Welcome to Africa!

It has been an incredible joy this week to have the privilege of introducing Jane to Africa for the first time, and we have tried to experience as many different sides of this unique place as possible. We've seen the "civilized" side of Nairobi - eating at nice restaurants in Village Market and getting coffee at Java house - and we've also seen the "developing" side of Kenya - visiting a home for mentally-handicapped kids with some of the volunteers from ACTS. We've also gotten a little taste of the beautiful, wild side of Africa with a couple of adventures that are worth describing in a little more detail...

On Monday, Jane and I drove a little south of Nairobi to the headquarters of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, a non-profit that tries to help and preserve the wildlife of Kenya. For one hour each day, the facility opens its doors for visitors to come in and see how orphaned elephants are rehabilitated and prepared for reintroduction to the wild. There are currently 20 orphaned elephants between the ages of 3 and 24 months that live in the facility, which borders Nairobi national park, and they have a pretty incredible life. Each baby elephant has a caretaker, who sleeps with them every night in a private stall and prepares milk to feed them from giant bottles every three hours - even during the night. In this way, they live at the center for about two years before being reintroduced to Tsavo National Park, where they will join a wild elephant herd and (hopefully) live out the rest of their long life - up to 80 years - in the wild.

We showed up at the Trust and joined a group of visitors, then waited a few minutes for the caretakers to parade out their baby elephants. The elephants came out in a line, but soon they caught sight of the bottles of milk placed around a small roped-off area and started running for their breakfast. It was so funny to see the caretakers feeding the young (but still very big) elephants with bottles, and the elephants were clearly excited by the food and the attention of all the visitors. We were encouraged to "interact" with the elephants if they wanted, and most of them were quick to push under the rope, testing us out with their trunks and enjoying the back rubs from their human admirers. Just like children, they were quick to get jealous if one wasn't given enough attention, and they surprised us a couple of times by barging into us headfirst of giving a little smack with their trunk!

The next day, we drove about an hour in the opposite direction to Hell's Gate National Park with hopes of finding some animals in a more natural setting. This was my first time to this park, and I was blown away by the beautiful scenery - giant sandstone cliffs and rock pillars jutted from the savannah in every direction, and the grasslands were a vibrant green from all of the rain we've received recently. We started the day by a hike along a river through a massive gorge on the south side of the park. After refusing repeated offers from Kenyan guides, we started following a small creek through the forest. Before too long, though, the creek dropped down and we found ourselves walking through a narrow passage between sandstone cliffs about 150 feet high. The rocks were beautifully sculpted by the water high above our heads, and the warm sun overhead made for an awesome morning and picnic lunch!

In the afternoon, we drove all around the park, stopping to get out every once in a while and hike among zebras, giraffe, buffalo, impala, and gazelle of several different species. There aren't many dangerous or carnivorous animals in Hell's Gate, so it gives a unique opportunity to get out on ground level with these awesome creatures. All in all it was great to get out in the sun and explore the beauty that only Africa can offer!