The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust / Elephant Orphanage is only open to the public for an hour a day (11-12). We arrived at 10 to ensure we were part of the early arrivals - we weren't the first though. After standing around debating if it was jersey on or jersey off weather we were finally let in and lead towards a large roped area. We managed to secure great spots standing right behind the ropes. Originally 16 younger elephants were fed and sprayed with some mud and water. As they walked by we were allowed to touch them, and we did a couple times. The next group of 14 elephants were all a little older but they were very playful. As they were all busy eating, drinking or playing the one guard told us about all the individuals- many were orphaned due to poaching which is so sickening, one of the babies were even shot in the leg and they will always have a limp. It takes $900 per month to care for each elephant. I decided to sponsor an elephant, it's basically a $50 yearly donation and you get monthly updates on the one you choose as well as a brief overview of the rest. My elephants name is Tagwa, she is a year and two months old and was orphaned when her mom became a victim of poaching. If you have sponsored an elephant you are allowed to visit between 5 and 6 in the evening to see them being fed and put to bed. After the orphanage we went to the Giraffe Centre, apart from touching and feeding the giraffes I got kissed by one a couple times ( if you put a food pellet between your lips you get a sloppy kiss haha ). When we arrived back at the elephant orphanage later we watched all the little ellies run back in through the gate (they roam the national park daily to help them grow their natural instincts), they'd run past you less than a meter away. It was so amazing to watch. We could then walk around all the enclosures to see them all up close and touch or play with them if they were close enough to their gates. While walking around I got mock charged by a warthog- I barely noticed it at first, it was surprising- rather than showing fear and letting it ramp into me I took a loud step towards it and it ran away (phew). The warthogs were a bit aggressive as they are wild and some of the tourists had been feeding them. I got to meet Tagwa and touch her, she even put her trunk around my wrist and hand. I witnessed her stealing two branches , one from each neighbour haha. I guess the "grass is always green on the other side". At the orphanage there is also a year old giraffe who I got a few photos with and gave a few good chin scratches to. (Like a hug dog with an abnormally long neck haha). Once back at Karen camp we joined the others having dinner then packed our backpacks and enjoyed our Christmas Eve.
DAY 16
Waking up at 6 on Christmas morning is pretty normal but usually I wake up in a completely different environment with completely different people. Instead of spending the day with my family and having a big Christmas lunch at our house or at a friends house, I'll be with my new Acacia Africa Truck family meeting new additions to the family and then traveling to the Maasi Mara. My SA family managed to sneak in 2presents into my bag, 1 which was for Sav. Sav's parents also packed her a present. We sat on one of the outside couches and opened all our many presents haha. I was hoping for clean clothing - my wishes came true. I was gifted two tops, a bracelet and one of those eye masks. (Yay, clean clothes! And better sleep haha!) I even managed to whatsapp call my parents at 5:20 their time to wish them a Merry Christmas, thanks mom and dad for waking up very early! We left Karen Camp at 6:45 then drove in the truck to Hotel Boulevard (where we started our trip two weeks ago, I can't believe it's already been two weeks!). We then met our new group members and all transferred into two smaller vehicles that then drove us to Maasai Mara. The last leg of the trip was super bumpy, it felt like I was in one of those fancy massaging chairs. While climbing out of our car/van just after 2 at our new camp Enkolong Camp we were served lunch and told to meet back their before 4 as our gamedrive was at four. Sav, the New Zealand lady and myself are sharing a tent. Our tents are large canvas walls and a ceiling with netting windows that can be zipped over by canvas. We had a brief nap before our gamedrive. Once at the Maasi Mara National Reserve we were partially harassed by Maasi women all trying to sell this beaded jewelry while a few booked a balloon ride over the Serengeti for the morning. On the gamedrive we came across two lionesses with two cubs, another lioness on her own that walked right behind our vehicle, we saw many bucks and one buffalo and on our way towards the exit we watched 4 elephants cross the road. Sleeping in a real bed was incredible, our bathroom only a few steps away. Absolute bliss. I love how I now get so excited about this sort of smaller stuff. Today was a very strange Christmas, it didn't really feel like Christmas so I don't feel like I missed out on much even though I did miss my family a little (tiny) bit haha.
DAY 17
Olmalaika home is a sanctuary were young girls can seek refuge from the Maasi tribe if they are not wanting to be "sold". It is owned by Richard Brandson. The parents of young men are the choosers of their first wife, if the son did a great job at looking after his fathers cattle and livestock the parents would "buy" or pay more for an "expensive" (beautiful, smart, active) woman to become their sons wife. On our game drive we saw: 3 cheetah, one alone then another with a cub ( we even witnessed it trying to hunt), countless amounts of lion with their playful cubs (saw a lioness stalking her prey), a leopard and a large herd of elephants. We had lunch on the open plain of the Serengeti. We then went to the Maasi village were we were shown around while they sang and danced. They jumped extremely high, true to their culture. Such amazing people. We went back to the camp and had dinner and even celebrated the day with cake as dessert. Yum Yum
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