Our amazing adventure began in Nairobi, which is everything you imagine it to be and more. We landed at 8PM after a full day of flights (from OKC to Minneapolis/St Paul, to Paris, to Nairobi). Our Globus airport rep Kevin was waiting for us with a big sign. We were loaded into a waiting people mover and taken to a fabulous sanctuary hotel in the middle of the turmoil.

I say turmoil because Nairobi is an adventure all by itself. Cars go in every direction imaginable, paying no heed to traffic laws, signs, or other vehicles. The one and only thing the traffic yielded to was the Maasai cattle frequently roaming into the streets. Yes, cows. In the streets of a city with a population of 4 million people.

The next day we stayed at our amazing resort, spending the day in the pool enjoying the fabulous service and excellent food.

Day 3 began with a meeting with our Tour Conductor. His name was Evans. We loaded into a motorcoach and off we went.

First, the Giraffe Center, where the Rothschild giraffe species is given sanctuary and protection. We learned there are three types of giraffes. The Rothschild, the Reticulated, and the Maasai (Southern) giraffe. All have distinctive patterns and live in specific areas. We enjoyed this stop and then were off to the elephant sanctuary.

The Sheldrick Wildlife station is a haven for orphaned Africa elephants. Their goal is to rescue orphaned elephants (they are most usually orphaned due to poachers) and after achieving maximum health and necessary maturity, returning the elephant to the wild. They are the oldest and most successful elephant sanctuary in the world. You can help. You can adopt an orphaned elephant for $50 per year. Sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

Then it was on to the Karen Blixon house, the author of “Out of Africa”. Talk about a step back in time. It was an interesting place and beautifully preserved.

All in all a very full and tiring first full day.

The next day we were up and at it early. We separated into four groups of six team members and loaded into our amazing Toyota Land Cruisers. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much respect for a type of vehicle. We put those things through incredible challenges in the coming two weeks and they performed beyond our expectations.

We headed out to Ol Pejeta, a rhino sanctuary over 200 km away. The drive took us over 5 hours, driving along one of the few paved roads we would see during the entire trip. As we drove along we saw many aspects of Kenyan life through our viewing windows. We made a couple of relief stops, and even ate fruit from a roadside stand named Joy Farm. They grew, among other things, Hass avocado’s which I buy weekly at my local grocery store.

The poverty level in Kenya is staggering. Over 40% of the population is unemployed. 20% live on less than $2 a day. There is no middle class in Kenya, and a very few corrupt politicians and families own almost everything in Kenya. Kenya is a Republic and an ally of the United States.

Kenyans are focused on solutions and positive growth. They are very welcoming and happy and all seemed to be delighted to see us in their midst. They waved, they welcomed us, we were never afraid for our safety or felt resentment in any form. We were not harassed in any way.

More coming up,
Joy

Nairobi to Ol Pejeta