Jacaranda Nairobi

... often). I’ve learnt about the luxuries of water and electricity (though again I’ve been very lucky that I have pretty much no lack of these luxuries in Kasarani). I’ve learnt the basics of how to dance, Kenyan style (kind of, though I need more practice). I’ve learnt how to negotiate, as my Dad found highly amusing when he came to visit. I’ve learnt enough Swahili to impress my colleagues and neighbours, and to be able to ...

... craves attention and loves to be picked up and swung around. We also gave Kilonzi all the goodies we had brought for him yesterday, so all the kids were trying out the new toys. I had brought mini sticks for them, and we started a little game of hockey on a make shift rink (full of broken glass and garbage... the perfect place for kids to play). The funniest thing though was when Beth decided she wanted to play... baby on her back ...

... When we arrived Chris left straight away to return to Nairobi so he can pick up his new Australian passport and get his visa for Ethiopia.<br><br>Two other trucks are at the campsite: Geckos and Dragoman (who are on their way to Cairo). It is possible to use this lodge as a base for climbing Mt Kenya, but there isn't enough time to do the actual climb.<br><br>Dist cov. = km<br><br>20th - Walked to the main road and got a matatu to Nanyuki for ...

Sunday 2nd August. Up early we packed and took a taxi to the outer expat suburb of Karen (named after the writer Karen Blixen who wrote "Out of Africa" in the early 1930,s or so). Karen camp is a campsite run by an expat NZ man who used run overland trips in Africa and now rents out his campsite to travellers and mainly it is a meeting point and rest stop for the many overland truck companies that stop in Nairobi. The camp has tent sites and cheapish rooms and dorms so ...

... sleep mats and foam to use as pillows for the camping trip. <br><br>Saturday 1st August. After a sleep in we had a yum brekky at the best cafe in Nairobi- Java Coffee house. I have updated this blog and while Wayne loads it on the net at an internet cafe I am going to the Nairobi museum. So from tomorrow we will be at Karen Camp and Monday morning we leave on the truck for Tanzania. <br>The Nairobi National museum trip was a quick trip across town and the reliable taxi I arranged ...

... to be a lot safer than how the guide books made it out to be. I think you've just got to be a little careful in avoiding certain places and not flaunting the fact that you are a tourist. And if you take a taxi from place to place (it's not that expensive) one really shouldn't have a problem. <br><br><br>I checked out of the Fairview Hotel and checked into the Hotel Boulevard where I would meet my overland team. This hotel was rather dingy ...

... its similarity to sunsets drawn in movies such as "The Lion King")! : ) Drive two started early, with more lions, giraffes, and elephants. The elephants were great, and they were everywhere! There were even tiny babies that we could hardly see above the tall grass, but we knew they were there! We also stumbled across a mother and adolescent cheetah having a gazelle for lunch. It was amazing to watch them disintegrate the animal within a short ...

... and her beautiful fun daughters Daphne and Laura <br>- Going backstage at the Animal Orphanage and cuddling a cheetah cub<br>- Getting Igor the Russian to take our photo at the animal reserve <br>- Spotting my first wild animal in the savannah within the city <br>- Taking the wheel and driving a safari vehicle in a national park <br>- Hydrothermal plant explanation by the front guard<br>- Getting to know the "Born Free" story ...