THE LAST SEFARI 421 
country, a dimpled country in whose slight folds and hol- 
lows a quite dense native population dwells. This is the 
present granary of the jJand, yet you cannot make out a 
village, you can scarcely see a hut, and out of it Kikuyu 
carriers, men and women, stream Nairobiwards, a thou- 
sand at a time. 
It was the beginning of December. The lesser rains 
had been very abundant and the country was looking 
fresh and lovely. 
Where there is broken and hilly land in this part of 
East Africa, the soil is good in the hollows and on the 
hillsides. Hence the grass grows to such a length that 
hunting is impossible. Hence again, the need of choos- 
ing the right time in which to visit the right country. © 
I have said before that in my judgment the best time 
of all to visit East Africa is in the rainy season, which 
generally begins with the first week in March. The old 
grass is then burned. The new will be sprouting. Game 
travels and can be tracked. Sefaris depart and can well 
be spared. 
It rarely does much raining in the morning except in the 
Naivasha district. If you are strenuous you can march 
through it, and in spite of it you will dry off before the 
afternoon. If you are not hurried you can wait for the 
morning shower to pass and then march. 
In far the greater number of localities the rain only 
begins in the afternoon, not before two, sometimes not till 
four. In that case you will do well to have your hunting 
and marching all over and your camp well pitched; the 
rain will then incommode you but little. The lesser rains 
generally come in November and December; every one 
anxiously awaits them, for if they are abundant that means 
a second crop for the farmer. 
The hilly country to east of Punda Melia had been well 
burned over. The upper slopes were a fresh and vivid 
