After nearly a year of anticipation, it was hard to believe the time had finally arrived for our African vacation (or as Chris called it, "aFRICKan vacation"). Alas, it took us a little longer to get to Africa than we expected...
The short version is that American Airlines screwed up big time. First, they shut off (and then took two hours to "restart") our plane in Philly, so we missed our connection in London and got re-routed through Amsterdam, only to discover we didn't have a flight out of Amsterdam, got sent back to London, and finally arrived in Nairobi after three days, seven flights (two of which were red eyes), and a gratuitous night in the Schiphol airport hotel.
Along the way, we played a lot of euchre, ate a lot of airport food, and learned a lot about patience and resilience.
"Nobody's called me Barbara in years!"
Aaron ordered the "sausage butty" sandwich in Heathrow.
Collapsing with exhaustion in the airport hotel in Amsterdam.
We finally made it!!!
After all the travel drama, it was the best feeling in the world to walk into the beautiful hotel Opa had booked for us in Nairobi, take a hot shower, and get the vacation started.
Our first stop was the Nairobi elephant orphanage, where we experienced a lot of new things. For example, it was the first time we ever saw an elephant get bottle-fed. It was the first time we realized a zebra and rhino could be best friends. And it was the first (and hopefully last) time we experienced the blast zone of an elephant fart.
Next, we went to the giraffe feeding center. We each got bowls filled with pellets, and the giraffes licked them right out of our fingers with their long, black, sticky tongues. You couldn't put down your guard though, or they would side-sweep you with their massive heads to remind you to keep feeding them!
That evening, we ate at a restaurant called "The Carnivore," where we got to sample a wide variety of meats ranging from standard to exotic. Some of us were brave enough to try the ostrich and crocodile, but I don't think anyone was willing to taste the ox balls...
We also sampled their famous Dawa cocktails.
Cheers!
On our second day in Kenya, we drove down to the Great Rift Valley to spend the day at Lake Naivasha, a huge freshwater lake that used to be home to thousands of flamingos. Unfortunately, due to rising water levels, the alkalinity changed and all the flamingos left. But we still got to see lots of other weird birds. We also spent some time on Crescent Island, where we walked alongside free-roaming giraffes, zebras, hippos, and various species of antelope.
Photo op on Crescent Island.
Our aFRICKan crew.
Heads or tails?
Afterward, we enjoyed a buffet dinner...
...with a view.
After a couple of days in Nairobi, we were ready to head out on safari. We had to take a small prop plane to the Maasai Mara, where were booked at the Tipilikwani Mara Camp for three nights and six game drives.
Aaron got to sit up in the cockpit while the rest of us squeezed in back.
Maybe he should learn to drive a car first?
We touched down on a small landing strip and immediately climbed into a jeep for our first game drive.
At first glance, you might think they're all smiles because they're so thrilled to be on safari. But don't be fooled. They're laughing because the first elephant we saw was...ahem...excited.
All jokes aside, our inaugural game drive through the Maasai Mara, with the sun setting in the distance, felt pretty magical.
To get from the parking area to the camp, we had to cross a long, wobbly bridge across the Talek River (which was home to a few hippos and a whole bunch of baboons who bickered all night). On the other side was Camp Tipilikwani, with its deluxe sleeping "tents," swimming pool, and open-air lodge where we ate our meals and ordered cocktails from the bar.
The camp provided Maasai bodyguards who escorted us around the camp at night because, apparently, it was not uncommon for a stray elephant or even a lion to meander its way onto the property 😬
For our group of twelve, we had two jeeps and three guides - Flo, Duncan, and Ramses. We switched back and forth between jeeps sometimes (depending on who was fighting with whom) but Chris and I stuck with Flo the whole time. She had an uncanny knack for positioning our jeep right in the path of oncoming wildlife. Our mantra for the trip was: "Go with the Flo."
Posing with our drivers (from left to right) Flo, Ramses, and Duncan.
It got a little chilly on the morning rides, but they had beautiful, bright, warm Maasai blankets in the jeep to keep us cozy.
Where to next?
Playing tic tac toe on Jill's ashy legs while we search for animals.
On safari, everyone talks about trying to see "the big five": (1) lion, (2) elephant, (3) cape buffalo, (4) leopard, and (5) rhino. Apparently, the name was coined by big game hunters to refer to the most difficult animals to hunt on foot. It's rare to see all of them (the rhino and leopard are especially elusive) but after all of our travel woes, we were apparently overdue for some good luck. We saw all five and then some!
(1) Lion
Lions weren't that hard to find, actually. We saw them out hunting on multiple drives. And while we never actually saw them make a kill, we did come across a group of lionesses feasting on fresh wildebeest wildebeest. Eww.
Tough day.
Alright, that's close enough.
Lion love.
(2) Elephant
We also saw plenty of elephants, which were my personal favorite. Something about them felt peaceful and comforting. Maybe it was their big, intelligent eyes...or their wrinkled kind-looking faces...or the fact that the kids told me I look like an old elephant... 😒
See the resemblance?
(3) Cape Buffalo
No idea why this one would be so hard to hunt. They were everywhere.
(4) Leopard
The leopard caused quite a stir in the Maasai Mara. Leopards are notoriously hard to find (it's the only one of the big five that I didn't see when I sent on safari in my twenties), so word spread like wildfire amongst the game drivers when someone "spotted" it (har har). Jeeps from all the local safari companies converged on this one, lone leopard, who seemed entirely unaffected by its celebrity status.
Long line of jeeps trying to get close to the leopard.
Ignoring the paparazzi.
(5) Rhino
Last but not least, the rhino. We didn't see one until our final drive. Unlike most of the other wildlife, we had to keep our distance because rhinos will charge right into a jeep if it gets too close!
In addition to the big five, Flo also joked about the "ugly five" - the unofficial list of the ugliest animals in the park: (1) warthog, (2) hyena, (3) vulture, (4) Marabou stork, and (5) wildebeest. We saw all of these too! (Apologies in advance for the Disney quotes below. It's out of my control.)
Are ya achin', for some bacon?
Who you callin' "upid-stay?!"
Whatchu wanna do? Oh, now don't start that again!
The Marabou Stork is also sometimes called "the undertaker bird."
Wildebeests aren't just ugly, they're also stupid.
And then there were the honorable mentions who didn't make a special list - ostrich, cheetah, baboon, zebra, giraffe, hippo, fox, all kinds of antelope (topi, impala, eland, gazelles, and dik-diks)...and even the secretary bird from Bedknobs and Broomsticks (more Disney references, iykyk)!!
We were lucky enough to visit the Maasai Mara during the migration season. Great herds of zebra, antelope, and wildebeest littered the plains. We even got to see was a herd of wildebeest crossing the Mara river. It was like something out of a NatGeo documentary.
Watching the migration.
River crossings are treacherous. It's hard to see in this photo, but this is a crocodile who snatched up an unlucky wildebeest that broke its leg on the rocks.
Never seen this kid so happy.
In between drives, we relaxed at the camp, took naps, swam in the pool, drank cocktails, and played more euchre.
Our Tipilikwani hosts also planned some special, memorable experiences for us. One day, they set up a picnic lunch for us out on the Mara (after checking for lions, of course).
Another day, it was cocktails at sunset with a view of giraffes grazing in the distance.
Danny with his two biggest fans.
Please note the giraffe in the background, silhouetted by a brilliant smear of sunset.
All the grandkids.
On our last day, we got to eat another picnic lunch on top of Lookout Hill with a view of the Mara River.
Speaking of the Mara River, we got stuck in it at one point and had to be towed out by another safari company!
We also crossed paths with some local school groups on a field trip who thought we were the most interesting thing they saw on safari! Dare I say, we were their "big five"?
In the blink of an eye, it was time to say goodbye to Africa. But thanks to cameras and data storage plans, we will never forget the things we saw and experienced there...
The majesty of hot air balloon launches at dawn.
The stark beauty of a crooked acacia tree on the horizon.
The dusty tranquility of a jeep ride home after a long day chasing lions.
The hilarious paradox of a Maasai cow herder checking his iPhone.
A candlelit dinner with cousins.
Even the forced smiles our kids put on for family pictures (right before they went back to fighting tooth and nail over nothing).
But we weren't done yet...
On our way home, we stopped for a few days in London. By that point, we were all pretty travel-weary (or maybe just weary in general), the kids were at each other's throats, and then Chris got some mild food poisoning from a street vendor in Camden. So we had to "Go With the Flo" once again. We allowed time for naps, skipped some of the more touristy crowd-magnets, and tried to take it easy.
Still, we mustered up the energy to grab some pints at a pub, see a show in the West End, ride the tube and a double-decker bus, have tea at the Orangerie in Kensington palace, tour the Tower of London, and explore Camden and Covent Garden.
We also gave in to the kids' pleas to get tickets to the "London Dungeon" which, according to Wikipedia, can best be described as "an interactive horror attraction, less historically-accurate and based around bad taste humor." 😂😂😂 We walked through cheesy, live-action performance rooms featuring classics like Jack the Ripper, Sweeney Todd, the Great Plague, and (our personal favorite) a powder-wigged judge who asked: "Why were you weeing in the well on Wednesday?? Because you're a weirdo." Apparently, most tour guides describe it derisively as "best enjoyed by young teenagers and the credulous." Nailed it.
Cheers, mate!
Even in their sleep, they were throwing punches.
Not as many gelato shops as Italy, but all you need is one!
Mind the gap.
The first day was so hot. Instead of baking alive in a glass capsule on the Eye of London, we opted for flavored icies...
...and a game of euchre in an air-conditioned pub nearby.
Riding the top level of a double-decker bus to Camden.
Looks like the Colorado "C"!
Camden ended up being one of our favorite days (apart from that whole food poisoning thing).
So many cute little shops...
...and sweets.
Fancy tea at the Orangerie.
The kids enjoyed it more than I thought they would.
Turns out, it's fun to drink tea with your pinky up!
But given how many times we accidentally dropped things into our teacups, no one would have mistaken us for British high society.
A post-tea stroll through the "Sunken Garden."
Traveling is tiring.
One day more!
A classic British lunch.
Big Ben and Westminster.
A view of the Tower Bridge from the Tower of London.
Our hilarious yeoman tour guide.
These guys take guarding the crown jewels very seriously!
Exploring dungeons and torture devices.
The royal rooms.
Cold drinks and more euchre next to the Thames.
Enjoying the energy (and street performers) in Covent Garden.
Last day in London.
After two long weeks, these Yankees were ready to return to the land of air conditioning, free refills, Fahrenheit, the 12-hour clock, and ranch dressing. Cheerio, toodle-pip, and ta ta!
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