Family Vacation

Will and Alex would like to sincerely apologize for getting so behind on the blog, the truth is they're starting to get really busy and have been away from their computers for quite some time. Two weeks ago the whole family went on vacation because Ben had a week off from school. They rented a big, manly Land Cruiser and headed off for a week of safari and lounging on the beach. 

First stop was Tsavo West National Park. The park is considered one of Kenya's most beautiful, although it is not as iconic as Masai Mara or Amboseli. The family rented bandas for two nights, and spent almost three days in the park on game drives. Some of the megafauna they saw include giraffe, impala, zebra, hippo, crocodile, ostrich, buffalo, elephant, wildebeast, oryx, baboon, white monkey, roan antelope, ground hornbill, warthog, lesser and greater kudu, kipspringer, dik-dik, guinea hens, hyena, gazelle, waterbuck, hartebeast and wild dog. Sadly missing from the list are lions, leopards and rhino, which all eluded us. 















After Tsavo West, the expeditionary group headed down to Mombasa, Kenya's biggest coastal city. After a delicious lunch and many complaints about the suffocating heat, they boarded the ferry off Mombasa island and continued south to their true destination, Tiwi beach. Their cottage was set on a picturesque stretch of white sandy beach, with crystal clear water and hardly anyone to share it with. To the boy's disappointment the waves were a low point, breaking far from shore and providing sub-par bodysurfing. Additionally, much of the ocean floor was covered in sea urchins, pointy bastards that made it impossible to thrash around without impaling oneself. Instead, they had to settle with relaxing on the beach and playing in the pool. They did visit nearby Diani beach, which is more of a tourist hot-spot (desolate by American standards), and participated in a few recreational activities there. The three boys went snorkeling, guided by local fishermen (Ben immediately lost his snorkel of course and had to sit in the boat for most of the time). Later, Alex rented a windsurf and spent an hour awkwardly surfing down-wind for about 100 meters and walking the cumbersome board back up. Will and Ben gave it a quick go, but had little to no success. After three nights at the beach, the family headed out and, taking a shortcut, made their way back towards Nairobi.

 














The vacation was not quite over yet however, and the last night was spent at Tsavo East National Park, the less popular, less hilly side of Tsavo. We went on a morning game drive the next day and saw an incredible amount of elephants ("heffalumps" according to Rebecca) and not much else. That afternoon was spent driving back to Nairobi, and everyone satisfied with a great family vacation.

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