Week One: Vacation

I have made it through my first wonderful week in Kenya. The first best part is that I am with my sister who I have missed all year because she has been living in Kenya with her husband Mark. The second part was the family got to be all together traveling around to small parks to the north of Nairobi. In true Schenk fashion we decided not to go to the big popular parks and make our own safari camping and driving around to amazing off the beaten path places. There were adventures at every turn. My sister had warned me about the bad roads but man are they an adventure. Driving through pot holes that I was sure would consume the car watching a mac truck coming out of the dust right at us while at the last minute swerving back to the "other" side of the "road." Each night we had a new animal that would take up residence by our tent much to our fear, excitement, and awe. Baboons, cape buffalo, and hippos made their nightly parade by our tent making noises that always kept you guessing. The birds were beyond amazing. We identified over 40 different species each more beautiful than the next. We camped at four different lakes, some alkaline filled with flamingos, another surrounded by beautiful green hills, and still another with a large waterfall. One of my favorite days was biking through Hell's Gate National Park down a dirt road will warthogs and giraffes staring at you only a few feet away. I am posting a few pictures that highlighted the trip.














An African Jakarata














The family biking through Hell's Gate National Park



















Flamingos at Naivasha Park