Kenya 1
Ok so this is way beyond tardy, but still...
Back at the end of January we got to go to Kenya on a field trip, which was one of the determining factors in choosing the course for every single student. I was still recovering from my infected insect bite, so was a bit spaced for most of the trip, but it still had a huge impact.
We visited 5 National Parks, seeing how conservation theory was put into practice. Although the validity of the trip was called into question more than once, ie whether it was worth the money, seeing how the communities were affected by conservation initiatives was invaluable, and is bound to be the part of the course that is most remembered. The first park we visited was Meru, famous for the work done there by George and Joy Adamson. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it did feel as if we were just safari tourists at times - we did two trips per day, spotting wildlife for species lists, but pretty much just observing as visitors. Meru was remote, with high vegetation, and elusive wildlife. We did see about 30 species of bird each trip, and lions, Dik diks, Water Buffalo, and other ungulates I can't really remember the name of.
It was quite difficult socially because we weren't allowed outside of the camping area, and had to share tents with people. There were quite a few loners pacing the perimeter. We had a surprising amount of free time during the day, and managed to catch things like a dung beetle rolling a dung ball, preparing to mate. Meru felt very wild, quite untamed and was beautiful. In retrospect, it was the favourite park of most people on the course.
Back at the end of January we got to go to Kenya on a field trip, which was one of the determining factors in choosing the course for every single student. I was still recovering from my infected insect bite, so was a bit spaced for most of the trip, but it still had a huge impact.
We visited 5 National Parks, seeing how conservation theory was put into practice. Although the validity of the trip was called into question more than once, ie whether it was worth the money, seeing how the communities were affected by conservation initiatives was invaluable, and is bound to be the part of the course that is most remembered. The first park we visited was Meru, famous for the work done there by George and Joy Adamson. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it did feel as if we were just safari tourists at times - we did two trips per day, spotting wildlife for species lists, but pretty much just observing as visitors. Meru was remote, with high vegetation, and elusive wildlife. We did see about 30 species of bird each trip, and lions, Dik diks, Water Buffalo, and other ungulates I can't really remember the name of.
It was quite difficult socially because we weren't allowed outside of the camping area, and had to share tents with people. There were quite a few loners pacing the perimeter. We had a surprising amount of free time during the day, and managed to catch things like a dung beetle rolling a dung ball, preparing to mate. Meru felt very wild, quite untamed and was beautiful. In retrospect, it was the favourite park of most people on the course.
posted by Simone Webber at 10:56 am
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