Nairobbery, Kenya, December 17, 2015

Last night, we went to Purdy's Arms for a farewell supper for Doug, Emilia and Dave.  I had the best chicken breast and bacon caesar salad ever-

We had to take a cab to go about 2 blocks because outside the gates of our camp site, it is dangerous so.....  In the daytime, there are guards at all of the large, gated properties.

The Nairobi Giraffe Center was developed to save the Rothschild giraffe-

from extinction.  Rothschilds have white legs.  Today, there are 9 adults, a yearling and a baby at the center.  Eddie (I'm not kidding, that's his name!) likes to eat pellets out of your hand-

or out of your mouth-

He also likes to kiss-

Their tongues are 50 cm long-

Males weigh 1.4 tonne and are 6 meters high.  Gestation is 15 months but if conditions aren't right, the female can hold the foetus for another 3 months.   Mothers birth standing up so the baby falls a couple of meters.  Females have 3 horns, males 5 and a bald spot!  They eat 65 kg of leaves/day and drink 40 gallons of water.  Their heart weighs 18kg and beats 170 beats/minute.  Like a human, they have 7 vertebrae in their necks.  Their main predator is the lion but their fibula and tibula are fused and solid - there is no marrow in their legs, so they are able to kick and trample lions quite easily.  Their hide is the coolest-

A few warthogs hang out with the giraffes for protection-

They are pretty ugly!

We also stopped at the Kazuri Bead Factory where glass necklaces and bracelets are made on site and sold-

Nothing appealed to me :(

We've had a bit of truck trouble - one of our fuel tanks sprung a leak so Mick spent the day getting it welded and one of the locks on our 'fridge' jammed, so it's out of commission too.  We were unable to leave for Lake Naivasha to Hell's Gate National Park where we'll be cycling, trying to see giraffes, springboks, impalas and elans so we've got an early start tomorrow to fit everything in.  Looking forward to it!