Visit to Niamey

We had a recent visit to Niamey during Samuel's spring break. We wanted to have some fun, and do some of the (few) tourist-y things that one can do here in Niger. Outside of Niamey, about an hour's drive, there is a herd of wild giraffes. You can hire a guide who will take you to some of their known grazing areas, and get you an up close and personal view. This herd is acclaimed to be the last wild giraffes in West Africa. At first we saw only a few, but then we found a larger group of the giraffes. Some were adults, some teens, and one just about 2-3 months old. The giraffes are protected, and they have managed to place a tracking device on a few of the giraffes, and they can be monitored from Niamey. The kids had a good time, and Samuel was able to get up quite close. He seemed to have no fear. The way that giraffes are marked really does make them blend in well with the trees from a distance. In all we probably saw about 25-30 giraffes in about 1.5 hours. It was a good start to our "weekend away".

Later that weekend, we went with our friends David and Laura, to a "mango camp" not too far outside of Niamey. It is a site that several of the Niamey missionaries share. They rent it from the mango growers, and are able to go out for a break about once a month. The "camp" is situated on the Niger river, and has a wonderful shady grove of mango trees within it's boundaries. We were able to go out on a pirogue, to look for the hippos that inhabit the Niger river. We were able to see the hippos almost immediately upon setting out on the river. They were within a 5 minute jaunt from the launching site near the camp. The hippos are quite famous, we're told, as there were a set of twins born this year, which is very rare. We were told that it is so rare, that interested people from many different countries were flying to Niger just to see the hippos. We didn't see the twins, but did get a good look at the hippos. We had a nice gentle ride around one of the islands in the Niger river. The guide "pole-ing" the boat had grown up on the island in the river, and even gone to school on the island. We enjoyed a cool breeze and the view.