Expatesque: If you could be any animal in the world... what would you be?

When I was little, I wanted to be a giraffe.

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This past weekend, my friends, Assia and Phoebe, and I hopped on a bus and went to the Giraffe Centre. It's essentially a sanctuary for giraffes and it is neighboring the Nairobi National Park. Unlike zoos in the US, it's a spacious area for the giraffes--- I felt like we were in the wild. Smaller animals like the warthogs from the national park squeeze into the area and run around the giraffes.

So at the centre, there's an elevated and ground-level area to feed and pet the giraffes, a place to lounge, and a nature trail (which is essentially the bush (aka the wild)). For the trail, we're required to have a guide to avoid dangerous situations--and I'm glad he came along. He pointed out the giraffes (more hidden than you would think), gave lessons on plants, and we hiked to a viewpoint where we saw the 7 hills.

Here she comes! I was squealing like a child when Dora (giraffe above) started meandering over to us. The staff at the giraffe center shake the food in a metal bucket and call the giraffes' names. Sometimes, they climb into the giraffes' area to lure them to where the visitors are--then, they encourage the visitors to pet the giraffes and pose them for a good photo opp. I envy their job, they look like they're having so much fun.

Oh, and btw-- see that house to the right of the giraffe (pic above)? That house costs $600 (that's right, US dollars, baby) for a room, per day! And you have to book a year in advance. The rich really are too rich.

Phoebe is hiding from the giraffe. hah, she was ... apprehensive

...so was I-- but my excitement level outweighed my apprehension. This was the first time I fed her.

Assia feeding the giraffe and Phoebe smiling :)

Humans crossing the street.... or...

...giraffes? heh.

On the Nature Trail
We're standing in the dried-up Gogo River--there were occasional pools of water. Behind us there's a drop-off. The guide told us that hyenas come in the morning to drink-- it's like a watering hole.

We were walking along and the guide stops. He asks, "Do you smell that? Come." And he veers off the path. We walk along and he points out the giraffe (above). This is Jock and he's the ONLY male... that's right, he's a player.

As cool as it was to see a giraffe in the wild, I thought it was even cooler that the guide smelled the giraffe and knew how to locate him.

The second giraffe we saw in the wild, Betty. She was frightened by us-- she saw us, made like Forrest Gump, and RAN. She is peering through the bushes at us. We left her alone.

After the hike, we headed back to the main centre to cool off in the lounge area. And of course, to feed the giraffes one last time. This time, we stayed at ground-level.

I look more apprehensive in this one because Aileen, the giraffe above, literally drooled on me from above. She got greedy and grabbed too much food so it ended up on me. haha.. so me and Aileen.. not such good buddies.