Safari Park Hotel & Casino (Nairobi) July 11-12

OMG - what an incredible hotel room! A canopied bed with mosquito netting; a huge bathroom with lots of towels, hot water and hair dryer; and, would you believe it - a walk in sauna (OK, so it didn't work, but it's the thought that counts).



This place is huge! There are multiple swimming pools; a small carousel; a casino; shopping village; multiple restaurants.
Tasty brunch buffet - almost all lunches and dinners start with some of the most delicious soups I have ever tasted in my life, followed by immense buffet selections of incredible vegetables & fruits; an active station where omelets are made to order for breakfast and pasta sauces for lunch & dinner; assorted cheeses & crackers; assorted breads; fish & meat dishes (the meat dishes were somewhat disappointing - dry & overcooked in many instances); and the desserts..........amazing mousses, eclairs, flans, creme brule, cakes, pies & fruit (why do they even bother trying to pass off fruit as a dessert anyway???) During brunch the Tucson women (more about them later) invited me to join their group once the 16 of us were separated into smaller groups of 5, 5 and 6 for the game drives. Little did I know we were destined to be the life of the party!

First stop of our journey...The David Sheldrick Orphanage for Rhinos & Elephants. This amazing rescue center was set up by Daphne Sheldrick after her husband, David, died. He was an advocate for anti-poaching activities in Tsavo National Park. Once the animals are old enough, they are reintroduced into the wild. We watched them drink and bathe in the mud.















I forgot to mention that warthogs also reside at the sanctuary. After the baby elephants marched off, the warthogs proceeded in single file to the mud hole to cool off. I am fascinated by how ugly they are (right up there with the wildebeest - more on them later). I have designated them as my favorite 2 animals because everyone and everything needs some loving. I was trackng this particular warthog ith my zoom when it disappeared from my optical lens. So I moved the camera from my eyes to see where he went, and he was practically on top of me and moving quickly.

Next stop...Giraffe Manor. We meet the giraffes up close & personal when they pop their heads through the gabled Scottish hunting lodge. Rare endangered Rothschild's giraffes roam freely, eating feed from your hand - or if you're brave enough (or stupid), you can place a pellet between your lips and the giraffe will look like he's kissing you with his long, slobbering tongue as he searches for the pellet. Those of you who know me know I did not even attempt the second option.

Judy feeds the male giraffe while Terry looks on in disgust.











Next stop...Karen Blixen Museum. Karen Blixen, author of Out of Africa, lived in this estate from 1913 to 1931. This is where she threw a grand dinner party for the Prince of Wales and where she carried on a torrid love affair with aviator Denys Finch Hatton. The museum contains a few of her belongings and some of the farm machinery she used to cultivate the land for coffee & tea, as well as her literary works penned under the alias of Isak Dinesen. The grounds are a landscaper's dream, dominated by euphorbia, the many-armed plant widely known as the candelabra cactus.












Back to the Safari Park Hotel & Casino. I went to the small casino (for Deb). I think there were 7 people playing the slots, including me. I began my quest of trying each country's beers, starting with Tusker lager (very good and free while I was playing. A great deal since each bottle contained about 2 full beers. Average cost in US dollars - $3.50!) I lost about $20, and since I had to continue to feed the 10 shilling coins into the slots, my hands were filthy after about 1-1/2 hours of playing. When I first entered the casino to play the 2 shilling machines this group of Arab women were hogging all 20 machines - even though they were eating dinner in the small dining area while watching very poorly dubbed soaps on the plasma TV. (Some things are universal).

I went to the Hemingway Lounge after the money ran out, looking for my Arizona peeps and in search of the happy hour appetizers the hotel was advertising. These so-called "canapes" consisted of small chunks of Swiss cheese with a small dill pickle on top + some carrots and cucumbers. I was so hungry I left only one "canape" and one carrot for the next customer. I ordered a non-alcoholic drink with orange & pineapple juices, a diced Granny Smith apple, pineapple, watermelon & maraschino cherries. Excellent! But more expensive than a glass of wine ($4 US). Oh well, that's OK since I had already had essentially 4 beers on an empty stomach.

Finally, dinner! A carnivore's delight: beef links, beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, and yes, camel and crocodile served on a huge spear skewer. And no, they did NOT taste like chicken! They both were actually pretty tasty and moist. (I could not help thinking about my camel, Gus, from my desert ride from hell last summer). Sauces were provided for each: mustard, garlic, hot pepper, Italian. We always made it a point to ask the servers which sauce went with each meat. Took some photos of the cute leopard salad bar; great grillmasters; menu shield. We were entertained by an amazing group of dancers & acrobats after dinner - what a great show!

















I could not believe how low the one guy was able to go below the limbo stick - that would have done a number on my knees!

Back to Hemingway Lounge with my Arizona peeps for some more wine. Because we are all without our significant others, we have decided to share one of the game drive vans for the duration - a decision which we had no idea would result in such a fantastic experience. Of course my first indication that these ladies might be a ton of fun was that their consumption of wine almost exceeded our book club at home!