A Safari and A Mystery

Mesquitelocalnews.com
07-02-2010
By Steve Dickson
 

We transited the Suez canal and the Horn of Africa without incident last week, concertina wire strung along the rail and five armed security personnel from Great Britain aboard, provided by a company called SecureWest.

I had sailed with the supervisor previously on another ship and he's very well trained and professional.

On the way to Dar Es Salaam we encountered some big seas and were slowed to about nine knots.

That's little more than trolling speed.

The ship took them well and we sailed into the city for what was supposed to be an overnight stay that turned into three days.

Everyone was happy about that because we could go ashore.

Grain cargo offloading always takes longer than scheduled because of the weather and other factors such as the availability of trucks and trailers.

It rained a few times and operations were suspended for those periods.

Dar Es Salaam, which means “Haven of Peace” is a beautiful city founded in 1860 as a retreat for the Sultan of Zanzibar.

The people are very friendly and are predominantly Muslim.

I went to the Hotel Kilimanjaro, had a cool Coca Cola and watched a World Cup match.

That was the extent of my time ashore there.

Some of the others found more exotic entertainment in the local clubs and discos.

We sailed next to Mombasa, which is the main seaport for Kenya, Uganda and Central Africa.
We were scheduled to be there for about six days, which turned into ten.

Again it rained several times. Although the monsoon or “long rains” were over, the winter “short rains” had begun, usually just a cell passing through.

The weather was clear otherwise, with a nice breeze keeping things cool.

While in Mombasa we offloaded several types of bagged grains and peas and dozens of laborers swarmed the decks and holds working the cargo.

The captain hired about 40 extra workers to clean the engine room, assist the deck gang and clean in the house.

We fed them lunch and dinner every day, consisting of rice with meat and vegetables mixed in.

They were very polite and grateful for the food.

On most ships they don't get fed.

On the dock beside the ship, vendors set up blankets filled with local crafts and trinkets for sale.

Most were ebony and ironwood carvings and statues.

Many of the crew members were interested in buying ivory, but ivory and most animal skins are banned for sale or trade in Kenya, as are teeth, claws and other parts, in order to discourage poaching.

That illicit trade does occur in other areas, however.

I was told by the chandler that the government has a huge amount of elephant tusks stored in warehouses but are not allowed to sell them due to the stigma of slaughter that still surrounds that ivory.

She said that she could not even wear her family heirloom ivory jewelry in public.

The vendors are very persistent and have no concept of the personal space that we take for granted.

They are “in your face” unless you tell them to back off.

One of the crew members was trading stores for items but was soon caught and reprimanded.

The captain has been on this run before and arranged a photo safari to Tsavo National Park for those interested.

I have been to Africa four times without having the opportunity for such an outing and decided to take the day off and go on the trip.

Six of us left at 0600 in a well equipped van.

We rode through Mombasa and saw the abject poverty and harsh conditions that many people live in.

The air was very foul smelling and there were places along the road where garbage and plastic were being burned.

The road was very congested with trucks carrying goods from the port and was filled with potholes.

As we got to the outskirts of the city the road got a little better and the air cleared as we entered the farming communities.

There were herds of cattle and goats being driven along the roadside, and sisal was being harvested and charcoal was bundled for pickup in the evening.

Many children dressed in bright uniforms were walking to school and people waiting for buses into the city waved as we passed by.

Our driver tried to keep a brisk pace but there was a lot of traffic and he had to pass many other rigs, some broken down in the road.

The sky was partly cloudy with sun dappling the countryside.

Way off in the distance were blue mountains that called out to be explored.

We entered the open savanna and the plants became sparser with big flat topped trees scattered among the scrub brush.

It took two hours to get to the park on the narrow two lane road which is the main road to Nairobi.

We stopped at an outpost about 10 kilometers outside the park for a rest stop.

There was a snack bar and a curio shop filled with African crafts and trinkets for sale.

We met some European tourists who were also headed to the park and chatted with them for a bit.

We paid $120 USD each for the day, which included entrance to the park and lunch.

After entering Tsavo East (the reserve is divided into two sections, East and West), the driver pulled up the top of the van so we could stand and take pictures.

Tsavo became known for the man-eating lions which roamed there and killed many natives in the early part of the 20th century.

A movie was filmed there called “Ghost and the Darkness” which depicted the killings and starred Michael Douglas.

Soon after driving through the gate, we saw the first of many elephants.

They were truly magnificent and were a reddish brown color because that is the color of the earth in the reserve.

Over 50,000 of the creatures in Tsavo alone were killed for sport and ivory during the days of hunting safaris and rampant poaching that began in 1914 when Kenya was being populated by the British.

The animals are protected now but poachers are still active on the outskirts of the park and in other parts of the continent.

There are about 11,000 elephants remaining in Tsavo East and West which roam across approximately 13,000 square miles.

My cohorts on the safari included two OS (entry level ordinary seamen), two Abs (able-bodied seamen) and the DEU (deck and engine utility, formerly known as “the wiper”).

It was rather like going on a field trip with third graders.

For example here's one of many conversations that I had to endure:

OS: "What's that pile of stuff in the road?"

"Elephant dung," says I.

OS: "Heh heh, he said dung, is that like poop?"

They then discussed that subject much too long while I looked for more animals.

I worked at a zoo as a keeper many years ago and Jim Fowler (from Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom) lived in the area and was the main contributor to the facility.

I worked with him on many occasions so this trip was like a dream come true to finally be in the Africa that he spoke so fondly of and see the animals where God intended them to be and not in cages or artificial “habitats.”

We saw many species of deer, gazelles, impalas, hartebeest, mongoose, monkeys and birds.

We saw cape buffalo, but no rhinos.

The guide said he's seen only two in the five years that he has been taking people through the park.

We did see a lioness and her two almost grown cubs after they had fed and were on the way to a water hole.

They paid no attention to us as they crossed the road and we took pictures.

Thankfully my shipmates were quiet during that time.

Many of the animals in the park are nocturnal or more active at dusk and dawn so there are eco camps in the park for those who have the time and funds.

We had a buffet lunch at a small lodge high on a hill overlooking the park outside the Voi gate.

After lunch we went back into the park to a more forested area where giraffes and zebras were abundant.

The guide was on the radio frequently in Swahili with other drivers, discussing where game was to be found.

We then went to a large water hole and saw hippos and a large group of baboons.

It was soon time to head back.

All in all it was a wonderful day and we arrived back at the ship at 6:30 p.m. with lots of pictures and memories of the Africa that is harshly real, and that which is dreamed of.

The next day another group from the ship went to Tsavo, including the Steward Assistant, but they did not see any lions.

The following day I gave the cook time off so we all had a day off in port.

Monday the 28th we left Mombasa bound for Karachi Pakistan without the First Engineer.

He went ashore Saturday night and never returned to the ship.

He didn't have his passport, only a shore pass, so he could not leave the country.

He was last seen Saturday night at 11:30 p.m. leaving a nightclub with a woman.

We are praying for his safety but he has been missing now for several days with no word.

Mombasa has a high crime rate and gangs of Somalis and Nigerians that prey on the intoxicated and unwary.

It's never a good idea to go off by yourself in any port, plus nothing good usually happens after midnight...I'll keep you posted...

Steve Dickson is a Mesquite resident who serves as the Chief Steward aboard an ocean-going cargo ship. His true-life tales of adventure on the high seas and travel to exotic ports are featured in "Seafaring Tales" at MesquiteLocalNews.com on Fridays.
 
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