Queen’s Golden Jubilee - Kenya

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

 

This is the year of the celebration of the Diamond Jubilee.  It marks the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth.  Sometimes major events jog our memories and cause us to reflect back on places we were during a similar time.  It gives us an excuse to pull out some of those great pictures we took years ago and enjoy again.   

Ten years ago the celebrated Golden Jubilee was a very big event in Nairobi, Kenya.  There was lots of celebration going on there too. At the time we wondered why they would be celebrating in Africa when it was so many miles south of England.  Do you remember?  The only reason we knew was because we just happened to be at the location where Princess Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth.  She was at the Treetops Hotel in Kenya when she was notified King Edward had died and she would be stepping into her new role as the new Queen of England.  There was much fanfare and the walls were covered with pictures of that time in 1952.  She was visiting because it was one of the places that offered an opportunity for people to view the wildlife of Africa and not shoot them.  That was definitely the time to be in this location.  The walls told the story of her ascension to the throne.
 
For more information on Queen Elizabeth's time at the Treetops Hotel, check this out.

One viewing platform from Treetop Hotel

Not being British or Canadian, I had no knowledge of this.  The knowledge I gained came from the fact that I was in Africa during the Diamond Jubilee.  It’s amazing what you learn from travel.  You not only pick up history, you all also learn to be understanding of other cultures.  All the media reporting on activities of the coronation now brought back those memories.  Sometimes I think I want to go back to international travel and other times I think I’m happy just being in our RV and traveling the way we are now.  It’s definitely different strokes for different folks.

Having a blog gives me an excuse to look at my pictures with the idea that I finally have a place to post them and enjoy them.  It also gives me a place for memories.  I think there are two reasons for a blog  ….  opinions and memories.  I’ve been lucky to have done a lot of international travel.  I also took lots of pictures.  Our life is so different here than many places we visited.  We are so lucky our ancestors endured what they did so that we could live in the United States today.

Maasi Tribe adorned in red.  They will trade just about anything for items in red.

Huts were made of cow dung with little fires to help control flies.

I put together a small trip of about 24 in 2002 to go on safari.  Terry had always wanted to visit Africa but as it turned out he got stuck working.  Traveling to Africa meant booking a top notch wholesaler and booking top notch places to stay.  Some places in Europe are pretty safe to stay in 3 star or even 1 star hotels but not necessarily in Africa.  The country is what determined the level of accommodations we wanted.  We wanted to be sure our accommodations were at a place that would be clean and hopefully safe.  After all it hadn’t been too long before that the American Embassy there had been bombed.

Our safari started in Nairobi and took us first to a fantastic lodge on the Masi Mari.  We stayed in unique locations, visited a couple Maasai tribes and saw many things only seen in Africa. 

It was amazing to see so many animals in their natural habitat.

Safaris aren’t always just about the wildlife.  That's a big part but so are the hotels and places you stay.  Visiting Kenya I found the lodging was almost as interesting as some of the wildlife we saw.  Our Treetops Hotel was in the Aberdare National Park of Kenya.  This was a magnificent hotel and set up for night viewing of nocturnal wildlife at their waterholes.  Some folks actually stayed up most of the night to view the waterhole.  Due to the danger of wandering around on the grounds around the hotel, no one was allowed to leave the premises at night .... obviously.  The uniqueness is why Princess Elizabeth chose to visit in 1952.

The last night on safari we stayed at the Mount Kenya Safari Club complete with animal orphanage.  To say it was a fantastic property would definitely be an understatement as it was rated as one of the top 50 hotels in the world.  However, the best experience was definitely at the Treetop Hotel where Queen Elizabeth had stayed.. 

Memories are wonderful.  I’m so glad this trip was taken.  I’m so glad we did so many things then because doing them today in today’s world is something I would not be interested in doing.  Now I have the pictures and I have the wonderful memories.  Traveling is one of the best educations you can give yourself.  It definitely helps with tolerance and understanding.

We did not see any kills (thank goodness).  We did see a lot of mating though.  Pictures are not to follow.

I love the pictures.  I wish more of those pictures on our trips were taken with a digital camera.  However, that’s not the case and some have to be scanned.  Sometimes the film for a trip cost a bundle to purchase and then develop.  Remember those days?  However, it's not to say equipment is really cheap today but cheap cameras are available with good zooms.  I was using a digital SLR with a 28-300 lens.  I liked the lens because it meant I didn't have to change the lens constantly and didn't have to lug along a bag of lenses.  Besides we were only allowed one small bag and a backpack.  There just wasn't room for more.

So, I’m going to keep digging and looking for pictures of past times.  We have no interest of going back to many of the places we visited.  For now we are totally satisfied with looking at the pictures and our RV lifestyle.  Our timing was not planned.  We only learned of the special significance of our timing upon arrival.


Memories are definitely triggered by special events. When traveling we didn't plan to be in locations special events were taking place but it did happen several times in several different places.   This was one of those times and it was during the Diamond Jubilee celebrated by Queen Elizabeth.



'Tis life on the road.