Goodbye Riyadh, Hello Nairobi (Jan 2 - Jan 5, 2024)
We had a wonderful time hanging out with Mohammed's children.
Fahad (4)
Almuhra (1)
On our last night, we ate dinner with Mohammed's family and then went out for tea and ice cream with Abdulaziz and Mohammed. The blue tower in the background is the building where Mohammed's new office is.
Enjoying each other's company along with the ice cream
Cranes in an area of Riyadh with a new project underway. There is so much building going on in this city.
THANK YOU FOR A WONDERFUL VISIT!
Nairobi, Kenya
On our last night, we ate dinner with Mohammed's family and then went out for tea and ice cream with Abdulaziz and Mohammed. The blue tower in the background is the building where Mohammed's new office is.
Cranes in an area of Riyadh with a new project underway. There is so much building going on in this city.
Taken from the observation platform at the top of the Kenyatta International Convention Center tower.
Chris enjoys his first conversation with a Kenyan teenager! The red shirt says Lakers on the front with number 23, something you probably would never see in the US
Nairobi's southern edge is bordered by a National Park that is 45 square miles and was established in 1946. It is fenced on 3 sides, all sides closest to the city. The fourth side is open so wildlife can migrate freely. We were one of many vans and vehicles entering the park about 6:45am.
Our first stop inside the park is a site where confiscated elephant tusks and rhinoceros horns have been burned to demonstrate Kenya's commitment to wildlife conservation. The first burning was in 1989 when 12 tonnes of ivory was burned. The most recent burning, 2016, included 105 tonnes of ivory, 1.35 tonnes of rhino horn, and other confiscated wildlife products.
Piles of ash from burned ivory
We were in the park for about 5 hours and saw so many animals. This is a white rhino with her calf. Nairobi National Park is the major rhino sanctuary for breeding and restocking other parks. We met someone who had been at Masai Mara and did not see any rhinos. Rangers there told him to visit Nairobi National Park.
A pregnant lion walking along the edge of the road
Our driver said that they usually don't see lions.
Impalas - we saw lots of females with one male, like this picture, or a few males together.
About a dozen Plains zebra walked right past our van.
We had to drive quite a ways to find the giraffe. I think this is a Masai giraffe. Once we found them, we found quite a few spread out over a large area.
Black-backed jackals along the side of the road
African Cape buffalo
Male ostriches, the females are brown
Warthogs
Needless to say, we had a great day!
Glad to see you both made it safe & sound to Nairobi, Kenya 🇰🇪 !! Were there other people in your van when you visited the Nairobi National Park or did you get a private van? 🐘
ReplyDeleteThis is so exciting! I am loving seeing the photos and hearing the stories. Curious if Chris has already started a swim team at the school!
ReplyDeleteHi Eva, we did not have a private van in Nairobi National Park. There was a group from Mombasa with us, a man from the UK who spends a lot of time in Mombasa and Kenyan friends of his, 2 kids and their mom. The four of them rode the train from Mombasa to Nairobi. We visited another game park called the Ol Pajeta Conservancy. It's about 75 minutes from the school. A man who works at the Kenyan Wildlife Service whose office is next to the school offered to take us. The Conservancy is privately owned and is known for it's conservation efforts with black and white rhino. It was a great day.
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