Ol Donyo Wuas

Day Nineteen: January 3rd
Today we are flying to our next, and last area, Ol Donyo Wuas, on a private airline called Tropic Air in another Cessna Caravan.We get up in the morning and go directly to the airstrip to get on the plane. I get to be copilot again, but once we get to a high altitude, I get a special surprise. He lets me steer the plane for a while!!! Then the pilot teaches me all of the controls. When we land, the new lodge is even fancier than the last! Our rooms even have a private pool!!! The second we get there we go into the pools, which turn out to be non-chlorinated!

After we are done we meet Elijah, a masai who teaches us the traditional way to make bow and arrows! We drive to a large hotdog shaped rock pile in the middle of the plains to have a ‘sundowner’ and make bows. When we get there Elijah has set up the site with pillows and a soda bar. After we make our bows, we climb some of the nearby rocks, and by the time we finish, it is already dinner. That night I sleep on the roof in a four-post ‘star bed’ covered in mosquito netting waking up to a hyena’s howl.

Day Twenty: January 4th

Today the adults went on a tour of another village, but me and Amaia stayed at the lodge to make spears and fly kites. A bit after they left we went out to a plain, stopping next to a tree, which we used as a carving block for making our spears. After the spears are made I make a target for our clubs, and practice with our spears. Then we fly the kites. Later we go back home to eat lunch and go swimming. After we are done with that we drive part way up a nearby mountain, and we hike the rest of the way. My mom and dad hike the whole way up with one of our guides, Jackson, also a Masai and another old fellow who is a ‘gun carrier’ (a person who used to be a poacher but now helps with wildlife tourism) and they all meet us at the top. When we get to the top I teach Kip how to make fire the Native American way. Then we watch the moonrise as we go home to eat dinner.

Day Twenty One: January 5th

Today we explore the lava tubes of the volcanic region of the area. We get up in the morning and go to the lava tubes, caverns that are made by lava flowing through them, and the lava hardening on the top. We explore the caves, then after many hours, very tiredly go back to the trucks and drive home. After eating lunch and swimming, we go out to the middle of the plains, and fly kites until dark. Then we wait for the moon to rise. at first we see the glow over the mountain, then it starts to emerge, finally becoming fully visible, a beautiful full moon.

On the way back, Ninian spies a group of glowing things. He pretends to not know what they are, then drives us right into the middle of our lodge's party. We had a delicious Barbeque out in the middle of the bush, and I had a drink I invented called the fanta-colada, fanta mixed with pineapple juice. At the end, we all sit around the fire, and group of masai warriors come and do a warrior dance, where they jump really high. We get home very late, so I fall asleep immediately.

Day Twenty-Two: January 6th

Today is the end of our safari. We get up in the morning, eat breakfast, and get onto our final Cessna ride. In it we fly back to the main airport, in Nairobi. (and yes, I get to fly again!)

After many goodbyes we finally leave for Dubai, our final destination. We get to Dubai at 23:00.