Hi everyone,
First things first, we would like to say a MASSIVE and HUGE thank you to both our parents and Ali especially for lending us the money allowing us to be able to go on safari - it was probably the most amazing part of our trip so far and well worth it I promise! I'm sure you'll agree when we show you some of Ryan's photos (and those i took on the very very basic disposable camera we bought, which of course will be incredible.) We booked our safari through Let's Go Travel which was recommended for being good for budget travellers. After a few phone calls we went and visited their office in Nairobi, and after taking a lot of money out of the ATM and walking back with it to the office as quickly as possible (a teensy bit scary) we booked our safari! Somehow we managed to pay resident's rates for a luxury camping safari, so we were paying only $30 more than we would have done for a basic camping safari, sleeping in a tent on the floor. That was exciting, but we had no idea how good it would be...
We woke early on Friday morning, ready to leave for the Mara at 8, and were picked up by our driver and guide, Jimmy, in our very own private minibus which we would use for the whole trip. On the way to the Mara we stopped at a point where we could see the Great Rift Valley frmo a perfect view point, and after enjoying the view and taking some photos, we continued with our journey. We arrived at the Mara in time for lunch, at the Sarova Mara hotel where we were staying. Instantly shocked by how gorgeous the entrance to the hotel was, and also by the waiter who served us complimentary drinks as we entered, we begun to realise that we had been very very lucky with our booking. This was confirmed when we were shown to our room. The best room in the hotel might i add (we've decided they probably thought we were on our honeymoon). This was not a tent, well it was but hardly one you camped in; there was a huuuuuuge bed, with loads of pillows, a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge bathroom with two sinks and an amazing shower, and even a hairdryer! There was also a verranda with a sunlounger and table with chairs. You can imagine how excited we were after weeks of staying in, let's be honest, not that great accommodation.
After a buffet lunch, which was also very exciting because we could eat as much as we wnated and didn't have to pay for it, we went out on our first game drive. We saw lots! Even our guide seemed impressed with how much we saw on our first game drive. We saw sleeping lions, being closely watched by an angry cheetah (we later found her babies, killed by the lions). We later saw those same lions mating, which was fun (the male lion made a lot of noise, the female just lay there!) We also saw giraffe, warthog, zebra, buffalo, wildebeest, topi, gazelle, impala and eland! It was incredible. That night (which confirmed our suspicions they thought we were on our honeymoon) they brought us chocolates and a hot water bottle! It gets very cold at night so so the hot water bottle was well appreciated.
The next morning we got up early and saw lots of African elephant, and amazingly, a leopard, which are notoriously difficult to see. Then in the afternoon we saw lots of hippo in the Mara River, and I also saw a small crocodile darting up the bank.
Then on our last game drive the next morning we saw a lion with a fresh kill, before heading back one last time to the camp for breakfast. Sadly we didn't see any rhino, despite our best efforts, but this didn't really matter at all. We were very sad to leave the Mara that morning, but it definitely left us feeling absolutely in love with Kenya, and determined to do it all again one day! We stayed at Milimani that night, and the next morning went and booked two bus tickets to Kampala, the capital of Uganda, for that evening.
A couple hours before we left there was a mad rush to try and get hold of some dollars because we were told that without these we could not buy our visas for Uganda. Annoyingly, as it was Easter Monday all the banks were closed. Luckily Ryan managed to exchange some Kenyan shillings at the last minute at the bus station! We also had just been reminded of someone we met in Nairobi who made friends with a guy on a bus from Kampala only to wake up 2 days later in a hospital bed in Kisumu with nothing but his tshirt and pants, having been drugged.
Luckily we weren't drugged. However, about an hour into the journey we felt a massive jolt, and I looked out of the window to see a lot of debris fly past. The bus stopped, everyone wondering what had happened, and then a few moments later we were informed that it was only a cow, and after a breif visit to the police we were on our way again. Oh yeah, and just in case anyone was wondering, the cow was dead.
At about five in the morning we arrived at the border. We had to queue up for ages on the Kenyan side to have our passports stamped. When it was finally our turn, and I handed over my passport to the official, he looked at it for a moment, and then ordered me to come into his office. I was a little startled, and Ryan and me both went into the office. The man then told Ryan to go away and asked me why I had brought Ryan with me, like it was a very strange thing to do. I replied that I was travelling with him and so thought whatever the problem was would concern him to, but he was acting as though I was deliberately going against what he had asked me to do. Then he went on to accuse me of being an illegal immigrant. It's quite difficult to try to explain the following conversation, mostly because the man was talking a lot of bullshit about us only having been given one month in Kenya, even though it clearly stated on my visa that it expired in July! When I was getting nowhere, I brought Ryan in, and the guy proceeded to tell Ryan I was being very uncooperative, and that I shouldn't talk so much! Basically the short of it is he was clearly trying to get us to bribe him. But it didn't work. In the end he told us he could take us to court, but instead he would let us go to Uganda, as long as we bought new visas to come back into Kenya. I mean come on, if he really thought we were illegal immigrants, I doubt he would have just let us go like that! It seemed that as soon as Ryan mentioned calling the British embassy, the man decided we weren't as much of a threat to the country as he was previously trying to indicate!! So there we go. Once we'd got our Uganda visas (no problems there to our relief), we got back on the bus, and I spent the next hour being very angry that I'd clearly been picked on because of not only my race but my gender. But it didn't take long before we saw the funny side, and we were both very glad that we didn't have to bribe anyone!
Now we're in Kampala, staying at the Red Chili Hideaway, which is ok, although the staff need to learn to smile. We're planning on going into Kampala tonight with an old north london girl who lives in Uganda and contacted me asking if we wanted to come have some dinner with her! So that's all for now.
One more thing - we've changed our flights to come back on the 28th of this month for a few reasons, one being because of a lack of money, and another being that Ryan has an exam on the 20th of May. We're going to have to pack Uganda and Rwanda into about 2 weeks now, which is quite an exciting prospect! And we really need to do some serious sunbathing too! So that's all for now.
Wishing everyone the best and see you all very soon!!
Emily and Ryan xxxxxx
P.S. I really hope someone has saved us some easter eggs...
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