Glamorous Only in Retrospect: 23 March

23 March

DAVID SHELDRICK WILDLIFE TRUST

Steph:

Erik made friends with a cab driver yesterday named David. He agreed to drive us around all day. It wasn't cheap, but definitely worth it. We checked out of the YMCA, which ended up being a really well run hostel, and headed to DSWT. I was slightly emotional since our main goal these past 7 months has been to get here. It hasn't really sunk in that we're in Nairobi. Maybe it's because we're here sooner than I thought we would be. Who knows. We walked into the place along with a lot of other visitors, paid our entrance fee and went to stand around an enclosure that leads to the forest. As soon as I saw the first baby I almost started crying. Haha, that's so silly. A few minutes later, one of the keepers grabbed a microphone and started telling us about the trust and the work they do. Then, our of the forest, came a group of keepers with a very nice, single file line of babies. Oh my goodness. They all came running down the hill for their lunch bottles of milk. From far away they all look the same, but the longer you watch them the more you can see their individual little personalities. It's awesom. Some are timid and polite, others are playful and goofy and others are little bullies. After they were all introduced and had eaten, they walked back out into the bush and the bigger ones came jogging down the hill. These guys are bigger (2-3 yrs old) and less clumsy but just as funny. Most of them were orphaned by poachers and it's heartbreaking and wonderful to hear how they came into the keepers' care and how they've slowly adapted and adjusted from the trauma they suffered.

After an hour, it was time for us to go, but I was excited about coming back in the afternoon for a more personal experience with them. David drove us to the Giraffe Center, not too far away. Our overland trip includes a day here so we thought we'd do it early, while we're already here. It was great. It's a rehab / breeding center for reticulated and Rothschild giraffes. They're beautiful. We spent the whole afternoon there, feeding them and getting kisses. It was fun.

At 5pm we were back at DSWT. From 5-6 only the foster parents come to see their babies. We waited for them as they came back to their enclosures for dinner and bed. This time we got to get close and meet them individually. It was awesome to touch them and talk to the keepers. Balguda is a shy little one when it comes to humans but apparently he's quite the bully with the other babies. It's funny.

The whole thing was wonderful. It was a really great experience. We told the head guy that we had ridden from cape town to raise money for these guys, but he had no clue what we were talking about. It's all good though. He's clearly busy running things here :)

Erik:

Today was fantastic. I really didn't want to go. It made me very happy that there are people to do this work.