5 681m), which is located on the crater rim. This section is very steep with a lot of stone scree, requiring a great physical and mental effort. This is probably the most demanding section of the entire route. Do the Kili shuffle and move slowly.
From Gillmans Point you will normally encounter snow all the way up to Uhuru peak (5895m), the highest point in Africa. Total exhilaration and satisfaction - you made it. Weather conditions on the summit will determine how long you will be able to spend, taking photographs, before the 3 hour descent back to Kibo hut. After a short rest you gather all your gear you left behind for the ascent and head down to Horombo hut (3 hours) for your overnight. The return to Horombo hut will seem surprisingly fast compared to the ascent. The total time spent walking on this day is around 14 hours, so be prepared for a very tough day. Later in the evening you enjoy your last dinner (with soft drinks and beer for sale at the camp office) on the mountain and a well-earned sleep, filled with memories and stirring emotions.

Day 6 (Sat 1/28…Happy 4^th Birthday to Anderson): Horombo hut (3720m) - Marangu Gate (1980m) and back home.

Hiking time: 6h
Distance: Approximately 27kms

After breakfast you continue your descent (6 hours), passing the Mandara hut, down to the Marangu gate. At Marangu gate you sign your name and details in a register. This is also where successful climbers receive their summit certificates. Those climbers who reached Gillman's Point (5685m) are issued with green certificates and those who reached Uhuru Peak (5895m), receive gold certificates.

 

Wish us luck!

Simba Farm with family and friends

We decided that a quiet weekend at Simba Farm would be a perfect weekend get-a-way before Webb and Jeff take off for Kenya and the kids head back to school.  As you know, we love Simba Farm for the food, sundowners, animals, and friend/family time.  This time did not disappoint, but I must say that the full moon and amazing views of Kilimanjaro definitely upped the ante for possible future visits.

Breakfast on the lawn.

Farm time.  A few of the baby sheep were born the day before. 

Family favorite…sundowners with magnificent views of Kilimanjaro and the (almost) full moon. 

Things to ride.  Matt taking a little spin on Kipepeo (‘butterfly’ in swahili) in the rain and the kids on the go-carts.

Short, kid-friendly hike down to the river where there were lots of kipepeo.

Wednesday Excitement: 5 Foot Snake

Poor little (well big) snake was just basking in the sun, then BAM! off with his head.  Probably just a grass snake, but it didn’t really die easily…sure the head came off right away, but it squirmed around for 15 minutes after that (see video below).  Kids (and Sam, our gardener) kept asking if I was sure it was dead.  We measured it and it was over 5 feet long.

 

5 foot snake we killed in the yard today.

Mafia Island

We just got back from a fabulous 5 nights on Mafia Island with the Banks family and Webb and Jeff.  Mafia is a very small island off the southeast coast of Tanzania.  Mafia is known for it’s diving/snorkeling as well as it’s proximity to the annual whale shark migration.  The whale sharks were the primary reason that we chose Mafia for this holiday’s excursion since they typically are spotted in the area from Oct/Nov – April and the kids have a long holiday from school over Christmas.  You can imagine how excited we were when we could see the whale sharks from the plane (average 30 feet long) on the approach to Mafia, but more on that later.

Mafia is a small island and definitely one of the quieter areas that I’ve ever visited.  No tarmac roads, no street signs, friendly people, and gorgeous ocean…what’s not to love.  Our first stop was Ras Mbisi Lodge on the main island of Mafia.  It reminded us a lot of Emayani Beach Lodge in Pangani.  I think it had 7 bandas, a pool, and a central restaurant/bar/pool area.  Unfortunately the pool looked totally gross and green when we were there, but we were assured that it was safe to swim in.  The kids sure didn’t mind the color, but it was a little disconcerting to not be able to see them when they dove under water.  We spent three nights here reading, going for walks on the beach, and enjoying the ocean breezes which were really more like gusts and hence, kept us from going out on whale shark expeditions. Weather and waves be damned, on the third morning we finally decided that if we couldn’t go from the lodge then we’d try an outing from the main bay in Kilindoni which is where they had been spotted the day before.  We were moving lodges that day anyway and had to get back to that area to get picked up, so we just left a few hours earlier to try our luck.  Well, apparently it wasn’t in the cards for us and after a couple hours on very (!!) rocky seas and a couple of sea sick people later we gave up and called it a day.  I actually enjoyed the outing quite a bit and was shocked at the number and size of jellyfish that we saw.  We are talking thousands and thousands of fairly harmless clear jellies (pictured below), but also the biggest jellyfish that I’d ever seen.  Imagine connecting your arms in a big circle in front of you…yep, that big.  So, even if we did see the whale sharks that day, I’m fairly confident that very few of us would have actually decided to jump in and swim with them. 

Arrival on Mafia:

View from our banda:

So many jellyfish.  Who knew that jellyfish bodies were so fun to play with?  Between the jellyfish in the ocean and the green pool, I didn’t spend any time in the water, but the ocean breezes made that okay.  (The jellyfish were primarily harmless and I’m just a big wimp and don’t like the idea of all the stuff around me….no one else seemed to be bothered by it)

Long walks on the beach looking for pirates

Watched fisherman pulling in their (illegal) fishnets.  If only they were trying for all those jellyfish and sea urchins that they caught….

After the failed whale shark outing we went over to the even smaller island of Chole where there is no electricity, running water, cars or even roads.  We stayed at the fabulous Chole Mjini Lodge.  The lodge is set amidst very old ruins.  It felt so much like we were living a Gilligan’s Island experience; staying in tree houses (with the exception of Webb and Jeff who stayed in the only ground level house) with no electricity or running water, getting water out of buckets with coconuts stuck onto sticks…It must seem hard to imagine a high class lodge without running water or power, but this was it.  Lights were all little solar lanterns, showers were heated with a capful of kerosene poured into a very ingeniously designed contraption, and dinners were privately served among the ruins or overlooking the ocean.  The food was lots of fresh fruits, breads, and seafood and the boat/snorkel outings were a highlight.  Although this place probably isn’t for everyone, we thought that it was amazing.  This will definitely be on our return visit list. 

Our tree house was #Saba/Seven (although Anderson said since it’s the furthest it should be called zero).  It was two stories with a king bed on the main floor and two twin beds upstairs (for the girls). The showers and toilet are separate (but private).  Coffee, hot chocolate, and biscuits were hoisted up by pulley in the morning and we’d enjoy that on the ‘veranda’.  Luckily they also kept a pee bucket there to be used during the night.

The outdoor shower with a kerosene lantern thing below to heat the water.  Literally a capful of kerosene was enough for all 5 of us to shower with. 

On New Year’s Eve we ate overlooking the mangroves and ocean. The kids were served an earlier dinner in the main restaurant area and then we’d send them back to the treehouse to watch a movie with an askari (guard) at the bottom of the stairs in case they needed anything. (Okay, I realize that the movie/iPad is totally not the vibe that we were going for on this particular experience, but having an adult dinner trumped life without technology).

Dinner the second night was served in the ruins (that was not our dinner table: picture was highjacked from Chole’s website, but that’s where we ate one night)

We had great snorkel trips and boat rides.  It was much calmer on this side of Mafia.  All 5 kids really got into seeing all the fish and corals.  I loved swimming with Ash when she’d get so excited about seeing something new.  Definitely some of the best snorkeling I’ve done, if not the best.  Have I used the word amazing too much yet because it also applies here?

We also did a walk though the village on Chole.  In the first picture those all are fruit bats hanging down.  At night they’d all fly right over our treehouse toward the main Mafia Island. They were much bigger than the bats I’d seen before.  We also visited the shipyard where they were building boats.  All done without power tools…really cool to watch. 

Watching the sunset from Chole over Mafia.  Another great African sundowner experience. 

Our boat that we had all weekend was aptly named Bibi na Babu (Grandma and Grandpa in Swahili).

Jeff got to be the co-pilot on the plane from Mafia back to Dar Es Salaam.

On the flight from Dar to Arusha we had a nice view of the peak of (snow-covered) Kilimanjaro exactly 3 weeks from the day that we start the six day trek.  Time to work off that vacation and get serious again.  Another African adventure awaits.