On Tuesday, we had a quieter day - which meant not going too far from "home".
In the morning, we went with Sr Marcelle to the very swish Yaya shopping centre... very European. It was interesting to see it and to see how quiet it was compared to other parts of Nairobi.
We went on to the Karen Blixen house. Karen Blixen was a Danish woman who fell in love with Africa in the early part of the 20th century. She wrote of her experiences and they were later made into a film "Out of Africa" -which we watched later in the evening and enjoyed seeing the places we had visited (including Maasai Mara) that day.
We also visited Swedo House and found the whole area a little like parts of Hampshire! (Large houses hidden behind high walls and hedges....though the plants were African, of course!)
One very interesting place was Kazuri - which means little beautiful thing. It is a place where women from the slums come and make beads which are made into beautiful jewellry and pottery. We also spent half-an-hour in the stillness of Mwangaza Jesuit Spirituality Centre which overlooks the Ngong Hills. This is a stunning place - absolute silence is insisted upon when there are retreats and the whole place acts as a haven of peace and tranquility where you can find the presence of God in the quiet in order to serve him in the hustle and bustle of life outside. We have some photos - but for some reason they - and others from the day - came out dark so will have to wait until we are home.
Our last visit of the day was to the Giraffe Centre where giraffes come to feed. It is part of a conservation programme but is a huge attraction as the giraffes will eat from people's hands... and in one instance took a piece of food from a woman's mouth. This didn't appeal to us but Lizzie was brave and fed one - a picture of that did take well and is on the photo website.
After tea, we watched "Out of Africa".... really lovely now we have seen the places!
In the morning, we went with Sr Marcelle to the very swish Yaya shopping centre... very European. It was interesting to see it and to see how quiet it was compared to other parts of Nairobi.
We went on to the Karen Blixen house. Karen Blixen was a Danish woman who fell in love with Africa in the early part of the 20th century. She wrote of her experiences and they were later made into a film "Out of Africa" -which we watched later in the evening and enjoyed seeing the places we had visited (including Maasai Mara) that day.
We also visited Swedo House and found the whole area a little like parts of Hampshire! (Large houses hidden behind high walls and hedges....though the plants were African, of course!)
One very interesting place was Kazuri - which means little beautiful thing. It is a place where women from the slums come and make beads which are made into beautiful jewellry and pottery. We also spent half-an-hour in the stillness of Mwangaza Jesuit Spirituality Centre which overlooks the Ngong Hills. This is a stunning place - absolute silence is insisted upon when there are retreats and the whole place acts as a haven of peace and tranquility where you can find the presence of God in the quiet in order to serve him in the hustle and bustle of life outside. We have some photos - but for some reason they - and others from the day - came out dark so will have to wait until we are home.
Our last visit of the day was to the Giraffe Centre where giraffes come to feed. It is part of a conservation programme but is a huge attraction as the giraffes will eat from people's hands... and in one instance took a piece of food from a woman's mouth. This didn't appeal to us but Lizzie was brave and fed one - a picture of that did take well and is on the photo website.After tea, we watched "Out of Africa".... really lovely now we have seen the places!
Today, we had thought of going to Nakuru followed by Lake Naivasha tomorrow. As Lake Nakuru is mainly a game drive and not really a lake visit, we decided to miss the flamingoes and other great things there and go to Naivasha only. This was interesting as we had to go on matatus! The one from Nairobi to Naivasha was like the shuttle to Nanyuki last week. However, at Naivasha we were swamped with offers of help to find taxis - peanuts - food - drink - hot sausages - pretty much ... you name it! We were the only white people there so did stick out but everyone else got hassled too. We just said no! The matatu from Naivasha to our chosen destination "Fisherman's Camp" was ... well, interesting! Very loud music - very full - and we shared part of the journey with a tyre and bit of car!
After a light lunch at the Fish Eagle hotel, we set off for a walk along the lake shore...
Problem - we couldn't find it! We found odd bits but mainly we found papyrus! For a geographer wanting to look at the lake this was very frustrating. After a bit, we decided to bite the bullet and pay an extortionate amount for a boat trip. This was good as it gave Lizzie chance to see the lake and marvel at how the sampling was done - but also a chance for both of us to see some of the wildlife... fish eagles - cormorants - pelicans - hippos (a tad closer than we had expected!) - storks - ibis and others we didn't know the names of.
Coming back, our matatu was slowed down a bit by several packages! Very big packages that took up several seats and which got piled high on them! We hoped that the ones piled up behind the driver didn't fall over and knock him out! The fear of this didn't seem to stop him going very fast and braking hard! From Naivasha to Nairobi wasn't too bad - along the Rift Valley again - though there was an accident involving 3/4 lorries on the uphill bit that caused problems.
We were quite pleased to have coped with the matatus - many visitors don't use them as they don't have a good reputation but they were OK - and very cheap! However, it was really nice to see Anselme waiting for us at the terminus. The stop (or stage as it is called here) is in a part of Nairobi that is considered dangerous (and we did see a thief being caught as we walked along!). We survived - but it's a bit sad that it is very near a part of Nairobi called Eastleigh!
Tomorrow is our last day and we are accepting that we will not get done things we really wanted to :-( Lizzie won't see lake Nakuru - or Bogoria and others in the Rift Valley and Kathryn probably won't get to Kware... there might be an hour or so but it is probably too short notice now... Where did all that time go?!
A few more photos from today will be going online - and then it will be a pause while we travel back to the UK. We leave here on the 17.15 flight so will need to leave Msola (the House) at around 1.30/2pm. We arrive in Dubai at 23.15 and leave again at 09.50 on Saturday morning, arriving in Heathrow at 14.15... all being well! The flights for all of us coming out were fine so we should be OK... And then - watch this space for photo updates!
After a light lunch at the Fish Eagle hotel, we set off for a walk along the lake shore...
Problem - we couldn't find it! We found odd bits but mainly we found papyrus! For a geographer wanting to look at the lake this was very frustrating. After a bit, we decided to bite the bullet and pay an extortionate amount for a boat trip. This was good as it gave Lizzie chance to see the lake and marvel at how the sampling was done - but also a chance for both of us to see some of the wildlife... fish eagles - cormorants - pelicans - hippos (a tad closer than we had expected!) - storks - ibis and others we didn't know the names of.Coming back, our matatu was slowed down a bit by several packages! Very big packages that took up several seats and which got piled high on them! We hoped that the ones piled up behind the driver didn't fall over and knock him out! The fear of this didn't seem to stop him going very fast and braking hard! From Naivasha to Nairobi wasn't too bad - along the Rift Valley again - though there was an accident involving 3/4 lorries on the uphill bit that caused problems.
We were quite pleased to have coped with the matatus - many visitors don't use them as they don't have a good reputation but they were OK - and very cheap! However, it was really nice to see Anselme waiting for us at the terminus. The stop (or stage as it is called here) is in a part of Nairobi that is considered dangerous (and we did see a thief being caught as we walked along!). We survived - but it's a bit sad that it is very near a part of Nairobi called Eastleigh!
Tomorrow is our last day and we are accepting that we will not get done things we really wanted to :-( Lizzie won't see lake Nakuru - or Bogoria and others in the Rift Valley and Kathryn probably won't get to Kware... there might be an hour or so but it is probably too short notice now... Where did all that time go?!
A few more photos from today will be going online - and then it will be a pause while we travel back to the UK. We leave here on the 17.15 flight so will need to leave Msola (the House) at around 1.30/2pm. We arrive in Dubai at 23.15 and leave again at 09.50 on Saturday morning, arriving in Heathrow at 14.15... all being well! The flights for all of us coming out were fine so we should be OK... And then - watch this space for photo updates!
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