Out and about

We have had granny visiting for the last couple of weeks and school broke up on 7 December so we have been taking the opportunity to get out and about a bit and show my mum life beyond Nairobi. We have stayed in a couple of great places and seen loads of wildlife as well as learning about the tea industry here and seeing some more of the countryside. Highlights have been a getting up close to giraffe and zebra in the garden of the lodge we stayed at in happy valley country just north of Nairobi.

Watching the boys see how close they are to Samburu manhood by trying to throw our guide's stick over a large tree - one of the traditional rites of passage which our guide demonstrated with ease - was very amusing for me although I think Tim was more interested in the arrival of Saba Douglas Hamilton (of big cat diary) and her dad in their small plane and her tales of similar efforts as a teenager to be a Samburu warrior.

Standing on the Equator and watching Lion and Rhino lounging around and wandering close by in a conservancy called Ol Pajeta was pretty special too. And for granny and Jamie, seeing cheetah in the wild and a lion catch a warthog on a night drive was up there with the top wildlife experiences so far - I had advised against taking a camera not realising there would be a massive torch to light the scene so was briefly in Jamie's bad books as he's really keen on his photography just now (and lots of the photos in this blog are by him and Matthew).

New folder View photos    Download all You are invited to view anne's album. This album has 12 files.

And for all of us, getting out of town, leaving traffic jams behind, walking (and running) in the fresh air and spending some very nice time with granny has been a lovely start to the Christmas holidays. We were all very sad to see granny go but her next trip is already being planned - the Mara for the migration and the coast because its great - and we have lots of lovely memories (plus a huge suitcase of UK goodies) to keep us going.


Anne