Here I am on my last day in Kenya, I can’t believe I’m flying out tonight. The safari was absolutely incredible, I had a ball with the boys, and the scenery there is just amazing. It really touched my heart to see the animals in their natural environment – giraffes striding across the plains, elephants grazing on the grass, lions lazing around…it was beautiful, I can’t ever picture going to a zoo after seeing the real thing. We didn’t see any actual kills but on our very first afternoon we saw 3 lions lying in the grass a few metres away from a dead giraffe that they had killed a couple of hours before – the giraffe was completely ripped open in the middle and it’s insides eaten, you could see the ribcage and everything. As bad as it sounds, funnily enough it didn’t really make me feel sick, I think probably because it is just part of the circle of life. As we were heading back to the camp site, the sun was setting and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen – the rays were streaming through the clouds as the sun gradually set over the hills…it was amazing. And the “camp site” isn’t quite an accurate description – we were sleeping on actual beds inside tents that were inside huts, that even had a small bathroom, it was really comfy and the service there was really good, everyone was lovely. Our second day was huge, we were off by 6:30am and didn’t get back till about 6:30pm that night….we went to the Mara River and saw the hippos and crocodiles, and went through a walk with a guide (with a gun) through these bushes to get to the edge of the river, which was nerveracking, considering just a few kilometers before we had passed about 9 lions lying about in a bunch of bushes! We even stepped a foot into Tanzania, which was pretty cool. Our driver, David, was set on showing us the best time possible, and really went out of his way to find the best things to look at, which was great. After driving around for hours, we finally found a cheetah and 2 cubs resting by a tree – they are a lot smaller than I expected, but they are beautiful animals. We were even charged by an angry, old, male elephant at one point – we were about 3 metres away from it when it started running towards the van, and it was huge! None of the animals take much notice of the vans though, quite often we were only a few metres away from lions and they never took much notice! You could drive around for days though and not get bored – sometimes you don’t see any animals for ages, but the landscape it just so incredibly vast and raw, it’s awesome. The photos just don’t do it justice. Those 3 days were unreal, I’m so glad I had that experience and was able to share it with the boys.
But now I’m at the end of my trip and I’m sad to be leaving, but I know it’s up to me to continue this journey once I get home. The first 2 weeks went pretty slow for me, but the last 4 have flown by, and I think I have contacted people from home less and less as time has gone by. I have absolutely no regrets about any of my time here, and I’m so happy that I made the decision to do the program, it’s been an experience of a lifetime and I’ve learnt so much. I’m going to miss everyone so much, not only the local people I met, but everyone from our group as well – I think most of us will keep in touch and visit each other when we get the chance. So here I am, saying hello and goodbye for probably the last time, and I will see everyone very, very soon. Think I will get a much-deserved massage while I’m waiting at the airport in Bangkok! Love you guys xoxo
