ADVENTURES IN EAST AFRICA
Kenya - January 2022
Nairobi, Lamu, Naivasha, Masai Mara
In January 2020, my friend Janene moved to Nairobi. After a last hurrah in NYC with our larger group of college roomies, and her departure for East Africa, we all started planning a summer trip to visit. How long would we need to travel? What month made sense to go? What airline worked with our various loyalties
But then….COVID happened. Not only that, but the girls in our squad also experienced different life changes. One’s cancer recurred, one had twins, one had a second baby. And by the time vaccinations were the norm and travel restrictions lifted, I realized that our group trip to Kenya wasn’t likely to happen. So I decided to visit on my own.
Having a local to help with the planning and execution of the trip was instrumental, and I now see why so many people use travel agents to book trips to Africa. I don’t know that they’re needed to book lodging and flights but local transportation is otherworldly there. Even coming from NYC, getting around Nairobi is something to be you need assistance to prepare for – from finding a driver to understanding bodas – and knowledge of the M-PESA digital payment system is important before touching down at JKIA.
I was scheduled to take off for Nairobi on January 12, during their summer dry season, and I was SOOOOO excited… until December 14th – when I got a positive COVID test result. I had no symptoms, but had a known exposure, and did my 10 day quarantine like a champ. Exceptttttt I freaked out the ENTIRE time about whether my PCR test would continue to show a positive result for months after I recovered. Because if it did, then Kenya wouldn’t let me in and I did NOT want to miss this trip. Luckily I took a pre-emptive PCR on New Year’s Eve to check my status, and it was negative, so I knew by the 10th when I needed to get my Kenya-entry test I would be Good. To. Go.
Travel day finally arrived so I made the 13-hour nonstop journey from New York to Nairobi on Kenya Airways. I was met at the airport by Alex, Janene’s driver, who took me to her home in Kitisuru, an area so green, lush, and with such beautiful properties that I had a hard time believing we were actually in Nairobi. Finally reunited with my friend who I had not seen in two years, she finished out her work day while I relaxed, unpacked, and we got ready to meet her friends for dinner, and prepare for an early morning flight to the coast.
This was a two-week trip with lots of scenery changes (the coast, the lake, the city, a safari!) and I’m not going to write a novel about it all. But for simplicity, and because I would recommend this trip to anyone and everyone, I am going to outline where we went, ate, stayed, and experienced so you can recreate any portion of this experience.
Nairobi
Lodging: Janene’s gorgeous house in Kitisuru
Food & Drink: RE|VOLVER, atë, Beit e Selam, Hob House, Tamambo, Habesha, Nairobi Street Kitchen
Activities: Serenity Spa, Spinners Web, Giraffe Centre, Elephant Nursery, Karen Blixen House, Kazuri Bead Factory, Karura Forest, Langata Link, Boda Ride, Nai Nami tour
Lamu
Transit: Fly540 Flight to Lamu/Manda & hotel-provided boat from the airport to our hotel
Lodging: Peponi Hotel
Food & Drink: Peponi Hotel, Maharaha (on the dunes behind Shela), Floating Bar
Activities: Shopping and wandering Shella, Private Yoga Lesson, Tour of Lamu Town, Sunset Dhow Ride, Relaxing Poolside, Dance Party at Maharaha
Naivasha and Great Rift Valley Day Trip
Transit: Driven by Alex
Food & Drink: Camp Carnelley’s
Activities: Hell’s Gate National Park (walked through part way), Crescent Island
Masai Mara
Transit: SafariLink flight from Wilson Airport to Kichwa Tembo Airstrip
Food & Drink: Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp
Activities: 2x Daily Game Drives, Pool, Bar, Maasai dance
