Best Kenya & Tanzania Day 3
Best Kenya & Tanzania
Day 03 - Thursday, September 17, 2009 - Nairobi, Kenya – Orientation Walk/Pre-Trip Join/Karen Blixen Museum/Giraffe Center/Bead Factory
What a difference a good night’s sleep makes! Although our bodies are still on Colorado time, we were able to sleep until 7:30, trying to establish a routine so we do not have jet lag.
We shared our breakfast table with Barikiel who gave us more information about the Safari tour and the changes OAT has made in the itinerary. He also started to teach us a few words in Swahili.
The sun was shining in Nairobi today. People are waiting for the spring rains; there were a few clouds so Elizabeth was hopeful. It was 83 and 54% humidity when we started our walking tour of the city center and government buildings.
The first thing we learned was that we are very limited in the photographs we can take. Even taking a picture of the hotel was discouraged. There were absolutely no photographs of any of the government buildings or statues.
Elizabeth gave us history of the country emphasizing the independence from the Britain in 1963. This relatively new country is very proud of its young government and capital.
We walked through the government center with our three guides pointing out the Mausoleum of the first president, the Parliament Grounds, the offices of the President and the Courts, as well as the departments of education, finance, and public services.
The slogan on all flags and building shields is “Harambee” which is Swahili for Pulling Together. There are also signs in front of each office declaring – This is a Corruption Free Zone!
After all of this official business, I asked if we could walk through a grocery store to see the actual People’s Place. We were excited to see the various departments; the bakery, the fresh greens, and dry and canned goods.
The city is very clean and smoking is prohibited in all public places and on the streets. There are stiff fines for littering or smoking in non-designated areas.
We had about 30 minutes to go back to our room and at 11:45 we met again to go to lunch and pick up the majority of the group who were arriving from the Maasai Mara pre-trip. The guides dropped us off at the Nairobi National Park and they made the brief trip to the airport.
There were a small group of young Maasai Warriors who danced and sang for us. While we waited, we talked to several school groups and they were very curious about us and welcomed photos and wanted us to have pictures taken with them.
As soon as the Pre-Trip group arrived we went to meet them and introduce ourselves before we had lunch together at the New Rangers Restaurant. The restaurant is located inside the National Park and overlooks a scenic bush area.
We were treated to several traditional Kenyan dishes from surrounding tribes. After a mixed cabbage and carrot salad we had a beef stew with rice, which was served with kale, a slice of sweet potato, arrow root, and a corn based cake called ugali.
While we ate we saw warthogs, impalas, and kites – a hawk like bird. After lunch we got into our Toyota Safari trucks to go to the Giraffe Center. Our guide, Stevie explained about the conservation and education center.
Unlike any other park in Africa, in the Giraffe Center one can actually feed and touch these animals, the tallest in the world. Our lucky lady was named Daisy, a near extinct Rothschild giraffe.
Our next stop was the nearby town of Karen, named for Karen Blixen. There we visited her home, now a museum dedicated the Danish author who wrote Out of Africa.
The beautiful stone house now belongs to the Kenyan government and is furnished with much of the original furniture. Most of the 6000 acre coffee plantation was sold and the once isolated home is now in the middle of the growing urban population.
We left the plantation at 4:30 to go to the Kazuri Bead Factory. Our guide John took us on a tour of the factory which was begun by Lady Susan Wood, wife of the founder of Doctors without Borders in 1975.
This enterprise was begun as an industry to help the women of the local villages. Over 340 mostly single mothers work there to create ceramic beads exported around the world.
The traffic trying to leave the city at rush hour was very heavy and it took quite awhile getting back to our hotel fighting traffic all the way.
We had an hour to freshen up and start sorting photos before dinner at 7:30. While Gennie sifted through her notes from the day, I looked at pictures. Already, we can tell this is going to be a colorful adventure!
We said good-bye and thanked Elizabeth for her help in Nairobi. After our buffet dinner, Barikiel gave us a briefing on our trip into the African Bush that we will begin tomorrow. We came back o the room at 9:15 and then posted the journal and called it a day!
Accommodations: InterContinental Nairobi - - - Meal: B, L, D
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Comments
I am planning the Tanzanie 14 day trip. Will use your name so you may receive credit.
Post a Comment!The Danes are everywhere. I have visited the Blixen museum in Copenhagen but would love to see the farm. Hope you will have a great trip.
Maasai Warriors Jump and Sing (1:05)
Intercontinental Hotel Nairobi
Barikiel, Elizabeth, Leonard
Students at Nairobi National Park
Giraffe Center
Afternoon Traffic, Nairobi
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