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Published: November 3rd 2021
“No elephant is burdened by the weight of its tusks” - Kenyan proverb
Greetings from Nairobi!
We enjoyed our last breakfast in our Amsterdam B&B yesterday morning, before walking to Centraal Station and taking the train to the airport. Centraal is huge and there are lots of different platforms, so it’s a little confusing ensuring you are on the right platform. The train took around 20 minutes to get to the airport, and then we had to figure out where to go - the airport is really big and it’s also a bit confusing. I found it much more confusing than other airports. Once we found the correct check in location, it all went very smoothly. We had to show our proof of negative covid test, and the QR code we downloaded yesterday, and that was it.
We got to our hotel about midnight last night, after a pleasant 8 hour flight. We decided to upgrade to economy comfort, which gives you a bit more legroom. The flight wasn’t full and there wasn’t anyone sitting in the centre seat, so we could stretch out more. The veggie meal was quite nice, and I accompanied it with a Heineken
and a red wine.
After we landed in Nairobi we were greeted by the tour company rep who ushered us through customs, and took us to meet our driver Stanley. Stanley welcomed us with Twiga Tour safari hats, and sparkling wine. It was a very nice welcome to Kenya. Stanley then drove us to our hotel, the Savona Stanley hotel, which is a nice old hotel, built in the early 1900s, with a colonial feel. It has lots of beautiful woodwork, and we have a very nice, spacious room. Martin (our friend and travel agent who organizes these safaris) had already checked us in. There is a lot of construction from the airport to the city, as a bypass is being built (apparently it has been in the process of being built for several years with no end in sight).
We settled in the room, did a bit of laundry, and got to bed about 1 am. We had a good sleep, and woke up quite early (I’m still trying to adjust to the time difference). We had an excellent breakfast in the hotel (I had fruit, a yogurt and granola parfait, a
mandazi (a semi sweet donut),
and some
uji (a thin porridge made from bean, millet or other flour - this one was made of millet). Also very good Kenyan coffee.
We met some of the others on the safari at breakfast, and the rest in the lobby before we headed out. There are a total of 12 (two safari vehicles of 6 each) on our safari. On our vehicle are Martin, Susan and I, Rick and Donna, and Terry. I think it will be a nice group to travel around with.
Our first stop was the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, which is located in the Nairobi National Park. Here they take care of orphaned baby elephants, and raise them until around age 4, when they are released back in the wild. The elephants have feeding time from 11 am to noon each day, and it is such an amazing sight! The handlers bottle feed the baby elephants, and the little guys play in the dust, and in the watering hole. While the elephants were being fed, one handler gave a detailed talk on each of the orphaned elephants and about the work done by the Wildlife Trust, and the importance of eradicating poaching.
No human needs ivory or rhino horn, and yet these animals are being slaughtered, to the brink of extinction, because of the trade in these illegal products. Don’t buy or use these products, just don’t. If you do you will be responsible for the extinction of these magnificent animals, and the world will be a lesser place, because of your actions. It is as simple as that. If there was no market for ivory or rhino horns, these animals would not be killed for them.
You have the opportunity to “adopt” a baby elephant, which is a fundraiser for the Wildlife Trust. We adopted a young female named Kindani. We’ll get regular email updates on Kindani and on the work of the Wildlife Trust.
After the Wildlife Trust, we drove to the Giraffe Centre, which is located in the Karen neighbourhood of Nairobi (named after Karen Blixon). The Centre is a breeding centre for the highly endangered Rothschild’s giraffe. You can hand feed the giraffes from a raised wooden structure. We were given a cup of pellets, and instructed to give them one at a time to the giraffes. They stick out their extremely long tongues, and you
Pool area at end of atrium
The clouds quickly disappeared and it was a sunny day.place the pellet on their tongue. It was a pretty amazing experience! Some of the giraffes come to the feeding station, and some stay farther away among the trees. After the feeding, we had a very informative and enjoyable talk from one of the staff members. If it wasn’t for the Giraffe Centre, it is likely that the Rochschild‘s giraffe would be extinct now.
We then headed to the Karen Blixon coffee garden for lunch. We enjoyed our first Tuskers (the ubiquitous Kenyan beer), and an excellent lunch (we both had salad and grilled red snapper). We then visited the Karen Blixon museum (her house has been turned into a museum). The guide gave us a very detailed tour of the house and a history of Karen Blixon’s life. She did a lot for the Kenyan people, and is extremely highly thought of in Kenya. You remember the 1985 movie with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford - Out of Africa? That’s based on her book, and her life.
We then drove through the insane and very congested Nairobi traffic back to our hotel where we had an hour or so before we left for the drive to the
home of the owner of Twiga Tours (the safari company we are with) for drinks and dinner. We both had a gin and tonic and then enjoyed a lovely dinner. We headed back to the hotel about 9 (it was a much faster drive as traffic had lessened significantly by this time).
We have an early morning tomorrow, as we are heading out at 7:30 am, for our drive to the Samburu Game Reserve in northern Kenya. Can’t wait!
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Elephants!
The joys of taking a bath. So cute.