Safari!

Hi again!

I hope you enjoyed the previous post about my trip to Mombasa.

Now I will continue to recall my travels around Kenya, with this post being about my first ever Safari experience!

We set off for the Nairobi Wilson airport early in the morning. I was so tired, but the thought of getting into the Masai Mara in less than 40 minutes excited me! We decided that going by plane was a better option because of how much quicker it was and also because the recent weather had made the roads on the way to the Mara very rough. 

The plane journey however was such a good experience as it was a low flying one meaning you could get an amazing view of the gorgeous African surroundings!

After two short flights we had arrived!

We were then taken by our guides to Keekorok Lodge, where we were to stay for the next 2 nights.

We chose Keekorok because it is where my parents has both stayed many years ago and they absolutely loved it that time. The lodge is so great as it is situated in the heart of the Mara and there are no gates or boundaries of any form to block any nature out. There had even been stories from some of the staff of lions sometimes roaming around (ahhh scary).!

A monkey sitting outside our lodge

Overall the place was so beautifully decorated with objects that really reflected the safari theme.

 The seating area outside the dining room

The dining area

The room decor

Very simple but yet very effective!

Okay so lets move onto the actual safari! Over the 2 days we spent there, we went on a total of 5, 2 hour game drives. 2 of them were early morning ones starting at around 6am. Another 2 were evening ones where we would see the sun setting as we came back, and finally 1 afternoon one.

So instead of me explaining what I saw, I am just going to post my favourite snaps from the entire safari because as they say, 'A picture speaks a thousand words'.

 Ahhhh Silembaaaa! (I just could not help thinking I was on the set of the Lion King)

 Mischievous but very cute cubs

 The Wildebeest Migration to Tanzania

 I wish I could have been in that car!

 Elephants! One of my favourite animals 

 Hey Mufasa

 Not an animal but one of many beautiful trees

 Sunrise

 My favourite landscape shot!

 Ostrich

Staring right at us 

 The gorgeous sunset

Near the Tanzanian border in the land which is neither Kenya or Tanzania. With our two excellent tour guides!

Well, there you go! I hope some of those pictures gave you a feel for what a safari experience is like if you have never been before. It really is a lifetime experience and something I definitely want to do again!

We were lucky to see quite a lot of animals on our trip and we really did get some great shots. One animal which our guides tried very hard to find was a leopard, however we were unsuccessful in our search. They are very difficult to find like rhinos. We did however manage to find a cheetah and we almost saw a kill but the cheetah became too lazy and gave up. It was such an amazing thing to watch however despite this as we got to see the cheetah run! It was such a popular sight that about 20 cars were all there waiting for this one cheetah to pounce. It is always a good sign when you see lots of cars from afar as you know there is going to be something good to see!

So after our last morning game drive it was time to say goodbye, but before we left there was still some time to go and pay a visit to the hippo lodge.

 I loved watching the hippos. They really are such funny animals!

Me with the hippo lodge in the background

Bye bye Keekorok!

Well it really was an experience to remember, and with all those amazing fresh memories we set off back to Nairobi. The holiday still was not over yet as we had just over a week left to spend with our family in Nairobi!

Join me in my next post about Nairobi!

Asante Sana

(Many Thanks in Swahili)

Jaina...Xx

Mombasa!

Hey readers!

Sorry again that it has been a while.  I hope you have all been enjoying the spectacular British summer or maybe even the summer somewhere else if you have been as lucky as me to have been on a holiday.

In my case I have just visited one of the most vibrant and cultural continents of the world, for the first time in my life.
I have been fortunate enough to have visited Africa, and where in particular you may wonder, well... I spent the last 3 and a half weeks in KENYA! 

Kenya has been an important part of both my mum and dad's heritage because they were both born there, so it was very exciting for us to be visiting the country for the first time.

It was definitely the holiday of a lifetime!

Our first stop in Kenya was Mombasa, where we were to stay a week. Mombasa was a definite stop on our travels because it was the birthplace of my dad. Not only was he born there but he also grew up there until he left for university. Mombasa was a very special place to him and I was so excited to see what it was like.
As soon as we arrived at the hotel, the sun was shining on what seemed like paradise. It was the perfect end to a very long and tiring flight. We were staying at the Sarova Whitesands Resort located on the North coast of Mombasa, and it really could not have been a better choice. The resort itself was gorgeous and placed right on the beach.

Here is the luscious view from our hotel room

After a well needed rest we headed down to the beach bar and enjoyed a lovely cool refreshing drink of madafi (coconut water) which is my mum's absolute favourite. It felt so nice to be in such an exotic setting clutching onto a fresh coconut.

The next couple of days consisted of swimming, walks on the beach, reading and eating lots of yummy food! It really was a great relaxing start to the holiday.
Of course holidays are not complete without taking lots and lots of exotic snaps to really take in where we are and also to look back upon in our cold and dark winters, where a picture of any palm tree would send trickles of warmth back into us. Here are some shots we took of the hotel grounds which were so well presented, really making us feel like we were in some kind of tropical heaven.

These gorgeous beds really fit in well with the scenery and were perfect for kicking back on with a book in the afternoon sun

maxi skirt: Forever 21 (2013)

These stepping stones were a great touch. I could not resist walking across them each time, even if there was a much easier and quicker route. 

Stepping stones to Paradise

Blending into the background with my tropical playsuit- a purchase from Primark in Summer 2012

A restaurant overlooking the sunny beach

The gorgeous pools with the sun shining down on them, showing that refreshing blue which is making me want to jump in right now!

The Beach

 The beach view from our room

Late morning walk in the low tide
top: Topshop (3 years ago)
shorts: H&M (this year)

the evening view from a stroll along the beach

Looking back on those pictures again has brought me back into the holiday blues state.

It really was such a pretty destination and I just want to go back already! 

Another thing which is a key to a good holiday and a key in everyday life to be honest is... have you guessed? FOOD!

The food at the Whitesands is known to be delicious and these rumours and previous reviews were spot on! Everyday there was a wide range of culinary beauties, and I am not just talking about dinner. The breakfasts every morning, were to die for and I am not even a breakfast person normally. 

Even if it meant having to be out of bed by 9am, I was there! I would normally start out with the home made doughnuts and then have a fresh fruit juice, followed by dishes you would think should be served at dinner. Of course they had all the standard full English breakfast foods and also things like pancakes which for me are like a once in a blue moon treat. One breakfast was Indian themed and they had Idli (a South Indian dish of soft rice cakes and lentil soup), Pav bhaji (mashed vegetable curry eaten in a bun like a burger) and much more. It was so filling that I didn't even need to eat a proper lunch.

Sometimes I ended up going up about five times to get more food!

The decoration alongside the food. This really re-enforced freshness being at the heart of all the dishes

Dinner was also just as yummy with again a vast range of continental dishes. Another thing to point out was the sheer choice for vegetarians like myself. There were no problems whatsoever with there being a lack of vegetarian dishes as one side of the buffet more or less seemed to be dedicated to meat free choices. To top that off, you could even request an alternative if there was something cooking which had some meat in it. You could ask the chef if it was possible to make a veggie option of what they were making out at the front and they would do their best to make the dish right there and then for you without the meat. One example of this was a pasta dish which contained seafood, but in less that 5 minutes a whole new one was made for us. The service was absolutely brilliant, there never seemed to be anything that was impossible. Now I wish I could get that kind of service here in the UK!

The drinks were also amazing and I loved the fresh fruit juice cocktails which you could order.

My favourite was the Coco Loco, (love the name) which incorporated fresh passion fruit, other fruits with a layer of coconut milk at the top! It not only looked lush but tasted heavenly...

Although relaxing at the hotel and joining in all the activities was really fun, we couldn't just stay in this bubble for the whole week, after all it was my dad's hometown! On the Sunday we went to visit the Jain temple in the heart of Mombasa, where my grandfather used to played a big role in the early days when it opened.

It looks so stunning here with the clear blue sky in the background.

The one thing which surprised me in the temple complex was the calmness and tranquility of such a busy place despite being located next to a fairly busy road.

Opening my third eye- this is a Jain ritual when entering the temple 

My dad had always told us stories of the Mombasa Jain temple and to see it in reality brought those tales alive, of him running around and playing with his friends as a little kid. We even got to see where he used to live which was a ten minute walk away. Although we could not see it that well because of all the changes since then, at least we got some idea of what it was like.

On the drive back we also saw one of his old schools which he claimed has changed so much as he never even knew it used to be anywhere near the sea from the way it was built before. 

Driving through Mombasa was a cultural experience in itself, seeing all of the locals go about their daily lives. Everyone was so colourfully dressed and they always seemed to have beaming smiles pinned to their faces.

The Last Day :(

All good things have to come to an end and yes, Mombasa was unfortunately coming to one. We decided to spend the last day soaking up more rays and enjoying the surroundings we were in. 

There was one thing which we had wanted to do all week and immediately after breakfast we got ready and headed to the beach. We were going to go Snorkeling in the reef! So we hired a glass bottom boat and set off. 

A panoramic view from the boat

Chilling from the top of the boat

The sound of the water whooshing beneath us made it such a relaxing experience and for a moment or two I just switched off and let myself be a part of this ambience in the middle of the sea.

Snorkeling was a really great experience and the water was so clear, blue and warm.

There is definitely something about swimming in the sea which you just cannot compare to a pool! 

The tropical fish were so beautiful to see and it was definitely one of those times where I wish I owned one of those cameras which could capture underwater.

Another thing which I had wanted to do all week was a camel ride along the beach, and that evening my mum and I hopped onto a camel and away we went!

Trousers: River Island (2013)

The one thing that scared me the most was falling off when getting down from the camel, but I am pleased to say that I successfully managed to get down without any embarrassment!

It really was such a memorable experience and going along Mombasa beach as the sun was beginning to set, made it the perfect setting.

 I would definitely go on a camel ride again!

So as our last evening drew into a close we were feeling sad, however it really was only just the beginning as our next stop was the Masai Mara where we were going on Safari!

Bye Bye Whitesands :( or otherwise known to me as Para Para Paradise!

Join me in my next post about my first ever Safari Experience!

Jaina...Xx