Hetal Chirag
After completing my mechanical engineering at McMaster University, Canada, I decided to take a gap year to explore the world and to find a deeper meaning in life. Besides volunteering at Future Hope Baby Centre and participating in the Fadhili Community Outreach Programs, we also did a little bit of travelling while I was in Kenya.
We took a day trip to say hello to some giraffes over the weekend at the Nairobi Giraffe Centre. Besides witnessing the graceful and majestic Rothschild Giraffes for the first in my life, feeding them with my bare hands was a fascinating experience I could never forget.
Some of the more outgoing people also went for a kiss with the giraffes. After all, how many people can say that they have kissed a giraffe? If you hold a food pallet in your mouth, the giraffes would not hesitate to come in for a kiss. Did you know that there are more than 300 Rothschild Giraffes taken care of at various National Parks in Kenya?
Besides visiting the Giraffe Centre, we also visited Hell’s Gate National Park when we were in Kenya. We left Nairobi and headed to Naivasha, enjoying local Kenyan music in our flashy Matatu equipped with crazy subwoofers. On our way to Naivasha, we took a quick stop to enjoy the amazing view of the Great Rift Valley.
After entering the Hell’s Gate National Park, we could either rent bikes or travel by safari Jeeps to explore the park. Although the biking option included a 15 km ride through sand covered gravel roads full of potholes, majority of my friends and I chose to go with the bikes. Those who chose the safari Jeeps were sheltered from the extreme heat and dirty roads, but biking with zebras, water buffalos and giraffes just a few feet away from the road was an adventure in itself.
After biking for a while, we came across a rock which seemed oddly familiar from a Disney movie. We all pulled over and got down to see the Pride Rock where the Lion King had begun.
