To Rob from your cousin in Kenya
June 20, 2007 - 5:46am
Hello Rob, our mutual relative, Donny Wilder, just sent me the article on your trip from the Spartanburg paper online. What an exciting adventure you are having from reading your posts! I will look forward to continuing to keep up with your expereinces and will be thinking about you in the ice and snow as we enjoy our winter on the equator!
All the best,
Ashley Gasque, Nairobi, Kenya
(daughter of Delle Wilder Gasque)
June 20, 2007 - 1:24pm
#2
Hello up there!
Rob :
Ashley wrote me recenty that she was going to have to go to South Africa from Kenya and intended to pack more warmly this time because she almost froze the last time she went. Between you at the North Pole and Ashley toward the South Pole, it gives me cool thoughts as I sweat through late June in S.C. We're proud of you & the work you're doing and intend to keep up in your journal.
Donny Wilder
June 21, 2007 - 2:23am
#3
Kenya in winter...thanks to global warming
Hi Rob - I am happy to share more about where I live and work! I live in Nairobi, Kenya which is at an elevation of about 1 mile high. Kenya is set on the equator, and Nairobi is just below the equatorial line. It is hot and humid at the coast, temperate inland and very dry in the north and northeast parts of the country.
The country receives a great deal of sunshine all year round, however, it is usually cool at night and early in the morning. We have 2 rainy seasons per year - the "long rains" generally occur from April to early June and the "short rains" occur from October to December. This year, the short rains were actually much longer, stretching way into January and February which caused devastating flooding along the coast. In Nairobi, we should be finished with the long rains now, but we are still having sporadic but intense storms. And yet just "down the road" in the near by town of Thika, they are desparate for rains that have not fallen this year. Very strange weather patterns.
The hottest period of the year is typically from February to March and coldest in July to August. But this year, our winter is promising to be very mild - it is still in the 80s during the day and the 60s at night here in the highlands. We are curious to see what this will do to the annual wildebeast migration which usually occurs between June and September. This is an event where millions of wildlife are drawn away from the plains of the Serengeti by the promise of rain and fresh green grass in the Maasai Mara. This event was recently named one of the modern seven wonders of the world. However, this year, it is estimated that this will not occur until August and end in October.
I travel a great deal all over Africa, and I am noticing this year that weather patterns seem to be strange everywhere - bitterly cold in Namibia and South Africa in May (that usually does not happen until July), droughts on one side of a mountain range and intense flooding on the other side...So while your work is focussing on the far north, I am sure your research and findings will have wide ranging implications for those of us in the rest of the world as we all struggle with climate change.
Keep up the great work and my husband and I will look forward to continuing to follow your expereinces!
All the best,
Ashley
agasque [at] gmail [dot] com
June 24, 2007 - 1:21pm
#4
Hi Ashley,
I have been unsuccessful in answering your last post, so I am trying it this way, as a new post.
Your description of the weather and climate is excellent. Thanks for taking the time to do it. I'm sure the readers will enjoy it.
I wanted to ask about the migration. Do the people there rely on it for resources?...and are there any celebrations marking the event?
Rob
June 24, 2007 - 8:21pm
#5
Hello from the north
Hi Donny,
Glad to hear from you. It is definitely cooler up here. About like our winters in SC, but I am appropriately dressed so it is not bad. I really haven't been cold yet.
I'm not looking forward to coming home to the heat in SC.
Hi Ashley,
What a wonderful treat to know that someone in Kenya is joining in my polar TREC . Thanks to cousin Donny for sending it to you.
I have been describing my experiences here on the tundra. Maybe you can tell us little about life where you are in Kenya. How's the weather during the winter on the equator?...and what city are you in?
would love to hear more.