The Honeymoon Testers Blog

Stranded in Nairobi in a time warp to the 90s

Last night, we were invited to the Manji family home, the lovely people behind Twiga Tours, the sponsor of our very first trip on safari in Kenya.

It was so nice to have a home cooked meal, for the first time in over a month of eating in hotels. We were joined by three generations of the Manji family as well as another couple on honeymoon from Belgium. They are a gorgeous family and they take great pride in the fact that all of the family work in the Tour company, which they have operated for 30 years. Minaz the father of the family regaled us with fasinating stories of his 30 years experience in the travel industry including Kenya's first safari balloon wedding and bush breakfast. 

Early start this morning to head to Zanzibar but to no avail. Our flight has been moved to tomorrow morning, so we've been sent to an airport hotel, which shall go unnamed, but has some of the weirdest and most mismatched décor we've ever seen. Don't get me wrong, it's modern and luxurious, but it's pretty strange too.

Plump black leather couches, mirrored ceilings, lacquered black and white furniture and tinted windows, it's like a trip back in time to 1995, even the food buffet have carved carrot garnishes and a rabbit made of butter! Our dining table had rose petals under the glass top and there's a cinema and even an ice-rink here.

Stuck in the hotel with our transit visa and nothing to do for the next 18 hours, we've watched back to back football matches and I've read a whole novel. 

Fingers crossed for our flight tomorrow, in no time at all we will be at Breezes in Zanzibar for a week of sun and relaxation. 

In transit

 Posted by Mark

This morning was a very early start, made all the more difficult by the fact that we were leaving our villa in Mauritius. Our butler Rao woke us at 5:15am, brought us breakfast and then drove us the 3 minute walk from our villa to our taxi to the airport - I promise we are not becoming spoilt divas - Mauritians just insist on being helpful.  

All is not lost however, we have one more leg of this big first tip. We are back in Nairobi for one night in transit between Mauritius and the exotic and mysterious island of Zanzibar. 

Our flights for this trip are provided by Kenya Airways but today we actually flew with their partner airline Air Mauritius. It was an eventful flight because we had the 'pleasure' of sharing the flight with the Mauritius national rugby team. Eventful because obviously economy seats are not really designed for rugby player so the guys spread out through the whole plane also rugby players are not really designed to be quiet and finally of course boys will be boys. Between joking and playing cards the twenty or so massive blokes chatted up the airline stewards and played the classic game of 'How much salt can we pour on this guy's head before he wakes up?' It was funny to watch and all harmless fun - they were heading on a tour of Tanzania so we wish them luck. 

Tomorrow morning we fly to Zanzibar and to tell you the truth it is a place we know we little about. Based off the East coast of Africa the island has a population of 1 million people is part of Tanzania. Friends have told me to expect another Mauritius like paradise island but also to be braced for the poverty and underdevelopment that affects the island outside of the luxury resorts. I have also been told about the beaches, especially one in the north of the island that illuminated at night by glow in the dark algae - very exciting. Reportedly the beaches of white sands and aqua oceans make Zanzibar a honeymoon mecca and the beach where we will be staying at Breezes Resort was voted in the Top 30 in the world by Traveller magazine. 

Our stay in Zanzibar will be our longest to date, we have an incredible 8 days in the same location so we really hope to get to know the island and resort. Denise is most excited about the daily yoga classes! See Runaway Bride and Groom for more info on Zanzibar as a honeymoon destination. 

Wikipedia has informed me that a very cool fact about the island is that Freddie Mecury of Queen was born there - maybe there is a shine we can visit. 

Have you been to Zanzibar - any tips or advice on what to expect and what to do to test our the perfect honeymoon?

Good-bye to Kenya (for now)

Kenyan's don't like to say good-bye, they'd much prefer to say "see you soon". We're fine with that sentiment because Kenya was just one of the most beautiful and exotic holidays we've ever had.

So, here's a round up of everything we did in Kenya: 

Camp Tipilikwani is situated in the heart of Masai Mara. It is here that we participated in a traditional Masai ceremony and where we went on our first ever game drive. Each luxury tent has it's own verandah, huge room with beautiful furniture and Kenyan art. The food, by chef David, is absolutely gorgeous, and the friendly service literally puts a smile on your face all day. 

One tip for Tipilikwani. Each room has a spear outside. We were told to place the spear on our deck when we were inside the room which we did every time we went back. We misunderstood though - you only place the spear there when you are.... ahem, enjoying the honeymoon experience. Unfortunately we also shared this information with two lovely ladies Terri and Barbara from North Carolina, so they dutifully put the spear out every day too!

Camp Mbweha is right beside the Lake Nakuru National Conservatory Park, and is a peaceful camp surrounded by flowers and butterflies. The heart of this camp is a beautiful open space filled with a camp fire and giant curved couch, perfect for relaxing after a hard day! Each house is thatched with local grass and is beautifully appointed inside. In fact, the beds are the most comfortable we've stayed in so far this trip.

During the trip we did one or two safari trips each day, including a night safari. Seeing animals up close is an amazing experience, and we saw big cats, like lions and a very rare leopard; elephants, giraffes, warthogs and lots of baby animals. Watch our wildlife video.

You can also do an early morning balloon ride and see the stunning landscape from high above the earth. 

Our tour guide, George from Twiga tours was the perfect guide for our first time in Kenya. Extremely knowledgeable about every animal, bird and tree we saw on this trip, he gave us most of the interesting facts we put in our posts. Who needs google when you have an expert guide? Read our tips for an excellent safari. 

Our last day we checked into the Savora Stanley, a colonial hotel founded in 1902, which comes complete with gentleman's bar (ladies are allowed) where you can relax with cognac and a cigar while you ponder the success of your safari. It was here when young Princess Elizabeth heard about her father's death, and the news that she would soon be queen.

Dinner was at the famous Carnivore Restaurant, where an all-you-can-eat buffet of, you guessed it, meat awaited us. Truly a well oiled institution in Nairobi, the evening was a choreographed offering of meaty delights of ostrich, crocodile and many more traditional meats.

Hakuna matata 

People actually say hakuna matata! How lovely is that? It basically means "no worries" and really just sums up our whole trip. Don't rush, enjoy. You didn't see a lion? Hakuna matata, maybe tomorrow. 

Kenya has been beautiful, welcoming and exciting and truly a memorable place for a honeymoon holiday. I can't wait to come back again and explore more parts of this amazing country.

To book your Kenyan honeymoon, just visit Runaway Bride and Groom to take the trip of a lifetime. 

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, Kenya

The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is our local charity spotlight for Kenya. After five days of seeing the most beautiful and exotic animals, we understand how important it is to protect them and their natural habitats. 

The DSWT is particularly concerned with elephant and black rhino orphans, who have been found alone and vulnerable away from their mothers because of poaching, accident (like falling down a well), the terrible drought, or being rejected somehow by their herds. 

The description of how each orphan found will break your heart. Lualeni was "found abandoned, and despite trying to join other herds seemed to be rejected by all. She was quite obviously an orphan, her mother suspected dead". 

One of our sponsors of this trip, Air Mauritius has donated airline blankets to the charity, which are the perfect size for infant baby elephants who are extremely vulnerable to the wind, the rain, the cold and the sun. As orphans they lack the protective shield of their herd and the body warmth of their elephant family. The blankets would be used to ensure constant temperatures for the babies. 

You can find out more, including how you can support or adopt a baby orphan. The work this charity is doing is extremely inspiring and touching. 

www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org

If you haven't seen it already, watch our very short video about the baby animals we saw on safari. 

Wedding Renewal #9: North Carolinians in Kenya

Posted by Denise

Still buzzing from the Masai ceremony, we bumped into some new guests at Tipilikwani, two lovely ladies from South Carolina, Terri and Barbara. 

We told them all about our exciting day, and of course the competition too, and they had a fabulous idea! Barbara is a official notary of South Carolina, and both ladies got very excited about doing another ceremony for us. 

At dinner, Terri was serenaded by the staff with an official Masai song for her 60th birthday (the reason for the special trip to Kenya). Happy Birthday Terri!

After dinner, their whole group assembled on the restaurant stairs to help us celebrate wedding #9. Barbara Scott-Cannon was the officiant, Rod the best man, Katharine the maid of honour, Emily as photographer, and then Terri, Mary Grace and Evelyn as witnesses.

We were absolutely touched that the whole group came together so enthusiastically for our 9th wedding, and they took the time to personalise the ceremony for us. Everyone was involved in some way, and they came prepared with props and even wedding cake, leftover from Terri's birthday cake. 

I have to admit that I almost got a little teary eyed, it was a very sweet and funny ceremony, written by Barbara and which she's given me permission to reproduce below. It was one of the funniest weddings I've ever been to, and with just a few hours notice too!

Thank you so much to everyone! 9 down, 81 to go!

 

...

The ceremony

We are gathered here this evening to witness the marriage of Denise and Mark.

As members of the North Carolina Zoological Expedition, we have chosen this place because it reminds us of our Asheboro roots.

Before the ceremony begins we'd like to honor an age-old tradition with the following items:

• Something old: a semi used insect repellent towelette
• Something new: a brand new insect repellent towelette
• Something borrowed: a hot pink flamingo shaped pen from Classic Escapes
• Something blue: two pieces of cake with blue icing.

At this time, if anyone objects to the marriage of Denise to Mark, please speak up now.

(Placing the rings, which were fluorescent silly bracelets, apparently all the rage with kids at the moment. Mark's bracelet was in the shape of a lion)

Denise, please place the bracelet on Mark's wrist and repeat after me:

I Denise, take you Mark to be the lion of my lair

(Mark takes my bracelet which is the shape of a flamingo)

I Mark, take you Denise to be my precious pink flamingo.

Please repeat after me, your North Carolina wedding vows:

I Denise, in front of lions, tigers, giraffes and elephants, promise to journey on a never-ending safari with you Mark for the rest of my life. Hakuna Matata.

(Mark vows the same)

By the power vested in me as a notary of the State of North Carolina, I now pronounce you Bwana and Mrs Bwana.

You may now kiss the bride!

Wedding Renewal #8: Traditional Masai Ceremony

Guinness World Record Update: Scroll down for video of the Masai wedding ceremony

As you may know, we're trying to break the world record for most married couple. The current record is 83, we're aiming for 90. Five in New York, our original wedding and the second one we did in Australia, so 7 so far. 

When we arrived in Tipilikwani in the Masai Mara, the camp manager Evans told us that he had arranged for us to do a ceremony here at camp in traditional African robes.

Little did we know what he had planned. After our morning safari, three Masai men came to our tent to dress us. Jackson Naimoodu, a Masai dressed us and painted our faces with red ochre. 

The outfits were muli-layered cloth in red and yellow, some with checked pattens and others plain. I had a purple skirt on underneath, and we were both laden with beaded belts and necklaces. Mark also wore a goat's skin wrap over his robes.

A gourd was put down the back of my robes to signify the children that I would carry for my new husband, and Mark was given a horse hair swish and a short spear.

The Masai led us down the path to the garden behind the open air restaurant. There we were suprised to see an entire tribe of Masai, all dressed traditionally and waiting for us. Not knowing what to do, we were pretty nervous and overwhelmed by the spectacle. 

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The men and women lined up on different sides of the path, with us between them. Jackson led the way towards a big circle of chairs. We had to cross between some of the tribe elders, who blessed me before I joined Mark. They put grass in my shoes, and then took turns spitting it on my feet for good luck.

Thus blessed, I joined Mark inside the circle as everyone took their places in the circle around us. The three elders took seats in front of us, and Jackson as our best man beside us. John Ole Tome, the compere explained what was going on in English for us, and told us what we had to do. 

The whole thing was so overwhelming and magical, especially when the Masai men did their traditional jumping ritual, then the whole group got up to dance and sing. 

Finally there were speeches, where our compere thanked us profusely for being involved in their culture, and encouraged us to talk about the famous Masai tribe all around the world. We were so touched. We couldn't believe that they would include us in such a traditional and beautiful ceremony and he was thanking us?

Luckily, Mark as the new husband made a lovely speech thanking everyone for suprising and including us.

Truly a memorable experience. The Masai are a very proud and beautiful tribe of people, with great traditions and culture, and we thank them for sharing this experience with us. 

Find out how to book your Kenya Honeymoon with Runaway Bride and Groom here.

Tips for an awesome safari experience

Being on a wildlife safari in Kenya has been one of the most memorable experiences of our lives, and we were privileged to see lions, a leopard, hippos, elephants, buffalo, rare rhinos, impalas and many others. 

The animals are completely undisturbed to see cars and people, having been to used to seeing, hearing and smelling them for generations.

That doesn't mean you can get close to them, like that YouTube video of Christian the Lion. They are wild animals who would kill and eat you if you happened to invade their territory.

The safari car is your territory, the game park is theirs. As long as you respect the boundaries then you are probably OK. Watching them from the safety of your car though is exhilarating, with just the right amount of danger thrown in to make it exciting. 

Two very simple rules for your safari. First, make sure you use the bathroom before heading out on a game ride. This is not the place to do a sneaky pee in the bushes! And all that bumping around makes it torture if you've had too much Kenyan coffee for breakfast!

Second. Never, ever be tempted to experience a DIY safari without an experienced guide.

An experienced guide not only navigates you around the landscape, that to me looks virtually indistinguishable, but at the same time keeps an eye out for interesting animals, that are designed by nature to blend into their surroundings. He knows exactly what to look for. To me, a bush looks like an ostrich, bare trees in the distance like giraffes and a clump of wheat coloured grass like the ear of a tiger. George patiently replied to my claims of animal sightings with a diplomatic, "Let's confirm". 

Most days we came back to camp with tales of amazing animals, while some others groups have seen one or two, so a good guide is totally worth it. 

Your guide also has to entertain, inform and most importantly temper your expectations - this is a safari, not a zoo and animals aren't just sitting around waiting for you to stop by and say hello. 

Safari is a game of hit and miss, that's why it's commonly called a "game ride". Our guide, George's young daughter always asks him what sort of games he's playing and can she play too? And she's right, a safari is really a giant game of hide and seek. 

Sometimes you can't find any animals, no matter how big they are. You go out looking for elephants or giraffes and they are nowhere to be seen. Where did they go?

There's no guarantee of seeing anything spectacular each time you venture out. That's why your guide has to be armed with facts about the landscape, interesting tid-bits about the birds, mating habits and peculiarities of the more common animals. It will fill the time between sightings of the more exotic animals.

Mark was musing. Why don't they just microchip all the animals and then track them through GPS? But we concluded that would take all the fun out of it. The adrenaline when you spot a beautiful animal makes it all worth the waiting, and after all the scenery is spectacular. 

I'm serious though about never doing DIY safari. Two European tourists from a nearby camp decided to hire a Land Rover and drive around. They followed a herd of elephants into a small ravine and got stuck. Calling the camp on their mobile, all they could say is they were "nearby some trees". Eventually their mobile ran out of battery. 

George also told us of the day he found a young French couple who had been stranded for four days with no food or water. They thought they were going to die, but George's tour found them and got them on a medic plane to Nairobi.  

After that story, I lost all interest in spotting giraffes and kept my eyes peeled for the yellow Land Rover. I wanted to rescue the silly European tourists!

I already told you that my scouting skills are terrible. We headed home having seen giraffes, but no distraught tourists. 

Don't worry, it has a happy ending. Just as the tourists were giving up hope and resigned to the fact of sleeping overnight in their car, they were found at 7pm, just as it was getting dark. 

Human dramas aside, going on safari is a hugely enjoyable holiday experience. Find an experienced reputable company like Twiga Tours through Runaway Bride and Groom and it will make the experience even better.

My last tip, take a pair of binoculars - and see if your animal scouting skills are any better than mine!

Giant Kitty Cats in Kenya

One of the most amazing sights to see in Kenya are the big cats - lions, cheetas and leopards.

Mark has seen tigers in India, but the closest I've ever been has been at Taronga Park zoo in Sydney. I'm fascinated by these creatures, because they are giant cats (which I love), but also because they are such proud and deadly predators. They really are the king of the jungle, and they know it.

George our guide had warned us that it would be very difficult to see leopards on this trip, because they are solitary animals who are very hard to spot (ironically), and they are very intelligent and can probably hear and smell us coming for miles.

Lions are easier to see because they travel in prides of up 12 lions, mostly female with a few young males who will have to leave and form their own prides eventually. They are usually hiding around bushes and watching herds of prey. You can also spot when a predator is nearby because all of the grazing animals will be nervously looking in the same direction.

Yesterday we saw a pride of 5 lions, but today we came across a huge sleeping pride of 12 lions. We were the only car there, so we turned off the engine, just metres away and took in the experience. At first we could only see the big head lion with his magnificant ruff and two lionnesses lying near by. Because they blend so well into the grass, after our eyes adjusted, we could see more groupings of two and three. Actually we realised that we were almost surrounded by them, which was a exhilirating and a little scary!

Only one lion looked a bit startled to see us us, but most of them were dozing, or doing their best to ignore us. It was so quiet, we could hear the young male yawning, licking his chops and making small satisfied noises.

It's hard to express how amazing it is to be so close to these magnificant creatures and I can't believe how close they let us come. Although they opened a sleepy eye to check us out, they are pretty blase about tourists. They know that we don't mean any harm, and although we make annoying noises and smell funny, they know that eventually we'll get bored and leave.

We were going to be satisfied with that experience for the morning, but completely out of the blue we came across a spotted leopard within some trees.

Leopards have a long tail with a white tip, which they use as a kind of flag for their mates and cubs. Luckily for us, that's how we spotted him and we quietly tracked him for 15 minutes. He obviously knew we were there, was completely nonplussed and refused to acknowledge our existence - despite walking right out in front of us.

He was a big and majestic animal, with the most beautiful spots within spots markings. Leopards will often hide in trees, and even drag their prey up with them, so for the rest of the day, I was looking above me, waiting for another leopard to jump on the car roof.

George was thrilled, he said that sightings like this are so rare, and it's something that we'll remember forever.

As beautiful as they are, you can never forget for a second that they are extremely dangerous wild animals. Although they tolerated us being close by, if we got out of the car to pat them, we'd be officially invading their territory and they could rip us from limb to limb if they so desired.

So we've seen four of the Big Five (buffalo, elephant, lion and leopard) - hopefully in the next couple of days we'll see the rhino in the next couple of days to complete this experience.

Safari Day 2: The Circle of Life

Watch the video of all the animals we've seen over the last couple of days, scroll down to see another one with animal babies!

As we set off this morning for Day 2 of the safari, I had the songs of the Lion King in my head, especially "The Circle of Life". It's hard not to, all the characters are here, Poomba and Simba!

Our tour guide, George has been giving us insight into the animal's personalities and quirks, which makes the experience of safari much more interesting.

Impalas live in harems, dominated by one satellite male and up to 60 females. The head male is responsible for keeping discipline, moving the herd, making babies and looking out for danger. As the younger males grow older and start growing horns, they will either be kicked out or will challenge the older male for dominance.

The males without a harem will form a bachelor's club together, until they can attract or win their own harem. If a satellite male is defeated and subsequently kicked out, he will have to go solo for a while, until the bachelor's club find him sufficiently humbled enough to be let into their club.

Buffalo have a similar club for loners, but it's the Senior Citizens Club. But particularly grumpy buffalo can get kicked out of here too, and will wander alone, usually with just a bird for company. As George says, "nobody loves them anymore", which made me sad for the lone buffalo, but not enough to be friends with him.

There's a saying in Africa that someone is as "forgetful as a warthog". It's because they will run away from a lion, but within 100 metres will have completely forgotten why they are running and that there is even a lion in the first place. Meanwhile, the lion has been patiently stalking them.

They are happy little creatures though, who trot along merrily, with their tails straight up in the air like antennas.

We saw another large group of elephants today, of all ages and sizes. Although, family relationships are strong with elephants, around the age of 35, males tend to separate themselves from the herd and become solitary.

Basically the whole animal kingdom is much like the human one. Constantly fighting over status, food, space and who has the biggest horns. The day to day work of animals though is different - either eat or avoid being eaten.

It's a privilege to be so close to so many unique and beautiful animals. Kenya is a truly spectacular place - a perfect holiday or honeymoon destination and I know this will continue to be a memorable trip for us.

Of course seeing the wildlife is unforgettable but seeing their babies is also hilarious and cute, here is a short clip of some of the kids:

Stay tuned, we can't wait to tell you what we saw next! 

Our first spectacular day in Kenya

We arrived very early this morning into Nairobi, still on New York time and having not slept much on the plane at all (when will we learn?).

Straight away you can smell the humidity in the air, and the fresh smell of the earth. The morning was crisp with a light breeze and clouds overhead. It was too cold to change to shorts, so chinos and t-shirts seemed to be the right outfits for the weather.

We were greeted by Rahim Manji, whose family run Twiga Tours, and George who was to be our driver for the week. They bought us a lovely bunch of red roses, a bottle of champagne and two safari hats! It is already feeling like a real honeymoon.

After a four hour drive through spectacular scenery descending to the floor of The Great Rift Valley and a stop where we had our first disastrous try at haggling for souvenirs, we arrived at our camp in the Masai Mara. At Tipilikwani our 'tent' is more like a small chalet. With a veranda overlooking the bush, a giant tented roof and beautiful wooden floor and furniture, it is a luxury cabin lavishly decorated with rugs and Kenyan art work.

Feeling a big jet-lagged and sick from malaria tablets, we needed a recovery, so had a yummy lunch prepared Chef David and had a quick nap.

Then the real adventure began for the day. George took us on our first safari drive of the trip in a very cool customised jeep with open top.

On Mark's safari in India he saw 5 tigers over a 17 day period (they are dangerously extinct now), but within two hours we saw a pride of 5 lions, a herd of 18 elephants of all ages, a huge herd of migrating buffalo, a pack of hyenas, interesting birds like the secretary bird, various small topi, antelopes and gazelles. This is on top of the Zebra and giraffe we saw driving from the airport! The wildlife was magnificent and the plains really sprung to life when a shower of rain fell.

The vast and flat landscape messes with your perspective. Ostriches on the horizon could be elephants, trees look like buffalo and vice versa. Everywhere you look is the glorious sky, brown and green grass as far as the eye can see, and truly the most beautiful and diverse animals in the world.

Already we can see how unforgettable a safari honeymoon could be and we can not believe what we have experienced on day one on this magical content.

Stay tuned...more animals tomorrow. But if you can't wait, and want to book your Kenyan honeymoon ASAP, then check out the safari packages at Runaway Bride and Groom.