TRAVEL AND HOLIDAY:TREETOPS LODGE, ABERDARE NATIONAL PARK: NYERI, KENYA

TREETOPS LODGE AT THE ABERDARE NATIONAL PARK. NYERI, KENYA

I have received a lot of emails from friends having seen my blog on the Nairobi National Park, with common requests to write some more on my travels. So here I am. This one is of my travels to the Treetops Lodge in the Aberdare National Park. I plan to follow up on my travels and visits elsewhere in Kenya later.

Treetops is a hotel/lodge in Aberdare National Park in Kenya near the township of Nyeri at an altitude of 6,450 ft above sea level on the Aberdare Range and in sight of Mount Kenya. First opened in 1932 by Eric Sherbrook Walker, it was literally built into the tops of the trees of Aberdare National Park as a tree house, offering guests a close view of the local wildlife at a water hole and salt lick in complete safety. The idea was to provide a machan (a kind of hunting platform on a tree for shikar in India) to experience viewing of wild life in relative safety and comfort, luxury would be the right word. From the original modest two room tree house, it has grown into 50 rooms. The original structure was burned down by African guerrillas during the 1954 Mau Mau Uprising, but the hotel was rebuilt near the same waterhole and has become fashionable for many of the rich and famous. It includes observation lounges and ground level photographic hides from which guests can observe the local wildlife which come to the nearby waterholes.

I traveled with my wife and my elder daughter’s family. What we did was clubbed Mt Kenya Safari Club and Sweetwater National Park along with our visit to Treetops. Another plus was to see Baden Powell’s home at the Outpost Resort and the Powell Centre at Nyeri, (founder of Boy scouts and Girl guide movement), so also the place where he was buried. I was further happy to see the home of Jim Corbett; he breathed his last after coming back to Nyeri from India, as also his place of burial. I had spent some time in the Jim Corbett National park in India as a youngster nearly 43 years ago, so had some emotional attachments.

Treetops is known as the location where Princess Elizabeth acceded to the thrones of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Realms upon the death of her father George VI while she was staying at Treetops in 1952. In Kenya such snippets of fact are bandied about a lot as a marketing ploy everywhere I went. The fact remains that the sun has set on the British Empire a long time ago. Kenya has more than enough to attract visitors on its own merits and absolute natural beauty.

To reach Aberdare one has to travel from Nairobi about a 5- hour drive to Nyeri. Have lunch at the OUTSPAN resort, change vehicles and drive down to Treetops, about an hour.

Along the way we stopped at a few places including a curio shop. The handicraft objects the locals produce is something amazing, really a talented people the locals. Its a great pity that the West has destroyed a great civilization and an amazing culture. To quote a local "First they destroyed our wild life and our country, made money on it and now add further wealth to their coffers in the name of conservation and development". He further said quote "They introduced us to Pizzas and Hamburgers and the western way of life and now sell the same making further profit, destroying in the process our culture under the garb of development"unquote. Well food for thought.

The Expressway from Nairobi to Nanyuki is a pleasure drive, I am told the Chinese are to be thanked for it! The Outspan resort is very beautiful and for a moment I thought why not camp right here. Well to be honest this thought always came to my mind at whichever place I happened to go. I continue to bless my son in law Sandeep and daughter Anupama for choosing to stay and work in such a beautiful place which is KENYA. I know without her being there at Nairobi all this traveling would just not have been possible. I spent nearly 2 months in Kenya.

Treetops is an epitome of luxury which most of the National Park Resorts are in Kenya. It is designed on the likes of the “Machan’s” of the Indian Maharajas’ which they used for hunting. However all resemblance ends there. This was something which I have never seen the likes of before. I am told the original was started as a 2 room tree and it actually existed on trees. Today it is the epitome of luxury. Every suite or room window opens on to the water hole and salt lick. All the rooms are star class with all conveniences. Food is excellent and classy, catering for every taste.

However one cannot guarantee any sighting, it is always the animals wish. I had to be prepared to keep awake the whole night which I incidentally did to get a good sighting of the animals. There is a buzzer which is sounded when wild animals visit the water hole at night. To facilitate observation there were a number of arrangements: A buzzer in every room. An observation platform on the last floor cum terrace. Hides on the ground floor with view holes opening on to the water hole. Flood lights focused on the water hole to assist in picture taking. I had only one grouch that on the left side there were halogen lamps, however on the right side sodium vapor lamps were being used. This mixed lighting foxed the white balance of my Nikon. As it is I had jacked up the ISO setting to 6400, a devils time in picture taking. I did manage some pictures, especially those of Elephant families who came to the water hole past midnight along with suckling babies.

I have shared the pictures of my travels as a slide show below. The presentation starts after 2 minutes of opening this page. It also has some music. Until next time then.

Ajay 

ARE YOU HAPPY ?... ¿ES USTED FELIZ ?........

ARE YOU HAPPY ?... ¿ES USTED FELIZ ?........

Often times my better half keeps telling me “Your behavior with people is awful including me”. On asking the why of it, her answer always is, that I do not care for people, that I do not stop to think  whether my behavior makes them happy or not. I always do what I want to or have to. Then off course long one sided arguments, which always end because of my silence. Over a long period of time, I have seen that people have a lot of expectations from me, as to how I should behave and what I should do to make them feel happy. Unfortunately their expectations are based on their own world view or their own notion of reality as they see it through their own perspectives. Well mine don’t always match, end result I do what I want to or have to which results in internal peace and joyfulness. Further I do not hold out any expectations from any one, including my near and dear ones, not even for a cup of tea, which always adds to my happiness. My wife terms it as being selfish. I sometimes do try to explain that  people have to experience what comes their way, the good or the bad, to grow spiritually and intellectually. However many times we interfere in their lives by trying to make them “Happy”, so also this behavior adds to their expectations from us which becomes instrumental for further unhappiness for them.

I have heard in many homes and hearths including mine, between husbands, wives, children, relatives “Why don’t you make me happy, you do not want to see me happy?” Somebody wants me to become a vegan, prohibits me from bringing fish into the house, preventing me from ordering beer and a chicken when out on a family dinner, this to the point of distraction, by telling me how drinkers and meat eaters are bad. Why because I am a near and dear one to them, my becoming a vegan will make them happy otherwise not. Someone wants me to stop my pleasure of a glass of beer or wine, else wants more of my time, to change my behavior patterns for their personal happiness and on and on. Sometimes I am shocked that people’s personal happiness always depends on someone else. How different the world would be if all of us can find true joyfulness within ourselves independent of others.

We reached home a few days ago from our Africa trip, unfortunately my aunt died on that very day of our arrival. My aunt (my fathers’ younger brothers’ wife) has always been like a second mother to me with all the love and affection that goes with it. Oftentimes she had stayed on with us if she faced any problems (whenever we were present at home). So without even unpacking we set out for the crematorium to pay our last respects. There at the crematorium my wife kept insisting that I should touch the feet of the dead body. I flatly refused and asked why? Wifee answered that she loved you so much, her soul and her 3 sons in attendance will feel happy, so also I personally will  feel happy and you too, if you touch her feet. I was not about to argue on that, though she very well knows my views on this. Though I knew the poor women spent her last few days in an old age women’s home in spite of her 3 sons now performing her last rites. However the point remained that I should do something in spite of my beliefs to the contrary to make others happy and feel good even in some ones death.

During my experiences with counseling and the practice of Dr. Bach’s Flower remedies (mentioned elsewhere), I would like to share my experience of a friend from Mexico City (South America). We had met on chat over a decade ago and have become very close friends. She used to discuss her problems with me. I found that they all centered on trying to look good, or make others happy and tragically to become happy herself only if others behaved in the way she wanted them too. The net result was she was always unhappy and stressed. In one of my net sessions I told her:

It’s a great pity that all your happiness depends only on what your husband does. If he is a good husband (in your perception), if he treats you the way you think you should be treated, if he spends time with you - then you find some happiness. But when he lets you down (again in your own perspective), you have nothing left. Your whole life and joyfulness depends on the actions of your husband. That is why you are always unhappy. So I sent her my presentation on “The higher Objectives of Spiritual Growth”. I told her to study this and implement the thoughts contained therein. This presentation appears on my blog as the "Higher objectives of spiritual Growth"

For a long time I did not hear from her. Then one day about a year on, I received a mail from her - just 2 lines. She said Ajay I am very happy and joyful now thank you. Ajay I would have said thank you for all you did for me to make me joyful, but I have learnt my lessons well: So I just say “Thank you” because now I know that no one can “Make” me Joyful and Happy “I am Joyful”. She had also attached a small presentation for me, of her “Enlightenment” which I now bring to you. She put it up on the net, so many of you might have read it. Originally it was written in Spanish, I post the translated to English version. I hope that all my friends who read this blog will attain Joyfulness as my Mexican friend did. I feel that nothing matters more in life than being “Joyful within ourselves” at all times. 

The presentation is no longer available to embed so I have uploaded all slides to be seen serially.

Ajay

TET GREETINGS FOR ALL MY VIETNAMESE FRIENDS

To All My Dearest Vietnamese Friends:

I wish all of you a very enjoyable TET Season and a Very 

Happy New Year. 

I pray that the Lunar Year Chun Jie / 春节 2013 fulfill all 

your wishes, Dreams and Aspirations.

CHÚC MỪNG TẾT... 

Be happy my friends :) :)

TRAVEL AND HOLIDAY : NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK

Nairobi National Park.
After having been to most of the major wild life reserves of Kenya, I suddenly realized that it is nearing our departure time to India and I have not been to The Nairobi National Park, proverbially sitting right in our backyard. Truthfully the gate of the NP is just a couple of kilometers or so from where I am staying with my daughter in Nairobi. 
So last Sunday my son in law Sandeep and my grandson Anudeep decided to set out on an "All Boys” expedition to NP as Anudeep puts it. We decided to use our own car and no Safari vehicle. Though we did hear comments “Waste of time”, “One never sees anything” and similar gibes. 

Nairobi National Park is unique by being the only protected area in the world with a variety of animals and birds close to a very large city. It is located approximately 7 kilometres south of the centre of Nairobi, Kenya's capital city, with only a fence separating the park's wildlife from the metropolis. Nairobi's skyscrapers can be seen from the park.

Nairobi National Park was the first national park established in Kenya. The park covers an area of 117.21 square kilometres (28,963 acres) and is small in comparison to most of Africa's national parks. The park's altitude ranges between 5,000 ft and 6000 ft. It has a dry climate. The park is the only protected part of the Athi-Kapiti ecosystem. It has a diversity of environments with characteristic fauna and flora. Open grass plains with scattered acacia bush are predominant. 

The western side has a highland dry forest and a permanent river with a riverine forest in the south. In addition, there are stretches of broken bush country and deep, rocky valleys and gorges with scrub and long grass. Man-made dams also attract water dependent herbivores during the dry season.
The park has a rich/diverse birdlife with 400 species recorded. However all species are not always present and some are seasonal. Northern migrants pass through the park primarily during late March through April. To the south of the park is the Athi-Kapiti Plain and Kitengela Migration and dispersal area. These are vital areas for herbivores to disperse during the rains, so also to concentrate in summers. All in all it is an amazing experience.

Imagine a huge zoo in your city of some 120 square kilometers, where all the animals run free and which you can visit every week end. 

Since we had no expectations we were extremely delighted and happy when we chanced to spot just one solitary deer during the first hour of our sojourn. The day turned out good for the three of us. I have put up a few pictures of what we saw. Please bear with the quality of the pictures as they are highly compressed during conversions.