Nairobi Vacation

During the mid-semester break we took a vacation in Nairobi. On a good day it is a 9 hour drive. I love getting up early and starting our trip before sun up. It is so pretty watching the sun rise and seeing the country side come to life.

The highlights from our trip are a visit to the Giraffe Reserve, a tour of Kazuri bead factory, visiting with friends and for Nikki getting her hair cut.

There is a Giraffe Reserve just outside of Nairobi where you can feed the giraffes. One of the popular methods is putting the food between your lips and then the giraffe will take it. It looks like you are kissing the giraffe. The giraffe tongue is very rough and long.

We saw several Kazuri Jewelry stores in Nairobi and discovered the factory was really close to the giraffe reserve so we took a tour. What a cool place. They make all their beads from clay. They employ around 340 women, mostly single mothers who really need a job. The beads are then used for jewelry. They also make pottery and animals. The kids even loved seeing how it was all made. The jewelry and beads are shipped worldwide. For you Mennonites out there 10,000 Villages sells it in Canada.

We enjoyed our stay at the Mennonite Guesthouse where we got to visit with some friends that know my parents and lived in my home area for several years. We got to know them in July when we stayed at the guesthouse and enjoyed visiting with them again.

Below are pictures of sights from our trip.