This journey truly began more than 20 years ago, as Mom and Dad began their love affair with the African Continent. When they first started adventuring in Africa with their TBFL (Travel Buddies For Life) something just clicked. Whether it was the people, the sights, the food or the balance of grit and luxury - it stuck. This land is what they dreamed of sharing with their kids and grandkids. AND WOW DID THEY DO IT.
Nairobi-ManziiHouse
Our launching spot for the most incredible family adventure of all time. We were greeted at the beautiful Manzili house by the warm staff, the cool and very fun home owners, and some interesting house guests. We first met up with Sean and Lucien, our safari guides who quickly became the newest members of our crazy family.
Nairobi was filled with Giraffe kisses, delicious meals, spider monkeys, and a little acclimation to this new and exciting land we were about to explore. One of our first animal viewings were the <flying bush babies=. We first heard these pint sized acrobats landing on the roof and later were entertained with a private show of their late night antics with their red eyes and their sneaky shenanigans.
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KalepoCamp
After surviving our first tiny plane ride (Erin wasn’t sure that was possible) we arrived at our first stop: Kalepo Camp in the Samburu Region. We were greeted by a herd of cows on the runway (that actually forced Lucien and Sean to pull out of their first landing). Once on solid ground, we were introduced to the two newest members of our quickly growing Kenyan family - Joel and Daniel our Samburu Warriors. These two men couldn’t have made us feel more at home or cooler to be in the presence of actual warriors.
Jack got to sit in the 8scout seat9 on front of our car, to spot the animals and to try to stay away from the <Pork Bushes= .
Volleyball in Kenya? Yep. And they all had uniforms!! The sand was hot, but the brothers Prager dominated. Smiles and sunburn all around.
We ate Pizza on the lawn and had tandoori by the river. It just kept getting better and better. Every arrival and departure from camp was attended by the entire camp clapping, smiling, and handing us a cool towel and a beverage.
We had a special day where we visited the local school and met the teachers and students. It was humbling, but with Rob, Storm and Kalepo9s support they have a new playground, and new classroom9s are on the way!
The last night was why we were all there. A ceremony to mark the love and devotion Mom and Dad have for one another, brought us all to tears and filled our hearts with joy. It was beyond special. Thank you Kalepo!
RetitiElephantSanctuary
A quick flight to see the rescued baby elephants by the fearless Miriam. Apparently we landed on one of the toughest runways in Africa to land (we found that out after we were safe).
We were lucky enough to be there for feeding time, when dozens of elephants come running from the wild into a pen where there are each fed a bottle of special milk filled with custom nutrients for each one.
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Borana-Fuzz’sCamp
No one knew what to expect when we got to Borana, but Fuzz’s Camp proved to be a HIDDEN GEM, with Fuzz and Bimbi running the show.
We heard stories of Ernest Hemingway hunting on the land with Fuzz’s father , and Bimbi’s secret of her 30 horses that Fuzz for some reason hasn’t counted since she had 3. Your secret is safe with us Bimbi.
There were a lot of first. First Lion, First Zebra (Liam’s favorite), First Rhino (Black and White) but the most important wasn’t a first it was a 2nd! We celebrated our Charlie - girl’s 2nd birthday complete with homemade pink bunny cake, streamers, balloons, and anything else pink that Seth and Erin could reasonably bring from the States. And everyone from Fuzz’s came out to sing a very special Kenyan Happy Birthday song.
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We rode horses past a water buffalo with her baby, and a potentially angry male Bull blocking our way home. We mountain biked through the wild, with the elephants and lions nearby. Evan ate dirt when a crevasse tried to swallow him whole. Erin and DJ almost made it to the top of the mountain on their bikes, getting further than all of the boys! Naturally !
We spent 2 nights at the ultimate Sundowners location perched above Fuzz’s amazing property. Whitey was always close by making cocktails, and Tuzi was there to protect us! And Jack controlled the playlist - classic rock for the win, who doesn’t love ZZ TOP on a mountain top in Borana!
Sean schooled the boys in endless games of backgammon and we collected a ton of souvenirs from the hidden gift shop
MasaiMara
We took 8Ryan Air' to our last camp, Ryan wasn9t afraid to fly low and let us see this incredible landscape that we were about to explore. Triple Waterfalls and endless land with herds of beautiful animals and winding rivers. The mobil camp was set up in a mere 3 days by the legendary Kerr & Downey, Co. the originators of camp luxury this even included a private massage tent right on a beautiful riverbank. This beautiful tradition has been happening for over 100 years. A way to experience the beautiful land without changing, altering or destroying anything. Leave no trace!
We drove through rivers we weren9t sure we would make it through, and we had to do some serious towing when we didn9t make it… whiplash anyone?
After a sunrise safari seeing lions, hippos, elephants and hyena, we had breakfast out in the Mara.
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Who’s driving this thing?!
We drank Beaumont Wine at lunch and dinner, and had amazing passed appetizers while playing Rummikub. Jack discovered that Ethan and Liam could <read minds= and we sat back and watched the beauty of cousin bonding at it’s finest
We worked out by the riverbank, and took amazing showers with water heated by a kettle.
And then we saw a KILL. A female lion stalked her warthog and then went for the jugular. It was EPIC.
We saw a stealthy leopard and lots of Hyena’s that looked cute enough to cuddle but would rip your face off. And some of us got to stand on the Kenyan border and pee on Tanzania! and master tracker, Sengale.
Nairobi-HogHouse
Back to where it all began (sort of) we landed back at Hog House, one of the most incredible homes we have ever seen. The beauty of the home was only outdone by the incredible views. This home backed up onto Giraffe Manor, so the anticipation of seeing a giraffe while sipping champagne and relaxing in your home was high. We had an amazing lunch and afternoon, but not to be outdone by the fires, there was a political uprising in Nairobi and the Kenyan people decided to Storm Parliament.
With the threat of a curfew, the Prager’s tossed their things back into their dirty, dusty bags and headed to the airport - 7 hours early. They made it out safely and were on their way to Paris.
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The final dinner at Hog House was spent around the table recapping with stories, favorite moments and gratitude. Finally falling asleep with smiles and full hearts and a memory bank full of stories to last a lifetime.
And Mimi and Poppy saw everyone on their way and then began the next part of their incredible adventure… on to Rwanda!
ThankYou
While a simple Thank You feels grossly inadequate for this experience.
Still we will say this, thank you for the adventure, Thank you for the care in planning this trip, Thank you for bringing us all together,
Thank you for the love you show and the lifetime of memories you have given us. Our lives are forever changed and our adventurous spirit lives on.
