Happy New Year everyone!
I had an early Christmas present from one of the horses – a kick
in the head. This is the thanks I get for trying to clean a leg wound, although
I think she was really just kicking at flies and caught me by mistake. Much
drama in the yard as she sent me flying sideways and seeing stars until one of
the syces caught me before I hit the ground. Once the blood was cleared up, it
turned out not to be so serious – just needed a couple of stitches at the local
clinic. The kick was at the side of my head by the hairline so if it scars, it
won’t really be visible. It could have been much worse!
And so it was my second Christmas in Kenya. Christmas Day
started with a ride before breakfast, then we had a traditional roast turkey
lunch, followed by dinner and a campfire in the bush in the evening. Except I
ended up missing out on the evening festivities as I was looking after a sick
horse, aptly named Santa as he was born last Christmas Day. Poor little Santa
did not have a good Christmas, or indeed 1st birthday, but he is
much better now.
We got a new polo pony just before Christmas called Dancing
Gem. She has come all the way from South Africa which is one very long journey
by lorry – more than a week of travelling. She clearly didn’t have the best
journey as the horses were fighting and her neck is one mass of bite marks, not
to mention all the other cuts and bumps she managed to obtain along the way.
Then she arrives on Lewa and all our polo ponies gang up and bully her. Anyway,
I think they have largely sorted out their differences now and she is settling
in nicely. I took her for her first ride today and she was very calm despite
having to contend with seeing five rhinos and lots of other animals that she
clearly isn’t used to. Her last owners informed us that she is good in traffic.
Not particularly useful to us as we don’t ride our horses on the road. It would
be more helpful if she was good with elephants, rhino and giraffe!
New Year passed by in a similar vein to last year. The same
family have been coming to Wilderness for the past 10 years and they book out
the entire lodge for 10 days. New Year’s Eve was a sit-down dinner for 20+
people out in the bush with a big campfire, roast lamb and Masai dancers. And a
few elephants roaming past who thankfully didn’t come and join in, although
they were obviously intrigued by events!
Hopefully, 2013 is bringing us all better weather. I
actually had to buy a pair of wellington boots because the rain and the mud was
so bad. But finally the days are getting hotter and the rain has stayed away
for a few days…
No comments:
Post a Comment