Our first kid blogger, Mackenzie, traveled to Kenya with her mom in April 2009. While there, they visited her mom's cousin who is teaching in a school in Nairobi, took an excursion on a wild animal safari, and explored the coast near the Indian Ocean.
Mackenzie is 11 years old, in fifth grade, and likes to read, swim, and spend time with friends.
My mom and I are enjoying an Ethiopian meal. Do you see any forks or spoons?
Today was a long day. I was supposed to sleep in, but was too excited to explore! Not enough sleep caught up with me later! I went to (my mom's cousin) Dalina's school where she teaches and watched students play! I got to see my pen pals that I have been writing to!!!!! I drank Coke in a bottle, which was different. We went to Village Market and saw many things. For dinner we ate Ethiopian food, it was very good!!! It was one exciting day!
Today was a fun day!
I went to (my mom's cousin) Dalina's school for the day. I watched her class practice for their concert and watched all their subjects. After school we went to the Maasai Market at Village Market. Many people who were selling items at the market would not accept your bargaining until you started to walk away. Many people tried to keep you at their stand to persuade you to buy something. Not many people have much money so they have to try to sell things to you. I bought two wooden masks of African animals. Tonight we went to the school program. It was good. After the program one of Dalina's friends came over and brought an orphan that they take care of on weekends. She was happy and playful. Then we packed for an exciting weekend at the Indian Ocean. How relaxing!
On April 4, we flew on the plane to Mombasa, it was very hot! We stayed at a place called Voyager, which was very nice. We ate lunch and then went out on the beach. The water was not the cleanest, so we all decided to go to the pool. We ordered things like drinks and they brought it to us. We were at the pool until supper, after supper we went right to bed, we were all very tired, but excited about tomorrow because...
We woke up early and ate a light breakfast. We went with a couple other people on a boat to go snorkeling!! I was very nervous, but once I got in the water and saw all the beautiful fish, I was having a blast!
We went to two places. One place we saw all kinds of fish, the other place was where you saw all different colors of starfish. It was soooooooooo fun!!!
When we got back, we went to the pool until lunch, and then had lunch. After lunch we went to Haller Park, we saw all different kinds of animals. We mainly went there to see the famous Owen & Mzee. The sad part is they are separated now due to the unknown of some things. However we did get to see them both! When we got back from the park we went to the pool until supper, than ate supper and watched the Acrobatic show!!! It was amazing. After that we all hit the pillow! THIS WAS MY FAVORITE DAY SO FAR!!!!!!!
We woke up and walked on the beach looking for starfish. On the beach there are people trying to sell you stuff, or give you rides on things. There were some camels you could ride, but I didn't. We all then went to eat breakfast, afterwards we packed our bags and took a cab to the airport. We waited a little and then boarded the plane. We arrived in Nairobi at about 12:30 pm. We took a cab to Dalina's house. We got to her house and decided what we wanted to do. We then went to a jewelry store and then to Village ( like a shopping mall). We were there for a while and then went home to put away our groceries. For supper we ate at one of Dalina's favorite places, The Java House. I am pretty sure we all enjoyed our meal. We came home and read for a while, and then went to bed!!!!
We left for safari at 6:30 a.m. It took about 6 hours to get to our safari place, Samburu! We had a very nice driver named Sammy! We stopped at the equator on the way there! When we arrived there we had lunch and then went to the pool. At 4:00 pm we went out on our evening game drive. We saw many animals, but what was most unusual was that we didn't see any lions or elephants. That is what we all wanted to see! Our highlight was probably seeing a cheetah with cubs and a leopard!!! It was a pretty good drive. We got back and ate dinner. There was a river right by our lodge and two crocodiles came up and wanted food, we never saw if they gave them any! After supper we went to bed, so we were ready for the next exciting day.
We left for our morning drive at 6:30 a.m. We didn't see many things this morning, but during the end we raced over the river to go see our first elephants. We were very excited because we were worried we were not going to see any elephants. We then went back to the lodge and ate breakfast.
At around 10:30 a.m., we went to a Samburu village and saw the Samburu tribe and how they live. We went into their house and watched them perform dances. At the end they had a little market where we could buy things. We then went back to our lodge and ate lunch. After lunch we relaxed until our last game drive. Then we left hoping to see a lion. We saw a leopard walking and later one in a tree. That is a very unusual animal to find a lot of. When we were driving along the road our driver spotted a female lion coming out of the brush. It was so close to our van and looked like it was about to take down an impala. Eventually it walked away and never made a kill. With the good eyes of Dalina we saw a cheetah who was very beautiful. Then we got to see four lion cubs. They were so cute! After being satisfied with all the animals we saw we went back to the lodge to have dinner. Then we went to bed.
We went to a childrens' home, called The Nest. It is where children stay from age 4 to 12 who do not have someone to care for them. We got a tour of the home and then played with the babies and "read" to them. After we left The Nest we went to get a drink at a retreat center. We then packed some of our things, realizing we don't stay much longer. After that, for the thousandth time we went to Village (like a mall). For dinner we ate at an Indian food restaurant. It was soooooo good. I don't think there is any food I have not liked so far. Then we relaxed at home for the rest of the night.
We woke up and ate breakfast. At 11:00 we went to a tea farm. A lady served us tea and explained everything that goes on before we drink the tea. It was very interesting! The a man took us on a walk and showed us trees and tea leaves, it was fun! When we got back from the walk we ate lunch and watched the monkeys. The food was delicious! After lunch we went home.
We relaxed for awhile and then Dalina, My mom, and I went on a matatu [minibus taxi] ride. Mom and I decided that we could not be in Africa and not ride in one. They are a very popular transportation. It only costs about 10 shillings per person which is only about 13 cents in american currency. We walked to a place they pick you up and got on. There is a rule that only 14 passengers are aloud in one matatu. The one that picked us up said they had room, but I had to sit o mom's lap, so they had more than 14. We only rode in it for 5 minutes because we didn't want to go very far, so when they dropped us of we just walked home.
When we got home we decided to go to Village AGAIN!!!! We got some groceries and other things and then went home. We had tacos for dinner. We played games after dinner and then packed a little. I watched a movie and then went to bed!!
We woke up, ate breakfast and decided on our day. We took a cab to a sports place and then to a place with cloth items- Amani ya Juu. We toured the place and bought some things and then returned to Dalina's house. For lunch we ate at a Kenyan restaurant. It was very good! Then with a big laugh we went to Village again for our last few items. We got a drink there and then left, sadly! We came back and went to walk around the school where Dalina teaches. We came back, packed, relaxed, and I did my homework. Some people came to say good bye. We made dinner and I am shortly going to eat it. I can't predict the future, but I am hoping to have a great trip home!!! I am excited to see my family!
