Elephants, Giraffes, & Beads

Yesterday we left Ol Pejeta & headed back to Nairobi. We stopped by the equator, which we had ben going back and forth across for the past few days. I realized that this was the first time I had been south of the equator!

Today we started by going to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. They have been rescuing baby elephants, as well as other animals, since 1977. They bring the baby elephants (14 at the moment) and tell about each one while giving people the chance to pet them while they eat near the ropes. They do this for only one hour so the elephants don’t get stressed. All of these elephants have a specific keeper who sleeps with them until the leave the nursery. Then they sleep outside & at adulthood, around 15, they choose to go sleep with the wild elephants. They give the elephants the choice once they are old enough. I gave Ed & Jesse the book, Love, Life, and Elephants: An African Love Story for Father’s Day. It is about the creation of the Sheldrick Wildlife Refuge & Ed recommends it!

Next, we headed to see & feed some giraffes. we headed to the Giraffe Center. This a sanctuary for the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe. They focus on education of visitors and school groups. You are given some pellets as you enter and feed the giraffes one pellet at a time.

Finally, after lunch, we headed to Kazuri beads. This bead/jewelry company began with one woman hiring two single moms to work at making beads from the clay at the base of Mt. Kenya. Now they have many women employed & sell the beats all over the world. We were able to take a tour of the workshop & then make a piece of jewelry out of beads we picked. Then, of course, we found the shop where they sell them on site.