Back to Kenya and Lewa

Matt had to be up at Kenya for a board meeting and the kids had Thursday off of school for Union Day (when Zanzibar joined Tanganyika), so we decided to join him for the weekend.  We spent a night in Nairobi (i.e. the first world) on our way up and then spent the next two nights at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.  A fun weekend getaway.

In Nairobi, our first stop (even before heading to our hotel) was a mall for some Planet Yogurt (self-serve yogurt where you can mix flavors and then add toppings of your choice…pay by weight…brilliant).  Bookstore and healthfood store stops were next; we stocked up on some new books and fluoride-free toothpaste (our water in Arusha has extremely high levels of fluoride). 

The next morning we headed further north into Kenya to Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. On the way we stopped at Barney’s for lunch.  Not only is this a fun little food joint, but it’s also at the small regional  airport, so Anderson got to check out the fun aircraft in the hangar.  Made him a very happy little boy.

Lewa is one of TNC’s main partners in Kenya, and a it’s a beautiful place to visit.  This is also where Matt, David, and many others will be running the Safaricom half-marathon or marathon at the end of June.  Lewa is known for its resident population of endangered rhinos and grevy zebras.  Really cool. 

First stop right inside the gate was the education center.  Kids loved trying on the elephant’s foot.

Game drives were fun.  Rhinos were a highlight…as were the grevy zebras…well, we also got a kick out of the nursing elephant mom trumpeting at us. 

While Matt was in the NRT (Northern Rangelands Trust) board meetings on Saturday, I took the kids to go horseback riding at Wilderness Trails and then for a swim (sans bathing suits) at the pool afterwards.  The planned ride was cut short due to some mean ostriches at the top of the hill (we didn’t encounter them, but the manager had gotten chased by some earlier; it was an experience she didn’t want to repeat with kids). They did get to scatter a herd of impala though.

Back at Ngiri House (where we were staying) we entertained ourselves by watching the vervet monkeys from the pool while swimming.  Vervets can be cute from a distance, but really tend to liven up an afternoon when three of them get in to your room, steal some food, and then poop on the floor. 

Ash talking about the vervets sneaking into our room

And, of course, it wouldn’t be a true safari experience without sundowners. 

Family self-portraits on the top of the car

On the way home we also found the new Eastern Bypass north of Nairobi which meant we got to skirt all of the Nairobi traffic.  We made it home from Lewa in 6 1/2 hours (including border crossing)…not too bad considering the first time we went I think it took us 9 hours.