Hello Kenya!
We arrived in Kenya, from South Africa, safely, after making stops in Zambia to pick up passengers and in Rwanda to change planes. I never thought I’d be able to say I was in four African countries in one day!
Our Airbnb host, Pamela, arranged for a driver to meet us at the airport. We got a SIM and cash at the airport, then it was off to our Airbnb house, where Pamela was making dinner for us. What a wonderful welcome to a new country!
 Deplaning at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport |
 Our lovely Airbnb host, Pamela. I highly recommend staying at her place if you’re in Nairobi |
Giraffes & Baby Elephants Galore!
We only had two full days in Nairobi, before we’d take the train to Mombasa to spend a week on the beach. Our top priority was visiting The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, since elephants were my eldest daughter’s favorite animal. My younger one wanted to see giraffes, so we went to the Giraffe Centre after The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. The Centre was a bit underwhelming, and 30 minutes, is more than enough time there. After you feed the giraffes, there’s not much else to do, except read some of the information panels. My daughters enjoyed it though, so it’s still a stop I’d recommend.
After that we were supposed to go to Nairobi National Park, but we were so tired from our travels that we decided to go back to our Airbnb house and rest.
 Hannah loved seeing the baby elephants up close! |
 Are you going to give me some food or what? |
The Great Rift Valley
Where’s the zebra?
Instead of spending our second day in the city, we decided to go up to the Great Rift Valley. We drove through Hell’s Gate National Park and saw more of Kenya’s wildlife. Then we got to stretch our legs on a guided hike through some beautiful landscapes and past small hot springs. My daughters loved finding obsidian along the way. After our hike, we tried to enjoy a picnic lunch while the guide and our driver kept the monkeys at bay!
Our next stop in the Great Rift Valley was a boat ride on Lake Naivasha. We saw a lot of different species of birds as well as several hippos. I thought it was really cool to see the hippos in their natural habitat. My girls had had enough of animal sightseeing by that point, and complained that the boat didn’t go fast enough! After the speed boat in Brazil, I guess it was hard for them to accept a slower pace 😉
 On our guided hike in Hell’s Gate National Park |
 Watch out for the monkeys or they’ll get your food! |
That was about all we had time to see before we made our drive back to Nairobi. Even though it was a lot of time in the car, I’m glad we went to the Great Rift Valley.
Panoramic view of the Great Rift Valley
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