I SAW GIRAFFES!

So it's been three months since i renewed my visa so it was off to get a new ugandan one. This time Ashley, a fellow vol, and I decided to go to Kenya and go and see some wild life, and ooooh my days did we see a lot!

We left Kampala at 3pm and got to Nakuru, Kenya at 2am, so we stayed the night there and then made our way to Lake Naivasha. The journey there was amazing. The landscape is completely different to that of Uganda - it looked like a scene out of the Lion King. By the road side zebras ran and baboons were climbing trees, this made us very excited! We had planed to do Hells Gate National Park and stay at the Fishermans Camp which was beautifully situated by the Lake and had hippos living in it.

On day one, we rented bikes and began our 5km cycle to Hells Gate. On the way a truck stopped and these two men from Iceland offered to take us up to the gate which we were quick to accept. They then took us through the gate and showed us where they worked - they are in the steam energy buisness and it was so interesting. The are trying to convert the steam that comes out of the rocks into enegery so that eventually Kenya will not have to rely on other sorces of enery. We then got a tour around the actual setting of The Lion King ( the scene where Mufasa gets killed by the buffalos, yeah we were in that gorge.) the man that was taking us around was a Maasi who showed us where he lived and where his tribe went to pray, it was really interesting. It gave us the oppoutunity to see things that other tourist don't see at Hells Gate. When we had finished that, our new friends took us to their house to meet their families. They had a pool in their back garden which they proceeded to tell us that they did not use. They also have a massive Lake in their back garden where African wild life live.

Ashley and I went for a walk to the Lake and that is when I first saw them. I looked to my left and there were 4 giraffes peacefully eating off the trees. I actually nearly cried. It was such a beautiful sight. I stood and watched them for about half an hour. Mother and baby made a quick exit because I think they were confused as to why these two white creatures were stading in complete shock just staring at them...

At the lake there were zebras, water backs, antelopes, gazel, hippo and a whole load of african animals. The Lake actually looked pink becasue of the hundreds of flamingos that were standing in the water. It was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen in my whole life. I was completely overwhelmed by the sight and didn't actually utter a word for about an hour. I KNOW RIGHT! I didn't speak!

The next day it got even better, I actually thought that previous day was the best day of my life but it got soooo much better.

in the morning our icelandic friends picked us up from our camp sight and fed us breakfast. They had cheese. Real cheese. I had some cheese on toast which was amazing! They said that they had to go to work and said 'our house is now your house'. We were the first ones to use their pool. So we spent the morning tanning and swimming. Then in the evening we went back to the lake to do some more animal spotting. We walked out into the open and saw a herd of 6 giraffes, again munching on trees, and once again I was nearly crying. Then another 2 emerged from the trees to join then. Just when we thought there couldn't be anymore another 5 came out including a bull who was massive. It was a breath taking sight. They were within 20metres of us and we went unoticed for a long time which gave us the chance to watch them in their complete natural habitat.

We found a bench to sit and to watch the world go past. It was one of the most surreal moment of my life. I felt like I was watching a wildlife programme, except, I was in it. The sea of pink which turned into a cloud of pink when the flamingos fley up in the air. The sound of hippos grunting in the distance, the sight of gazel gracefully jumping through the grass and the zebras jumping, running and playing. And of course the herd 11 giraffes quitely coming towards us, from baby to bull it was breath taking.

I never thought that I would be able to be as lucky as I was, to see what I have seen is a complete privallage and I can't thank that Icelandic family enough for that oppourtunity. I was able to see Africa at its finest and watch animals in their real homes. And to be as close to a giraffe as I was is going to stay with me for the rest of my life.

This was only 3 days into my little trip to Kenya. how much better could it get?