Climbing Mount Longonot and a Kenyan Orphanage

Wed March 1, 2006
Al, Dad and I decided to get ourselves on higher ground, and so we hired a driver to take us to Mount Longonot in Longonot National Park (a hour and a half drive from Nairobi). We climbed the mountain, which is a 2777 meter-high dormant volcano. The views were excellent, albeit the leopard track we saw was a bit worrisome since we didn’t get ranger assistance as recommended! Luckily we didn’t see the owner of that paw print, but we did see a couple of hartebeest quite close to us. On our descent, there were a number of zebra that crossed our path and scampered over a hill. So we went off the beaten track to see where they went…and saw gazelles, zebra and even giraffes in the far distance (I wouldn't have noticed these, but my dad's sharp eyes see everything). It was amazing—a safari on foot!

Mom and Julie didn't feel up to the climb, so they did a little shopping, then Mom spent the afternoon at an orphanage, where the kids absolutely loved having a new visitor and vied for her attention. The children were told that Mom was from Canada. Later, when asked if anyone remembered her name, a child piped up, "Canada!"