Category: Kenya

Kenya, Nairobi

Nairobi National Park

Joel

Visited the Giraffe Orphanage, where you could greet giraffes at their eye level (thanks to a platform) and hand feed them pellets. I can report that they have very long slimy tongues. Warthogs would follow giraffes because of their reliance on other wildlife. It was odd to see them somehow avoid getting stepped on by their giant neighbors and kneel (as they do) when eating.

Afterwards, I had a nice lunch at the Matbronze Wildlife Art Gallery and Foundry (and café) nearby to eat a late breakfast and admire their bronze exhibition.

My driver gave me the full game drive in Nairobi National Park in the afternoon. After hunting for a while without much success, we eventually found where all the animals were hiding. Tall grass? No, there are lions in there – so we found the full range where there was shorter grass near the southeastern part of the park – including hippos, ostriches, impalas, zebras, giraffes, jackals, monkeys, and a fair few black rhinos.

There was one walk we had to do to get to a remote hippo pool yesterday (no hippos there, unfortunately). In order for us to do the walk we had to be personally escorted by a park police officer with a machine gun – just in case any lions or leopards lunged out at us (I guess). At one point I pointed out a monkey near the river and I thought I heard him get startled enough to put his hand on the trigger.

It is amazing to think in this day and age people in this part of the world are still living side by side with such predators! This park was fenced, but there are still quite a few animals that manage to get out. We saw some hyenas nearby after we drove out of the park.

Kenya, Nairobi

Out of Africa

Joel

After returning to Nairobi, I spent a few days doing the usually touristy stuff. Went to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage to see lots of baby orphaned elephants get their morning milk out of bottles. The orphanage is part of the Nairobi National Park. The younger, the cuter the elephants.

After the elephant orphanage, I west to have lunch at the posh Karen Blixen Coffee House before heading on to see the Karen Blixen Museum. Karen Blixen is the woman the movie Out of Africa was about. The museum contains many old relics from when she lived there between 1917 and 1931. The exterior of the home was used in the film.

Today the surrounding neighborhood is named Karen in her honor. Full of very extravagantly wealthy homes as well.

If became time for some cash. After my experiences in South Africa, I was a bit wary about using ATMs in Nairobi. Things are a bit different in Kenya, however. Most ATMs are well guarded or housed in shopping malls. Due to the Westgate Shopping Mall attack, all vehicles are now stopped at the perimeter of shopping mall parking lots and are searched before being allowed to enter. Once shoppers get to the entrances, they must be personally searched by guards for any weapons before they can enter. With all that security around, I don’t think anyone is too keen on trying to scam people out of their ATM cards.

Kenya, Rift Valley

Weekend in The Rift Valley

Joel

My second day in Kenya and it was time to head for the hills. Well, the valley, anyway. The Rift Valley, which is just west of Nairobi and full of recreational opportunities. Our first stop was to visit Solio Ranch Game Reserve – about half way between Mount Kenya and Aberdare National Park. A bit pricey for tourists, but full of wonderful African wildlife.

Among Solio’s prized possessions were many white rhinos. Their breeding program is the largest and most successful in all of Africa. They supply white rhinoceroses to other parks throughout the region. All wildlife is considered to be owned by the government of Kenya in Kenya, so no private ownership or hunting is permitted.

Besides about 50 rhinos, we saw lots of other native wildlife, including roschild giraffes, a pride of lions, warthogs, countless impalas, endless monkeys, exotic birds, stacks of zebras, and many an antlered animal, etc

The drive up to Solio was interesting. Countless hidden speed bumps and continual heavy traffic made the drive treacherous. Every 10kms or so a police checkpoint would present itself. Pure bribery in action, I was told. They never bothered us, but many other motorists were pulled over and given “fines” for alleged traffic violations. Most people just paid them on the spot because they didn’t want any trouble, but expats were more likely to know their rights and demand due process – usually resulting in a wave through after a thirty-minute delay.

The car was equipped with numerous monitoring devices that scored drivers on their driving ability.  Alarms would go off if drivers drove too fast or braked or accelerated too quickly.  Each driver has their own unique key so they could be individually identified.

Stayed in a homey German run guest house nearby at foot of Mount Kenya, Africa’s second highest mountain.  Between this place and the The Talisman restaurant I visited on my first night in the Nairobi suburb of Karen, I couldn’t help but think of the scene from Apocalypse Now Redux – when the boat crew had dinner at and old French colonial plantation. It all felt a bit out of touch with its surroundings.

Kenya, Nairobi

Nairobi Intro

Joel

After roughly 17 hours of flying, I was picked up at the Nairobi airport by a friend and her driver. After dodging a group of cattle on the road (am I in India?), we started to head into Nairobi. Traffic was said to be lighter than usual due to the Christmas holiday period, but it sure looked pretty crazy to me.

Eventually after a few encounters with gridlock in the center of town, we made it to the gates of a very secure compound. The compound was protected by double gates, razor wire and electric fences, multiple patrolling guards, and guard dogs patrolling the perimeter at night. Once inside, it was easy to forget you were in the heart of Nairobi. The condominiums surrounded beautiful lush gardens with a swimming pool and other posh amenities.

Nairobi, also known as Nairobbery by some, has had some bad episodes of crime and terrorism in recent years, so many precautions have been put in place. My hosts were allocated a driver and secure car through their employer, whose location was continually tracked by GPS and equipped with tinted windows and a panic button. If out after 10pm, their car was automatically greeted by a well marked escort security vehicle that tailgated them home to deter car-jackers and kidnappers and to make sure they got into their home safety.

Certain neighborhoods around Nairobi, like Eastleigh, were complete no-go zones due to their high rates of crime and terrorist activities. Some of the largest slums in Africa can be found in Nairobi and they are quite notorious. The streets were filled with cameras posted high above that photographed every car’s movements around town day and night (creating a distracting strobe effect when they flashed).