November is the season of the small rains⦠which has given us sparkling mornings with thunder and lightning in the afternoons with torrential downpours which soon clear up to give us bright evening sky and a wonderful array of the stars at night.
Photo courtesy of Alisa Bowen
We hosted, earlier in the month, a hardy group of climbers who are summiting the seven peaks of East Africa with a view of encouraging tourism to these often overlooked but undeniably beautiful mountains, which will go far in assisting provide the wherewithal for the preservation of these natural reservoirs of fauna and flora.
The superfluity of rain has meant that trekking has been made somewhat muddy and slippery but the advantage is, that the bamboo has been sprouting down by the park boundary and the Gorillas feasting on their favourite snack. Sometimes this makes the males almost drunk on the sweet sap of bamboo and more boisterous than normal. Iâm not sure if itâs underage drinking or not but the baby gorillas seem to have as much fun as their elders and betters!
Not wanting to be left out of the natural bounty of the sprouting bamboos, we have tried preparing the succulent shoots in our own kitchens. The result was every bit as good as the best Chinese takeaway!
The shoulder season has also given us time to paint and polish rooms and the lodge is looking the better for it. A couple of trucks of new furniture and fittings will enhance the look of everything and we look forward to welcoming old friends back to see the changes.
With the sunny mornings, we have had a windfall of beautiful flowers which has prompted us to install three smart new bee hives which apart from giving us some welcome home made honey will also help the bees that are having such a difficult time with modern pesticides.
Sacola, the body of the local community who own the lodge have been busy with their own community projects and the cover for Health insurance has been increased by assisting the poorer members of the community, to pay the small but often unaffordable contribution the government requires of all citizens. The schools have received various assistance also and the ongoing project bringing piped water systems closer to villages extended.
Philip and Charlie Mason, Sabyinyo Silverback Lodge Managers.
