Seafood, 24/7 Betsy, Tuk tuks and other plans!

Another week, another update!

Last week we left the mainland for the day in search of a little Island called, Wasini. Wasini Island is an extremely small Island which is only 5 square kilometres, situated a few hundred metres from Shimoni which is a is a port in south eastern Kenya near to the border with Tanzania! So, off we sailed to the little Island by a traditional arabian dhow boat! 

We were firstly greeted by the friendly Charlie claw crew, who kept us topped up with tea and the tastiest Kenyan coffee we have come accross so far, as well as lots of fresh fruit! 

Though it looked seemingly calm out at sea, the hour and a half ride to the spot where we would begin our snorkeling adventure was not as smooth as expected- sea legs were required! 

On route to the snorkeling site we were lucky enough to spot some dolphins diving and swimming amongst the waves- amazing! 

Snorkeling max!

Once we arrived at our snorkeling spot, the sea was calmer and looked more inviting. Max took to it straight away, and was one of the first people to leave the boat! I on the other hand was quite hesitant and found it abit strange swimming with the flippers and adapting to breathing through the snorkel tube, so In the end I removed the flippers and the snorkel and just stuck with the goggles...not quite snorkeling but it worked for me! We managed to see lots of different types of tropical fish, particulaly parrot fish, amongst the unspoilt coral reef :-)

After a couple of hours of snorkeling around the reef, the dhow boat took us to Wasini Island for a seafood lunch! The restaurant is the only one on the Island open to tourists, which is owned by the company we went with (http://www.wasini.com/). The food was great and they didn’t hold back on the portions either, so after feasting on endless amounts of crab, fish and Kenyan side dishes we lazed in the lagoon style pool until it was time to head back to mainland. 

Charlie Claw's restaurant seafood feast, yum yum!

A great day out which is definitely worth doing if you’re near the south coast of Kenya and a good company to go with too as Charlie claws practice sustainable eco tourism.

A pretty view of the sea from Wasini island

Chameleon we found relaxing by the lagoon at Wasini Island

On friday, the colobus trust's manager left Kenya for a well earned break back to the UK, leaving me and max responsible for the care, 24 hour care that is, of Betsy the cheekiest but cutest colobus in Diani :-) 

The week leading up to their leave involved lots of running over Betsy's routine. Although we spend the whole working day (8am-5pm) at the trust with Betsy, and the occasional evenings when we have babysat, there was still alot of other day to day information we needed to take into account. Such as what her morning routine is and what not to feed her (pretty much everything other than wild leaves, the occasional itsy bitsy piece of banana and small portion on sweet potatoe) as well as lists of people to contact if, god forbid, she took a bad turn and needed specialist assistance.

So far it has gone rather smoothly, apart from the initial crying (without the tears!) when her mum and dad got the taxi to the airport, Betsy has been somewhat behaved. So far we have taken her into the trust each day, as this are familiar surroundings for her, with familiar people too, which will make everything seem more "normal" for her, and therefore less stressful whilst her "parents" are away. She has been spending more and more time high up in the trees foraging and eating leaves, which is great, as this is exactly what a colobus of her age should be doing, but this also does involve alot of standing around for us...but for the right reasons, as it shows that the rehabilitation process is going to plan! and because a large percentage of her diet (80-90%) is now wild leaves, it also means she has become that little bit lazier and relaxed, as to digest all these leaves she requires alot more rest and sleep- it’s tough life being a colobus monkey you know!

Finger sucking Betsy

Max has also had to get to grips with learning how to drive the tuk tuk, which is pretty much a 3 wheeled scooter with a roof! We use it to get to and from the trust, on the very bumpy and gravelly roads, with me and Betsy squeezed on the back seat...it’s different to the usual car and the crumple zone is your face!!

The colobus trust tuk tuk :-)

A large proportion of the volunteers (3 out of 7!) left the trust this week, and with another volunteer leaving next week, and with no more arriving until the manager has returned in 3 weeks time means the trust is very quiet at the moment! But still there is lots of monkey related work and research to be done!

As well as this travel blog, I have also been participating to the collection of colobus trust's blogs and produced a blog about my volunteer experience at the trust with Betsy, the "Betsy blog". It has been published on the wildlife direct's website, which is an American and Kenyan registered charitable organization that provides support to conservationists throughout Africa! So, if you google Abi Walker, I should come up 6th on the Google list- that makes me nearly famous right!? Take a look... http://colobus.wildlifedirect.org/2012/01/16/my-volunteer-experience-at-the-colobus-trust-with-baby-betsy-abi-walker/

Max and I are hoping to do more voluntary work when we arrive in Australia next month. We are currently in touch with a stud farm who specialise in breeding and training Australian warm blooded horses, in Mt. Helena, Perth. Here we will be undertaking the general day to day care of the horses, as well as assisting in training, exercise and grooming for the shows! We plan to start work here during the first week of March, after we have adapted to our transition from Africa to Australia :-)

We now just a little under 4 weeks left in Kenya, with 3 of those weeks being the sole carers of Betsy, we look forward to spending our last week doing something you can't leave Kenya without doing...A Safari! We finally got round to booking a 3 day Safari, which will be spent in Tsavo east and west national park- Can't wait!

The latest arrival to the local baboon troop!