Here and There Blog

The last two of giraffes, I promise! Above: we feed the giraffes breakfast before sitting down to ours. Below, out on the Maasai, a family enjoys a sunny afternoon.

Kenya is often in a state of drought and in need of water. The week we were there, the rains came down and swelled the rivers higher than normal. No crocs in this picture but I'm sure they were in the water somewhere. The animals were easy to photograph but the lighting never seemed to work for the landscape. The trees were so cool looking and it was relaxing to ride along in the jeep staring at the land even when no animals were around. Below, the view from the airplane as we flew back to Nairobi.

The Giraffe Center in Nairobi exists to provide a safe haven for the Rothschild Giraffe and to educate and promote wildlife conservation for the youth of Kenya. From: http://www.giraffecenter.org/ The African Fund for Endangered Wildlife Kenya (A.F.E.W Kenya Ltd) also known as the Giraffe Centre is a non profit making organisation, which was founded by the late Betty and Jock Lesilie Melville in 1979. The late Betty, Jock's American born wife, had earlier discovered the sad plight of the Rothschild giraffe and there were only 120 left on an 18,000 acre ranch in Western Kenya that was scheduled for sub-division and settlement. The first effort to save this sub-species was to bring two young giraffes to their property in Langata and later Betty founded AFEW USA.

Giraffe life at the sanctuary involves lots of eating. The breakfast window is open in the morning so you can hand feed the giraffes. At other times, tasty shrubbery does the trick Warthogs and giraffes co-exist peacefully for the most part Even eating side by side at times Nothing satisfies like some green ivy!

Lunch at Giraffe Manor. Cheers! There's never enough lunch for a giraffe! Hey! Sausage wants some snacks too!

After 48 hours of eating dust, we were ready to relax at Giraffe Manor in Nairobi. This sanctuary was set-up to protect the Rothschild Giraffes. Giles showed us where the pellets are kept and Lynn was more than willing to eat from our hands. Jean is so happy to be near the giraffes at last!

I'm not a bird fan but I do like the above photo. Below, the ostrich that we were lucky enough to spot at the end of the safari. Later, at the Giraffe Sanctuary Nature Trail in Nairobi, we went with a guide as he set out corn for the birds. The birds showed up right away. And even some non-birds! Hey - March 3rd, Happy Birthday Sherry Sumner!

An airstrip so small, it doesn't even have an airport code. But this place was busy with charter planes coming and going through out the day. We flew in one similar to this. All the trucks ready to drop-off and pick-up tourists. Above: Ticket office and shopping. Below: First and last stop!

Plenty of hippos were in the water but hippos have a stubborn way of staying under water when they sense a camera is aimed their way. This one decided to strike a pose! And crocs have a way of looking like logs and logs always looked like crocs!

I could have grossed you out with the carcass photo but decided against it. This hippo was killed during the night and will provide 3 days worth of eating for this lion pride. The lions take turns guarding the kill. Full and content, the pride rests on the termite hill, slightly away from the kill. Anything this large is going to bring in others. The vulture and jackel wait for the lion to leave her post.

This was our trusty and not so trusty Land Rover. Day 1 it was great but Day 2 the alternator went out and we had to get pushed to start the engine when ever the engine was turned off. Animals don't like the sound of the engine so we have quite a few butt shots that day. Above, our guide Big John. Me and our spotter, also John with the elephant skull. John is explaining something to Jean about the elephant skull. Zipping along! Below - the river crossing video

I knew I'd see lions, giraffes, elephants but I had given zero thought to other animals. Above, Silver Jackels head out at dusk in search of food. Below, a group of gazelles seek camoflauge in the bush. The Thompson's Gazelle were graceful and showed off their high jumps. Because of this, they were the most dificult to photograph. But what really tripped me out were the hyenas. These are not small cat sized hyenas but big, bulky, take you down easily hyenas. But everyone loves a good watering hole!