Journal Pages: The Milky Way Above Kenya
About the journal, Kathleen notes:
“This trip to East Africa was actually the first time I’ve taken a journal away on a trip. I found the book at the bottom of a drawer as I was finishing off some last minute packing. It was a gift from my mum years ago and it makes me smile that its pages are finally being used for something other than shopping lists.
I’ve always been into documenting my travels through photography or collecting ephemera but I haven’t picked up a pen to drawer anything since I left school! Once I started I just couldn’t stop, I think it gives you a different way of looking at things. Where I was in Africa in particular people often wanted money if they noticed you’d taken their photo. On the other hand, nobody minded if I sketched them as part of a scene.”
1.“The landscape of Samburu National Reserve is beautiful and boring. The parched ground is only broken with thorny acacia trees, termite mounds and spiky shrubs. When the sun rises it is larger than I have ever seen it and the whole sky reflects the dusty red earth.”
2.“Bird Walk: 10am 22 July 2009 Samburu Game Lodge: An ornithologist named Jacob led us on a guided walk around the entrance and grounds of Samburu Game Lodge. We saw so many beautiful birds including mourning doves, hornbills, ibis, mousebirds, weaver birds, a vulture, and my favourite – the ‘go away’ bird. He lets out an alarm call that alerts animals when a predator is snooping around. We also saw a heart lops [sic], a rare black bird with brilliantly red-tipped wings. Mainly though I just enjoyed the opportunity to walk around and gaze at the trees.
(opposite page, selection) “The April rains haven’t fallen in this part of Kenya for 2 years. People working at the lodge and our driver Martin say that they have seen the effect this is having on the animals of the reserve. The river that once flowed by the lodge is now an expanse of parched earth.”
3.“26 July 2009 Keekorok, Masai Mara
The landscape has changed again. I expected the Mara to look a lot like Samburu but instead of thorny bushes and dusty ground the vast plains are covered with long golden grasses. There’s more evidence of rainfall here in the south too – small pools and occasional palms. The lodge, Keekorok, is fantastic. There’s a bar overlooking a pool where hippos wallow and no fence!
Roachy is our new adopted pet. He gave Alan quite a fright this morning when he was hiding in his shorts. (NB drawing to scale.) (Not to scale. Roachy was BIGGER – Alan.) ”
4.“Sunday 26 July 2009
It’s the last night at Keekorok. I’m not quite ready to leave Kenya. It feels like we’ve only just started to understand this country. This evening was beautiful, after dinner we stood and looked at the stars over the Masai Mara. There were so many and with no light pollution they seemed impossibly bright. For the first time in my life I saw the centre of the Milky Way – beautiful.”
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Do you have a travel journal you’d like to share? Please send scans or photos of it to david[at]matadornetwork[dot]com.
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12 Comments... join the discussion!
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Thank you, thank you, thank you! What a wonderful way to share your experience! The sketches are fantastic and I love the to-scale drawing of Roachy.
I should have linked to you in my past blog about taking pictures vs. really seeing your surroundings! Best wishes on your next travels.↵ -
It definitely pays to take a journal and pen when you travel. You can sketch the scenery or people you meet along the way and tell a story at the same time with your words. A travel journal would make a great coffee table book or a little pocket travel book.
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These journal pages are amazing. Thanks for sharing them!
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Wow. Absolutely beautiful. I am in complete solidarity on the mission to drink beers in as many exotic places as possible. So far a parking lot behind an abandoned bus station in Borneo is one of the best. Doesn’t sound dreamy, but for some reason, it was.
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Ha, I understand completely Sarah! I thought twice about writing the beer mission comment as I thought it might sound a bit ‘Brits abroad’, which is not how I meant it.
Should have known I’d find solidarity in the Matador community
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Gorgeous! I loved the starry night photo.
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Beautiful!!! I’m with Ren- I’d love to do this, but I don’t think it’d be nearly as stunning. Thanks!
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Love it!
I swear, Journal Pages is quickly becoming my fav!way to flex your creativity … the Keekorock sketch is stunning, I want that as a giant poster!
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Thanks guys! It’s easy to lose the momentum to keep sketching and looking at the world with wonder once you’re back home. Your kind comments have given me a kick up the backside to make some large scale paintings inspired by my travels. Maybe I’ll get the chance to post some of them here.
I completely agree that Journal Pages is one of my favourite features on Matador. I’d like to set up a website featuring paintings, illustration, art and poetry inspired by travel…
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I loved the starry night sketch – I’m off to Kenya in a few months and the night sky is one of the biggest things I’m looking forward to! About people wanting $ for taking their photo – was this really a common occurrence? Sounds like something I need to be privy to?
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Wow, beautiful, I love it!
Thank you for sharing!↵
