Heading for Home

The final day of our trip was a long one: two days long, to be exact. It was a little over 48 hours from when we woke in in West Tsavo National Park until we went to bed at home in Butte, Montana, including 43 hours of travel time from door to door.

I got up just before 6:00 Friday, and stepped out on our porch to check out the view. Light rain was obscuring the mountains in the distance, while a giraffe and two zebras were headed past our room to the watering hole.


The view from the back porch of our room at Kilaguni Serena Lodge in West Tsavo National Park.
I decided to go have breakfast before packing up to leave, and when I got to the restaurant I saw that there were many giraffes and zebras at the watering hole.




The view from my table while having breakfast.

I returned to our room and packed, then went back for one more final view of the watering hole. The giraffes had left, and a family of warthogs had joined the zebras.


Warthogs and zebras





A few final photos around the lodge before leaving.
We had driven into Tsavo West from the west side, but for today's drive to Nairobi we would be leaving out the east side at Mtito Andei Gate.





Photos from the 40-minute drive to Mtito Andei Gate.
After leaving the park, we left the land of the Masaai tribe and passed through the land of the Kamba tribe after turning north on the highway between Mombasa and Nairobi. We would be on this highway for the next several hours, passing through various small villages and the town of Emali.









Snapshots along the Nairobi-Mombasa Highway.







Kamba women along the highway, all dressed in colorful outfits.








This highway has many trucks going between Nairobi and Mombasa (Kenya's two largest cities), and many vendors selling fruit, water, and snacks. Many of the vendors have people who stand on the center line of the highway to sell their offerings.







Small hotels catering to truckers



Water vendors


Many of the painted buildings along the highway have advertisements for paint brands.


We stopped for lunch in the town of Emali, and Megan bought a suitcase to hold all the souvenirs we bought. The Kamba people are considered the best wood carvers in Kenya, and we purchased a variety of carvings.




North of Emali there were many massive baobab trees





Most of the tour buses we passed made me glad for how securely our luggage was packed in Willie's Land Cruiser.

After entering the Nairobi area around 4:30, we got stuck in rush hour traffic for a while, and eventually made it to our destination for dinner: Carnivore restaurant, a popular tourist stop near the airport.





Dinner at carnivore, where servers bring a variety of meats to the table including ostrich and crocodile. I liked the ostrich. Not sure why this cat was hanging out under my chair, but he seemed to like the lamb best.
After dinner, Willie drove us to the airport, where we said goodbye to him and checked in for our flight. Nairobi's airport is smaller than you'd expect for a city of 5 million, and we waited in a coffee shop until it was time to board our flight.


There were strong (150mph) headwinds as we crossed the Atlantic, making our flight take 15 hours and 45 minutes instead of the 14 hours we experienced going in the opposite direction at the start of our trip. Because we took off at midnight and were heading to the west, the only daylight of the flight was sunrise just before we landed at JFK on Saturday morning.
After getting through immigration and customs, Megan and I parted ways with Marsha and Rhonda. They were headed to DC, and we were headed to Bozeman by way of Salt Lake City. The delayed flight from Nairobi made them miss their connection, so we all spent several hours in JFK before our connecting flights in the afternoon.



The temperature when we arrived in Bozeman was 0 degrees Fahrenheit, and I had to clear snow and ice from the truck. Note to self: when we travel in the winter, it would be good to leave some gloves in the truck.
We picked up the dogs from Aaron's house, then drove the 60 miles home from there.


Icy roads on the way home, and the dogs in the kitchen after we arrived.
A long day, and it felt great to sleep in our own bed!