Day Two - Giraffes, Baby Elephants and Black Rhinos
Well as you can see from the title - our second day in Kenya was one of viewing some of Kenya's finest animals. After a wonderful night's sleep under a mosquito net we left the house around 10 and were taken to the "David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust". Basically what it is a trust that was established in 1977 that raises orphaned black rhinos and elephants and then when they are older they release them back into the wild. And for one hour each day the public can come and view. They currently have one rhino (22 months old) and 9 baby elephants on site (the youngest being just 9 months). And the site was amazing! So amazing that I think we are going to have to bring the others back to see this and take a video camera next time. There is an open spare where you watch them being brought out, fed, played with and then taken for a walk.
It was so wonderful to watch. The elephants came up close to be touched and the wardens introduced us to each one and told us some of their background. Most have really sad stories of their mothers being killed and thus scaring the baby elephants so that they need real care and attention. The wardens gain their trust and become mothers to them, doing almost everything for them, even sleeping beside them during the night. They are so affectionate to them and receive tons of affection back. However it was also good to see so much respect for the animal in that they didn't alter their livestyles or encourage any other human contact, in order that these animals have a chance when they go back to the wild. The way they are reintroduced back into the wild is also really sensitive, taking a lot of time and careful research. This was certainly the highlight of the day.
The highlight of the day for Nige however was the Langata Giraffe Centre. To get there we had our first experience on a traditional Kenyan matatu. The name comes from"three" because when they first started running they cost three coins to ride. Today they can consist of anything from a dipapidated Peugeot 504 pick ups with a cab on the back to shiny, bright painted 20 seat mini buses. They are really colourfully painted. Anyway our one was a minibus and was very cheap - around 60 Ksh (150 is a pound roughly). We took two different ones and then walked to the Giraffe centre.
The Langate Giraffe centre is run by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (AFEW) and here you can observe and feed Rothschild giraffes from a raised wooden structure. The wardens were once again great, giving us lots of information about the animals and their lifestyle. They currently have 9 giraffes living there. The food we gave them was more like candy as their real diet consists of leaves. There was also a baby giraffe around but it was too shy to pluck up the courge to come and be fed. Its a real experience feeding them. You pop the food onto their tongues which are really rough like that of a cow.
Then we took a matutu back into Nairobi and had some spare time to visit the National Archives. For those of you who think lots of documents, think again. Kenya only gained indepedance in 1963 and has the same rule for documents as Britain. They are classified for 50 years. So nothing post independance is even out yet and I doubt they want reminding of their colonial past. So what the archives consist of is two floors of pictures and paintings as well as some shields and spears on display. It was a really interesting place with a lot of history. Most of it was donated by the late president from his personal collection. Then we took another matutu home and Nige is now playing football with Matthew Underhill and his dad. Apparently they all take it very seriously out here in Kenya so we'll see how they all come back.
So any last thoughts about the day........ well the main one would be the fun it is to observe this different culture. Its so interesting. Coming back on the matutu today through Kenya it hit home that out of thousands and thousands of Kenyans that we had seen, there was not a single white person. This would explain why we were stared at so much perhaps. But for the first time you know that you a experiencing what it is to be an ethnic minority in a foreign country. It's really fascinating. Fortunately we can do this and be entirely safe. We had a local guy with us the whole time called Jacob and you therefore felt really safe in everything we did.
Tomorrow God willing he is going to take us back into Nairobi and we are going to be able to see the Parliament building, the Natioanl Museum and also.....wait for this....go to the local Stadium and see Kenya play in their world cup qualifier against Morrocco. And get this, it only costs 300 Ksh (about 2 pounds). We are told not to expect much but the experience will be great. Anyway I'll update you tomorrow on how it goes. For now I need to find my way back.
We are loving it here but we are still remembering you all back home with great fondness. Take care of yourselves and God Bless.
It was so wonderful to watch. The elephants came up close to be touched and the wardens introduced us to each one and told us some of their background. Most have really sad stories of their mothers being killed and thus scaring the baby elephants so that they need real care and attention. The wardens gain their trust and become mothers to them, doing almost everything for them, even sleeping beside them during the night. They are so affectionate to them and receive tons of affection back. However it was also good to see so much respect for the animal in that they didn't alter their livestyles or encourage any other human contact, in order that these animals have a chance when they go back to the wild. The way they are reintroduced back into the wild is also really sensitive, taking a lot of time and careful research. This was certainly the highlight of the day.
The highlight of the day for Nige however was the Langata Giraffe Centre. To get there we had our first experience on a traditional Kenyan matatu. The name comes from"three" because when they first started running they cost three coins to ride. Today they can consist of anything from a dipapidated Peugeot 504 pick ups with a cab on the back to shiny, bright painted 20 seat mini buses. They are really colourfully painted. Anyway our one was a minibus and was very cheap - around 60 Ksh (150 is a pound roughly). We took two different ones and then walked to the Giraffe centre.
The Langate Giraffe centre is run by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (AFEW) and here you can observe and feed Rothschild giraffes from a raised wooden structure. The wardens were once again great, giving us lots of information about the animals and their lifestyle. They currently have 9 giraffes living there. The food we gave them was more like candy as their real diet consists of leaves. There was also a baby giraffe around but it was too shy to pluck up the courge to come and be fed. Its a real experience feeding them. You pop the food onto their tongues which are really rough like that of a cow.
Then we took a matutu back into Nairobi and had some spare time to visit the National Archives. For those of you who think lots of documents, think again. Kenya only gained indepedance in 1963 and has the same rule for documents as Britain. They are classified for 50 years. So nothing post independance is even out yet and I doubt they want reminding of their colonial past. So what the archives consist of is two floors of pictures and paintings as well as some shields and spears on display. It was a really interesting place with a lot of history. Most of it was donated by the late president from his personal collection. Then we took another matutu home and Nige is now playing football with Matthew Underhill and his dad. Apparently they all take it very seriously out here in Kenya so we'll see how they all come back.
So any last thoughts about the day........ well the main one would be the fun it is to observe this different culture. Its so interesting. Coming back on the matutu today through Kenya it hit home that out of thousands and thousands of Kenyans that we had seen, there was not a single white person. This would explain why we were stared at so much perhaps. But for the first time you know that you a experiencing what it is to be an ethnic minority in a foreign country. It's really fascinating. Fortunately we can do this and be entirely safe. We had a local guy with us the whole time called Jacob and you therefore felt really safe in everything we did.
Tomorrow God willing he is going to take us back into Nairobi and we are going to be able to see the Parliament building, the Natioanl Museum and also.....wait for this....go to the local Stadium and see Kenya play in their world cup qualifier against Morrocco. And get this, it only costs 300 Ksh (about 2 pounds). We are told not to expect much but the experience will be great. Anyway I'll update you tomorrow on how it goes. For now I need to find my way back.
We are loving it here but we are still remembering you all back home with great fondness. Take care of yourselves and God Bless.
posted by Unknown | 4:18 pm
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