Kenya Blog 1


Jambo! Kenya is amazing, completely worth the combined 20 hours of travel and more. We are staying at the Masai Lodge one more night and then we leave for Olloika where we will begin our service work. Today was tourist day. We went to an elephant nursery where orphans are taken in, cared for, and eventually released back into the wild. One elephant sporting a red blanket showed the most exuberant amount of energy leading the charge and playing with everyone: including the audience. Elephants are the most emotional of animals. Once the elephants are ready to be let back into the wild, the trainers have a difficult time separating the pachyderms from their home and family. Also, the trainers have a bunk in each of the elephants’ stalls because the babies cry if they are left alone at night. The nursery also had one lone fully grown rhinoceros that seemed to have some emotional ties. Shida when released, was unable to fully assimilate into the wild, and would always return back to the nursery. Now he lives in a cage and is released every other day into the wild, returning every time without fail.

Leaving the elephant nursery we travelled to visit a slightly less friendly type of animal. Entering “Mamba Farm” we could hear the ominous hissing of reptiles inside the gates. 81 crocodiles awaited us in the farm with bright “smiles.” They sort of reminded us of ourselves on vacation, lounging around the pool. Our guide demonstrated the beasts’ deadly chomp, prodding them with a long wooden stick. He also told us some crocodile factoids. The deadly creature’s bite is the equivalent of 5,000 pounds of pressure per square inch, they don’t have tongues, they can live to be 100 years old, and the gender of the lizard’s offspring depend on the gender of the offspring (unfortunately Nairobi’s climate is too cold and all the eggs remain unhatched. This is probably better because they are cannibalistic and the mother often eats her own offspring). We witnessed three different age groups of crocs seeing one pen with the adults, one with the even faster and deadlier teenagers, and last but not least the baby crocs which we even got to hold and… “pet”?

After our crocodile encounter, we ventured over to a pen housing two ostriches and a noble giraffe. The giraffe took its pick as we all jumped to feed the gentile giant. Laurie was even brave enough to feed the animal with her mouth, clenching a carrot in her mouth and waiting for the giraffe to descend and snatch the food away with its long, slimy, bumpy, strong and black tongue. The giraffe often cleans its ears with its unusual tongue. The ostriches were also very peculiar. It seems almost more unusual in person as you witness what a long, strange, and active neck it has. It’s hard to believe food actually has to travel all the way down its throat.

Malcolm, Connor, Ben and Eliza had the chance to take a ride on a camel as well. We had no idea how big camels are, towering over and horse. Camels are not native to the part of Kenya we are in, so he was sort of an attraction for both the Kenyans and us Americans (and Canadian!

The first journey of our trip has been tiring for everyone but we’re adjusting to the time change and are really starting to get excited for the next steps in our journey.

Until Next time,
Mike and Conner