R&R Part 1 – House in the Wild

After a year in Abu Dhabi, it was time to get away and do something fun. Luckily, work affords us with rest and relaxation (R&R) time. Three weeks. Difficulty being, those three weeks also have to entertain the kids. We decided to spend each of the three weeks in different locations; the first would be on a safari, the second would be sightseeing around Nairobi, and the third, after all that go-go-go, we decided on an all-inclusive beach resort in Zanzibar.

This, is part one; The Safari.

A friend in Nairobi had recommended an all-inclusive style safari camp called House In The Wild, which is located in the Maasai Mara area of Kenya. It wasn’t cheap, so I had some reservations about the expense, but looking back, it was worth every penny and then some. The weather couldn’t have been better. The staff were all extremely friendly, helpful, and most importantly, great with the kids. We were picked up at the airfield, and I mean that it was a literal dirt field in the middle of empty Africa, by our guide assigned to us for the duration of our stay, Wilson (affectionately called “Mr. Wilson” by Max and Gabe). Wilson was from the Maasai tribe, and would later take us to visit a Maasai village – though I’m sorry to report that the SD card in the camera at the time got corrupted and all my attempts at recovery have thus far failed.

I think we did at least one safari every day we were there. For the first two days, we were literally the only family there. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. And there were animals just everywhere. Top of my list was an elephant. After Rebecca and I had done a few safaris in Pilanesberg, South Africa and didn’t see any, I was determined. Rebecca was equally determined. Gabe wanted to see “gi-gis” (giraffes) and Max wanted to see Monkeys. Well, we saw plenty of both. Monkeys (and baboons) are everywhere, and will try stealing food when and if they think they can get away with it.

The pictures below don’t really do the visit justice. We saw lions eating a zebra (Max wasn’t a big fan of that part), and the hyenas maneuvering to steal the scraps, and on our way back to the airfield, saw a cheetah eating a gazelle. Photos are in chronological order.

The kids had an amazing time, we had picnics out “in the bush”, we saw hippos and giraffe right outside our bedroom door, we adore our wonderful guide Mr. Wilson, and we saw everything we came to see and more. I only hope these photos will help remind them when they are older, and they have even a small memory of this incredible vacation.