A quick and harried hello from Kenya!
We just got back into Nairobi last night from our 3 day safari into the Masai Mara, where we saw the Big 5 in just one day! We are still riding the high from our sheer dumb luck. We saw lion, cheetah, elephant, buffalo, rhino (i.e. the Big 5), zebra, crocodile, hippo, baboon and monkey, giraffe, hyena, and many types of bird and gazelle/deer-related creatures. Took loads of photos, which I will upload whenever I can find a public computer that will tolerate it - so, probably not till we're back in the states.
We also visited a Masai village and today we are going to the giraffe center and elephant/rhino nursery. We fly to South Africa early tomorrow morning.
The funniest thing about Kenya is that literally EVERYBODY (even the Masai, who live in remote tribal communities) knows that Obama won the election and they are constantly asking us how we feel about it, if we voted for him, if we're excited about the things he's going to do, and so on...we feel a bit like rock stars, through no real achievement of our own :)
We were fortunate enough to safari with three other women - two Aussies and a New Zealander - who were knowledgeable, hospitable and tons of fun. Always nice when you're crammed into a van together for long stretches of time. Overland travel is a treat for the eyes, but quite hard on the rump!
I've carried on for long enough and my time is up - more in about a week!
Hope you are all well!
EDIT 5 DEC 08: So, I have to eat crow and admit that apparently the cheetah is NOT one of the Big Five after all - it's the leopard. However, in our humble defense, Dan and I have seen souvenirs proudly proclaiming the cheetah as a Big 5-er, so we don't feel too clueless - seems even some natives are confused as well!
2 comments:
Waaaah! All of the Big 5 in one day? That's badass. It's like the universe is smiling oh so benevolently upon your adventures! I'm also stoked to hear that everyone's excited about the election results!
Can't wait to see your photos and hear more about your awesome times :D
HOW exciting!! I can't wait to see some photos...I can't even imagine seeing these type of creatures in the wild...mind you, living in Alberta Canada, we see elk, moose, deer, bears, cougars, mountain goats and people who are not from here find it as fascinating as I would if I got to see a real live elephant not in a zoo! Enjoy, travel safe. Looking forward to some stories.
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