Our hero and his lovely sidekick woke up in Nairobi on November 15, 2023.
And yes, that's in Kenya!
Since when has this trip been in the works, one might ask?
Well, our adventurers will tell you that they had booked this trip in 2020 but the pandemic came along and they needed to cancel it. Then, one thing lead to another and they just didn't get around to rebooking it until earlier this year.
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On November 13th, Gym and his dear wife, left Canada on an Emirates A380. On the first leg of the journey, Emirates flew direct to Dubai from Toronto. It would be a 12-hour flight. They were on autopilot until they got to Eastern Europe. Then, they crossed the southern Black Sea into Turkey, keeping an eye out for Russian fighter jets. After passing through Turkey, they crossed Iraq and went down the middle of the Persian Gulf, taking care not to get too close to Iran or bump into any American fighter jets. Following a safe conclusion of this first leg, there was a 3-hour layover in Dubai. Then, they boarded an Emirates 777, for the second leg of the journey. The route was almost straight south, down the east coast of Africa, to Nairobi. Emirates also took a wide berth of Yemen on this leg. Yemen had recently launched missiles at Israel. Having successfully avoided a couple of wars and some recent international incidents, it was late on November 14th when they finally touched down in Nairobi.
After arriving in Kenya, two very exhausted voyagers thanked the amazing Emirates flight attendants and stumbled up the airbridge. They knew that they would be looked after from this point onwards and sure enough, a Micato Safari representative was the first Kenyan they saw. Micato guided them though the airport and took all the stress out of customs and immigration. They had already found the luggage and before too long, all luggage and the weary globetrotters were loaded into a Micato van. Subsequently, the van smoothly negotiated the light, late-night traffic and in no time at all, it pulled up in front of the lobby of the Fairmont Norfolk Hotel. At the hotel, Micato had arranged everything and they even escorted the travelers to their room, where a bowl of fruit and some great Micato swag awaited them. At this point the four Micato staff that had looked after the dynamic duo since they had arrived in Nairobi, retired for the night and Gym and his lovely sidekick only had to brush their teeth and go to bed.
The Fairmont Norfolk is an historic property. It has been the starting point for safari-goers since it opened in 1904. In the early years, safari goers were hunters. In 1909 Teddy Roosevelt was a guest. The famous hunter Bror von Blixon-Fenicke also used the hotel as a basecamp for his hunts. Blixen was played by Robert Redford in the movie "Out of Africa". The hotel was featured in that 1985 academy award winner. Other famous people that have stayed here include David Niven, Jimmy Stewart, Jackie Stewart, Pele, James Earl Jones, Sally Field, Michael Caine, Mick Jager and of course Meryl Streep, amoungst others.
Gym had booked two full days to relax and acclimatize at the hotel before the busy Micato itinerary began.
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| Our adventurers were safely installed at the Norfolk on November 14, 2023 |
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| Front lobby of Norfolk |
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| Cin Cin Bar a famous watering hole for safari goers |
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| Gardens at Fairmont Norfolk |
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| The traveler’s room is the one on the second floor right above Cin Cin Bar |
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