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Talisman – one of the highest-rated restaurants in Nairobi. Unfortunately, they do not serve Kenyan food, but they make the best tofu bao bun I\u2019ve ever had and had a fun mosquito cocktail. It is also in an interesting area of Nairobi. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Venturing Out for a Safari<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I spent ages planning our time in Africa. Safaris are tough to plan if you\u2019ve never been to Africa or experienced any kind of safari. When doing our research, we found the best approach for us to be an Intrepid overland safari. In hindsight, I would have picked a different route through Tanzania, but we still saw all the major places and had an amazing time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most safaris involve camping and you travel with a local guide, driver, and chef. The chef prepares the vast majority of meals, driver gets you where you need to go in your massive overland vehicle, and your local guide shares all their insights on the area and helps lead game drives. Once you\u2019re in the parks, usually you\u2019ll swap to a land rover for your game drive (a better way to see more and be less invasive to the animals). <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Standard Land Rover<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Carey’s camera worked better than our binoculars most of the time.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Hanging out on the overland truck.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/a><\/a><\/a>
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Lake Nakuru<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Home to the \u201cBig 5\u201d (elephant, lion, rhino, leopard, and water buffalo), lots of flamingos, oodles of baboons, and our first game drive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Lion cub wandering towards his mom<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Baboon family<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Hippo looking for food<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Grey Crowned Cranes<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/a><\/a><\/a>
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Lake Naivasha<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We took a boat safari and saw beautiful birds and more hippos than I thought possible. Hippos are the most dangerous animal in Africa (killing the most people per year) and our boats were a little small to be so close, but it was a great experience. They kept waking me up while we were camping that evening – sounded like some were fighting over the food. Our camp was blocked off, but nothing like picturing a hippo stomping on your tent when their snorting wakes you up at 2am. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Hippo peeking out<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Boats for our hippo adventure.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Camping near the lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Fish Eagle<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Egyptian Goose<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Lilac breasted roller<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/a><\/a><\/a>
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We also got to go on a walking safari while at Lake Naivasha which was an amazing experience. There are very few areas where you can safely be so close to wild giraffes, zebras, gazelles, warthogs, etc. The animals in this park have gotten used to humans being around and went about their business while we enjoyed our stroll. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Masai giraffe (most common subspecies in Kenya)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Impala<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Water buck<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Warthog (known as the preachers of the savanna because how they have to kneel to eat)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Sunbird<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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View of the crater on our walking safari near the lake.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/a><\/a><\/a>
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Hell\u2019s Gate National Park<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Another one of the few parks where you\u2019re allowed out on foot, we biked through the park and got to hang out with zebras, giraffes, and water buffalo (to name a few). The park is also a major filming location and home to one of the animator inspirations for Pride Rock. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Biking with the zebras.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Short hike out to this beautiful view in Hell’s Gate.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Baboons seem to be everywhere and they are mischievous. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/a><\/a><\/a>
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Loita Hills<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Intrepid partners with a Masai village and we got to spend an evening getting to know more about their culture. The Masai are one of the tribes of Kenya and have a fascinating history. Traditionally, wealth is measured by your number of cows, diets consistent of animal blood, milk, and meat, and colorful beadwork is common. It was great to learn more from members of the tribe and stay in their beautiful village.\u00a0Within this particular village, a wonderful member of the community is promoting the history and culture of the Masai, while also promoting changes to improve the lives of women in the community. Her mission is working to increase access to education and feminine hygiene products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Masai Mara<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Every minute spent on a plane, train, and automobile and night spent in a tent was worth it for our time spent in the Mara. Our main day was one of the best travel days of our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We woke up around 3:50am to catch our hot air balloon safari. On the way to the takeoff point we saw a bunch of wildebeest booking it and discovered a lionness had just caught one of them. We got to watch her and two male lions enjoy their breakfast for a few minutes before heading on to the hot air balloon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Lions with their breakfast<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Sporting his lipstick<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Once in the air, we watched a beautiful sunrise and got to see the hundreds of recently migrated wildebeests and zebras, soared over an ostrich and his nest, found hyenas on their final hunts for the night, and got to see the savanna wake up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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After one of the best breakfasts of our lives, we hopped into our land rover and got to keep exploring the beautiful park. We saw two cheetah, a leopard, a family of elephants, lots of birds, ostriches, zebras, giraffes, water buffalo, and a pride of lions hunt and catch a zebra. The only big 5 member we missed was the rhino. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Elephant with her baby<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Leopard<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Lion<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Lions hunting zebras<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li>
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Lions with their lunch<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/a><\/a><\/a>
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On top of all the amazing animals we got to see, I had a blast in the safari land rover. The tops pop up so you have a better view and you\u2019re able to stand on the seat as the driver is wandering. It is an even more fun version of off-roading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lake Victoria<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa, looks more like the ocean than a lake – it is massive. After a week of camping, we were ready to relax and sit by the beach. We had fun observing wildlife. Hyraxes, bats, monkeys, and birds were all over the place! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Serengeti<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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I underestimated the size of the Serengeti – it is larger than a lot of US states. We got to camp inside the Serengeti which was an unforgettable experience. As I was going to bed the first night I saw some animal eyes in the distance and realized they were water buffalo (the 2nd deadliest animal in Africa) about 20 feet from our tent. Thankfully they were unbothered by our camping, but I definitely wasn\u2019t leaving the tent that evening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Campsite in the Serengeti<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Serengeti sunset <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The next morning I was enjoying my coffee by the fire pit area and a giraffe gracefully wandered through the campsite. She was a much better surprise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n