Jambo- First two days in Kenya

Amsterdam to Nairobi

-After 21 hours straight, the last leg of the flight actually seemed short. Probably due to the fact that we were mostly passed out for the trip. Emmett fell asleep before takeoff and slept for about 6 hours. Everest was himself, staying awake for almost 24 hours before finally falling asleep. Maddi, Julie, and I slept off and on, mostly off. The food and serviced on KLM was very good. We touched down into Nairobi and stepped off into the most incredible smelling air in the world.

Nairobi Airport and drive to Manor

-We processed through the airport relatively quickly. A very nice man pulled us out of a very long immigration line and asked us to follow him. Having heard numerous times of extortion/bribery schemes at the airport I was a bit nervous. However, he took us to the other side were there was no line and he proceeded to process us through himself. What a wonderful turn of events! Once through, we immediately had a young man who took us to the baggage collection area. He waited with us and after a long time, our luggage finally arrived (all of it, amazingly enough. Apparently, the airport officials “lose” your luggage, and if you do not fill out the right form, charge you $150 the next day when you come back for the “service” of “storing” your bag.). We passed through customs and found George, our driver, waiting for us. After piling all of the luggage into the van, George drove us about 30 minutes out of town to a neighborhood called Karen. We arrived at the manor and stepped out of the van into one of the most beautiful settings in the world.

Our room and the late night dinner

-Our room is very large, with a fireplace, two twin beds, a king bed and comfortable chairs around the fireplace. We have our own bath and our room is off the back of the manor. Incredibly, almost like it was designed, we get to walk trough the kitchen to the rest of the manor. Thus, we have the opportunity to meet the entire staff. We have had the incredible opportunity to meet and get to know Cosmos, who facilitates most of our food/drink needs. More on him and the others later. Once settled, they brought Julie and I a wonderful light meal of scrambled eggs and fresh tomatoes. After approximately 31 hours, we finally were able to crawl into our amazing beds and blissfully fall asleep.

Breakfast with the Giraffes

-Something to be said about time differences. On would think that we would have slept for hours, but we awoke maybe four hours later (we have no clock in our room and did not bring any watches, so we have NO idea what time it is) and waited for dawn to break. The smell here is amazing. Literally, the world here smells like a giant Sandalwood incense. Once 7:00 am rolled around we took Maddi into the Manor to have the long awaited breakfast. There are not words to describe how Maddi reacted when she walked into the room that she has watched hundreds of times on her video and saw the Giraffes with their heads sticking in the room. I will try to upload a video. Maddi literally was happier than we have ever seen her. She was almost convulsing because she was so excited. We had to hold her in the chair as she fed them. The experience is amazing. The giraffes are massive, yet so gentle and incredibly graceful. Their tongues are pretty dry and they have no breath smell. Their fur is incredibly soft and they cry numerous tears (it is how they sweat). We feed them pellets and you can feed them one at a time or by handfuls. You can even put one in your mouth and have the giraffe kiss it from you!!! So, from about 7:00 am to about 8:30 we had breakfast and fed the giraffes. The boys are loving this experience as well. They seem to enjoy the warthogs as much as the Giraffes. There are also Guinea Fowl, Geckos, Bush Buck’s ( a type of Antelope), and numerous birds on the property.

Nairobi National Park

-After breakfast, we went to the Nairobi National Park, about 20 minutes from the Manor. We went with a couple from Plymouth, England and a woman from Colorado who has been in Africa for about 6 months working at a Chimpanzee orphanage. The park was very interesting. They had no key for the gate, so we had get Maddi in African style…We had to lift her jogger over the gate to get her in. The park was like many other zoos that we have been in, with the exception that we had a personal guide (a “volunteer” who is going to university and “works” at the park seven days per week, for tips). We saw numerous animals, but the most exciting/unnerving was when our guide took us down in between the enclosures so that we could see the leopard. Unfortunately, that brought us down between the lion enclosure and the leopard. The sleeping lioness all of a sudden appeared and zeroed in on Maddi in her stroller. The lioness began to dig at the dirt under the wire and was in full hunt mode…Needless to say, the adrenaline jumped and we got out of there quick (something about SF zoo, tigers, and a chain link fence).

Lunch with the Giraffes

-Upon our return, we sat on the veranda and had coffee and hot chocolate and fed the numerous giraffes. We got to spend a lot of time with Lynn, a very large and pregnant giraffe who is about 20 feet tall. The weather was wonderful, with scattered clouds, low 80’s and pretty low humidity.

Giraffe Center

-After another incredible meal (we are constantly eating) we went to the Giraffe Center, where most of the research and breeding program is conducted. Again, more feeding of the Giraffes (are you detecting a theme…) and a look for Jacques, the Manor’s stag/dominant male. He is reputed to have fathered over 200 children!!! We had a personal guide who took us into the separate enclosure where he lives.

A run in with Jacques

-We were very lucky, as we found Jacque immediately. Often, they have to walk the 100 plus acres to try and find him. He was right at the fence and we got to see how truly immense he is. At close to 22 feet tall and 2 tons, this is an amazing animal to be 6 feet away from. Our guide took us into the enclosure and we got to see much of the local fauna. At our return, we saw Jacque again, being able to get some fantastic photos of him in the trees. As we passed him and walked down the trail, we were talking with the guide, who turned around and told me (with eyes the size of dinner plates) to “watch out!!!” I turned to see Jacque literally about two feet away from me and Maddi. How an animal that big can move SILENTLY through the forest is amazing. So, for the second time in one day, the adrenaline spiked! Luckily, he turned on the trail and moved on. What an experience.

An Early dinner for the kids and Lucy

-Our host arranged for one of the women at the manor named Lucy to watch the kids while we had dinner. She is a wonderful woman who works here at the Manor, who only gets to see her two children about 2 days per month. The kids had their own dinner prepared for them and we got Maddi into bed (Everest was already passed out at this time). So, Emmett and Lucy played with Lego’s, whichg was a first for her. She is probably 30 years old and has never even heard of them. Needless to say, what an eye opening experience for all of us.

The most uncomfortable dinner in the world

-Lucy allowed Julie and I to go the evening dinner, a very formal affair with appetizers and cocktails followed by a candle light dinner. As dinner progressed, we began to feel overwhelmed by the inequalities that exist here. It was a picture right out of 19^th century Imperial English Kenya, with African waitstaff in white coats and gloves and a table full of rich, white foreigners. The people that work here (the Kenyan’s) are such beautiful people that have to put up with a work situation that removes them from their families and keeps them in dependant poverty. They have no voice, no economic opportunity, and live in a world with such vast disparities, it was literally too much for Julie and I to handle.

Late Night Fire

-We left the group after dinner and skipped the after dinner aperitifs. We took a very tasty Kenyan cream liquor back to our room and sat by the fire and discussed the nights events. We have to be very careful, but we are going to try and set up something to try to improve some of the people that we have met lives. I know it sounds cliché, but we CAN make a difference in someone’s lives here and we will work out the logistics somehow.

Mosquito Killing

-After passing out, we spent the night fighting mosquitoes (despite the netting, about four got in). I only hope after the five significant bites that I got, my immunizations will be effective. After another sleepless night, we woke up surprisingly refreshed at about 4:00 am, had coffee and fresh Mangoes and watched another African sunrise. This is perhaps one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen.

We hope you enjoy the pictures and we will update in a couple of days. Off to the internet café.

I am uploading one image, but connections here are very spotty and slow...So, more than likely, I will have to forego pictures for now and just give descriptions and I will send links when we get back to a web host for the photos and videos.

Please look for another post tomorrow. We have done SO much since I wrote this.


Cheers and Asanti Asana

The Parker's