Tag: kenya

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Kinyei and the Giraffes, Nairobi, Kenya

A baby elephant walking

We had to wake up early that day because we were going to a giraffe center and a baby elephant orphanage.  The giraffe center was super short.  The giraffes were not.  We had to feed the giraffes little pellets.  Their tongues were super long and funny looking.  I especially liked feeding one of the baby giraffes that would duck under the bar to get the food.  It was super cute!  Mom got bit by one of the giraffes, which looked super painful.  There was also a hotel in the area called the giraffe hotel, and the giraffes would stick their head through the windows to wake you up, and you get to have breakfast with them.  I wish we could have stayed there, but mom said it was super expensive because of the giraffes.  I probably would not go back there, but it was a fantastic experience.  

The next place we went was an elephant orphanage for baby elephants.  Some of them were super duper tiny!  Twelve would come out and go for the milk bottles.  They were very excited about it and were also a little pushy.  We got to learn their names, and I got to touch one, but I am not fond of touching elephants, small or big.  After seeing them play, we got the chance to foster one of them!  I chose to do so, and I picked Kinyei.  She was one of the cuter ones and was pretty small.  I am super happy about being able to help her, and I get to hear stories about her and her friends.  One day she will get to go into the wild again, but only when she is older.  I would highly recommend this experience as a heartwarming, funny endeavor.  Seeing the small elephants play and eat was super cool and fun.  I would most definitely go back there.  

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Plane Ride through Africa

Yesterday, we left for Kenya! I was sad to go Thulani. It was my favorite place in South Africa.  

The airport in Hoedspruit was super small, and you could take liquids through security! The plane was not too small, but it was not huge either. The aircraft from Hoedspruit to Johannesburg was not long. When we got to Johannesburg, the sun was setting. We had to go out and come back to security because we were switching airlines. We went through, and dad found us a place to eat dinner.

As we were walking to the dinner place, we passed a bookstore! An actual bookstore, full of books! Mom said we could go back there when we had ordered our food. The restaurant was huge and empty, except for the birds and the sushi. I got salmon and tuna nigiri. I later found out they were out of tuna, so I got rolls instead. I asked my siblings if they wanted to go back to the bookstore, and they said yes. 

The bookstore was sadly not as good as we thought. There were all the nature books about cheetahs and things. There were kids’ books in the back, but only ones like, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and we were not going to spend money on those.

I didn’t get any books, and when I returned to the restaurant, the food had arrived. I ate my sushi very happily, the salmon was good but not as good as Seattle salmon and tuna.  

After dinner, we worked on blogs and other things. When we got on the plane, it was a pretty good-sized plane. Me and Emmy (my sister) were in one row together with me on the aisle and Emmy on the window. A guy was in between us, and while we were in the air, I discovered a whole open row in the front of the economy cabin. Emmy and I moved up there, and we were much more comfortable. 

The flight went late into the night, and I only slept in the last bit. The airport in Nairobi was crowded. We had to get our bags and then go through customs. The line to customs was short, but it took over an hour! Going into Mexico is way easier! When we finally got to the front of the line, we had to go through it individually.   The airport was super hot! After we got through security, we had to have our bags scanned.   After that, we finally got outside.

The outside was not boiling. Thankfully, it was the perfect temperature. We did not have a ride to our hotel, so we got one. But before we could leave, we had to get sim cards. This took about an hour. It was late at night, and we were all tired. We had to wait for the guy to install every sim card on each phone. It took so long. By the time we got in the car, it was 2 am. When we got to the hotel, nobody was there. Except for the security guard. We had to wait in the lobby for someone to check us in. It took us a while to get to bed.