Nairobi

We have arrived safely! So far I seem to be leading the tally with the most "ameture mistakes" or "rookie errors" such as spilling stuff on the plain, leaving my 150 ml moisturiser in my day pack and then having to go through the scaner again as there was another small tube of toothpaste i forgott about. Gog (Georgia) is coming in second with her exploding roll deodorent, making a mess all over the airport bathroom and Jenny H leaving her aerosol can in her main luggage. Allthough, all of these mistakes are providing us with a good opportunity to pay eachother out and have a bit of a giggle. The journey was very long (about 36 hours travel time including change overs and waiting around) and we were so keen to get to our hotel as soon as possible, however when we got to the airport our hotel transfer was no where to be seen. But after we sorted that out (apparently they mucked up and came the day before), we were on our way with a replacement driver.

The city is very different to what I expected. There are people walking everywhere! Selling bits and pieces, and there is a lot of construction going on. Dad, you would have been very impressed with one of the concrete buildings that was being set up as the scafolding was all made from sticks. Our trip from the airport to the hotel took about an hour as trafic was very bad, but our driver was pretty savy and liked to tell us about his city which he seemed very proud of. He asked Jenny H to count the number of stories of a building (there were 28) and said "this building has a lot of stories, how many do you have in your home?" to which we replied, there are buildings with probably around 200 stories! He replied "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat! Are youn serious!?" which just goes to show how different things are over here. The drive was an experience in itself! We had all the windows down as it was so hot with no air con, but made sure doors were locked as there were people everywhere and we seemed to be attracting a lot of attention and stares from locals. Although we still felt moderately safe. The sun is really hot on our skin (malaria tablets not helping with this) and we were able to quickly learn what it will be like in the peak heat of the day.

We finally arrived to our hotel which was manned with a security guards and big gates, and were then able to relax. We had a good nights sleep and just had a big breakky and are ready to meet the rest of our group tonight.

Love you all Jen, Jen and Georgia

Walking back to the hotel past the University of Nairobi.

Looking at stalls and shops in the city center of Nairobi. Everyone hassles you to buy things! They say "take your time, take your time". Markets are quite pricey, and people seem to think we have a lot of money. Jen picked out a wallet, some earings and a scarf and the man wanted $100 Auzzie! We walked away of course....

A ground shop that had so many different things to buy. Jewlery, paintings, clothes, carved animals...and it just goes on and on. People follow you everywhere while you are shopping, and they are very persistent but very friendly.

 

One down two to go

We made it toPerth Airport! It's 2am Melbourne time and we are now waiting to board our flight to Joburg and making use of the free internet! From Joburg we will then fly to kenya. Peace out!

Highlights with Qantas
1) awesome dinner
2)blankets
3)cornetto
4)ginger beer

Departing Australia

Greetings all!

Welcome to my blog which will keep you posted on our travels in Africa.
I will try to update as regularly as possible, so you don't think that I have been kidnapped by savages.

I am extremely excited to be finally embarking on this journey, as the last couple of weeks have been the most hectic time of my life trying to organise everything!

8 jabs in the arm - $500, digital SLR accessories - $300, mum's credit card - $50,000. Arriving home from Africa without a disease and with some amazing photographs? Priceless.

Miss you all and speak to you all soon!

xoxox Jenny