Vacation begins: Nairobi

It was so, so nice for me to get a nice long vacation with my family after being away from home for so long. My parents, sisters, one brother-in-law and my aunt came out. When my family came out to Ethiopia to visit they said, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity, but when I got this job they said maybe it was going to be a twice in a lifetime opportunity instead! So, we did it right. Every minute of the vacation was packed with excitement, adventure, or great family time.

We started with one day in Nairobi before heading down south to the Maasai Mara. We started at the Sheldrick Wildlife Orphanage which specializes in rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned elephants before reintroducing them to safer areas. Unfortunately, most of the elephants were orphaned by ivory poachers up in our area, the Laikipia Plateau. But these lucky ‘little’ guys are in good hands now. 

My mom and I

We learned about the process by which Daphne Sheldrick, the founder of the organization, worked tirelessly to perfect the elephant formula recipe to give the youngest orphans a good chance at survival, and they LOVE it. When the little herd came out to feed they raced for the closest available keeper with milk. The keepers do everything they can to keep the elephants both physically and mentally healthy, this includes sleeping with them and always rotating through the elephants so no one gets too attached to single humans. The process for reintroduction into the wild normally takes years, but they have had great success. To learn more about the orphanage or adopt an elephant, go to http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/.   

Did I ever mention that elephants are Megan's favorite animals? Look at that smile!

Our next stop was a special lunch with a surprise for my mom. Like every year, my dad remembered their anniversary and my mom forgot. My dad and I made a plan for a special lunch and a surprise champagne toast for their 38th wedding anniversary. As an additional surprise, I got them each a wine glass engraved with African animals, a leopard and a giraffe. My mom was surprised, and delighted to be celebrating a second anniversary in Africa! Somehow this is the only picture I have of the special occasion though....sorry! 

After the delicious lunch we headed to the Giraffe Center, part of the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife. There we learned all about the different sub-species of giraffes and got up close and personal with a few individuals ourselves! Though giraffes in general are not endangered, this sub-species, Rothchild giraffe, are in great need of preservation. The destruction of their habitat and human encroachment have concentrated the remaining giraffe population leading to higher levels of interbreeding between the sub-species and pure Rothchild’s are exceedingly rare in the wild. To learn more about the Giraffe Center, go to: http://giraffecenter.org/

Meghan and Charlie

My dad

Did you know that giraffe leg bones have no marrow? They don't! And as a result, they are VERY heavy. Here my Auntie Debbie is proving how strong she is! 

Next up, the Mara!