Mike and I left this morning for our two-week safari adventure in Kenya and Tanzania. We allowed ourselves plenty of time at the airport, given our experiences in the Kathmandu airport; however, everything went off without a glitch and we had plenty of time to spare. Or flight to Nairobi, on Kenya Airlines, was quite pleasant, although very short. The flight was incredibly empty, so by the time we purchased our visas and cleared customs, our luggage was already waiting for us.
Right outside of the airport, our safari tour guide (just for the day), Meshack, met us and handed us our awesome safari hats. Right away, we knew we were in for adventure!
After trading a bit of money at the airport (so that Mike now has three different currencies in his wallet...) we headed out to explore Nairobi a bit with Meshack. The traffic, busyness, and overall craziness of Nairobi seems very similar to that of Kampala. We finally made our way to our first destination of the day, the Giraffe Center near Nairobi National Park. The center was formed in 1979 when a Kenyan couple began raising a baby giraffe in their own home. The center has now grown and has been able to successfully release many giraffes in to various national parks throughout Kenya. As we arrived at the Giraffe Center, we were greeted by a sign reporting that "hooting" was specifically restricted, as this would bother the giraffes. Mike and I kept this in mind and headed out to see the giraffes.
The Giraffe Center has built a large, raised platform where various giraffes come during the day to be fed by many eager tourists.
During the time we were there, we were able to see Lynn, a large female Rothschild giraffe, and Ed, her smaller son. Ed and Lynn were both very enthusiastic eaters, and would eat treats (large grain pellets) directly out of our hands.
Mike even got a kiss from Lynn! I should say that I was jealous, but not really. I didn't really want giraffe slobber all over my face...
After the Giraffe Center, we went to a nearby restaurant for a delicious (though enormous!) lunch.
Because neither Mike nor I had gotten much sleep the night before (especially Mike, since he had to work until 4am!), we opted to head to our guest house for a nap instead of spending more time in Nairobi traffic. The itinerary from our safari company had instructed us that we would be staying at "Lux Home Stay" for the evening. This was to be taken literally. We arrived outside of someone's house and were told that we had arrived at our destination. Mike and I were a bit confused, but went with it. We later found out that we were staying at the safari company owner's house; however, he had to head out of town with his family for a family emergency, so it was just Mike, me, and their housekeeper/cook, Josephine. It was a bit awkward, and not exactly what we had expected for the first night of our safari, but there were warm showers and a bed to sleep in, so it met our needs. Josephine seemed very confused when I told her that I was vegetarian, but I managed to piece together a meal for dinner. We head out of Nairobi tomorrow for our first destination, Lake Nakuru. Mike and I are not exactly sure what to expect, but we just keep telling ourselves, T.I.A. This is Africa.
Right outside of the airport, our safari tour guide (just for the day), Meshack, met us and handed us our awesome safari hats. Right away, we knew we were in for adventure!
After trading a bit of money at the airport (so that Mike now has three different currencies in his wallet...) we headed out to explore Nairobi a bit with Meshack. The traffic, busyness, and overall craziness of Nairobi seems very similar to that of Kampala. We finally made our way to our first destination of the day, the Giraffe Center near Nairobi National Park. The center was formed in 1979 when a Kenyan couple began raising a baby giraffe in their own home. The center has now grown and has been able to successfully release many giraffes in to various national parks throughout Kenya. As we arrived at the Giraffe Center, we were greeted by a sign reporting that "hooting" was specifically restricted, as this would bother the giraffes. Mike and I kept this in mind and headed out to see the giraffes.
The Giraffe Center has built a large, raised platform where various giraffes come during the day to be fed by many eager tourists.
During the time we were there, we were able to see Lynn, a large female Rothschild giraffe, and Ed, her smaller son. Ed and Lynn were both very enthusiastic eaters, and would eat treats (large grain pellets) directly out of our hands.
Mike even got a kiss from Lynn! I should say that I was jealous, but not really. I didn't really want giraffe slobber all over my face...
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