http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Kenya , Rift Valley Province en-us Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:55:35 +0000 Wed, 30 Dec 2009 08:55:35 +0000 Hello all... Where do we pick up from... Oh yes.From Kampala in Uganda we arrived in Nakuru and our Kenyan Masai that we had met previously picked us up. We had agreed to meet and discuss the possibility of him being our guide and taking us North into the depths of Kenya and into his village. He'd organized some accommodation for us in Nakuru which made life easier. While in Kenya previously w http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Masai-Mara-NP/blog-461625.html Oct 14 Flew to Nairobi from Joburg and met up with RobbieOct 15 Spent the day in Nairobi. We thought we would be clever and walk from our beautiful hotel The Fairmont Norfolk to the downtown business center get some breakfast and do some shopping. Before you know a local approached us and struck up a conversation. We engaged with him and asked him where some stores were. He took us to a http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Masai-Mara-NP/blog-447813.html 6th August Sunday DAY 16 NAIROBI to MAASAIKENYAN BEER Pilsner lager White Cap We got up early left the tents and headed to town meeting some of the new people at Hotel Boulevard and cramming into the matatursquos. There were some new people in the matatu that I shared with Robin and Bron. Heather and Nick married Aussies Cat English and Helen English. There were great views as http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Masai-Mara-NP/blog-447320.html Turkana Northern Kenya hellip ldquoThis is Africardquo Not sure if it stems from the residual joy of the recent election of our 44th President or the exotic challenging allure of Mount Kilimanjaro but going to Kenya has always been very high on my travel wish list.And now this wish has come true As part of my induction at Merlin Medical Emergency Relief InterNational the NGO t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Turkana/blog-445462.html Chango was literally beside himself. The old scarletbearded proprietor of the Cold Drink Hotel seemed to be everywhere at once reassuring the customers scolding the cooks greeting the newcomers who came through the curtained doorway. His prayer cap was askew his myopic eyes squinted into the gathering darkness where a few chickens scratched at the dust in the yard. The news from the kitchen http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Turkana/blog-443329.html My second leg of the adventure started when I bid farewell to Edgar on the evening of the 22nd and flew into Masai Mara the following morning. No words can really describe the Masai Mara. It is one of the most beautiful out of this world places I have ever been. And I don't say that lightly. From the moment you arrive you know this is a special place. It is romantically intoxicating from the lan http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Masai-Mara-NP/blog-440038.html A personal wake up call at 545 the tents donrsquot have telephones to start off the day along with the sounds of birds chirping etc. A quick cup of tea and the 3 of us were off for our morning game drive. Today we had Anthony. We thought William had been a good guide knowing where the rhino was saving the lion for last but Anthony was much more talkative and told us more about the par http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Masai-Mara-NP/blog-439375.html An early morning quick breakfast and checkout and we were picked up by our driver Joseph to go to the Wilson airport for our flight to our safari lodge. Arrived with lots of time to spare. We boarded the plane taxied out to the runway did some lsquofunction testsrsquo and then went back to the terminal as one of the engines was acting a little funny. So we disembarked waited and then b http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Masai-Mara-NP/blog-439374.html Ol Tukai Lodge is an upscale resort situated in the heart of the Amboseli National Park one of East Africa's most fascinating wildlife and nature parks and one of the best spots in the world to watch elephants. Writers have described Ol Tukai and the surrounding Amboseli National Park ldquoas a home for the Gods.rdquo A place of rugged beauty abundant water lush grass and forest the lodge http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Amboseli-NP/blog-435658.html I had been in Kenya for about 3 days now and had already been blessed by Lake Nakuru and already seen 4 of the Big Five and yet was still hungry for more. Not knowing what was around the corner gave me a sense of adventure and wonder. And boy did I have no idea what was coming in the Masai Mara.We had been booked for a hot air balloon ride on our first morning in the Mara after a long journey to http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Masai-Mara-NP/blog-433861.html 12th. August British Airways flight arrived at 9 PM at Jomo Kenyata International Airport Nairobi. I was met by Gibson a Kikuyu from Cheli and Peacock. Nice man. He drove me to the House of Waine in Karen district outside Nairobi for overnight stay. The district is named after Karen Blixen of Out of Africa fame. After a few drinks and roast chicken dinner I retired to bed a bit late arou http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Masai-Mara-NP/blog-432710.html Hey guysWell I know you might have thought the next blog was going to be about Moshi and Mt. Kilimanjaro but unfortunately there won't be one. We left Zanzibar and arrived in Moshi pretty excited to some trekking on Kili but the weather just would not cooperate with us. We ended up staying there for two days waiting out the weather and it only changed for the worst. We never got to do any hik http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Masai-Mara-NP/blog-432658.html Today we woke up bright and early for breakfast which was bacon and eggs. We had an all day game drive and we saw lions gazelle elephants giraffes zeebras water buffalo and one black rhino. After a few hours we stopped for lunch in an open area of the forest. We made sandwhiches and ate them quickly and soon the monkeys came out and ate the scraps we had left. And before I could even say any http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Masai-Mara-NP/blog-431981.html Today for once we didn't wake up especially early but we still had to get our stuff ready and set out at the front gate ready for the buses. I stocked up on soda and candy since it was going to be a six hour drive and around nine o'clock we headed out to Masai Mara. We stopped at Nakumat for some snacks and from their drove for four hours and stopped at a curio shop for lunch and they tried to rip http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Masai-Mara-NP/blog-431976.html After some kerfuffle I finally got the all clear from the doctor that all was okay to travel and thankfully we made it to Africa We met up with lovely Fiona on Thursday night who picked us up at the Nairobi airport and then the next morning we were immediately off to one of the Kenyan Wildlife Services Park Amboseli. We took the two 4WDs boys Paul and James in one car the girls in the 'hu http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Amboseli-NP/blog-429271.html 728TuesdayToday we let Okundis house outside of Homa Bay. Everyone was so joyous taking pictures and handing out gifts lots of Obama buttons and stickers but the day of course was tinged with the sadness of leaving. I was still not feeling well so I wasnrsquot as merry as the rest but it was still just as hard to leave everyone. Zilpah and all the children kept asking when I was coming ba http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Amboseli-NP/blog-427787.html Writing from the IDP camp in Eldoret. We spent the day here yesterday checking up on our projects and starting some new ones. I mostly kept the children occupied while the adults spoke with John. I played simple games such as Ring around the Rosy Simon Says PattiCake and even told an extremely ghetto version of Snow White with one of the kids who could speak english as my translator. It was f http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Eldoret/blog-422281.html Left Uganda on 623 we drove to the first place that we had our first bush camp which is in Eldorat. Again it was freezing and I didn't enjoy it the second time either.From there we went to Nakuru when we first arrived we had some time to shop in the town. Not my favorite. The people are not so nice the good part was it is not the dirtiest of cities. In the afternoon our group was picked up http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Lake-Nakuru-NP/blog-418158.html It's been a huge week here in Kenya. Not just for me but for the country as a whole. Oooh Where to begin. . . I'll start with giving you a tidbit of the mayhem that broke out on our ride to Eldoret Kenya to visit an IDP camp. When people talk about learning about 'real' Kenya they often are referring to understanding the depths of the poverty disease and hunger that occur here. However t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Eldoret/blog-417792.html Before I begin I'd just like to say that I am safe and okay at the moment but a lot has just happened and if I don't write this all down right now I think my body will realize what happened and I will shut down and forget everything. So here goes.To start off the story I came down with malaria a few days ago. Not a big deal here it's as common as the flu and I caught it early on so one more http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Kenya/Rift-Valley-Province/Eldoret/blog-416605.html