Lions and Elephants and Giraffes Oh My! ....safari time :)

hello all!!

sorry it has been a couple of weeks since my last update, as usual internet here has been super touch and go! everytime i manage to get a connection, i check my email and the power goes out. but anywho, here i am and ready to inform you all about the AMAZING time i had on safari a couple of weekends ago.


on friday we left early and headed out to the Masai Mara (south of Nairobi, adjacent to the Tanzanian border) to begin our adventure. the car ride was long, and the road was ridicously bumpy, but we were so excited to be on safari that we didnt mind. once we got to the park and checked in, we went out on our first game drive. within the first 3 hours of being out on the savanah we spotted 3 of the big 5 (the big 5 include the lion, rhino, cheetah, leapord, and buffalo) and i officially felt like i was a photographer for national geographic!! being out amongst the wild animals was sooo amazing and i will tell you all without a doubt that going on safari is something that you MUST do before you die!!! we were able to get ridiculously close (within 6ft at least) to almost all of the animals.

after an evening of driving out on the savanah we headed in to have supper and hang out. since we were all tourists this weekend rather than volunteers, the accomidations were a MAJOR step up! im not saying that where i stay is bad by any means, but the bed i slept in on safari was the best bed i have had in kenya, and the food we ate was amazing. i am pretty sure i ate more than i have the entire time i have been here over the three days of safari lol. after dinner i taught some of the kenyans we work with a few card games. nothing too crazy, just a few classics like spoons and slap jack, but it was SO funny! they had such a good time, and spoons got really competitive with the loser having to perform dares such as eating a spoonfull of hot sause, or getting cold water dumped on them! it was a fun evening, and it continues to amaze me how worldly my set of friends has become here. i have met people from all over the globe, for example our card game included individuals from all corners of the world (new zealand, ireland, kenya, and america) and it makes me sad that i probably wont see many of these people ever again after we part ways. that has been both the up and down of this trip.....

anywho, after a relaxing nights sleep we got up early and spent the entire day out on the savanah doing a game drive. we continued to see more of the big 5 (in the end missing out of the rhino, oh well) and since it is migration time (when the wildebeasts and zebras migrate across the masai mara into Tanzania) we were lucky enough to see literally thousands upon thousands of them running together across the savanah!!  it was so unbelievably cool!! as we continued on our drive i got an apprecation for how long it must have taken for the people who filmed planet earth to collect enough footage to make the series. for although we saw a LOT of animals, we also spent a lot of time driving around looking for those animals that are hard to spot, such as the leapord and the cheetah. after awhile everyone (except me i should note) was sick of seeing a heard of zebras for the millionth time. i, on the other hand, continued to be excited by every single one and felt the need to shout - ZEBRAS! - everytime we passed a group of them lol. basically i was the little kid of our group, also feeling the need to stand for the entire three days with the breeze blowing in my face and my hair getting full of dust and dirt from the gravel paths we were driving on. i figured if i spent a whole lot of money to experience this, i was going to absorb every minute of it and enjoy the view, as well as bring a little savanah home with me in the form of dirt and grime in my hair :)


after we had a picnic lunch out on the savanah (the only time we were allowed out of the vans during the game drives) we continued on our quest to spot the rhino. mike, our safari driver, asked us all what we wanted to see that would make our safari the best experience we could have. i immediately shouted "i want to see a whole herd of giraffes together on the savanah - at sunset - in front of the mountains!...or just a giraffe in general" mike responded with "consider it done laura, we will definately see a family of giraffes" and sure as shit, within a half an hour we pulled up to a whole herd of giraffes just walking out in the open! needless to say, i was in heaven!!! i started snapping photos like crazy and basically squealing with glee - and then my camera died. i was sooooooo heartbroken, but decided it wasnt time to pout and just absorbed how completely insane it was to be within a few feet of what i consider to be one of the most beautiful animals on the planet. i was so extreemly happy and told mike my safari was above and beyond and i considered my money well spent :)

a few hours later we headed in for another amazing dinner and some more cards before heading to bed. on sunday morning we got up even earlier than the day before to take some pictures of sunrise on the savanah. it was so incredibly beautiful and definately worth getting up the earliest i have while being in kenya. we spent the next three hours finishing up our time on the savanah and just soaking in being amongst such beautiful animals out in the wild.

by mid-morning we headed back, had breakfast, packed up and left the masai mara. we were all sad to go (as we had been looking forward to safari since day one of being here, and the weekend was so amazing). after a long day of driving we finally ended up at home where i decided that a shower was necessary and washed what was left of the savanah off of me, officially ending safari weekend.



on monday heather and i had a meeting with pator oweggy, one of the men who helps to coordinate the feeding program to touch base and interview some new families to put on our program. he had us over to his house, and we had a wonderful day of getting to know each other better, as well as make sure that we are all on the same page with the direction of the program. it was good to get back into the volunteer mindset after a weekend of fun, and i enjoyed meeting the new families we will be helping.

i feel as though the amount of time that i choose to be here was perfect for me. after spending 7 weeks in kenya, i can now see the difference that our program is making, as well as feel as though i am getting a true feel for life in kenya. i am so glad that i have managed to do as much as i have while i am here, as well as see as much of kenya as i have. by the time i leave in 7 weeks, i will have seen almost all of the country (minus the north where there is extreeme drought and it is currently not safe) as well as feel as though my time here was used effectively.

well thats all for now! i will be adding another blog about this past weekend and the time that i spent in kisumu as soon as possible! thank you to everyone for your understanding with my spotty updates, as well as your messages from home! i LOVE LOVE LOVE reading everything that i am sent!!

miss you all!
xo