nairobi. kenya. part 5.

six days into our trip it was time to head back to nairobi.

we were excited because this portion of the trip promised to bring a little wifi into our lives, which we did not have for the entire previous portion of the trip.

while we were in nairobi we visited the sheldrick elephant orphanage and the giraffe center. both places are working hard on their conservation efforts of these native african species.

at the elephant center we went for their evening visit, which is reserved for those who have fostered elephants.

during this visit you get to watch the whole group of elephants march back from their time out in nairobi national park for their evening feeding. these once orphaned and/or injured elephants are all being raised to return to the wild.

there's not much contact allowed with the elephants and the keepers weren't overly personable, but the crowd is small and you can see the elephant you've fostered up close.

malima, the elephant I adopted as part of a gift from my friend, sheila.

malima

caitlin's little elephant, enkesha, is still quite small.
she has a keeper that stays in the stall with her overnight.

there is a clear bond between the elephants and the keepers.

on the other hand, the giraffe center is amazing.

we considered staying for a night at the giraffe manor, across the street, but with a $550 per person, per night charge, i vetoed this plan.

the instagram posts are amazing, but i determined their price point to be exorbitant.

cute, but too pricey!

for a much smaller price, $540 less in fact, you can visit the giraffe center. it's the same giraffes that visit the manor. they just wander across the street to hang out with the visitors at the center.

at the center you receive handfuls of food to feed the giraffes. the employees monitoring the giraffes were super friendly and encouraging of photos and interaction with the animals and really made an effort to facilitate this.

stages in getting slobbered by a giraffe.
step 1: feed said giraffe.

step 2: said giraffe wants more food, but you're holding out.

step 3: giraffe licks your face while on hunt for food.

#selfiewin

what happens when you try to manipulate two giraffes at once for a pic.

they'll even show you how to kiss the giraffe!

after you've had your hand (or mouth) slobbered upon, there's even a sink with soap and water for a quick clean up.

both places are a bit out of the center so if you can arrange to do both visits in the same time frame, i'd recommend it. however, this might mean that the giraffe center would be crowded as the hours for the sheldrick orphanage are quite limited.

nearby is also the kazuri bead factory and the house belonging to karen blixen, the author of 'out of africa'. we passed on the house, but did take a tour of the bead factory and then bought some jewelry! the tour is rather unavoidable, but it really helps you understand the process that each bead goes through to be handmade.

the clay gets pressed in the machine into different slabs

she says, "take my picture!" the longest running employee at kazuri bead.

they also make plates and other tableware.

every bead is handpainted.

this building is where all the firing and painting is done.

preparing all the beads for the kiln.

there's a whole other section of ladies making necklaces and bracelets.

painting the ceramics...bowls, figurines, etc.

inside the shop where you can buy the finished jewelry.

traveler tip: nairobi proved to be a bit of a challenging place for us, especially in a sense of getting around. we tried to use uber, but traffic is such a nightmare in the city that whenever you would try to confirm the uber the time until its arrival would continuously change, making it useless to us. we ended up taking the most random taxi. just a little ol' guy that sits next to the hotel and waits for the valet to help him get some fares. in the end it was fine, but we were tired of negotiating with these guys and they didn't always feel the safest. i'd recommend finding one of these guys that you like and trying to negotiate the entire time you're there for one flat rate. (we lost our first guy after we paid him for two separate trips. figured he had earned more money in those two trips than he had the whole month and he had vanished.) 

overall, we had a great trip to kenya! despite knowing that locals live quite cheaply, travel for tourists here is rather expensive. as westerners we expect a certain level of creature comforts and there is a cost for that. but traveling in this part of the world is a great reminder that so many around the world live on less, much less, than most of you reading this blog.

if you haven't ventured out of your home country, i encourage you to do so.

see the world.

ask questions.

gain perspective.

safari life. kenya. part 3.

while glamping in the mara, we spent our early mornings and evenings riding around in land rovers trying to spot the amazing wildlife of this region.

truthfully, we didn't have any idea what the big 5 were in kenya or what animals we might see.

we did end up spotting lions, elephants, and the buffalo off that list, but the leopard and rhino proved more elusive.

i especially enjoyed watching the hippos because it was fun to try and count how many were actually hiding under the water.

we saw this mama lion napping while four cubs played nearby. two belong to her and two to another mama.

we saw this sextet every day we went out on safari. the size of their group and the gash on mom's nose made them easier to identify.

these cubs clearly enjoyed playing and rough housing with each other!

and mama let us get pretty close.

you can see their series of antics below.

we quickly spotted three elephants our first morning out, but it took almost two full days before we came across another herd. 

here is the same set of lions from our first day. but just look at that belly!

nap time. bloodied paws and faces and full stomachs.

we also came across another female lion having her fill.

and this little scavenger was cautiously trying to determine if it was safe to grab this leg that had been left behind.

apparently, the king had already had his share. in person, i thought the male lions looked a lot less regal and powerful than they are generally portrayed.

this hyena is hoping for a turn.

on to some much less gruesome parts of the circle of life---- babies!

adorable little vervet monkeys.

this little guy stood so still for awhile. then i realized it was because he was peeing.  : P

the water buck and it's adorable heart-shaped nose!

thanks google for this amazing animation of my photos!

our guide found these cubs hidden in the bushes before they came out from their hiding place. the camouflage is real legit.

more cute little monkeys sitting in a tree! (can you find them?)

the dik dik.

this ostrich provided quite a bit of entertainment, as he ran around like crazy, flapping his wings and dancing about. the guide said he must have been bit by something.

another baby.

that wingspan tho.

we finally found more elephants.

again, the babies!

me and cait. after our breakfast out in the savanna.