Thursday, July 2, 2009

Day 8 Experiences

Today was the day where I got to go out on my one day safari to the Nairobi national wildlife park. Getting in was a hassle (they don't know how to cater to tourists here, and that is their biggest industry!), but the park was great!

-Saw more giraffes than I have ever seen in my life.

-Got great videos and pictures of everything wildlife.

-Observed part of it from the top of the vehicle while riding

-Got to drive from the right side of the car.

-Saw herds of Zebra

-Saw a lone wildebeast

-Saw a lion and was mere feet from it!

-Saw the giraffes do this weird neck-banging-into-eachother-while-walking-thing.

-Saw a leopard which I am told is very rare to be able to spot in that park

-Saw some hippos

-Saw the spot where Kenyans burned millions of dollars in ivory in protest of the ivory trade. Ashes are still there. It turns out when you douse ivory in petrol it will burn...

-Got my picture taken with a Massai

I think those are the highlights. It was a pretty fun day but I was toasted and tired and dusty as can be by the end of it.

2 comments:

  1. Joseph,
    You MUST hire a guide. We authorize paying it. Don't risk going out alone without a local street savvy person. Let us know what to put in your account to cover this. You have to have someone (one or two even) by your side. Don't know how to say this strongly enough. Recharge the phone if you need to! Ask Winterle or someone else you trust if you can hire a nephew, uncle or brother and negotiate a rate. DO THIS TOMORROW! Always leave a note in your compound what your day's itinerary is in case someone has to come looking for you. Love you and worried about you,
    MOM

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  2. It's Annie, your little sister. I wanted to say that it sounds like your having a fun time with lots of rare experiences. Anyway, that neck banging thing that the giraffes did, it was a fight for territory or for a female. Banging their necks together is their way of fighting and it is dangerous to on-lookers and themselves. The giraffe's necks could be broken and their organs crushed and the giraffes may even turn on the people sight-seeing (Although I have never heard of that happeneing before). After the fight, the giraffe that lost, would walk away and graze on a tree and the winning giraffe would (most of the time)walk over to the same tree and start grazing as if they were the best of friends and that nothing had happened. It's a very strange way to fight. Did your guide tell you about it?

    Loving You and Missing You,
    Annie

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