Postcard From Kenya: Finch Hattan Camp, Day 2

Another full day at Finch Hattan, starting with a 6 am hike, about which the less said the better.  Suffice it to say that without our Maasai guide, Isaac, and camp manager, Jonathan, I wouldn’t have made it up Mt Chyula.  Nor would I even have tried.  The fact that I lived through it with no broken limbs and only a few minor scratches and scrapes is a miracle.

Fast forward through breakfast, lunch, nap, and well-earned massage, and we were off again on an afternoon drive to the Shetani lava flow, a Tsavo landmark. Formed by the last volcanic eruption in 1855, the 5 mile long, 3.8 mile-wide lava field serves as a massive water filter.  When it rains in the nearby Chyulu Hills, the rainwater travels down the mountains, is purified underneath the petrified lava and eventually ends up in Mombasa, the Kenyan coastal city more than 175 miles away.

On the way back to camp, our guide spotted a young, leopard (our first) sitting quietly by the side of the road.  He patiently posed for photographs, looking this way and that, as we clicked away on I-phones and SLR’s.

Our final dinner at Finch Hattan was under the stars at a room they fitted out during Covid to aid in social-distancing.  There’s a colorful banquette for lounging and a long table for dining.  Our group enjoyed a bit of both, not to mention the spinach canneloni, rack of lamb, and roast pork chop with chocolate mousse for dessert and more red wine.

It was a (relatively) early night as we had an early flight back to Nairobi, then on to Mara North.  Our hosts, Lakshmi and Jonathan, and guides, Evans and Matthew, rode to the airport to see us off.  It felt like we’re were leaving friends behind, but friends we will see again some day soon.