Tag Archives: elephant

Kenya, Travelinds, Travelinds Destinations

Two Days in Nairobi

September 2016

We had two days in Nairobi and wanted a fairly relaxed schedule.  This is what we did:

The Sheldrick Elephants

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust had us captivated from the first moment. The 11 o’clock feeding was surprisingly endearing, not commercial or money-grabbing, but educational and fascinating. It was wonderful to see the babies and their caretakers interacting. The love that goes into raising these orphans is amazing to behold.

This is a great initiative and needs loads of support to keep on going. I would recommend reading Dame Daphne Sheldrick’s memoirs (An African Love Story) for a deeper history on how this work came to be and the struggle to protect the Kenyan elephants.

The highlight of our trip was to go back (by appointment) and meet our little adoptee, Ambo (a ten-month old elephant rescued from Amboseli), put him to bed and meet his caretakers. Ambo is just one of many orphans at the Trust and we were happy to know that we have contributed something to his 24 litres of daily milk for the next three years, as well as the countless other costs of running an establishment of this nature.

20160908_110524 20160908_110552 20160908_114823

Keepers like Meshack, who has been here almost 30 years, love their jobs and their orphans.
Keepers like Meshack, who has been here almost 30 years, love their jobs and their orphans.

Thank you to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust team for all you do for these gentle giants, for Kenya, for Africa and for our children’s future with elephants and rhinos.

Giraffe Kisses

20160908_131044

Having watched the Giraffe Tea movie as a child (with the little girl who feeds baby giraffes), I had always wanted to meet these majestic creatures up close and see the famous Giraffe Manor Hotel. Taking a few hours, we headed over to the Giraffe Centre in Karen, Nairobi – The African Fund for Endangered Wildlife.

Cost: As at September 2016, it cost 1000 KSH per non-resident for feeding, viewing and trails for the day.

There were nine giraffe altogether, including two small babies that were too cute for words, and a pregnant mama who was grumpy (and HUNGRY) stealing all the other giraffe’s vantage point for pellets.  There are also warthogs and birds to see from the platform if the giraffe allow you a view around their enormous heads.  Like a horse, it has a long nose, almost the length of your entire upper body, so the Afrikaans word ‘kameelperd’ (camel horse) seemed strangely appropriate up close.

20160908_152843 20160908_125653Kissing the giraffe seemed unthinkable, but we were assured by giggling giraffe centre educators of the ‘antiseptic properties’ of their saliva and the kisses were indeed great fun to photograph (because only one half of Travelinds was brave enough to do it after watching a few people get plastered). A 45cm tongue is rather adept at twirling the pellet right out between your thumb and forefinger and the head butts signal a demand for more!

20160908_143051It was a hugely entertaining, and most of all educational visit, where we learnt about the subspecies of giraffe in Africa and how to identify them.  Before this, we were not even aware that we had seen different types of giraffe (Masaai with splotches, Rothschild with white legs and  the Southern Giraffe which we have in South Africa).

Nairobi National Park

This was a fun day out, twelve hours of driving around, picnicking, watching animals and enjoying nature. We arrived at sunrise, paid the exorbitant non-resident fees, and within the first minute of our drive through the gate saw a huge male lion walking in the road, roaring his head off and looking right into our car window. Wow!

We also saw more than a hundred ostriches over the day, all the antelope, black and white rhino, a couple of hundred Maribou storks, 10 secretary birds, a family of crowned cranes, Malachite Kingfisher and a bounty of other small creatures and birds.

Lowlights: Trash covered Kingfisher Picnic Site after the public holiday long weekend party and a brazen Sykes monkey stole our banana (out of the car!) at the one picnic area while we were stretching our legs (this might have been a highlight though).

These are the Kenya Wildlife Services park fees.

20160913_124811 20160913_113142 20160913_075527

At the end of the day, we visited the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to meet our adopted elephant and put him to bed. We had to drive out of the Banda Gate (get a special letter to exit) and then go down to the elephant orphanage through the secure area.

Goodnight, Ambo!
Goodnight, Ambo!

20160908_131100 20160908_112059

A wonderful end to a magical Kenyan trip!

 

South Africa, Travelinds, Travelinds Destinations

Hlatikulu Bush Lodge, iMfolozi-Hluhluwe

JULY 2016

Photo Credits:  Wendy Buchanan (thanks, mom!)

A while ago, Travelinds told you about one of our favourite game reserves in Kwazulu-Natal – iMfolozi-Hluhluwe National Park.  The few days spent at Nselweni Bush Lodge was a great family holiday and we couldn’t wait to go back again!  This time we tried a new hideout – the Hlatikulu Bush Lodge!

13769451_10157119262840291_8995990913587496907_n

Hlatikulu Bush Lodge

This was a good surprise as we had only booked Hlatikulu in a rush to secure accomodation in an already full reserve.  However, as soon as we arrived, after navigating the jolting 4×4 route to get to the lodge, we realised that we had made yet another magnificent discovery!
The bush at your door
The camp is beautifully maintained by Siyabonga and New Year, both of whom have been there for ages and visibly love what they do. Right on the riverbend, with no fence, the animals and birds come and go as they please.  All around the camp are tweets and chirps, grunts and growls, spoor and feathers and evidence of life.
The deal

The camp can accomodate eight people at most, in four lovely huts (each for two people), all of which boast views of either the river or the bush.  The booking includes… (wait for it!)… TWO bush walks with Siyabonga and his gun (2-3hours, one morning, one afternoon) for every night that you stay.  New Year will cook any food that you can bring (and he will insist on setting up AND cleaning up everything in the communal lounge and diningroom himself, too). These two wonderful humans keep the huts immaculately clean and look after you while you simply relax and enjoy the wildlife.

13697057_10157119315235291_4857569789511689644_nNature up close

The resident bushpig, Georgina, can get a little persistent in the evening, but please, do not feed her even if she follows you down the boardwalk or begs.  There are also hippos, crocodiles, lions, elephants, buck and other creatures that roam in and out of the camp at their leisure – look around when you are outside and do remember that you are living in the real African wild now!

We fell asleep each night to lions roaring, hippos grunting, hyenas laughing and melodious nightjars. Early mornings wake up to birds singing and nyalas crunching grass right outside our windows.
A different perspective

The bush walks were also well worth the effort and if you do what Siyabonga tells you, you’ll be in good hands. He’s an experienced game ranger and takes his job, and your safety, seriously.  The animals are wild and unpredictable, especially where humans provoke and disrespect the natural order of things.  It is our responsibility to preserve and care for nature and a bush walk is a great way to remind yourself of your roots.13699980_10157123764390291_2516487894411405346_n

Hlatikulu, we’ll be back!

Read more reviews here.13690805_10157119327665291_1327660552813445550_n

Rhino Card

Use your rhino card to receive discounts on day fees, accomodation and more.  It was worth it for us to buy the card (for a couple) just to cover our day fees during the week here.  Ezemvelo KZN wildlife is also a great cause to support!