Also Ben has got a new website online now, with all the photos from the Asia trip up on there, plus a new blog he has started:
Friday, February 26, 2010
VIDEO!
So we are back from our trip to Africa, we still have a couple of posts left to add here from Ethiopia. But we have a video from our 10 week trip last year to Asia that we would love you to check out!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Meeting Alice
On our last day in Kenya Ben and I got to meet Alice, one of our Compassion sponsored children. She is now eighteen years old and I have been sponsoring her for over ten years now. It was so exciting to finally meet her. She was a little shy, which is understandable, but still very happy to see us.
We met her family too, who are all just amazing. She has seven brothers and sisters! Her little sister Jessica loved blowing bubbles and she was just adorable. Alice showed us around her home and her dad's small farm.
Alice's father made Ben a bow and arrows too - Ben was beyond happy - he had been saying all trip how he wanted to buy some! All we have to do now is hope they let them through customs....
Here's just some of the family.
We met her family too, who are all just amazing. She has seven brothers and sisters! Her little sister Jessica loved blowing bubbles and she was just adorable. Alice showed us around her home and her dad's small farm.
Alice's father made Ben a bow and arrows too - Ben was beyond happy - he had been saying all trip how he wanted to buy some! All we have to do now is hope they let them through customs....
Here's just some of the family.
Sensational safari Pt 3
Before heading back to Nairobi, we visited a Masai village. We got to hear the women singing and also visit one of their homes and learn about some of their traditions and customs. We also saw the chief start a fire from two pieces of wood. It took him about thirty seconds ad certainly puts all those people on Survivor to shame!
Sensational safari Pt 2
We managed to fit in twelve and a half hours of "safari-ing" into our short time in the Masai Mara and saw more than we could ever expected. Our first sighting was a group of lions devouring a buffalo. We got so close to them and at one stage one of the lions came and sat down less than two metres from our vehicle (did I mention the vehicle has open sides??) - it was a little scary, but they honestly didn't seem to pay any attention to us.
Here's some of the other animals we saw:
Fighting giraffes...it's called necking and it was very funny to watch as they swung their long necks into each other.
We found a cheetah consuming a gazelle....later we came back to see vultures eating the left overs, as well as a very full cheetah - look at that tummy!
On the second day we went out early and after a few hours, we drove up to our 'bush breakfast' - which turned out to be bacon, eggs, pancakes, juice, yogurt, coffee and more...all set up beautifully in a secluded area next to a river. We were waited upon by two waiters and guarded by a few more men from any wild animals!
We got bogged on our last safari...we had to get out of the vehicle while they towed it out of the mud. It was very exciting, I'm just glad we didn't see any lions at that moment.
The biggest find of the safari had to be the leopard, which we found up a tree before it ran down into the long grass. Can you see it in the tree? We chased it around for a bit but it was really shy and in the end we left it alone...I was worried it was going to jump right into our truck.
More animals:
Fighting giraffes...it's called necking and it was very funny to watch as they swung their long necks into each other.
We found a cheetah consuming a gazelle....later we came back to see vultures eating the left overs, as well as a very full cheetah - look at that tummy!
On the second day we went out early and after a few hours, we drove up to our 'bush breakfast' - which turned out to be bacon, eggs, pancakes, juice, yogurt, coffee and more...all set up beautifully in a secluded area next to a river. We were waited upon by two waiters and guarded by a few more men from any wild animals!
We got bogged on our last safari...we had to get out of the vehicle while they towed it out of the mud. It was very exciting, I'm just glad we didn't see any lions at that moment.
The biggest find of the safari had to be the leopard, which we found up a tree before it ran down into the long grass. Can you see it in the tree? We chased it around for a bit but it was really shy and in the end we left it alone...I was worried it was going to jump right into our truck.
More animals:
Sensational safari Pt 1
Our trip to the Masai Mara was a long and bumpy five and a half hours - but definitely worth it. When we arrived a Olonana camp, we were blown away by the beautiful accommodation! We knew we were staying in tents, but I've never seen tents like this before. Our tents were next to a river filled with hippos and we had our meals on a deck overlooking the river.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Kibera Slum
Tuesday saw us in Nairobi city once again, this time visiting Kibera slum - which we were told is the largest slum in the world. It looked much the same as Mathare valley, except it seemed to go on forever in every direction. When we arrived at the project and went through the gates, it was like stepping into another world. The project was on a large block of land with school buildings, a church, a garden, offices and a playground. Kids were running around smiling and there was no rubbish in sight.
Ben and I had a ball playing with the kids and taking their photos while the interviews went on in the office. We got to meet one of the little girls who is an orphan and lives in a cottage on the project grounds, along with six other children. These cottages are called HVC cottages (highly vulnerable children) cottages, and Compassion has a few in Africa, to help look after children who have lost both parents or were in abusive situations etc. They live with other children in the home and are cared for by a house mother.
We were really hoping to walk around and take some photos of the slum but it was not to be. We weren't allowed outside the project gates at all, for safety reasons. and even photos out of the car windows were a no-no.
Stay tuned for the next post...it has lions in it!
Ben and I had a ball playing with the kids and taking their photos while the interviews went on in the office. We got to meet one of the little girls who is an orphan and lives in a cottage on the project grounds, along with six other children. These cottages are called HVC cottages (highly vulnerable children) cottages, and Compassion has a few in Africa, to help look after children who have lost both parents or were in abusive situations etc. They live with other children in the home and are cared for by a house mother.
We were really hoping to walk around and take some photos of the slum but it was not to be. We weren't allowed outside the project gates at all, for safety reasons. and even photos out of the car windows were a no-no.Stay tuned for the next post...it has lions in it!
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