The newest rescued elephant. The blanket is
to keep him warm. There are caretakers for all
the elephants, but not the same one every night.
Ah, a little roll in the dirt.
Feeding time...
There were several caretakers giving talks
describing the program. If you're interested
in adopting an elephant or have questions
visit www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org
They also have 2 rhino orphans.
Each elephant has it's own space that it shares
at night with a different caretaker...a real
family atmosphere makes the transition easier.
There were several caretakers giving talks
describing the program. If you're interested
in adopting an elephant or have questions
visit www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org
They also have 2 rhino orphans.
Each elephant has it's own space that it shares
at night with a different caretaker...a real
family atmosphere makes the transition easier.
After an hour or so a watching elephants we headed for Utumadundi Crafts, started by Richard Leakey. It is comprised of 18 small gift shops all located in one large house. It's a treasure trove of Kenyan Crafts. It also has a wonderful Veranda restaurant where we had lunch.
Beautiful menu...
We ordered our food and then headed inside to see what they had. The room that featured kitchen items had these wonderful recipes on the wall. You might want to try one!
The recipe I really wanted was for my
stuffed avocado with prawn, snapper
and crab. Outstanding!!!
After a very relaxed lunch outdoors, we headed to the Karen Blixen Museum. Out of Africa was Karen Blixen's autobiography and much of the movie was filmed in this house. The house was built in 1912 by Swedish Engineer Ake Sjogren. Karen and her husband bought the house in 1917 and it became the farm house for their 4500 acre farm, of which 600 acres was used for coffee farming. Their marriage failed after eight years and in 1921 the Baron moved on and left the running of the farm to Karen. Karen lived at the house until her return to Denmark in 1931.
Arbor to gardens.
then glazed..
hand decorated...
fired in a kiln...
hand-strung into a necklace...
checked and credited to each individual...
and separated into orders and shipped.
They also make pottery with
traditional Kenyan designs.
The Supervisor for this shift.
You can also purchase individual beads.
Laura bought some for a friend of hers...
it was quite a decision making process!
and they display my favorite retail sign--
Fair Trade Organization!
There are three species of Giraffe in Kenya and you can tell the species by their skin patches. This is Rothchild. The ones we saw in the Mara were Masai and there are also Reticulated located further north in Kenya. This is a breeding area for Rothchilds.
that is one long tongue!
We all got a turn...
Giraffe Manor, located on the grounds and home of the founders of the Giraffe Center, is now a boutique hotel. For a mere $450 per person per night (double) you can have full board in a 5 star lodging and have giraffe come right into the breakfast room or your room. You can just see one behind the tree at right-center. We decided the lizard at the ECD was adequate, but it would be an interesting experience!
Warthogs are there too. They bend down on
there knees when they eat.
We basically closed up the gift shop, but all did our part of helping support the Giraffe Center. It was a very fun visit and a most interesting day! We hopped in the van for our return.
We have frequently seen small garden centers
along the highway as we drove through
the nicer areas of town. Nice addition.
How do they drive around here??
and the sun is setting as we arrive home :-)
and our last event of the day was a
wonderful dinner at Joy and Bob's
house! What a delightful couple!
Many thanks for a marvelous
Joy Safari!
Beautiful menu...
The recipe I really wanted was for my
stuffed avocado with prawn, snapper
and crab. Outstanding!!!
After a very relaxed lunch outdoors, we headed to the Karen Blixen Museum. Out of Africa was Karen Blixen's autobiography and much of the movie was filmed in this house. The house was built in 1912 by Swedish Engineer Ake Sjogren. Karen and her husband bought the house in 1917 and it became the farm house for their 4500 acre farm, of which 600 acres was used for coffee farming. Their marriage failed after eight years and in 1921 the Baron moved on and left the running of the farm to Karen. Karen lived at the house until her return to Denmark in 1931.
Arbor to gardens.
After a tour of the house and a walk through the gardens, we all headed to Kazuri Beads. The Mission of Kazuri is "to provide and sustain employment opportunities for disadvantaged members of Kenyan society. In order to achieve this we must product top quality handmade and hand-painted Ceramic Jewelry and Pottery. This will ensure that we are equipped to compete in both the international and local market place." The workshop, begun in 1975 to Lady Susan Wood, started with two African women and soon discovered that there were many other women in the villages around Nairobi, most of whom were single mothers, who were in great need of regular employment. It has expanded to where it now employs over 340 women and men.
Each bead is handmade.
Each bead is handmade.
then glazed..
hand decorated...
fired in a kiln...
hand-strung into a necklace...
checked and credited to each individual...
and separated into orders and shipped.
They also make pottery with
traditional Kenyan designs.
The Supervisor for this shift.
You can also purchase individual beads.
Laura bought some for a friend of hers...
it was quite a decision making process!
and they display my favorite retail sign--
Fair Trade Organization!
After a wonderful tour through the factory and some time to wander in the gift shop, we headed to our last destination for the day...The Giraffe Center in Lang'ata. "The purpose of the Giraffe Center, created by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, is to educate Kenyan school children about their country's wildlife and environment, and to give visitors both local and international an opportunity to come into close contact with a wild animal by feeding the world's tallest species, the giraffe."
There is a feeding area on the second floor of their education center. You are given food pellets to feed the giraffe. These are endangered Rothchild Giraffe.
There are three species of Giraffe in Kenya and you can tell the species by their skin patches. This is Rothchild. The ones we saw in the Mara were Masai and there are also Reticulated located further north in Kenya. This is a breeding area for Rothchilds.
that is one long tongue!
We all got a turn...
Giraffe Manor, located on the grounds and home of the founders of the Giraffe Center, is now a boutique hotel. For a mere $450 per person per night (double) you can have full board in a 5 star lodging and have giraffe come right into the breakfast room or your room. You can just see one behind the tree at right-center. We decided the lizard at the ECD was adequate, but it would be an interesting experience!
Warthogs are there too. They bend down on
there knees when they eat.
We basically closed up the gift shop, but all did our part of helping support the Giraffe Center. It was a very fun visit and a most interesting day! We hopped in the van for our return.
We have frequently seen small garden centers
along the highway as we drove through
the nicer areas of town. Nice addition.
How do they drive around here??
There is the gravel man, breaking up stones
with his hammer. God bless him.
with his hammer. God bless him.
and the sun is setting as we arrive home :-)
and our last event of the day was a
wonderful dinner at Joy and Bob's
house! What a delightful couple!
Many thanks for a marvelous
Joy Safari!
