Kenyan Safari - Day 3

DAY 3, Saturday, March 31 - ARRIVAL IN NAIROBI

""Welcome to Africa! Look forward to a journey through majestic, unspoiled landscapes to fabulous game reserves where the dark continent's incomparable wildlife is protected in its natural habitat. Settle into your hotel, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, then maybe shop for a stylish safari outfit. An afternoon orientation drive takes you through Kenya's modern, mile-high capital to the area of Karen Blixen's farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills. Visit the fascinating MUSEUM dedicated to the author of Out of Africa""

As we landed at Nairobi Airport, Janine spotted an African dog, but it was only a domesticated canine :-))  Chaos ensued for a couple of hours, as we went through customs, gathered ourselves to be bused to the hotel, the drive through Nairobi, and breakfast!  At the airport, we were met by Frank and Kombo, the tour drivers and tour guides!  It was a pleasant sight to see them help us onto the safari vans, loading all the luggage, and know that soon we will be able to take a shower!!  It was a warm, rainy day, and the drive into the city was a cultural experience, seeing firsthand the city culture!  Did see a golf course, but the numbers of people were incredible!

We arrived at the HILTON INTERNATIONAL (MAMA NGINA ST & MOI AVE, P. 0. BOX 30624, NAIROBI KENYA) [Tel: 254 2 50000 Fax: 254 2 50099] for the first time, rather overwhelmed with the chaos and the masses.  After assigned rooms, we were ready for that shower, and a nap!  But we had arrived around 9 am, and breakfast at the Travelers Restaurant was only served until 11 am.  A quick shower then off to our first meal in Kenya.  WOW, what a spread, fruits, every breakfast course imaginable, and then a chef to fix your eggs exactly how you wanted them!  Another area was set up for fresh-squeezed orange juice, literally, and Janine said the french toast was great, there's hope! With orientation, we met Jackson Kazibue, our tour director!  It was an hour discussion on what lays ahead, and the excitement jumped up a knotch!  One point I remember Jackson saying was about the roads, "We could drive slowly and hit all one million bumps, or drive VERY quickly and hit only the top 1000!  The idea here is to be on time and ready to roll!"  This meant we would be the first to see the animals, and would enjoy the top layer of the buffets!  Jackson took us to one of the shops he recommended, The Collector's Den, located in the attached mall to the hotel.  They had a beautiful collection of carved animal, Tazamine stones, and much more!  We will visit their 'den' on the last day to buy some memories for friends and family.  Then we were off for our first adventure in Kenya, our first stop: Karen Blixen's Farm, a museum for the author of 'Out of Africa'.  Here we saw our first kenyan wildlife up close, a Hyrax, a guinea pig-like creature!

Picture Index for the day - Roll #2

1-13: Karen Blixen's farm as we approached from the parking lot

a Hyrax, a guinea pig-like creature

We saw many of these trees, looking like an alien tree, a cactus growing out of a tree!  This was the largest and most ornate example!

The backyard of Karen Blixen's farm.  Looking out the back window, you can see the Ngong Hills, meaning HAND.  The hills look like the knuckles of a clinched fist!

14: A private castle

15-: GIRAFFES-this was incredible, 5 were begging for pellets. Grabbing a handful, we fed them one pellet at a time, they would stick out their tongues and take the pellet. Very docile and gracious.  We were shocked how gentle these giraffes were.  Of course, they're conditioned to humans, but they could easily hurt or be aggressive.  They wanted only to be fed, and didn't really make any attempts to push each other out of the way, very patient.  You truly got an impression of how nimble their tongues were, to eat the leaves and small twigs of the acacia trees, with those 2-inch thorns!

Picture Index for the day - Roll #3

1-2: Giraffes - 3 varieties: Rothschild, Reticulated and Masai Mara. We'll see all varities on this trip.  Pleasantly surprised by the Rothchold giraffes, and look at their house :-)

After visiting the Giraffe Center, we visited the home authentic African art and crafts at UTAMADUNI (means "traditional"), a compound with 19 shops.  We had our Welcome dinner at the Travelers, and sat together, to meet everyone!  It was an enjoyable evening!  After dinner, we waited in line for over an hour to get to the bank, to exchange some money.  Enjoyed the evening with Jackson!

On to Day 4...