They endured nearly 25 hours of flight and road travel to come to Kenya to fulfill a childhood dream of a grand holiday in the wilderness.

Irrespective of the bad news about the violence in Kenya, we were determined to come. We were determined to fulfil a childhood dream to set foot in this magnificent country, said Ms Ingrid Stahl.

Ms Stahl, in her 50s, a fairly good speaker of English, came in a group of four — her husband, Mr Henn Salusaar, and two young friends, Mr Rene Heinsoo and his girlfriend, Ms Kaidi Heinsoo, from Estonia.

The four relaxed and enjoyed every bit of their holiday, saying what they heard and saw on TV about Kenya was completely different from the reality on the ground.

They are glad to be here to witness for themselves the tranquillity, sandy beaches and the beauty of the tropical sun.

At home, we have only four months of sun in a year. The rest are freezing, icy and punishingly cold.

No wonder, I have grown skiing, a sport on the mountain, said Ms Stahl.

Ms Heinsoo said: When we arrived here over a week ago, my skin was so white. Now I have a story to take back home about sun tan, amidst chuckle.

 She said her country is very cold most of the months. Even the sunny days are rainy, cloudy and chilly.

Its no surprise when the temperatures go as low as minus 15 degrees during the day, they reach minus 20 degrees at night, she said.

Its too hot in Malindi, but she enjoys it all. Her skin is now chocolate red.

 Ms Stahl said her father, a retired senior Navy captain, had come to Africa (Angola) many times and returned home with fabulous stories of a great continent that was sunny all the year round and abundance of free-living wildlife.

As a four-year-old girl, she had listened to her fathers stories, which were retold until she was 11 years, whenever he went back home to Estonia, about the big five — the elephant, the lion, the buffalo, the leopard, the rhino â€” with awe.

I formed a dream already that I would one day visit this great land of the wilderness and see the big animals.

I had only seen them in the zoo before, she said.

The couple heard about Kenya from Ms Stahls sister and husband, who visited the country five years ago.

We began planning about this trip last year. When they learnt we were to come to Kenya, our friends decided to accompany us, she said.

The couple is well travelled, having visited Cuba, Vietnam, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and others. They have even worked in Egypt for sometime.

But Kenya was a must-come country, they said.

They started off the journey from their rural home in Estonia at 5am and drove for one hour to their capital city, Tallinn to connect a two-hour transit flight to Amsterdam. Then they connected a flight to Nairobi and to Mombasa, from where they were driven on the road to Eden Roc, Malindi.

Ms Stahl said of the tourists first experience in Kenya: When we arrived here, the climate change, the hot air, hit us on the face, like a ball of fire.

But after a few days relaxing on the beautiful beaches, they adopted to the harsh climate, somehow.

The four have since fulfilled their dreams of a grand safari in Africas leading national parks.

We made game safaris to Tsavo East, Tsavo West and Amboseli where we saw the king of the jungle the lion,. But they were disappointed not to have seen the rhino and the leopard.

Ms Stahl has taken part in international skiing competitions and won medals for her country.

I like nature. I enjoy being outgoing and being about everywhere every time. My husband also likes travel and he likes fishing in autumn, she said.

Charming fellow

Mr Salusaar, a huge man, is an extremely charming fellow, full of energy and humour despite his advanced age.

Beside the swimming pool down the beach where we take pictures, Mr Salusaar imitates the cat walk style and asks his wife to do the same, to the amusement of onlookers.

Because she looks so African in her souvenir attire, the Nation team nicknames Ms Stahl Mama Amani to reflect the recently-concluded peace talks led by Mr Kofi Annan. And the man? He is Simba!

The couple accept their names gladly, promising that they would remember Kenya for them.

My most memorable incident, however, is not in Kenya, says Ingrid, beaming with brightness and joy.

It is the Cobra Ritual I had in Vietnam. We ate the cobra snake meat and blood mixed in Vodka, then special cobra soup was served and finally pieces of meat.

I think cobra meat is better than crocodiles because I have eaten them all, she declares.

Ms Stahl says she has eaten virtually everything on earth ranging from dog meat, snakes, frogs and you name it.

Mama Amani and Simba are planning to visit Uganda and Rwanda next year to see the famous gorillas.