Leaving Moshi for Johannasburg but only got to Nairobi 7-9 February 2018

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Wednesday 7 & Thursday 8 February – Kilimanjaro to ???Johannesburg



It was up at 5.30am for a 9.15am departure to Johannesburg. Adam hadn’t been well during the night so I felt bad leaving him but he had all the medications he required. Arriving at the airport, I was one of the first passengers to arrive and the check in section wasn’t open.



The flight was going via Nairobi. It was on time. When I went to go through to get on the plane to fly the second leg to Johannesburg, the attendant said I could not get on the plane as I didn’t have enough spare pages in my passport. I then removed the Brazil visa which gave me 1 spare page and I had 3 half pages left. The attendant said the South African visa authorities will see that the full page was “tampered with”. I asked for other authorities. With my very best negotiation skills on, I got nowhere.



My bags were taken off the plane (they had been checked through to Jo’burg) and I got the taxi to take me to the Australian High Commission. Results: arrange for a new passport from Aust which would take 10 working days or a temporary passport which would take 3 days which the South African authorities wouldn’t accept any way!!!.



So, 10 days of waiting seemed the only option. I arranged accommodation in the lovely West End hotel in Westlands where they gave me an executive upgrade.



They organised Uber for me. Well…… instead of 20 minutes to the hotel, it was 2 ½ hrs later I got to the hotel. The driver ‘got lost’. I knew how much the ride should have cost so gave him 3000 Kenyan Shillings. He asked for more for the extra fuel. I just looked at him and said goodbye!!!



The next morning, I packed up everything, hopped in a taxi to the South African High Commission. They told me that I had to go through a visa agency as they only organised diplomats and local’s visas at the High Commission. The visa agency would take 5 working days and I would need 3 spare pages in my passport!!!



So it was back to the Aust High Commission. Mary, who I was dealing with, was so lovely but I wasn’t getting the answers I was looking for. It was time to start the new passport option – 10 working days!!! That meant 12+ days in Nairobi – I love Africa but ???Nairobi!!!!



Never to be called ‘glass-half-empty’ I booked other accommodation close to the embassies and started planning my time in Nairobi.



Friday 9 February: Nairobi National Park, David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, Giraffe Center and Karen Blixen Museum Day Tour in Nairobi



Nairobi is home to dozens of incredible sites and this full-day tour promised to showcases some of the best of this East African city. I was to follow my expert guide into the stunning landscapes of Nairobi National Park, where I was to have the chance to see some of the nation's most iconic animals in the wild.



At 6.30am the next morning, Douglas picked me up in a van. I was the only tourist. We drove out to the edge of the city to the entrance gates to the Nairobi National Park. I paid $38 USD for entrance. $1.00 USD is equivalent to 100 KSE.



Nairobi National Park is a national park in Kenya. Established in 1946, the national park was Kenya's first. It is located approximately 7 kilometres south of the centre of Nairobi, Kenya's capital city, with an electric fence separating the park's wildlife from the metropolis. Nairobi's skyscrapers can be seen from the park. The proximity of urban and natural environments has caused conflicts between the animals and local people and threatens animals' migration routes.



Species we saw in the park included Cape buffaloes, eastern black rhinos, gazelles, zebras, Coke’s hartebeest, East Africa lions, elands, impala, Masai giraffes, ostriches, vultures and waterbucks. There is over 400 species of birds in the Park. No leopards or cheetahs were seen, but there are a few in the park.



The park was very dry, as it has been over the last 5-6 years. Douglas was very good and loved his work. He had work for an NGO which saved and planted indigenous vegetation in and around Nairobi so it was great to swap stories.



We were then off to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, where young orphaned elephants are brought after being rescued and fed until they are mature to be released to the wild. Most of them had mothers who had been killed by poachers. There was even one 2 month old elephant who came to the orphanage with a trunk ¾ severed off. Fortunately the park surgeons where able to suture most of it back on so that he could drink and use it. The trunk still has a hole in it as you will see by my photos.



We were in ‘touching-distance’ from the 37 elephants that were on display. Many more were not on display as they were either too sick or too young. There was a large group of little Kenyan children at the centre, who just loved what they were watching. The elephants drank their milk for the bottles then rolled and frolicked in the water and mud and dust. It was such fun watching their antics.



I then went on a visit to the Giraffe Centre where I feed the friendly Rothchilds Giraffe. This 120-acre conservation centre in the heart of Kenya’s largest city provides a natural breeding ground for one of Africa’s most graceful animals. As part of a concerted effort to increase numbers for these endangered species, giraffe calves are bread, born and raised in this protected environment before being introduced to the wild at the age of two. I then climbed a raised platform to pet and feed more giraffes. I also watched several tourists feeding the giraffes with the pellet of food between their lips and the giraffe, with its long blue tongue, took it from the tourist. I just watched!!!!



I also sat in on a talk about the centre’s conservation activities and efforts. I learned that there were 3 species of giraffes in Kenya: Maasai Giraffe or Kilimanjaro Giraffe As the name suggests is found in central and southern Kenya and Tanzania. It is unique with its jagged-edged, vine-leaf shaped spots of dark chocolate on a yellowish background. Rothschild Giraffe or Baringo Giraffe or Ugandan Giraffe has deep brown, blotched or rectangular spots with poorly defined cream lines. Hocks may be spotted. It is found in Uganda and northern Kenya. Reticulated Giraffe or Somali Giraffe has large, polygonal liver-coloured spots outlined by a network of bright white lines. The blocks may sometimes appear deep red and may also cover the legs. Their leg bones are also solid bone so hence the danger of a lion being kicked by a giraffe.



I then has a light lunch in a local restaurant and then stopped at the Karen Bixen Museum, where I learnt about the history, culture and traditions of Kenya's diverse people. The Karen Blixen Museum, is located 10 km outside of Nairobi, Kenya, "at the foot of the Ngong Hills", and is the former African home of Danish author Karen Blixen, famous for her book Out of Africa which chronicles life at the estate. A young student acted as my very informative guide through the house an around the grounds. There was also a coffee treatment plant which was used on the property, the revenue source for the family.



It was about 5.00pm when I was dropped off at my hotel.

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Photos

David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage
The severed trunk which had to be stiched back on