This post was originally written on February 1, 2018

Jambo!  I’m finally here in Kenya!

There are obvious reasons as to why Canada is such a great place to live, but bar none one of its drawbacks (other than it being freaking cold most of the year) is that’s it’s so damn far away from everywhere else! The journey to get here took nearly two days, and to make a drawn out process even more drawn out just add a migraine to the mix! Good ol Barfy Mcbarferson was at it again. As soon as the plane took off from Montreal I was heaving into a little paper bag. The lucky man sitting next to me hit the economy class jackpot!!!  I couldn’t even go to the toilet because we were still acceding.  Anyway fast forward past all that lovely stuff…I made it to Nairobi in one piece. Today I’ve spent the day sleeping and getting adjusted to the 10 hour time difference. Right now I’m sitting next to the pool watching an adult swim class. I can’t help but laugh at was going on right now.  These Kenyans are beginners and they splash like nobodies business. Also sitting next to the pool are a group of young foreigners (the most annoying is this outspoken Canadian – damn Canadians! )  Anyway I’m killing myself laughing because as they swim and karate chop the water like Jackie Chan, the bathing beauties are getting drenched! What a glorious scene!

Anyway, later tonight my friend Ash will get arrive. I’ve booked us a few things for tomorrow which I’m beyond excited for.

Until next time! …

This post was originally written on February 2, 2018

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in Kenya for less than 36 hours but yet I’ve already seen so much.

First things first – I’ve adopted a baby! His name is Maktao and he was born April 20th, 2017.  More on this later but had to share the big news right away.

So this morning we were picked up by a lovely man named Patrick. We went to the Nairobi National Park were we spent the next 4 hours doing a game drive. It’s quite an unbelievable backdrop because you  can literally see the tall skyscrapers towering in the distance from the city, but yet right before your eyes are lions! We saw everything from black and white rhinos, giraffes in plenty, zebras, impalas, warthogs, water buffalo, a crocodile, dik diks, baboons and of course the lions. I know I’m missing a bunch of animals but nonetheless this National Park did not disappoint!

As we were leaving we stopped by the Ivory Burning Site. Any ivory or rhino horns that have been confiscated in Kenya from poachers are brought here so they can be destroyed. There was this massive pile of white debris that apparently had 30 million dollars worth of ivory before it was destroyed. Poaching is still a massive problem here and seeing the evidence of so many slaughters was really heartbreaking!

Next up was the David Sheldrick Elephant Rehabilitation Centre. This is where baby elephants from all over Kenya are rescued and brought to so that they can grow and eventually be let back into the wild. Right now they have about 25 babies and each have their own tragic story as to why they became orphaned. Some due to poachers, many fell in wells and were trapped and others were left behind in human conflict. It’s so sad to see so many babies that lose their families all due to us humans. Thankfully there are places like this that rehabilitate them and properly release them back into the wild.

At 11 every day the public are allowed in to the Centre to watch the feedings as well as watch them play. It was so freaking adorable. They are like puppies.  Jostling for the best spot and rolling around in mud like it’s catnip! There was only a rope that separated the public from the feeding area so if the elephants came over (which so many did) you could touch them and pat them. Boy are they ever prickly! I seriously was in heaven! And this is where my adoption took place. For $50 you can adopt a baby of your choice and you’ll be able to get regular updates, a certificate of adoption and get this … a one on one interaction where you get to put them to bed! Yup just stamp the word sucker on my face! I’m going to go do my one on one with Maktao when I get back to Nairobi after the tour. I chose Maktao because he was the most playful and smallest of the bunch. He spent the entire time in the mud and he was just utterly adorable! He was found in Makatao – Tsavo West National Park and he was only 3 months old when he arrived to the Centre. He was found alone by a community member with no other elephant herd in sight. If not rescued he’d certainly have died.

The next thing on the list was visiting the Giraffe Centre. This Centre is a breeding centre for the nearly extinct Rothschild Giraffe. Once the giraffes are 2 they then  take them to parks around Kenya to integrate back into the wild. Until then, they are free to roam the massive land, and being such social animals they spend a lot of time right at the Centre where the public can get up close and personal with them. Here I was able to feed the giraffes and pet their cute little faces. They had these pellets that you could feed them and when you took your hand away from it’s mouth, a long slobbery string would be attached to your hand. Sounds disgusting but god damn – I’m in Africa with giraffes! The guy that worked there made us put a pellet in our mouth so that the giraffe could take it straight from our mouth. Also fairly disgusting but god damn I’m in Africa!

Later in the day we met up with our G Adventures group. The first day is the awkward get to know you dinner, and by the third day I always end up feeling like one big family. Looking forward to the tour!

If you are interested in taking a tour that covers the places on my adventure check out G Adventure’s Kenya & Uganda Gorilla Adventure

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