Smile, it makes people nervous.

Part 1: Amboseli
Part 2: Lake Nakuru
Part 3: The Ark
Part 4: Sweetwaters
Part 5: Masai Mara
Part 6: Masai Mara (cont.)
Part 7: Masai Mara (cont.)
Part 8: Masai Mara (cont.)

Our frequent mention of leopards and how wonderful it would be to get to see one finally wore down our guide and he drove us to a different section of the park and there they were, two leopards well concealed in the bushes! We had all of five seconds to enjoy the glimpse of them through the foliage and then they were gone.



( Read more... )

Part 1: Amboseli
Part 2: Lake Nakuru
Part 3: The Ark
Part 4: Sweetwaters
Part 5: Masai Mara
Part 6: Masai Mara (cont.)

In the morning we woke up extra early, bundled up and headed out to the Skyship Company for our very first balloon ride. We saw these balloons gliding over the Mara on our previous visit but didn't get enough time to organize a flight, so I made sure to have everything arranged beforehand, including leaving ourselves enough time to reschedule in case of bad weather. The weather on that morning was perfect and after watching the balloon get readied for the flight and listening to the very brief introductions and instructions from the pilot we got loaded into the basket and took off.



( Bird's eye view of the Mara. )

To be continued...

Part 1: Amboseli
Part 2: Lake Nakuru
Part 3: The Ark
Part 4: Sweetwaters

Nobody warned me beforehand but the flight from Sweetwaters to Masai Mara makes multiple stops, like a bus, and ours, of course, was to be the final stop. Thirteen years of shuttling around prepared me well for air travel, hardly anything disturbs me anymore, but three landings within minutes of each other were a bit much, my sensitive vestibular system was most distressed by the time we disembarked to be greeted by our new driver - Benedict. Landing strip we settled on was just that: a landing strip in an empty field. There isn't even a rudimentary airport but the driver set up a small snack table to greet us, with the most delicious oatmeal cookies I've ever tasted. I still regret not asking for the recipe. Thus having fortified us, Benedict drove us to Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp, our home for the next three days. Masai Mara is not fenced in and animals freely move around the area so on our way to the camp we already got to see some of the local wild life.

The ever-vigilant and ubiquitous Topi antelope whose dominant males have a habit of climbing a handy termite mound to better monitor the area for possible challengers and predators. I think other herbivores use Topis as a warning system, Tommies and impalas tend to stick close by.



( Read more... )

To be continued...

Part 1: Amboseli
Part 2: Lake Nakuru

Few hours and a brief stop at the Thomson's Falls (got to love scenic bathroom breaks) and we arrive at the Aberdares Country Club near Nyeri. It's a beautiful spot with well kept and carefully landscaped grounds, made even more visually beautiful by freely wondering peacocks. Now, if only they would shut up! There were peahens as well, but they were quite overshadowed by their mates.



( Read more... )

To be continued ...

I've been trying to motivate myself to write my usual travel report but for a variety of reasons I decided to settle for a much abbreviated version. There will be lots of pictures though.

We spent two weeks in Kenya, eight days of them on safaris through five of Kenyan National Parks, staying respectively at: Amboseli Lodge at Amboseli, Flamingo Hill Camp at Lake Nakuru, The Ark in the Aberdare National Park, Sweetwaters Camp in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, and Kichwa Tembo in Masai Mara.

Amboseli made it on the list for its views of Mount Kilimanjaro, last time we only managed to see the very tip of the summit peaking through the clouds while flying by. It was also a good starting point to ease our companions into the wonder that is Kenyan wild life and to unwind after a very long flight from NY, so we spent two nights there.



( I am not kidding about lots of pictures! )

To be continued ...

On the first day, while we were checking in at the Leopard Beach Hotel, a girl came up to the front desk and caught our eye. She was as red as a freshly boiled lobster and looked distressed. We overheard her complaining that during the low tide she walked to the reef in the company of one of the locals. Once she was done with the nature walk, he refused to bring her back, claiming that the "highway" out was not available and if she started walking by herself she would surely die. So she ended up stranded for a couple of hours in the middle of the ocean with no sunblock and burnt to a crisp.

We took her story to heart. When we decided to check out the ocean floor at low tide we slathered ourselves in sunblock, making sure no stray UV ray was getting through. We also planned to ignore the helpful locals but that proved quite impossible, they latch onto you like lampreys the moment you step up to the water. Unfortunately we left our camera behind so you won't get to see all the sea urchins, snakes, stone fish and other poisonous critters that crawl all over the bottom and whose nasty properties were described to us in great detail. After a long, hot and educational walk through ocean hazards we got to a sand bar where I finally expressed readiness to head back. That's where you get the talk about how difficult life is for the local population and, mixed in, reminders of how dangerous the walk back is for one who doesn't know the way. After some haggling over the price they took us back to the shore via a winding sandy mostly sea-urchin-free "highway". BTW, we were wearing water shoes but one of the local guys went barefoot. He claimed his grandfather was a medicine man and taught him how to protect himself. I suspect the skin on his feet was thicker than the soles of our shoes.



( Mombasa City )

On the way back we again got to see the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro just barely sticking out of the clouds.

To get to our next destination, Mount Kenya Safari Club, we had to cross the equator. So, we were driving along and I noticed a sign proclaiming the equator to be right there on that spot. On my request to stop and take a picture I was told, however, that down the road there is a nicer equator. So, here is me on the nicer equator.



( The paraphernalia visible next to me is used to demonstrate Coriolis effect. )

We could have kept on wondering around the orphanage but we had to be in Nairobi by dinner so we said our goodbyes, got in the car and got back on the road. It's not a long drive, only about three hours, and as you drive in what basically is a ditch you can observe massive road construction projects, Chinese are building up Kenyan infrastructure. Maybe next time we go we'll actually be able to drive on a pavement.

Fields outside of Masai Mara were dotted with wildebeests, a large antelope, also known as gnu. If you like watching wild life documentaries about Africa you probably have seen them during migration, when about two million of them move from Serengeti in Tanzania into Masai Mara in Kenya, crossing Mara river in the process and providing a great feast to the local crocodiles. Migration starts around July, high season for safaris, so we didn't get to see it, we just got to see some beasts that didn't move back to Serengeti yet for whatever reason.



February-March is a calving season for many animals which is why we got to see so many different young ones, including little wildebeesties.



( From the plains of Masai Mara we made our way to Lake Nakuru )

We only stayed at Nakuru overnight and left for Sweetwaters early in the morning.

Sunday started with another walk down the memory lane, a visit to N.'s old school, St. Mary's (yes, it is a Catholic school). He's been praising the school to me for years and wanted to show that he wasn't making up any of the stories. I left suitably impressed with the buildings, the grounds, which include fields and facilities for every ball game known to Brits, and the pool. My whole school would probably fit in their squash courts. I also looked for a memorial plaque commemorating the years N. spent there but it hasn't been dedicated yet.



The rest of the day involved family interactions, we threw a party for the local friends and family, but I'll spare you the details.

( Monday... )

Решение съездить в Кению нас застало врасплох. То есть мы некоторое время шутили на эту тему, Н. рассказывал мне истории о его замечательной полу-исторической родине, мы приценивались и прикидывали, а потом вдруг раз и я обнаружила себя в кенийском посольстве с набором документов для визы и билетами на руках. Через две недели, в пятницу 11 марта, так же неожиданно, мы себя обнаружили уже в Кении. Летели мы туда обходным путем, чтоб враги не догнали, через ЮАР, потому что бесплатным билетам в пересадочный пункт не заглядывают. Перелет занял всего 20 часов, так что несмотря на взбадривающую пробежку во время двадцатиминутной пересадки в Йоханнесбурге, после первых 15 часов пути, до Найроби мы добрались довольно убитые.

В аэропорту нас встретили родители Н. и через пять минут после приземления (мачеха Н. работает в одной из местный авиакомпаний, так что нас в страну впустили, как родных) мы уже были погружены в машину и на пути домой. Трафик в Найроби и вообще вождение в Кении заслуживают отдельного опуса, так что я их упомяну позже, а пока я глазела по сторонам. Мне были обещаны слоны и жирафы гуляющие прямо у въезда в аэропорт, за воротами которого находится Национальный Парк Найроби. К сожалению, за последние 16 лет город несколько подрос и границы парка обросли огромными billboards, за которыми вполне спокойно могло спрятаться не одно стадо. Завтра, успокоили несколько разочарованную меня, животные будут всенепременно, в приюте для слонов и жирафов, им там убежать некуда.

Дома мы были устроены в отдельной комнате со всеми удобствами, накормлены (мои кулинарные предпочтения были предусмотрительно задокументированы и отправлены еще до нашего отъезда), напоены свежевыжатым соком и отправлены спать с обещанием обширной программы на следующий день.