East London on a spring day. I had no idea London had such a thriving houseboat community. And that sunset. It was gorgeous.
Category: Places
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East London
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These pictures are from a few weeks ago, when it was still *just* a little chilly, but the flowers were beginning to bloom… Our friend was visiting from the US, so even though the day seemed grey and dreary at first, we ventured into the center of town. We were so glad we did. It ended up being a beautiful day.
Cambs Spring
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Not a National Geographic Documentary, my real life.
Nairobi National Park is the only place in the world where you can see animals and distant skyscrapers in the same scene. It’s absolutely, totally incredible. One minute, you’re in the city; next, you’re in a safari jeep, off-roading next to a sleeping lion (yes, we saw a wild LION!). So I’ve since learned that this is not technically a “real” safari as far as safari-ing goes – apparently, people usually spend at least a few days deep in Masai Mara, which is several hours from Nairobi. Still, what an experience! Especially if you’re like us and don’t have a few days to spare; we were, after all, in Nairobi to work.
Driving across the savanna, in total stillness and quiet – it was beautiful. It was the Earth. I felt so small, but in such a wonderful way. If I could visit here every day, I would.
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Also, I’d like to give a special shout-out to our guide, George, who we originally met on our day trip to Naivasha. George was kind enough to personally arrange this National Park excursion for us one day before the trip AND upgrade us to a safari jeep at no cost. We had another great trip with him and, again, I highly recommend his services. I can share contact info with anyone interested.Nairobi National Park
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Hi, everyone, YES, that’s ME being BFF with all kinds of giraffes and baby elephants in Nairobi!!! Yes, it was as amazing as it looks!
These photos are from two different places, the Giraffe Centre (British spelling of “center”) and the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (aka the Elephant Orphanage). Both are right on the edge of Nairobi – you can do them both in a morning, back-to-back, but plan ahead, because the Elephant Orphanage is only open for one hour every day.
Honestly, I don’t even know how to describe this. It was so special to be able to interact with the animals that closely. Zoos are wonderful, but this was just something else. I’ll always remember it.
((P.S. Yes, I kissed that giraffe!!! No, it was not gross!))
Giraffes & Elephants
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Surreal. If you asked me to describe Lake Naivasha in one word, that’s the word that I’d use.
We came here for a boat ride, bird watching, and hippo sight-seeing. I was quickly mesmerized by the colors, the contrast of everything. Vibrant greens, the tall, dead trees. Quiet and stillness, suddenly broken by fishermen wading. Hippos lurking, watching, disappearing.
Surreal. Magical, even.
Lake Naivasha
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Part two of our Naivasha day excursion: hiking through the Hell’s Gate Gorges (recap of part one, here). First of all, it was absolutely beautiful. There were hot springs, giant clay towers, greenery everywhere. Meanwhile, this was all basically in a giant dried out riverbed canyon. Not the sort of place you’d want to be caught when a herd of stampeding wildebeast come through… RIP Mufasa. This is a good place to note that, for most of the trip, I pretended I was in the Lion King.
Again, another incredible experience, and no, the pictures do not do it justice.
Gorges
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exploring & escapades 