Amazing Kenya

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And into Africa we went.



After arriving in Kenya with roughly 30 hours of travel under our belts, we were excited to start exploring. Nairobi was our first stop, and we stared out the windows of our transit anxiously awaiting our chance to get out and have a better look. Problem was, 30 hours of travel really takes it out of you, so the only exploring we did day 1 was both sides of our pillows. We were able to get out for a small walk around dinner time, but we were told to stick to exploring during day light hours as Nairobi can be a bit unsafe after dark. We settled into a nice Swahili restaurant for food, and were charmed by the friendly servers.



They we were off on Safari. After many hours in the van with our driver, Teddy, we turned off on a dirt road. Looking out at what looked like farm land we saw Zebras! Zebras, right there on the side of the road and we weren't even to our destination yet. On our safari, we were the only people with our driver/guide and we visited Masai Mara National Park, Lake Nakuru National Park and Amboseli National Park. All the parks were unique from one another and all were amazing in their own right. I preferred the dry desert landscape and savannah in Amboseli and Andrew preferred the animal density in Masai Mara. There are some pictures attached of some of the wildlife we saw, but the photos do not really do this experience justice. We were literally mere feet away from lions, cheetahs, hippos, elephants, rhinos, warthogs, wildebeest, zebras, giraffes.... and the list goes on, at many points on this adventure. We witnessed firsthand the mating rituals of lions (we have the video to prove it) and attempted courtship of ostriches. In Amobseli, we were lucky to catch a few minutes of clarity to witness an stunning view of Kilimanjaro with animals in the foreground - it was a bit daunting to think about attempting to climb that mountain in a few weeks time. All in all, the safari was really wonderful, we stayed in very nice places (Kenya has a different idea of budget camping than I do), ate delicious food and experienced the friendly nature of the Kenyan people. This was particularly evident when yesterday we attempted to buy bus tickets and had to stop and ask directions at least 10 times, each time we were pointed in the right direction and we were finally, after 2 hours of looking, able to buy bus tickets to Uganda. There is no way we would have found the multiple booking offices we were after without the help of the local people (there is absolutely no evidence of a grid or otherwise plan of the streets here).



I am sure I could write much more, but I would rather be wandering the streets of Nairobi. Enjoy!

Alyssa and Andrew

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Photos

Final Safari Day
Us with our driver/guide Teddy.

African Savannah
View from our 'tent' in Amboseli NP.

Us and a Lionness - Masai Mara NP
She had 2 cubs with her - so cute!

National Museum Nairobi
So many school groups - and they all stared at Andrew and I constantly with the occasional shy 'hello, how are you?'

Comments

[Paulena Croley]

Kenya
So excited to read your blog! Glad you are doing well and having fun ! Awesome animal shots.....how amazing to be so close to them! Love you both!!!

[Dad]

Loved the writing and the pictures. What an adventure!