The second day in Mombasa was slightly cooler than the previous day.  We drove 90 minutes to Shimba Hills National Reserve.  Our driver, Patrick, was a Christian with a heart for mission.  He partners with an organization in Spokane to provide medical clinics, school uniforms & tuition, and sponsorship for 126  chuildren in Kenya.

We saw different scenes and scenery on our drive to the reserve than the day before, yet they are located in the same area.  We actually passed the entrance to Shimba Hills on our way to Mwaluganje Elephant Sanctuary the day before.

 Patrick asked the five of us in his van which animals we most wanted to see, and since he knows the park well, he did his best to find them. Shimba Hills is the only reserve in the country where one may see the rare sable and roan antelopes, one of the most handsome species of antelope.  We were fortunate to see both the black and the roan.  Loved their big pointy ears. At our lunch stop at the hotel restaurant we enjoyed watching the fish eagles and walking the boardwalks.

We were scheduled to be returning to the ship after lunch, but Patrick took us on a second game drive to try find the elusive giraffe – with no luck unfortunately. We were due to return on board at 2:30 and we didn’t get back until 6 pm.  We had a wonderful day with new friends Hanson and Janice and her 93-year old father John; who was a real trooper and great fun. We had a short wait while the ferry unloaded before we could drive on and go across to the port.  It was interesting to see all the different people and their burdens getting off. This fellow is talking on his cell phone while he pulled that load of fuel tanks up the ramp!         And another group is waiting at the other side to get on.

We had a third day in Mombasa due to itinerary changes but the two tours we had done were the ones offered for the third day as well.  This gave us the opportunity to have a lazy morning, do some laundry while so many people were off the ship, write emails, and read our books.  About three o’clock we wandered down the gangway to the huge market that was set up on the pier; and even bought a few things.

The ship sailed away in the late afternoon and had four sea days before our next stop at Maputo, Mozambique.