Nerdy Nomad: Kenya

Traveling is something I enjoy doing. Wait, that isn’t true, I actually enjoy arriving. The whole traveling from point A to B experience is over-rated, stressful, uncomfortable and frankly quite boring. If we could use a transporter and get Scotty to beam us wherever we wanted, that would be the life! Let’s try this again…

I love getting new stamps in my passport! I have a blank world map in my bullet journal that I color in when I go to a new country. Ibn Battuta once said, “Traveling. It leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” This is the first edition of many, I hope, of the Nerdy Nomad thread. (Picture Source).

There are three types of Africas: Lion King Africa (East & Southern Africa), Aladdin Africa (North Africa) and Tarzan Africa (West Africa). On this map, Lion King Africa would be the orange area; Aladdin Africa is tan; Tarzan Africa is the green area (Source). I currently live in Tarzan Africa, but had the opportunity to travel to Lion King Africa in May 2022. Nairobi, Kenya was beautiful. Here are some observations.

Nairobi:

Nairobi, the capital and largest city, was beautiful and clean. There are beautiful plants and colorful flowers planted along the roads and neighborhoods. Nairobi is 1 degree South of the equator (BUCKET LIST ALERT). It is 1,795 meters above sea level. May is considered to be rainy season, although our experience was nice, cool weather. We had jackets, but mostly wore long-sleeve shirts. (Facts about Nairobi Source). The official languages of Kenya are English and Swahili (Source). One of the highlights of our trip was when a native Swahili speaker said, “Hakuna Matata” to us (BUCKET LIST ALERT). The local currency is Kenyan Shilling (Ksh). When we were there the exchange rate was 100 Ksh to $1 USD.

Nairobi skyline in the background. Taken before landing returning from safari.

Infrastructure:

Nairobi is a nice, developed city with a well-developed road system. They drive on the left-hand side of the road. Traffic was mostly never jammed from our experience, but some parts of the city can get congested at some times of the day and when weather is bad. Ubers are readily available with the app. They have giant shopping malls. One store in Nairobi had the largest spice aisle we had seen (including in America), which we took full advantage of and stocked up. The city itself has beautiful mural work, especially near the malls. I even saw metal scaffolding around the city (compared to bamboo that most of the cities I have traveled to use). The electrical lines were clean and safely established (compared to the jumbled rat’s nests seen in some countries of the global south). There was even Wi-Fi available in every mall and restaurant we frequented. While we were there there were no power outages. Another random observation was toilet paper was always available in public restrooms.

Top Left Picture: A cool map I found to show where the equator and the Mara are located in comparison to Nairobi. The Mara is mentioned in the next section (Source).

Top Right Picture: Nairobi is in process of growing vertical gardens on their new highway structure. This is a picture of the worst traffic we encountered.

Middle Left Picture: Pretty flowers growing at our friend's house.

Middle Right Picture: The giraffe and hippo (look in the water) statues outside Two Rivers Mall.

Bottom Pictures: Murals near Two Rivers Mall.

Brian Jackman once said, “Everything in Africa bites, but the safari bug is worst of all.” When in Lion King Africa, you have to go on a safari (BUCKET LIST ALERT). Matt and I lodged in a giant tent/cabin on a game reserve in the Mara region on the Serengeti. There are three places we have been that a picture does not do justice to the landscape: the Grand Canyon, the Himalaya Mountains and the Serengeti.

Zebras along the plains.

Mara from the prop plane.

Our lodge.

Our guides.

Pumba/Warthogs.

Our guides were among the Maasai people. They were knowledgeable about the environment and the critters. For instance: did you know pumba is not the Swahili word for warthog? Pumba actually means forgetful. A warthog will stumble upon a lion and run when it gives chase. If the lion loses interest, the warthog will actually forget why it was running and will most likely wander back to where it found its pursuer in the first place.

Our driver was amazing, we actually only got stuck in the mud once, which we needed assistance to be rescued by another vehicle. We rescued a vehicle once which had a flat tire. This distraction led to seeing our first view of a herd of African elephants. Elephants just happen to be my favorite animal. I have now seen Asian and African elephants in the wild (BUCKET LIST ALERT).

The schedule for a safari is not for the weak of heart; it is pretty busy. A rule of thumb is always take a siesta when given an opportunity. There is no typical day on a safari and our schedule was different all three days we were there. A safari day is broken into 3 kinds of game drives: early morning, mid-afternoon and late afternoon-evening. You are driven around in a 4x4 open sided vehicle that could seat between 4-10 people. Ours could seat 10. Our group consisted of us and another couple from the UK. It is completely open to the environment and you are safe as long as you keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times, at least around the predators. All of the animals who reside on the reserve have grown up around the vehicles. They are comfortable around the vehicles and are not concerned about them nor consider them a threat. Here are a few of the reactions the predators gave us in the vehicles: ignored us, ran away, mild curiosity but not worth exploring or they tried to T-Rex us (If I stay very still, they can’t see me. I am very much aware that should should be your mantra if you encounter a T-Rex, but this is what Matt and I call it.).

The focus of an African Safari is the wildlife; “every aspect of your safari is geared towards giving you the very best experience possible, and that means that your regular schedule will have to adjust to the rhythms of Africa and her creatures” (Source). Early morning and late evening game drives have beautiful sunrises and sunsets, but also offer views of lions. This is the time of day when the predators, like lions, are most active. We got to see cute fluffy cubs as well as witness a zebra taken down. Any of the game drives offer many spectacular views: the Serengeti itself, tripods of giraffes, beautiful colorful plumage of birds, spectacular herds of elephants, lazy floating hippos and crocodiles, and much more.

There wasn’t one instance where I can pinpoint as the BEST. There were definitely some memorable and noteworthy instances. Sitting in a camp chair on the plains of the Serengeti eating breakfast and drinking coffee was pretty memorable. Or you know, like that one time when you find out that a lion chased a zebra passed the cabin you are assigned (no, we were not in the cabin at the time). Remember kids to always listen to the guides on a safari. Especially when one is there to escort you to and from your cabin. They are there to protect you from rogue lions, or a herd of African elephants that graze a bit too close to camp for comfort or to keep the baboons from jumping out at you in the dark (Yes, all those were real scenarios when we were there). The whole trip was memorable and I would very much recommend anyone who finds themselves in Lion King Africa to go on safari. That safari bug will get you every time!

The End!

*Edited 10 July 2023. Added source links directly on potentially copyrighted photos.