Game Drive Number 2 – Kenya 2026, blog post #6

On Sunday’s post, I shared pictures from our late afternoon game drive at Amboseli National Park.

During the short two-hours we were there, we saw some remarkable herds of elephants, among other animals. Little did we know what was waiting for us the next day, when we would spend close to nine hours viewing a huge variety of birds and mammals.

Saw lots more elephants

And more wildebeest

More Thomson Gazelle

A big family of monkeys, picking bugs off each other

The hyena carrying some piece of food.

I don't know if he dropped his food to wash it or if he just wanted a drink. 

The king of the savanah, sleeping off his lunch

Which is why those zebra aren't worried about them.

"Pumba", the adorable warthog. 

Along with the hyena and wildebeest, the warthog is on the list of the five ugliest animals. I don't know why, I don't see it. 

The hippo with a little friend. 

Lots of zebras. They have such round butts. 

I'm pretty sure this is an Oryx

The Cape Buffalo, another one of the Big Five animals, along with the elephant and lion. Did  I get to see the other two? 

Also, because we saw sooo many birds, I might share them on Friday. 

Game Drive Number 1 – Kenya 2026, blog post #5

 We helped out at the school Monday all day and Tuesday just in the morning. My son and daughter-in-law arrived at the volunteer house around midnight Monday night / Tuesday morning. We headed back to the house from the school for lunch, hoping that they had slept long enough and were up and about. Only my son was, but that was okay; we didn’t have anything else to do that afternoon, except to sit around. And go out to eat at the Wattle House in Kikuyu, with our friend and her four kids. 

Wednesday morning, however, was another story. We weren’t out the door super early – I have no idea what time it was – but we were on our way to Amboseli National Park, so couldn’t dilly-dally all morning.

We arrived at Riverine Camp around 12:30 – I told you about that little camp last time. We settled in, had lunch, took a walk around, then laid around until 3ish, when we headed out for the late afternoon game drive.

Our animal count included: 

Male Ostrich

Vultures. I counted over 50 of them in this tree. 

Grant's Gazelle

Thomson's Gazelle

Grey Crowned Crane

Maasai Giraffe

Zebra

Hippo in a pond of water

Wildebeest. Along with the vulture, these animals are on the list of Five Ugliest Animals seen on Safari. We saw the other three another day, but can you guess what they are? 

Speaking of groups of Five. That first afternoon at Amboseli we only saw one of the Classic Big Five, the animals which at one time were the big game hunters prize and which are still the animals tourists on safari most want to see.  

Amboseli National Park is not only known for its large herds of elephants, but also for the Big Tuskers – male elephants who have lived long enough to have long, impressive tusks, sometimes reaching down to the ground. We were not fortunate enough to see one of them (there are less than a few dozen alive across Kenya), but the family which we did see was impressive enough. 

If you have the time, do some research on elephants. They are amazing creatures, very intelligent and caring towards other family members. We need to protect them and let them grow old. There are still poachers out there, killing elephants for their tusks. It makes me sick. In Amboseli, they are protected as much as possible, but the elephants are free to roam, leading to confrontations with humans. 

WWF is probably the most well-known conservation nonprofit, but you can sure look up others on-line. And I'll tell you about the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust on another post. 

Accommodations – Kenya 2026, blog post #4

Yikes, I’m only a week into blogging about this trip, and I’m already stumped. Not stumped so much as unsure of what to tell you about next. There was so much, and I’d like to share it all, without overwhelming you or me. And without dragging this out into infinity.

Okay, thinking back to my post from a week ago, how many places did I sleep in on this trip? Four.

I already mentioned on Sunday that our first few nights we stayed at the volunteer house in Waithaka. And I shared a picture of our bedroom. Here is the buffet table where our meals were served. 

Then we rode out to Amboseli National Park and stayed at the cutest little camp just outside the park for two nights.

The chalets at Riverine were adorable, but I must admit that the best part was probably that I had a cabin to myself. The shower also had hot water. A very big deal if you have been showering in marginally warm water. 

They even had two cats!

The next six nights were spent at our friend’s safari camp, Anyoraa. 

We were in the same cabin as my friend Denise and I had shared with my daughter four years ago. There have been several more cabins added since then, but I was happy to be in the same one. 

Between the walls of the cabins are recycled bottles filled with sand. 

The view outside our door on a rainy day. 

Some of the other cabins in the compound. 

The dining hall. 

Our last two nights we spent back in the city, staying with our friends and their four children. Needless to say, there was no chance to get pictures there! But we had a nice visit and brought home memories. 

The moon over Anyoraa camp our last night there. 

Going Back to School – Kenya 2026, blog post #3

 Our first Monday morning in Kenya, still fighting jet lag, I set off with my two friends from Wisconsin and my three new friends from Italy, heading to the St Phillips Learning Center School, just around the corner from where we were staying.

The principal introduced us to the school, where there are classes for preschool through sixth grade. She showed us the different classrooms, but I didn’t want to go any further after I met the first graders. I don’t even know where my fellow volunteers ended up, other than Denise, who chose the kitchen.

All I know is that I fell in love with those rowdy little six-year-olds. Their classroom was cramped and only contained one bookcase, which was behind the teacher’s desk and was loaded down with the students’ workbooks. Along the walls, a backpack hung for each child, and they quickly found an empty hook for mine.

At snack time, they each pulled a snack from their backpack, whether it was two pieces of bread, a rolled up chapati, or a mandazi. A few of them offered me what meager food they had, but I pulled my own snack – a granola bar – out of my bag, and they laughed at me. I don’t know why; they laughed at me a lot. Besides serving lunch, my friend Denise delivered drinks for snack time. 

Recess time was utter chaos. In general, all the kids simply ran around, screaming, not really playing, just creating pandemonium, while the teachers stood in a huddle, talking and occasionally yelling at their students. I gathered my kidlets, instructing them to grab each other’s hands to make a big circle. Then we went in one direction, then the other. Then left foot in, then right foot in. And so on, until I thought I’d run out of ideas, but next thing I knew, we had our hands in the air and then we were skipping to the right and then to the left.

Our teacher kind of shook her head and maybe even rolled her eyes. But I did get the kids back in the room when the bell rang. (And nothing against their teacher; I know she was very appreciative of what little help I offered.)

And so the day went. We walked back to the volunteer house for lunch and a potty break, but returned as soon as we could. I also found out that they know how to play rock, paper, scissors. Sorry that I don't have any pictures of me with the kids. 

Before I knew it, it was nap time. And the only picture of me is of my lap. 

And after that, I walked back to our house, exhausted, but more content than I had been in a very long time.

This trip was meant to be in memory of my daughter Val, who loved Kenya and loved all the kids she met there. And they had all loved her back. During all my other trips, I never felt that connection with those little ones before. But on this trip, Val’s soul rode shotgun with mine and it was my baby girl who played with these kids all day.

Val with students from Southern Cross Academy in 2017

Sunday Morning Church – Kenya 2026, blog post #2

After three flights and 24 hours in airports or on planes, we arrived at our friends’ volunteer house in the Nairobi suburb of Waithaka and were shown to our adequate room, with attached bath, on the third floor. And I pretty much passed out in my bed.

The next morning, Sunday, we went down to see what was up and were happily greeted with French toast for breakfast, as well as the other volunteers. Three adult leaders and six teenage girls from Puerto Rico and three volunteers from Italy.

We heard a little about them and I shared our story. Then the Puerto Rican (PR for short) male leader said they were planning on going to church that morning. One of my friends and I were game for that, along with the Italians; my other friend opted out.

A little before nine the fourteen of us climbed into two of the safari vans and took off in search of a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Oh, did I not mention that the PRs were Mormons? It didn’t matter to me; it wasn’t like anyone was going to convert me.

Anyway, it was a nice church building, right across from the temple, which I learned is only open on special occasions (I was told what those are but have forgotten).

I’ve heard all kinds of stuff on what this church believes, and I looked the facts up on line after I got home. But you can do that too, so I’m just going to share what I saw and learned that day.

First of all, the service started at nine and we arrived a good twenty minutes late. Not to worry, there were a few other people and children in the entry way when we got there. I found out that members receive communion at the beginning of the service, so those not taking it can show up late and wait for that part of the service to be over.

At one point, two boys came around with trays of water in what looked like communion cups and offered them to everyone. I declined, and no one judged me.

So that was all different to me.

Second, when we finally were allowed to enter the sanctuary, I was struck by how stark it was. No statue of Jesus (even though there was a huge one outside), no cross, not even an altar, just a podium and a dozen or so chairs where four people were sitting, facing the congregation. 

After the service, I asked the PR leader why there was nothing but a big, white empty wall at the front of the church. He said it was so that parishioners don’t worship the symbols of Jesus, that with a blank slate to look at, they can better worship the true Christ. Thinking about it, that makes sense to me, but I’d like to believe that we all know the difference between worshipping a statue and God.

Third thing was really interesting. The entire service is on the church’s website, so everyone follows along on their phones. We were reaching for the hymnals, looking up the song numbers that were on the wall up front, but they weren’t in the hymnal. And I wasn’t going to try to get on line and find what I needed on my phone. But I thought the concept was reasonable.

They had one woman speak on gratitude and another one talked about something that I can’t remember. Then the pastor, a man, gave what would be the sermon. At the time I really was following it, but I have since forgotten that too. But I don't recall any of them actually quoting the Bible. 

The other thing I learned from the PR leader is that none of the church leaders are paid; they all volunteer their time. I like that idea too, but in reality, in the US, I can’t see how that would work. Obviously, these people need paying jobs, so are they going to be available to provide for their congregations whenever needed?

Overall, it was a good experience. Everyone we met there was friendly and I didn’t feel like I stuck out like an old-fashioned Lutheran. But as already mentioned, I will not be converting.