I can't believe how cold it was at 6:30 this morning! I actually had to put on my sweater. Erastus, our driver, came at 8:00 to take us on a safari in the Nairobi National Park. Roads crisscross throughout the park with road names and arrows pointing you to every point of interest with unique names, like; Leopard. Cliffs, Impala Plains, Lion Dip, Hippo Pools, Lion Valley, Ivory Burning Site, etc. The only problem was that there was usually no indication as to where the main gate was! We put on a few miles just trying to get out of the maze of roads. We found the main gate at about 3 pm and headed straight for Java House for a very late lunch. Some of you know what it's like when you are on the hunt. Food was only on the menu of the wild things.
Branden was the only one who was able to get a glimpse of a lioness lying in the tall grass. That's because he managed to climb out the car windows and stand on the sill. We did see a lot of wildlife; zebra, Thompson's gazelle, Impala, eland, wildebeest, hart beast, water buffalo, bushbuck, giraffe, warthog, baboon, monkey, crocodile, guinea fowl, ostrich, vulture and more. There was one place we could get out and walk along the banks of the Hippo Pools, but only with an armed escort. Rhinos had been spotted there in the morning and they don't take chances that a park visitor will have an unwelcome encounter. The hippos were no where to be found, but we did see the old croc that may have intimidated the mother with the young hippo causing her to move to another location. The park is beautiful and very large covering 117 square kilometers, a jewel within 15 minutes of our location. Hard to believe you are in such a vast parkland of savanna and valleys and rivers with jets taking off overhead and city skyscrapers as a backdrop.
Oh, by 10 o'clock in the morning, the skies had cleared and the sun was starting to heat things up. Got a bit of a sunburn on the one arm nearest the window. After lunch we went to our flat for a nap. Five hours later, Branden still isn't awake and often yells in his sleep about something...sometimes it's intelligible with words like Nairobi mixed into the garble. I think he's having a really good time...even when he's asleep!
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