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The day began with a huge surprise. Unbeknownst to us, Florence (Culsans) had organised a trip to visit the A.F.E.W Giraffe Centre in Nairobi, a centre whose aims are to protect the endangered Rothschild giraffe and educate on their conservation. With a knowing grin, Florence told us during breakfast to grab a camera and meet at 10am. My first presumption was that we were to be ‘touring’ Nairobi, however, I was very wrong. As our flamboyant driver Charles let us in on his amazing stories of his life in Kenya and introduced us to this ‘5 key words in Swahili’, the bomb was dropped that we were in fact heading to this sanctuary, and we were immediately buzzing; feeding giraffe was something I never expected to be able to do during this trip, but boy was I excited! From what I have seen of Nairobi so far, it is has been incredible and almost indescribable city. The roads are manic but driven with complete confidence, and the roadsides are almost entirely ‘stalls’ with fencing on the left as the only barrier between the suburb and the Kenyan plains. Driving past Kenya’s International School, the stone walls on the right were a mock with baboons who ran and jumped with their young on their backs. It really was incredible, and it dawned on me how life here really is a shared experience between man and beast. My favourite phrase was: ‘we are in their territory’, and so must respect it. Arriving at the sanctuary, as we pulled up in the car, we could see the giraffe, and they were only meters away. With all but a low stone wall between us and them, we were handed a bag of ‘treats’, and began feeding these giraffe one pellet at a time. Their long black tongues reached out to pluck the treat from between our fingers, and after it had been gobbled in an instant the tongues were almost ‘sniffing'(!) and feeling around for another! Walking up onto a balcony to reach their height, the snacking continued, and their playfulness became apparent as they sniffed and craned their necks between our bags for more. Oddly enough, ‘kissing’ the giraffe was actually an amusing way to feed them! After being told that giraffe saliva is very antiseptic, we were shown by one of the staff how to ‘kiss’ the giraffe, and so we all began taking turns to hold the pellet between the edge of our lips. One by one, the giraffe lent in and snatched the treat off us, and I must say it was an funny but albeit slightly odd experience! See below for a picture of me with my eyes very firmly shut! After disappointing running out of pellets, we said goodbye to these wonderful creatures and headed for a walk though the bush, finishing the day with a pineapple and mint smoothie – a new personal favourite, and a combination I highly recommend trying.
Overall, my first experience of Kenya, although a more touristy one, has been incredible and one I will not be forgetting any time soon. The bar has been set high, but I have no doubt that everyday will be better than the last, and I cannot wait to see what is in stall for the next 8 weeks!
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AuthorMy name is Jemima Shepherd, and I am passionate about wildlife, conservation and global warming, which is partly why I have started this blog; I hope to share what I learn on this site, along with some of my favourite experiences along the way. ArchivesCategories |