Hakuna Matata
Plains of the Sarengetee
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We left Chicago on Dec. 24 and arrived in Nairobi Kenya on Dec 25th. From Nairobi we traveled to Amboseli National Park for our first Safari. It was so incredible. You name it we saw. Amboseli is at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The mountain provides a great back ground for viewing animals. While in this park we saw countless elephants, lion, zebra, Wildebeest, many types of birds, hippos, hyenas, water buffalo, and many other things. On one of our game drivers we sat and watched to male water buffalo fight for about 45 minutes. We had to finally leave, and they were still fighting. The power that those to males were using was unbelievable.
From Amboseli we went back to Nairobi and then on to Lake Nakuru National Park. Here we went on another Safari around the lake. This park is a lot smaller than Amboseli and has many different animals.
A Lion in Maasai Mara National Park
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One of which is the Rhino. We saw ten Rhinos while we were in this park. They were the White Rhino. The Black Rhinos are very shy and harder to find. We also saw countless Water Buffalo, Water Buck and other Antelopes, Zebra, some wonderful birds, Hyrex, different kinds of Monkeys, hypos, and other typical African animals. We drove through Lake Nakuru in Corrie's parents car. Most parks you need a guide and a bigger vehicle, but we used theirs in Nakuru. It made it a little nice, because we had all the control and could stay as long as we like. We also brought a picnic with us that we ate on a cliff over looking the lake.
Typical Home in the Kakamega Rain Forest Area
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After Nakuru we went to Kakamega Rain forest for the day. We only actually spent a little time there, but it was quite beautiful. We saw a lot of marvelous monkeys dancing in the trees above us and some more interesting birds, that I can never remember the name for. In the forest you can walk around on trails that lead to all kinds of places. We enjoyed the nice relaxing atmosphere.
We then went back to Nairobi and then on to Masai Mara National Park. This is the biggest and most popular park in Kenya. The park sits in the middle of the Rift Valley and in the Serengeti.
This year the weather has been quite dry, so it was not a green as usual, but it was great all the same.
We saw all the animal I have mentioned before, but much more of them. We saw lions anywhere from 1 month old to fully grown males and females. We also saw Leopards, Cheetahs, Topi, Crocodiles, as well as a Hypo out of the water. This is unusual to see in the day time. The sun is very intense on the equator, so hypos tend to stay in the water. This one was about 20 yards from us. Our guide said he was either sick, confused, or predicting rain. And, it did rain later in the day, so I guess he was right.
We saw a died elephant here that was simply amazing. The elephant was probably what we would consider a teenager. There was approximately 300 Vultures there eating it. It was incredible to watch. It honestly felt like being in a national geographic show. We truly enjoyed watching nature at work.
Elephants in Ambaseli
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From Masai Mara we went to Maua. Maua is were Corrie's parent live. They work there as missionaries in the Methodist Hospital. We spent three days in Maua meeting their Kenyan friends and eating some great traditional food. It was great to be able to see how they live and get to meet some great people. On that Sunday we went to church and the entire service was in KiSwahili. It was nice. Even though we did not understand most of it, we sure felt welcomed and could praise God with them. KiSwahili is one of the national languages of Kenya. The other is English. It was nice that most everyone could speak English. It made it easy on us when we were around Kenyans to be able to communicate.
After Maua we went back to Nairobi for some shopping. Shopping in the Markets in Kenya is a lot of fun. There are no fixed prices.
Giraffe in Maasai Mara National Park
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You get to barter for your best price. It is funny. Sometimes you buy somethings one place and then someone will offer it to you for less some where else. So, you learn to be careful and look around for the best price. But, everything is soo much cheaper there than in the States.
We left Nairobi on Jan. 11 and went to Brussels Belgium. Corrie and I went to the Grand Place in Brussels and looked around for a couple of hours before flying on back to Chicago. We had a great trip and thanks to all for the prayers for a safe journey.
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Do you have question about Kenya,
Do you want to share your stories about Kenya or other African Countries to put on this site.
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brent.kern@eds.com
