Saturday, January 14, 2012
Looking back
It was the best trip of my life and I was so blessed to have been able to enjoy it with my twin sister, Miriam. The time we were able to spend together enjoying each other's company is almost beyond words - I won't ever forget it. A special thank you also to Miriam for all your hard work to put this blog together...from the notebooks and pens you had already packed, the daily reminders to "write in your blog", and all the time it took entering it online and downloading the pictures...Thank you.
THE END!
Finally, almost a year later, I complete this blog and now, I'm able to get books printed for Sarah and myself. And amazing trip and adventure full of a lot of wonderful memories that I will treasure forever =)
Friday, January 13, 2012
More pictures
Some of these might be repeats, but I know some them are new. The group pictures are ones that are take from a hike the rest of the group took on the Saturday morning that Sarah and I left for Nairobi.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Almost done
I'm almost done this blog!! I just received Sarah's journal from her and will do my best to insert her entries in the order of mine and by days. Then, I will also likely add a few more pictures - some which may be repeats because I can't remember all that I have already posted!
Heading home!
We arrived at the airport about 830pm for our 1055pm flight. After pleading our case with the KLM agent and supervisor (about the mix-up the airline had made a few days prior with the tickets and I said I lost almost a night of sleep); we were upgraded to economy comfort which was wonderful - a smaller section of about 20 rows that was much quieter and had more leg room. I think I got about 4-5 hours of broken sleep. It's about 5am right now and we have just landed in Amsterdam. Halfway home to Matt and my girls - to lots of hugs and kisses!
A final picture with our wonderful guide for the past few days - James!
SARAH's JOURNAL
Heading home after such an awesome trip. I'm sad to leave but ready to go home. I'll be staying in Grand Rapids until Sunday to see my gorgeous twin nieces and hopefully recover from jet lag before my final flight back to SNA and my own bed! This trip was above and beyond all I had dreamed it could be - definitely my BEST trip ever! We were able to serve and help the Mully Children's Family (MCF), spend quality time together and explore Africa for a few days at the end of our trip.
After dinner tonight, James (our driver) took us to the airport for our 1055pm flight ... via Amsterdam to Detroit and on to Grand Rapids - to arrive just after 1pm tomorrow afternoon (9pm Kenya time). Miriam asked for an upgrade due to a mix-up by Delta with her return ticket - she was persistant and we were upgraded to Comfort Class - more leg room and we each had a row to ourselves! Although I rarely have trouble sleeping on planes (lots of practice), Miriam is hoping for 2-3 hours on this first 8 hour flight. I'm planning to kick back with my Kindle - I'm reading Nelson DeMille and just finished the Gold Coast (thanks for the recommendation, Charlie - great book) and now I'm starting the Gate House.
Genite for now!
A final picture with our wonderful guide for the past few days - James!
SARAH's JOURNAL
Heading home after such an awesome trip. I'm sad to leave but ready to go home. I'll be staying in Grand Rapids until Sunday to see my gorgeous twin nieces and hopefully recover from jet lag before my final flight back to SNA and my own bed! This trip was above and beyond all I had dreamed it could be - definitely my BEST trip ever! We were able to serve and help the Mully Children's Family (MCF), spend quality time together and explore Africa for a few days at the end of our trip.
After dinner tonight, James (our driver) took us to the airport for our 1055pm flight ... via Amsterdam to Detroit and on to Grand Rapids - to arrive just after 1pm tomorrow afternoon (9pm Kenya time). Miriam asked for an upgrade due to a mix-up by Delta with her return ticket - she was persistant and we were upgraded to Comfort Class - more leg room and we each had a row to ourselves! Although I rarely have trouble sleeping on planes (lots of practice), Miriam is hoping for 2-3 hours on this first 8 hour flight. I'm planning to kick back with my Kindle - I'm reading Nelson DeMille and just finished the Gold Coast (thanks for the recommendation, Charlie - great book) and now I'm starting the Gate House.
Genite for now!
Tuesday, Feb 8th
SARAH's JOURNAL
We've had a couple of fun-filled days of safari and adventure! After a rest on Sunday afternoon, we headed to Masai Mara Reserve to see wildlife. All the drivers in the reserve have radio communication to alert each other of animal sightings. It brought me back to my firefighting days in northern Ontario. When a fire was spotted on radar, all available crews would race to try to find it by truck. It felt the same - all of us racing in matatus (tour vans) to see the animal(s) sighted. Two of the biggest pieces of excitement 1. Two cheetahs feeding - our driver took a huge risk as he drove off the road and onto the grass closer to the cheetahs so we would get a close-up picture. Both Miriam and I snapped quick pictures and told him to get back to the road - the penalty for being off the road is a $10,000 fine and the park rangers will suspend their license and ban them from the park. Just after leaving the cheetahs ... 2. a second call came that a buffalo was being taken down by 3 male lions. The couple staying next to us at our camp saw the kill and said it was like watching something on the discovery channel. By the time we arrived, two male lions were feeding and the other one was watching. A very cool experience to see all the animals in the wild - my favorite were the giraffe -- seeing their heads above the trees was awesome! Of the big five - lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and elephant -- we saw all except the leopard.
MIRIAM's JOURNAL
Up at 530am, breakfast and on the road for a side trip to Lake Nakuru park reserve. A smaller park, but, again, so amazing. Flamingos, pelicans, different kinds of giraffe, zebras, ostrich, lions, ostrich, white and black rhino .... It is one of the most incredible things to see elephants, lions, and giraffes in their natural habitat -- to be in the middle of their land and surrounded by the beauty of land and animals.
After leaving Lake Nakuru, we stopped for BBQ'd goat - something I have never tried before. Meat was hanging beside the open grill. They cut the meat in front of you on wood planks, which have small piles of salt to dip the meat in. No utensils. Sliced onion and tomato and various other sides are given to us - all to be eaten with fingers. I have to say, it was a very tasty, delicious meal!
After an afternoon of driving, we are back in Nairobi and we head to THE carnivore restaurant - a totally unique experience for both Sarah and myself. All kinds of meat, roasted over charcoal and carved at your table. You are given a mini turntable with all different kinds of sauces and the servers would give suggestions for each meat. They will keep serving you meat until you "surrender" and lay your flag down. Sarah and I were adventurous and tried just about every kind of meat. We both agree that liver tastes like liver - no matter what kind it is and it's just not our favorite! The ostrich tasted a bit like dry, overcooked beef; the ostrich meatballs were good and the camel meat was quite tasty. My favorite was the leg of lamb - medium rare with a light mint sauce -- delicious!
The ox balls actually weren't too bad!
We SURRENDER!
SARAH's JOURNAL
After a final safari day, before heading to the airport, we stopped for dinner at a restaurant called Carnivore. What a dinner experience! Definitely once in a lifetime! They kept bringing us various kinds of meat until the flag on our table was put down on the table as a sign of surrender ... and then there will be desert - if there is any room left!?! We sampled exotic meats such as ostrich (a bit chewier than beef - I didn't like the meat alone but the ostrich meatballs were good) and crocodile (tastes like fishy chicken) ... lamb, chicken, turkey, beef, chicken gizzards (we couldn't stomach trying these), lamb liver and even ox balls, which were surprisingly good - believe it or not! I highly recommend giving this place a visit if you are in Nairobi - an experience to remember!
We've had a couple of fun-filled days of safari and adventure! After a rest on Sunday afternoon, we headed to Masai Mara Reserve to see wildlife. All the drivers in the reserve have radio communication to alert each other of animal sightings. It brought me back to my firefighting days in northern Ontario. When a fire was spotted on radar, all available crews would race to try to find it by truck. It felt the same - all of us racing in matatus (tour vans) to see the animal(s) sighted. Two of the biggest pieces of excitement 1. Two cheetahs feeding - our driver took a huge risk as he drove off the road and onto the grass closer to the cheetahs so we would get a close-up picture. Both Miriam and I snapped quick pictures and told him to get back to the road - the penalty for being off the road is a $10,000 fine and the park rangers will suspend their license and ban them from the park. Just after leaving the cheetahs ... 2. a second call came that a buffalo was being taken down by 3 male lions. The couple staying next to us at our camp saw the kill and said it was like watching something on the discovery channel. By the time we arrived, two male lions were feeding and the other one was watching. A very cool experience to see all the animals in the wild - my favorite were the giraffe -- seeing their heads above the trees was awesome! Of the big five - lion, leopard, rhino, buffalo and elephant -- we saw all except the leopard.
MIRIAM's JOURNAL
Up at 530am, breakfast and on the road for a side trip to Lake Nakuru park reserve. A smaller park, but, again, so amazing. Flamingos, pelicans, different kinds of giraffe, zebras, ostrich, lions, ostrich, white and black rhino .... It is one of the most incredible things to see elephants, lions, and giraffes in their natural habitat -- to be in the middle of their land and surrounded by the beauty of land and animals.
After leaving Lake Nakuru, we stopped for BBQ'd goat - something I have never tried before. Meat was hanging beside the open grill. They cut the meat in front of you on wood planks, which have small piles of salt to dip the meat in. No utensils. Sliced onion and tomato and various other sides are given to us - all to be eaten with fingers. I have to say, it was a very tasty, delicious meal!
After an afternoon of driving, we are back in Nairobi and we head to THE carnivore restaurant - a totally unique experience for both Sarah and myself. All kinds of meat, roasted over charcoal and carved at your table. You are given a mini turntable with all different kinds of sauces and the servers would give suggestions for each meat. They will keep serving you meat until you "surrender" and lay your flag down. Sarah and I were adventurous and tried just about every kind of meat. We both agree that liver tastes like liver - no matter what kind it is and it's just not our favorite! The ostrich tasted a bit like dry, overcooked beef; the ostrich meatballs were good and the camel meat was quite tasty. My favorite was the leg of lamb - medium rare with a light mint sauce -- delicious!
The ox balls actually weren't too bad!
We SURRENDER!
SARAH's JOURNAL
After a final safari day, before heading to the airport, we stopped for dinner at a restaurant called Carnivore. What a dinner experience! Definitely once in a lifetime! They kept bringing us various kinds of meat until the flag on our table was put down on the table as a sign of surrender ... and then there will be desert - if there is any room left!?! We sampled exotic meats such as ostrich (a bit chewier than beef - I didn't like the meat alone but the ostrich meatballs were good) and crocodile (tastes like fishy chicken) ... lamb, chicken, turkey, beef, chicken gizzards (we couldn't stomach trying these), lamb liver and even ox balls, which were surprisingly good - believe it or not! I highly recommend giving this place a visit if you are in Nairobi - an experience to remember!
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