Nairobi/Kenia

16.5.2024 Nairobi

Today started at 6:00 a.m. with a sumptuous breakfast buffet.

At around 7:00 a.m. there was a short briefing, then we were divided into four off-road vehicles and set off.

Nairobi is a busy city with well over four million inhabitants, lots of high-rise buildings, lots of construction sites and a hell of a lot of traffic. The weather was a bit rainy and relatively cool. I had forgotten to pack a jacket and now regretted it. I would have to do something.

By the time we reached our destination, Nairobi National Park, the weather had improved considerably. This national park is the only one in the world located within the territory of a national capital and is guarded by armed soldiers who have the right to shoot poachers. It is an unusual feeling to see wild animals roaming freely against a backdrop of a big city.

We were led to a place where Kenyan presidents had repeatedly set fire to tons of confiscated tusks so that no one could profit from the death of the murdered elephants. Three huge piles of ash commemorate these actions.

On our safari we saw giraffes, buffalo, gazelles, hippos, a large turtle, ostriches and many other birds.

We then continued our journey so that we reached the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust before 11am, which is when the rhino and elephant orphan feedings take place. During the feedings I managed to pet the baby rhino and an elephant.

The next stop was the "Giraffe Center". There, every visitor was given a bowl of food pellets that they could feed to the giraffes. This was done from a raised platform so that you were practically at eye level with the animals. There was a specific warning about possible head butts from giraffes, who are not always peaceful. I had a lot of fun feeding them. Afterwards, there was a lecture about giraffes, during which a meter-long and very heavy bone was passed around.

In the souvenir shop I found a suitable fleece jacket, with the purchase of which I supported both the Giraffe Center and a local manufacturer.

Now we made our way back to the hotel, where lunch was waiting for us in the form of a buffet with Italian dishes.

In the afternoon I went to get Kenyan shillings from an ATM. According to Google Maps, the one in the building next door had one. Problem: The bank was inaccessible from the main road. I asked a hotel security guard armed with a submachine gun, and he escorted me along secret routes to an armed security guard who was guarding a metal door to the neighboring property. Through this door I came to the ATM, which willingly gave me cash. Then I knocked on the metal door, it was opened for me, and I was able to go back to my hotel room. That was the first time I went to get money with a bodyguard.

In the evening we were supposed to get to know the food, drinks, music and dances of different Kenyan regions in the "Tamarind Brasserie". The journey there was an ordeal, because not only were we driving through a heavy downpour, but the traffic was also pretty much the worst we had ever experienced. Nevertheless, we eventually reached our destination without any accidents. The food was good, the drinks only partially, and music and dancing were not my thing. We returned to the hotel in a great mood.