africa. kenya

Nairobi.  Kenya

The Masai Mara stretches out and reaches in all directions around you, expanses of green and yellow brushy grass breathe left and right while it could be hiding a leopard with ease.  Pumba butts (warthogs) with their tails erect are always bouncing away from you, seeming like the white rabbit that they always have somewhere to be.  Skittish gazelles stand among zebras that are scattered in black and white groups.  

The air is warm and dry with a whisper of a breeze and constantly there are unrecognisable calls of the wild in the distance.  Giraffes pace and elephants saunter. A panoramic view shows all animals co-existing in harmony.  At night in the pitch black hippos "harrumph" and munch on grass outside our canvas tents while Masai warriors stand watch outside since we are literally camping in the wild.  In the morning the hippos have lumbered down to the lake where they sink in until only their eyeballs are the only thing peeping out of the muddy waters.  

The only rule is not to get out of the jeep and after a beer we shared while watching a leopard, I needed to pee. "Just go behind the jeep," our guide says as he takes watch for lions. I've never peed so fast with the fear of being hunted as dinner a very real danger.  
Read the full article here:

http://www.torontosun.com/2016/09/01/plenty-of-wow-factor-on-guided-safari-of-kenyas-masai-mara

In the Masai Mara we stayed at Entim Mara Camp – it was definitely the glamping end of camping with toilets in the tent and 3 course meals.  If going on safari is on your bucket list, what are you waiting for?? It’s more beautiful than you can imagine and more expansive than they can try to convert into a documentary.

Funny enough, our Masai guide on all of our safari tours who dresses in traditional blankets had a newer iphone than I do and a better camera lens.  Wasn’t expecting that one…

I remember so many people warning us before we left that Africa is dangerous.  But what’s actually dangerous is the stigma attached to this continent and more so, not doing something because of the crippling fear.  

I can say that I believed Africa was going to be a bit treacherous since the first time we had to cancel our trip when civil war broke out in Kenya.  I guess that is why I had waited until surpassing my 40^th country to put it back on the list. 

What we didn’t realize was that all of our expectations were wrong.  People were kind and friendly and warm and smiled at you with a genuine intensity.  Someone shook my hand for the entire length of our conversation – it was literally the longest handshake ever and he was smiling the whole time. 

What I’ve learned is never to listen to advice given by people who have never had the experience or else we would've never met all of the amazing people that have so little but love so much.

This baby elephant was just learning to eat and kept missing his mouth.

Cue Lion King music…

Floating in a hot air balloon over the Masai Mara as the animals ran into the sunrise was magical, until we hit that one rock on our landing…When the balloon landed, there were Mimosas and a lieu with a view.

Giraffe manor and the opposing sanctuary is the only place in Nairobi that you can have “high tea” with these knobby kneed creatures.  Just be careful that the free roaming warthogs don’t knock over your scones.

Uriri - Light School

Jack Bambo - saving Kenya through education and wildlife preservation 

With friendship and education as tools there is no challenge that Jack Bambo can't tackle.  Sponsored by the Catholic Church in his third year of university and also by an 80 year old German woman, Elisabeth Klett, so that he wouldn't have to defer from school, Bambo founded the Uriri light school and also provides refuge for over 10 orphans and 13 vulnerable children.  The generosity that he experienced from strangers has now been multiplied tenfold as he's providing education for over 310 students in this small village about 7 hours outside Nairobi.  

"I believe we are all one. Your strength is my weakness and we must share what we are doing," says Bambo.  Wandering around the dormitories and classrooms, the smiling faces that greet you are example enough of kindness returning full circle. The boys are in the dormitory trying to learn how to cook pancakes but they've used too much oil and decide to leave cooking to the girls.  

In this small village everyone stops to greet us, shake our hands and to meet their children. I'm always baffled by the extreme generosity and kindness that I experience travelling  from my own country where we seem to have it all but are too busy to enjoy actually living our lives. Here in Uriri there was maybe a couple hours of electricity every day and no running water but a kind smile can take you to the moon and back. 

Bambo grew up in a family of 5 with parents that were farmers and relocated to Uriri after post-election violence in 1992.  While working at a magazine and spreading awareness about illegal logging, he took a loan and started building a school. "I gave what I can and what I had was land," states Bambo.  Along with an organization called Arrive in Kenya, they have helped provide medical screening for malaria, typhoid and STI's.  With his dominating force on social media, they also helped to get 15 kids living on the street sniffing glue or being stubborn about school to come and get an education with them.  

What once started as a dream in a one room class has now become a recognized venue for quality education. For some kids, the trek to school could be kilometers each way and that's why we've decided to help Jack raise money for a bus so that these kids can have a chance to change the world for the better, just like their teacher has done. I mean, Obama’s parents lived down the street- who knows where amazing people could come from.