Nairobi, Kenya didn’t originally factor into our January 2018 travel plans. After the excitement of seeing the Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda, we wanted to laze around on an island somewhere off the eastern coast of Africa. My friend MVL, who is very familiar with Kenya, decided that she would meet us there in January for a little winter break. She has friends who live next to the famous Giraffe Manor where you can share your breakfast with a herd of Rothschild giraffes. The Giraffes are allowed to reach their long necks through the windows for leftovers. MVL and I talked about evenings under the stars, sundowners in hand by the fire, enjoying Nairobi with locals. We talked about game drives, visiting the the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to see rescued baby elephants and rhinos, and about how we could contribute to the economy by shopping our way through the local boutiques. We talked about it, I booked it and she no-showed.

It actually wasn’t all that unexpected. A. and I discussed that a lot could happen in 6 months, life can get in the way, and regardless if MVL made it across the globe, we would still be able to do everything she and I had talked about. So, A. reluctantly agreed to re-route for three nights in Kenya on the way to Zanzibar.

We arrived at the Airport in the late evening, and stood in an hour long line at immigration. When we finally got to the front, the gentleman at immigration told us we would have to take a form, fill it out, and then get back in line. A. argued with him and somehow he agreed to let us fill it out and skip getting back in line. We usually organize some sort of fast track/meet and greet service in foreign countries so there is no hassle. We really could have used it here, because after the Immigration debacle, the driver who was scheduled to pick us up was not waiting for us. It turned out there was confusion as to which flight we were actually on and at which terminal we would arrive. Calls were racing back and forth between the local tourism company, our hotel, and our travel agent in Chicago. After 90 minutes, we were finally found, collected and carried off to the Emakoko Lodge.

Emakoko at night. (Borrowed from their website)

The Lodge was located close to the Nairobi airport, inside of Kenya’s first National park. Because it was so late our driver had to wake-up the guard in the gate house at the entrance. The park is 45 square miles surrounded by an electric fence which separates the animals from the citizens of Nairobi. The ride from the park gate to the actual Lodge was a 30 minute long ‘African Massage’ more brutal than anything we experienced in Rwanda. It was an all-out rocky, rugged drive with only the car’s bouncing high beams and the moon to light the way. Around one turn we had the good fortune to find a lion lying on the road. I decided to consider him our official ‘meet and greet.’ The General Manager, Anthony, waited up to welcome us to the Lodge. He showed us to our room, and offered us a small meal and a much needed cocktail.

Safari Chic, or an introduction to Grey and Brown

In the morning we were able to admire the rustic quality of the hotel, backed up to a mountain at the edge of the park. The common spaces - dining rooms, bar, and lounge all faced into the park and were situated above a river where the wildlife came to drink. The breakfast (and really all of the food) was delicious. They had a garden onsite, chickens who laid fresh eggs and they tried to use local ingredients as much as possible. The bartender was known as Dr. Lawrence because of his ‘medicinal’ cocktails. The owners and the staff were all lovely and very accommodating.

After breakfast Anthony escorted us to the top of the mountain to see the view and to meet the newest member of the Emakoko team - a rescued 3 week old antelope that the family was caring for. On the way he pointed out groups of rock hyraxes, or rock rabbits, camouflaged in varying tones of grey and brown in the trees and rocks surrounding the rooms.

Our plan for the day centered on driving to the town of Karen - an affluent suburb of Nairobi. It’s named after Karen Blixen who wrote the memoir Out of Africa. There we could have lunch, feed giraffes, shop the local boutiques and feed our adopted baby elephant. And, the ride into Karen was through the other side of the park so it counted as our first informal game drive. The jeep kicked up rusty colored dust as we made our way out of the park. We saw sandy brown impalas, sandy brown giraffes with darker brown patches, and grayish brown water buffalos drinking the muddy waters. My impression was that everything in Kenya was dressed in shades of brown.The Pantone color matching system would be proud of the variety.

Our first stop was lunch on the outdoor patio at Talisman. It appeared to be the ‘see and be seen place’ in Nairobi. A 1930s chevy pick-up advertising Jack Daniels welcomed us in the driveway. The restaurant looked to be a former white-washed house with colored glass windows set in a lush palm garden - it was nice to see green! Talisman was an eclectic mix of art, food, furniture and people. The terrace was large with terra-cotta umbrellas, and groupings of hightop barrel tables, concrete banquets, wooden tables, and balinese benches with striped cushions. We ate their tasty signature Feta + Corriander Samosas and a few other dishes.

Next we visited the non-profit Giraffe Center which teaches local youth about the nature in Kenya, breeds giraffes, and introduces international visitors to the endangered Rothschild Giraffe - up close and personal. This sub-species of giraffe is identifiable because of the absence of color on its pelt below the knees - it’s like they are wearing long white socks. There was a central ‘treehouse’ with an education center in the middle, and a porch surrounding it that was high enough to put you face to face with the giraffes. They are truly beautiful creatures with glossy black eyes and long thick lashes that would make a Kardashian envious. Their tongues are also long and black and reach toward you quivering with anticipation for the pellet they know you have. They can also get aggressive with a super fast head butt if you ignore or annoy them.

Portrait of a Giraffe with Giraffe Manor in the background (Just noticed this!)

We took a break from nature and stopped by the Lagata Link shops. It was a maze of small farm-style rooms around a courtyard. The Tin Roof restaurant was in the garden surrounded by miss-matched chairs and tables. The shops offer colorful African fabrics made into bags for everything from your water bottle to purses and giant bean bag poufs. They sell jewelry, woman's, mens, and kids clothing, home goods, leather goods, locally made olive oils, teas and handcrafted botanical body oils and lotions. Its a magical, well-curated, one stop souvenir haven! Our driver told us that Kenya stopped producing, selling and using plastic bags in 2017. You get 4 years in prison or pay a fine of $40,000! Maybe they were inspired by the Rwandans who instituted their plastic bag ban in 2008. And we Americans? Where are we on our plastic bag ban? I guess at this time this is really the least of our problems…

Melamine Animal Plates - the perfect souvenir!

When we were in Rwanda staying at The Retreat at Heaven, we met the owners, the Ruxins. Not only are they incredible contributors to life in Rwanda, they were carrying out another mission in Kenya with the creation of GoodLife Pharmacies. GoodLife Is a chain of Pharmacies that offer health services and focus on customer care in East Africa. Since 2013 they have grown to over 50 branches. It was exciting to actually visit one after hearing about it.

For a Good + Healthy Life…It’s convenient that it is located next to The Century Lounge!

The main event for us in Kenya was to visit the rescued elephants and rhinos at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. We arranged to ‘do’ the bedtime bottle feeding there at 5pm. In advance we had adopted a rescued baby male elephant named “Ambo.” Ambo was found stuck in the mud in Amboseli (hence his name) National Park when he was 3 months old and was rescued by Big Life Ranger Force who held him until DSWT could collect him via helicopter the next day.

DSWT does their best to locate the orphans and return them to their mothers as soon as possible. If thats not possible, then they are taken into the Shelter where they are cared for. They are taken out daily to be re-introduced to the park where they will eventually return. We stood in a large group of about 20 foster parents to see the Orphans return from their day in the wild, followed by their keepers. Some of the Elephants are more excited than others and literally dash into the stables at 5pm knowing there will be bottles of milk and fresh greens.

I was disappointed to learn that the handlers, not the foster parents, would be feeding the elephants. I thought we had arranged for a private feeding where we would be in charge of the milk.

Once they’ve eaten they are readied for bed with their handlers nearby. The relationship between the elephants, rhinos and the handlers is really sweet. After following DSWT on instagram, it was amazing feeling to be so close and feel so safe with wild animals not 5 feet from you. There were also mischievous little warthogs running about.

That night at the hotel bar we met some newlyweds who had arrived from a safari in Tanzania. We told them we had visited the DSWT and they were excited because that was on their agenda for the next day. “And we get to feed the baby elephant it’s bottle!” She said - as excited as I was before I knew the truth. I decided to tell her thats not actually the case. She was sure of it and told me they had to pay $200 (can’t remember the actual amount, but we only paid $50) to do it, and that they had a 6 o’clock appointment not the 5 o’clock call time that we had. So there was a private feeding…

On our official Itinerary for Wednesday, January 31, 2018 it says “Day left open to spend with friends.” A. woke up with a sore through and wanted to rest, so we hung out at the hotel. I found a magazine in our room called ‘Old Africa’ that was published in 2012.There was a story about the hedonistic ‘Happy Valley Set’ that lived, loved and drugged together between 1920-1950s in Kenya.

The scandal at the center of this ‘Set’ was the Murder of Lord Erroll. He was found shot in the head in his car. Lord Erroll was having a very public affair with the recently arrived and recently married Diana Caldwell. He was supposedly murdered by Diana’s new, elderly and very wealthy husband Sir Broughton. Sir Broughton was the main suspect. Prior to the murder, Broughton had reported his two guns ‘stolen.’ He was acquitted, and after the trial he returned to England only to commit suicide by a lethal injection of morphine. Another member of the ‘Set’ was an American Heiress Alice de Janze, who also had a motive - she was Erroll’s former mistress. She had famously shot her previous lover and herself in a Paris train station. They both survived, got married and finally divorced. After the trial of Erroll, Alice went on to kill herself with a shotgun. Diana Caldwell could have also been a suspect as she went on to threaten three subsequent lovers with guns. In addition to that, there was a rumor that Diana had a lesbian lover at the time that might have helped her with the murder, that, and the fact that Diana was the last person to see Erroll alive, made another argument for her guilt. Finally, a more recently submitted theory was that Lord Erroll was considered a danger during WWII as he was friends with a nazi sympathizer and London’s Secret Intelligence Service M16 couldn’t afford that risk. The theory was that Lord Erroll was assassinated by M16 in an elaborate military plot basically ‘framing’ Broughton for the murder. I found it ironic that these people were called the ‘Happy Valley Set’ but I was happy to have found some “friends” to spend the day with, as scandalous as they were. (If you find this as intriguing as I do, I suggest reading the book White Mischief.)

I went on a solo afternoon game drive. Besides his sore throat, A. hated the serious bumpiness of the roads and had no interest on experiencing it again until it was on our way out. The guide tried to make the drive as interesting as he could. We saw Velvet Monkeys, Baboons, Water Buffalo, Wildebeest, Giraffes, Zebras, and Grant’s Gazelle. He told me that the baby wart hogs are nicknamed Radio Africa because their tails sticks straight up like an antenna, and that the Imapala’s with a black M on their butt and are called the African Madonna. There were also many birds: Herons, Egyptian Geese, Grey Crowned Cranes and the guides favorite - the Ostrich whom he referred to as a ‘superb styling bird.’ It paled in comparison to our sightings in Botswana, by both the sheer number of animals we saw and the lush landscapes we encountered.

We drove back as the sun was setting and in the distance I could see the silhouettes of a few Rhinos. This was something A. and I hadn’t seen in Botswana. We were able to see a very old Rhino in his special pen the day before at DSWT, but not in the wild, and not in a group. The guide drove around to where the rhinos were grazing so I could capture them in the light. I wish A. had been here to see them, as it is the only one of the Big Five we hadn’t seen in Botswana. The last remaining White Rhino in the world died on 20 March 2018. He leaves behind 2 remaining females his daughter and granddaughter. They are going to try to propagate the species using IVF. I hope that it works….

There are certain places in the park where you can see the downtown high rises of Nairobi poking up at it’s edges. As Anthony, the GM of Emakoko said “In the 50s Kenya was a sea of wild life with islands of humans and now its the other way ‘round - a sea of humans with islands of wildlife.” I imagine there could be very few animals in this park in the next five to ten years, which is very sad.

I returned to the lodge for our last dinner, and our last wildlife sighting - a spotted genet that the bartender and staff feed after most of the guests have gone back to their rooms. She was very skittish but the lure of food kept her coming back for more.

We had an early flight to Zanzibar which required a 5am wake up call. The early wake up calls usually result in a night of fit-full, anxious sleep. In addition to waking up at 5, I woke up at 3 and 4 too. At 3:15 I thought I heard a lion roaring or making some sort of call. I jumped out of bed and went to window at the same moment a Masai guard pointed a flash light into the grass. It created a perfect circular frame around the lion as it opened its mouth to roar. It reminded me of the old MGM logo you would see at the beginning of a film.

After gently knocking to wake us up at 5, housekeeping returned at 5:15 to deliver tea and cookies. We left at 5:45 in the darkness and drove out through the park. And we saw (the same?) three big hulking rhinos silhouetted by the rising sun. So A. could cross the Rhino of its list after all.

After exiting through the gate house we were able to see the workers of Nairobi in their natural habitats. There was a large industrial zone, with warehouses, sun-sheltered eating areas, and brick walls topped with barb wire. It was dark and dusty and the road was lined with parked catering trucks and wooden shacks acting as coffee stands to offer breakfast or an early morning snack to those walking to work. When we reached the main road at about 6:15 traffic was already at a stand still.

In retrospect, Kenya was a low-light in many years of travel. I think our mistake was staying with our original plan once our original plan had changed. Maybe going further afield to a different camp would have been more enjoyable? Or cancelling or re-routing entirely? With all of the advance bookings, payments, and cancellation policies, I don’t even think this would have been possible.