Written by Judy Scotchford who was travelling with fellow artists Lyn Ellison and Peta Boyce
New York to Nairobi
20 – 29 th September, 2009
While this trip diary is to tell you about our African experiences on our last visit to Kenya in ’09, I feel I have to first mention the fabulous time we all had in New York where we stayed for 8 days on our way to Nairobi.
My husband and I had gone to see our son and his wife who now live in New York, and Peta and Lyn went because a couple of their paintings had been accepted into the annual Wildlife Art exhibition held by Natureartists, or Artists for Conservation, which is a website group to which we all belong. We visited all the typical tourists’ spots and loved it all. We ate at the fabulous restaurants, viewed the amazing art collections at the Metropolitan and MoMA, and were overwhelmed by the fossil and Dinosaur collection at the Museum of Natural History. The new President Barack Obama was in town at the United Nations and we were treated to an exhibition of ‘tightened security’ which made getting around just that little bit more difficult.
I think it made a huge difference being introduced to the city by ‘local inhabitants’, as they took us to some of their favorite spots as well as the more obvious places. So, as well as walking through Central Park and doing the scenic ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty, we went to a Russian Bar for vodka cocktails and danced till late at the Village Underground Nightclub in Soho. I won’t forget the sugar ‘highs’ from those luscious cupcakes at Magnolia Cakes or the bounteous burgers at 5 Napkins and of course we went to a Broadway show, ‘In the Heights’. I just don’t have the space to mention everything, and I still haven’t said anything about the shopping, but you could never be bored in New York, and it is a city that is so easy to navigate with its numbered streets and avenues and affordable taxis.
But soon came our last day in the city, and we were eagerly anticipating our return to Africa. We don’t exactly know why, or how, but since the first time we visited Africa, we all have this constant yearning or homesickness that almost compels us to return to Africa, (as long as we can afford to), almost every second year. This will be my 5th visit, for Lyn her 7th or 8th and for Peta, her 3rd time.
I very much doubt that I will fly with Emirates again. Did you know that in the Ladies toilets in Dubai the toilet seats are heated? In such a warm climate one wonders why.
Our driver Robert was waiting at Nairobi and whisked us, as much as anyone can be whisked through the ‘jam’, to the Fairview Hotel. Though this hotel is in the middle of town, it has lovely gardens with flowing streams and waterfall and plenty of feeding stations for birds and subsequently Peta barely put her bags down before she was to be found out in the garden with her camera chasing some tiny sunbirds around in the last light of the day. We sat outside to eat with the frogs croaking in the background and ate savory crepes for dinner and heaved a great sigh of contentment to be back in Africa. The beds were as hard as rocks but we slept well anticipating our new African Journey.
Nairobi
1 st October
Great buffet breakfast. Peta and Lyn spent time after breakfast till Robert was due to collect us, again relentlessly pursuing the birds around the gardens. The first stop for us today was the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to view the rescued baby elephant parade – see – www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org We all sponsor elephants through the Trust, though the elephant I sponsor is now located at Ithumba, Tsavo east National camp and will soon be totally rehabilitated to the wild. 
Lyn and Peta’s sponsored elephants are still here in the Nairobi compound and we were looking forward to seeing them and arranging a time later on when we could come back and see them being ‘put to bed’.
The baby elephant parade never fails to raise the full spectrum of emotions. One feels sad for the loss of their mother and herd families these babies have suffered, usually due to poaching or other human causes such as the elephant babies falling down uncovered wells. Unfortunately, there has been a massive increase in the numbers of orphans and I have never seen so many really young elephants. When we visited there were 28 young elephants, (8 of them were tiny) and one baby Rhino. Then there is delight in watching the antics of these babies coming to see the eagerly awaiting crowds. The little elephants have sunscreen on their delicate ears and toddle under the protection of the keeper’s umbrellas just as they would their Mothers bodies. We 
watched as one youngster, who was still learning how to use his trunk, tried to drink from the water trough with this still uncooperative instrument and then gave up and dunked his whole bottom lip in the water and loudly slurped away. When the keepers feed the baby elephants their milk bottles, the tiny ones hook their little trunks up inside their keeper’s shirts and around their necks and the keepers bend down to the babies in a cuddling motion. They also seek out the keepers hand to suck on as a human baby would a dummy. This is very touching, and you can see what a close bond these carers have with their elephants. Once the little elephants are fed the keepers walk some of them over to the tourists who can take the opportunity pat the elephants and feel just how much this is like patting spiky concrete. Then its playtime as the elephants head towards the mud wallow.
The middle aged group of orphaned baby elephants were a lot more playful and sure of themselves as they joined in the hurley burley around the mud bath. Many of their bodies showed signs of the trauma they have suffered with missing tails, damaged ears etc. One little one liked it’s milk so much it didn’t even waste the milk spilt on the ground and it determinedly and delicately picked up the muddy milk concoction with its trunk and put it in its mouth. When it was time for the slightly older age group to have their milk, they playfully jostled the tourists and sent them scattering, as in their enthusiasm they rushed to be fed their share of milk first. Then the baby Rhino put in an appearance and his keeper made him a private mud wallow so he didn’t have to join in with the little elephants boisterous frolic. Before leaving we made arrangements to come back at the end of our safari and see the little ones being tucked into bed.
