Mount Elgon

We headed to Mt. Elgon last weekend, a national park on the border of Uganda, and Kenya's second highest peak. Mt. Elgon is home to elephants, buffalo, and other wildlife, although their numbers have been in decline for the past two decades because of illegal poaching. Our trip began serendipitously with this view early on in the drive.

We spent about three hours in the matatu being entertained by the sights and sounds of small town Kenya. The two videos below feature a real-life "looking out the window of a van" view... minus the bone-jarring man-sized potholes.






We arrived at the campsite after dark, and woke up leisurely to an incredible view of Endebess Bluff. Shortly, you will see views from the top of that very bluff... the end to a short but fairly burly uphill climb on Saturday. As evidence, one of our companions vomited on the hike both up & down... likely in large part due to an elevation above 11,000 feet. We set out from Eldoret with our sights set on climbing to the Mt. Elgon's highest point in Kenya, up above 14,000. As it turned out, the guide who assured us he could get us to the summit didn't know what he was doing. His matatu wasn't suited to get us much further than the park gate. To paraphrase Dr. Mamlin, living in Kenya is like being in a boat and bailing all the time... if you stop bailing, be prepared to swim. Swimming, in this particular instance, could not have gone better.


Dr. Mamlin, his wife Sarah Ellen, their Kenyan son, Dino, and his friend Dave were also staying in park cabins, or bandas, right next door. We had learned a few days prior that Sarah Ellen had first encountered Dino, while on a home visit several years ago. She was taken by his family's small house that had been turned into a museum. As a small child, Dino had collected hundreds of specimens of insects, butterflies, birds, fossils, and natural life, perfectly preserved and labeled. This amazing talent provoked the Mamlins to sponsor part of Dino's education, including an undergraduate degree from Indiana University. Dino (pictured below) is now finishing his Ph.D. at Harvard. We were happy to have him around, and he earned his title as the "premier naturalist in all of Kenya." He also wrote the parks service guidebook on Mt. Elgon. That's no exaggeration. He is the author of the official Kenya Wildlife Service's guide to Mt. Elgon, and he was our guide for the day. At one point, he slowed the car to observe a swarm of butterflies. When asked to identify them, he rattled off four different species present in the swarm. Headshaking and admiration followed.


The day began with a drive into the park, stopping for the a little "birding" from time to time.


With Dino, and his friend Dave, who happens to be a professor at Harvard, specialist in orchids, former rugby player and free diver, we explored the caves of Mt. Elgon. Kitum Cave is apparently the fictional origin of the Ebola virus, according to some book called the Hot Zone. We were assured that Ebola has never been documented in Kenya, though it was found in nearby northern Uganda. At no point since our time in Kitum Cave have Anne's or my mucosal surfaces hemorrhaged... which is encouraging.


It also had bats! They were screeching and zooming around, and really creeped me out.


We were able to see remnants of cape buffalo and droppings of elephants, but none in the flesh (which is probably a good thing)!


The second cave featured more bats, and some great photo ops. Here's our friend Barb.


It also had a waterfall that Joe indulged in.


In the afternoon, we were taken to a bamboo forest in the park, with blue monkeys, colobus monkeys, and olive babboons.


We then hiked to a vista from which you could see clear into Uganda.


We're beginning to think that the natural beauty of Kenya is endless.


We ended the day with a waterbuck sighting, actually several waterbuck sightings.

After the sunset, the group, principally Barb, fixed steak, potatoes, and roasted vegetables all over campfire. We talked over South African wine and Tuskers on Kenyan politics, medicine, and our experiences thus far.


We've been back to the wards the past few days, and I am already stumped on my first pediatric case. Anyone know why an afebrile patient on phenobarbital (for an unknown reason) with hepatitis would have a seizure?

Tutaongea badai,

Anne & Joe