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Easter Holidays... Take One
We had the pleasure of my parents company for the first 10 days of the holidays. It was great to see them after 7 months (still cant believe its been that long). We began our holiday showing them the sights of Nairobi. Having spent so long here, Sean and I have not actually been down town yet!! You here horror stories of Nairobbery and 'no go' places, but to tell the truth its like most cities in the world there are places to avoid at certain times. Be sensible, dont flash expensive cameras, money, wallets etc.
Nairobi is a great city with lots of charracter and history, its easy to navigate yourself around on foot, the buses to and from town our extremely cheap and a good way to experience to traffic and people. Having now explored the city centre somewhat, its certainly the best place to go to buy souveniers (also a great experience especially when you have your mother with you, who would be talked into buying everything!!)
Kenyatta Avenue is the main artery running through the city and like most Kenyan road is muliti laned!!! Driving in Kenya, not just Nairobi, is hilarious or scary! One of the two!! No road markings, no road rules, but still no road rage! Its incredible, people are actually more annoyed if you dont pull out in front of someone!!
Apart from the Market, Kenyatta Conference Centre is a must see. Make your way to the top and stand on the helipad to view the whole of Nairobi and surrounding area. On a clear day Mount Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro are visible.
When you have visitors to nairobi you have to take them to Karen, which is a more well to do area of Nairobi. This is where the Karen Blixen Museum, National Park, Giraffe Manor, Bomas of Kenya and the famous David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust- Elephant Orphanage. The Elephant Orphanage is a great place and out of all those mentioned is certainly my favourite. A centre for lost, abandoned and injured elephants. Make sure you get there early or you will miss the show. The work that happens here is geared to ensuring the elephants are well treated and one day released back in to the wild. Elephants never forget!!
After our few days in Nairobi showing the folks around our 'Home' town we headed to the Mara (it didnt seem right that they came to Kenya and didnt get to see the Mara) On our journey out of Nairobi you are able to see the dramatic contrasts in class, culture, environment and scenery. We headed across the Great Rift Valley an incredible cause of nature, the dramactic view hits you as you curve round the Naivasha Road. 6000km from the Dead Sea in Jordan to Mozambique in the south, unbelievable sight!! To get access to the Mara game reserve you travel through the centre of the Rift Valley to the gate of the reserve. Its a long drive but a fantastic one!
Once in the Mara we had 3 Game Drives to look forward to. Thanks to a visit to the holiday expo in Nairobi Sarit Centre we were staying in a 5 star lodge with swimming pool and view of the river which provides a perfect habitat for a family of Hippo's! A wonderful setting, fabulous food, very relaxing!
The Game Drives were somewhat disappointing, the animals are yet to make their journey back to the Mara from the Serengetti. We were able to see the big five so could leave the park happy. Unfortunately our guide believed he was in a race ratherthan a tour of a park! Speeding round is certainly not the best tactic to see more!! We had a great time and enjoyed the experience. It was good for Sean and I to see a different time of year in the Mara when it is waiting for the rains and the return of the animals.
From here we returned to Nairobi where we watched Big United in the Breaburn Bar (no trip to nairobi would ever be complete without a trip to the Braeburn Bar!)
Naivasha was next on the list of places to go... but thats for another day.
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