Samburu Initiative Question

Message 4 of 37

Hi! My name is Shilpa and I am a student fellow going on the Samburu Initiative Research Project in Kenya this summer. I am very excited about this opportunity. I just have some questions for any past participants. 1) What did you wear? Do we need to wear linen pants? Boots? 2) When you stayed in Nairobi before the rendezvous, did you go into Nairobi? Is it safe to walk the city alone?

Thank you so much! Also, if you have feedback regarding how amazing your experience was or any words of caution, please reply!

posted by Shilpa15

Hi Shilpa...

I did the Samburu project three years ago, so my information might be a bit dated. But to answer your questions:

- Daily wear is either shorts, jeans, or lightweight "travel pants". It will be relatively cool in the evenings, so you would want to have long pants for then, as well as a something to wear on top - a sweatshirt, perhaps. Footwear - for the portion of the trip in Wamba, you will be walking a good deal, so sturdy sneakers or lightweight hiking boots would be OK. At Lewa, you will be mostly in the Jeep during the day, with little walking, so sneakers should be OK.

- I would NOT recommend walking around Nairobi alone, and most certainly not at night. The Fairview can provide a driver if you and your team mates would like a day or an evening out. For an evening out, you and your mates might want to try dinner at Carnivore, out near Wilson Airport (I'm a vegetarian, but it was still fun!); and for a day trip, I would highly recommend a visit to the Giraffe Center and/or to the Elephant Orphanage. If you've read "Out Of Africa", you can visit Isak Dinesen's former coffee plantation in the Karen section of Nairobi, which will give you a taste of colonial-era Kenya from the 1920's and 1930's.

You'll have a wonderful expedition! Enjoy!

Norm Powers