Nairobi, Kenya
When Hailey first found out we were going to Africa, she had visions of waking up at Giraffe Manor in Kenya with giraffes poking their heads through our bedroom window or having breakfast with them as they ate straight from our table.
This dream was quickly crushed after checking Giraffe Manor's per guest rates.
Instead, we opted for the Poor Man's Giraffe Manor (i.e. the public Giraffe Centre across the way). A few more tourists than we expected, but Hailey still had fun with her new friend, Eddie.
Once we got our giraffe fix, it was off to the elephant orphanage...
For the first time in a long time, we had a free day! So we spent some time exploring Nairobi and relaxing. We walked from one cafe to the next, our favorite way to explore a new city and it's culture.
We've seen many different cultures and people on our journey through Central and East Africa.
In Malawi, we were blown away by the warm and genuine people. Waving as we drove by in our truck or greeting us by taking our hands and showing us their village.
In Tanzania, the women were always dressed to impress. It didn't seem to matter which day it was. They were always dressed in the most colorful and intricate fabrics.
But if you ask Danny, he'd tell you that the Maasai people were most interesting and that he secretly wanted to become a Maasai warrior!
The Maasai are traditionally herders / shepherds that you can spot by the beautiful Kanga, that they wrap around themselves. The men also carry a Rungu (wooden throwing club) and knife. Oh and did we mention that they drink cow's blood...badass!
During our time in Northern Tanzania and Southern Kenya, we met several different tribes and even watched a traditional ceremony in which the men sang and danced (more like jumped) for us.
In our travels we visited a few villages, saw how they made their houses, and even spotted a roadside BBQ were we tried fresh goat (well, at least Danny did).
Before leaving Kenya, we stopped by Lake Nakuru National Park. The last animal we needed to complete the "Big 5" was the rhino and lucky enough, Lake Nakuru has plenty of them. Both Black and White Rhinos.
A day after, we left we learned poachers killed one of the black rhinos (likely one of the ones in our photos below) :(