It's Always Sunny in Kenya: It's a Jungle Out There!

These past two weekends we've been trying to do as much as we can in Kisumu before we make our way back to Eldoret. This included a hippo hunt from Kiboko Bay (Kiboko means hippo in Swahili) and the Impala Park. The hippo hunt was really cool because the three of us jumped into a boat that looked like a large canoe with a roof on top and made our way through Lake Victoria. We passed people from the area doing laundry and swimming, as well as fisherman throughout the whole trip. There were some divers, guys with nets, and others on their boats. It was interesting to see all the different ways that people here catch fish. I figured in this post it would be more beneficial to see the pics throughout then try to read my descriptions about them. So I chose a few to put up, but I downloaded a bunch more in my gallery so everyone can see the whole trip.

Here are some pictures of the fishermen:

We also passed a lot of papyrus trees and other wildlife within it:

And the hyacinth was taking over the whole area:

(there is water under there somewhere)

One of the major highlights of course was when we found the family of hippos. We were able to get within just ten or so feet of them, which was really cool. They didn’t seem to really care we were there, which is good because they are apparently the most deadly animal in Africa, even though they are vegetarians.

After we got enough of the hippos we went to the fisherman shoreline. We got out of the boat to have some lunch and feast on the best fish ever. It was definitely fresh since we got to pick out our own to eat. Thankfully they were already dead when we picked, but as you will see presentation is everything. This is the first time I literally pulled the meat off the bones. You just have to forget that there is a face looking back at you and go at it. It was delicious!

So after our feast we got back into the boat, pulled ourselves out of the hyacinth, and continued on our way. Just a note about the hyacinth, it is seriously taking over all of Lake Victoria. One day Lake Victoria is going to be completely covered because of this stuff. It somehow got from South America to Lake Victoria – presumably from a human of course – and has now overrun the lake. There are many efforts to control the plant, but nothing has worked yet.

After a very fun 3 hour tour :) we made it back from our adventure along Lake Victoria.

The following weekend we went to the Impala Park which is located not too far from the bay. We met up with Beatrice and her three younger children, who were very cute - see pictures of the little one with the ice cream. At the park, impalas can roam freely throughout, while more dangerous animals are kept in fenced in areas. There we got to see ostriches, monkeys, birds, cheetahs (we got really close!), a hyena, lions and lionesses. I have lots of pictures of these guys. Here are some of my favorites: