March 22. After we finished our work in the lab this morning, our work at Lewa, and for this Earthwatch expedition was done. For the rest of the day, our time was our own. There had been a lot of discussion over the past few days about how to spend our last half-day. The final decision: Michael and Rachael would go horseback riding, and Frank, Peggy and I would ride camels.
Our camels were kneeling to make it easier for us to get on them. We were instructed to lean forward and then lean way back as they slowly got to their feet. Wow—you get a great view from high atop a camel! The ride was surprisingly comfortable, and contrary to our worst fears, the camels didn’t smell bad or spit at us. Good camels! We were lead on a ride of about an hour and a half by a guide dressed as a Masai warrior. As we rode, we passed quite close to zebras, ostriches, and giraffes. The ride was smooth enough that I was able to have a conversation with Ms. Barrett’s class in Mt. Laurel by satellite phone along the way!
4 Responses to “We Get Half a Day Off”
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About me
- Hi! My name is Shayne Russell, and I'm the Library Media Specialist at Kenneth R. Olson Middle School in Tabernacle, NJ. Come along with me on an adventure to Kenya, Africa! We will be working as volunteer researchers, side-by-side with scientists who are studying the endangered Grevy's Zebra. Let's see what research looks like... outside of the library!
Photos from the Field
A herd of Grevy's Zebras grazing.
Zebra Day 3/2/06
Leader of the Herd
Mrs. A and Mrs. Havers
Mr. Stecher wore his zebra tie!
A good time was had by all.
I can't imagine waking up in the middle of the night to a zebra, or even worse, a lion! If I woke up that that, I would start running until I couldn't run anymore! You work so hard all day long, and then you get woken up in the night by a zebra! That would just bug me. I thought my alarm clock was bad. I guess I haven't heard anything yet!
I wonder how tall a camels in Africa are? What kind of lab work do you have to do? Africa sounds fun!!!! How can Ms. Russell ride on top of a camel? I would be terrified!!!!!!!
I wonder how tall a camels in Africa are? What kind of lab work do you have to do? Africa sounds fun!!!! How can Ms. Russell ride on top of a camel? I would be terrified!!!!!!!
You know what, Joe? Now that I am back in NJ, I really miss that zebra!
Aislynn, I'm guessing we were probably about 7 feet off the ground when we were riding the camels. I was kind of scared at first, too, but the camels walked slowly and you didn't bounce around a lot, so it was easy to hold on. It was really fun! If you ever get a chance to ride a camel, do it!