Our Stay in Nairobi

Staying at the Kolping House was an excellent transition into our time in Kenya. We were able to get over our jet-lag fairly quickly and had plenty of time to catch up on reading (when the Hadada Ibis let us do so of course...). All of the staff were very accommodating and helpful. They gave us matches and candles when we first checked in-- we soon realized these would come in handy!

Our first stop was at the Giraffe Manor, where we learned about the research being done with Rothschild Giraffes and their role in the conservation of the species. I even got to kiss a couple! We learned a little about their biology and ecology in Kenya. 

We also got to check out some orphaned animals of all sorts-- from Helmeted Guineafowl to African Elephants. Despite the fact that hunting of any wildlife in Kenya is illegal, there is a significant problem with poaching. Often times this results leaving infant animals to fend for themselves which will usually result in death if humans don't intervene. Elephants in particular will stay with their mothers for over 3 years.

We also had some instruction on how to use the different equipment brought for our line transects-- some of the small mammal traps even had hair left in them from the previous inhabitants!

A few trinkets and trips to Nakumatt later, we were ready to leave Kolping and jet set to the Mara!