Sunday February 11 Massai Village

order Pregabalin online We got up this morning had a leisurely breakfast around 7:15 am and then boarded the land cruiser along with Glenn and Kimberly headed towards the Massai Village. It was a about an hour and 15 minute ride through the muddy muddy roads of the reserve, we passed through the reserves entrance. The Ranger checked our papers, and we were off on what appeared to be hard roads, but not necessarily pothole free roads. We arrived at the Massai Village at about 930. The natives were waiting for us at in the village, and the men performed a tribal dance. We then went into the village, and we toured a mud and elephant, dung home of one of the men of the village, these houses are built by the women of the village and have a life cycle of about 15 years, it was very small andinside there was a little storage area then you sort of wound around to what they consider their living room, which was about a 6 x 6 room which also included a kitchen fire, which burns all day, there is also two bedrooms, one for the children and one for the wife, the man has multiple wives and wander from house to house,  and a few pots and pans the fire gets started in the morning, for the whole village,  by using an old-fashioned hearth board and spindle technique where the kindling is elephant dung. The fire is then distributed to all the houses. Then the ladies did their dance and singing, they were joined by Pat and Kimberly. Following the ladies dance we high-fived all the ladies and the were taken to the village shopping area. Clearly set up for tourists there were items of every shape and size from necklaces, bracelets, and even rings the collection was rounded out by many many home use items like salad, forks, and spoons animal figurines knives, which were quite honestly poorly made. There was also placemats, which of course Pat was able to select four to take home for our breakfast table. There really was no negotiating. The prices were fairly fixed. They did take credit cards however, they did prefer cash so that was quite the negotiation which ended up with no discount whatsoever. We then loaded back into the lion cruiser and headed back to our camp to for lunch and to relax for the afternoon. Glenn and I decided not to go on the afternoon game drive which left at 4 o’clock. My ankles have been a little swollen so I decided to stay here. I believe that Pat and Kimberly may get to see a sundowner cause that’s usually what they do on the last night of your stay at all of these camps. However, they may decide to skip that and come on straight back. It will be up to them.

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Saturday, February 10 North Mara

This morning we ate breakfast at Entim at 6 am and met up with Mikhail, packing our lunch and setting out at 7am.

We have been concentrating our morning and evening game drives in the Maasai Mara National Reserve. It covers 583 square miles and borders Tanzania.  It is considered Kenya‘s best wildlife reserve. It was gazetted in 1968 and is dominated by open grassland, but as is implied by the Maasai name Mara meaning spotted, it is interspersed by rocky hills, Acacia woodland and riparian forest. The Mara is home to predators, such as leopard and cheetah, but spotted hyena, bat eared fox, and black backed jackal can be found there as well. Elephant and buffalo are common, and a number of black rhinos still survive. You can also find impala there. There are somewhere around 450 birds, including raptors and ground birds such as ostrich and hornbills.

Today we are heading north to the Karen Blixen Conservancy, which means crossing the Mara River. Here, in this photo, Mikhail is trying to determine if we can cross here and get up the other bank. This is precisely where we pulled someone out of the mud the day before yesterday.  He decided we would save time going this way, so we made a go for it. After a few minutes of adrenaline pumping, we were across the river and on our way. 

The acacia leaves are sweet and tender that Giraffes eat.  Their long tongue enables them to get to the leaves around the thorns. Giraffes feed downwind 5 minutes at time. Acacia leaves have a protection mechanism in that they will turn sour to prevent total defoliation of the tree. So, giraffes feed downwind only about 5 minutes at a time before moving on to next tree to prevent acacia leaves turning sour. 

One more water crossing and through a Maasai settlement, and we arrived at the gates of the Karen Blixen Conservancy, which by the way, has the best groomed road into it that we have found to date. 

We were given a tour of the facility by Florence and given a bit of background about the education, research, and conservation projects they have undertaken. She pointed out the trophies that their boys have brought home playing soccer!

She introduced us to Simon, a Maasai, who would be our driver and guide on our game drive. Simon, sounded a bit like Rod Stewart, making him very easy to understand, even in the back seat! And off we go to explore!

Of course, we found impala, elephant, giraffe, buffalo, wildebeest, banded mongoose, zebra, warthogs, Thompson’s gazelles, and Maasai ostrich with pink legs and neck.

Banded Mongooses

Banded Mongoose are the most common of all the mongoose species in Kenya. It is a slender cat-sized carnivore whose coat bears a dozen or so faint black stripes along the back.The Banded Mongoose is highly sociable and active during the day.  It can be found usually in family bands of ten to twenty members.

Simon pointed out that the grass was higher on one side of the road through the conservancy. The Maasai cows graze in the fields with the lower grass.  By agreement, they still have grazing rights but have ceded the property to the conservancy. So the conservancy has designated areas for grazing and areas that are off limits. The conservancy has rangers who patrol the boundaries between the areas.

Tower of Giraffes

When giraffes are grazing and there a few, they call it a tower of giraffes.  A journey of giraffes are a group of giraffes headed together somewhere. Family of zebra is a family unit as opposed to dazzle of zebra which is a herd of multiple family units.

Warthog with babies

We saw a Warthog family with 3 babies or piglets. The wild pig called Warthog is a long-legged, slender bodied swine that stands about 32 inches high at the shoulder and can weigh up to 300 pounds. The savannah grass is very high this year and it is difficult to get a good photo of them. Warthogs have an almost hairless grey coat, a long dorsal mane, upward curving tusks and a trio of callus-like warts on its face.  Family groups are common sightings on savannah reserves and are often seen trotting away with long thin tails stiffly erect.  Its favorite food is roots and bulbs. It defends itself against predators by reversing into a burrow with tusks facing out aggressively. Often these burrows may be actually made or dug by aardvarks.

Young lioness napping in tree

A little farther on, Simon showed us a lioness resting up in a tree! Surprise! We watched for a while and saw her open her golden eyes. From that vantage point she could also check out the the surroundings. With the grass so high, she could see better from her perch. She had a bit of pink around her nose and spots on her belly so she was fairly young, around 4 years old. She alternated between gazing around and sleeping. We were lucky to see her. When we came by the tree on our way back she had vacated the premises. 

Miele, the Cheetah

After we left her resting, we found a cheetah resting in the shade on the ground. His name was Milele (Swahili for forever) and was once part of a pair. But his partner, Mbili, Swahili for two, left the conservancy and left him alone. Now he has to hunt somewhat smaller prey because he has to rely on his own strength and skill. You can differentiate cheetahs from leopards, by the Cheetah tear marks that extend down his face from his eyes and the white area on tip of his tail. This cheetah is about six years old. 

Topi, checking out the surrounding area

Simon also told us that Topi are also known as “blue jeans and yellow socks” because of their distinctive coloration. They are glossier and darker variation of the hartebeest. small herds are common in the Masai Mara. They are among the faster antelopes in Africa.  Males are often seen standing on hills as a show of dominance.

 

We also spotted some Olive baboon, the largest primate in Kenya. It can be recognized by its inverted u-shaped tail and dog-like head. The darker olive baboon is usually found in the west  and the lankier yellow species in the east.  The baboon has fascinating behaviors, lives in large, perpetually squabbling, and sex-obsessed matriarchal troops with dominance-seeking males moving between troops. Baboons usually steer clear of people but can become aggressive around campsites and lodges that they associate with food.  In such cases, they should be treated with caution.

Agamas Lizard

We were very lucky to catch sight of an Agamas Lizard  sunning itself on a rock beside the trail.  Agamas are medium to large lizards with bright plastic-looking scales – blue, purple, red, orange depending on the actual species. The flattened head is usually a different color from the torso.  They have very long tails.  Particularly spectacular are the male red-headed agamas that are often found basking in the sun on rocks.

Lunch by the river

Simon made his way to a spot overlooking the river and hippos for lunch. We had a small table and chairs and our picnic to enjoy.  It was a great way to break up the day. Once our lunch was consumed, we headed back to the Karen Blixen conservancy welcome center.

Wildebeests and youngsters

On the way, we found the wildebeest herd that Linda Wilson of Untamed Expeditions found with Simon two weeks ago. We found the Mom with one horn/tusk and newborn baby, now two weeks old!

Once back at the reception center, we left Simon and headed back across the two rivers to Entim Safari Camp with Mikhail at the wheel of our LandCruiser.

Clouds were gathering and cooler damper air was coming in. We jumped into Mikhail’s Land Cruiser and started back to Entim Safari Camp. The clouds were dark grey and beginning to close in around us. About 1/3 of the way back, we were encased in cloud of dust – so we stopped and closed all the windows and lowered the pop up roof. Even so, my grey hair was now brown with dust. We passed others whose vehicles had no sides and they were frantically lowering canvas sides. We did get sprinkled on, lots of squishy mud, spinning tires, but, luckily, we made it back to Entim in time for a shower to eliminate the dust and grab dinner.

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Friday, Massai Mara

Today is Friday and we started out on our game drive at 6:30 AM. The Entim staff had prepared a breakfast for us to take along. However, we did have our wake up of coffee-just before 5:30 am, delivered to our tent.

Right out of the driveway of the lodge, we encountered two hyenas, that Michal says have sort of taken up residency near here. They were a bit quick and  unable to get photos.

On the knoll above the lodge was a vast herd of Gazelles. Then we came upon a Mom and baby elephant about month old but not with a herd. Michal guessed that probably they were alone because baby can’t keep up with herd. We saw a pair of Topi, foretelling lots more to come.

In the distance, there was a herd of buffalo on the hill. As the sun was rising we saw Hot air balloons drifting along, actually 10 of them. We caught sight of a pair topi with young one, and buffalo.

Along the side of the road, we saw a hyena with a nursing young one. They can have litters up to 6 but mortality rate is high and they lose a lot of them. Female hyenas are usually larger than males. Sightings take place at dusk and dawn and is highly vocal at night.

Then a herd of gazelles. We had ventured into an area when the grass was shorter and the wildlife was plentiful and more easily visible. 

We found more Hyena and then came upon a Leopard eating what was left of a gazelle, in tree. At the foot of the tree a  jackal was barking at her as if to say “save some for me.” She climbed down out of tree and left her perch. There were about 30 trucks around and regretfully a few started following or chasing her – until they saw the Warden coming.

The leopard is the most elusive of Africa’s large predators. It has a rosette patterned coat, a powerful physique, and prefers dense cover. The leopard is among the most solitary and territorial of cats. Adults live alone in well-marked territories that are never shared with the same sex, but males and females have partial territorial overlap. Females give birth to litters of two or three in a sheltered thicket or cave. They keep close watch over them for about 2 weeks, when their eyes open. Infant mortality is high, it’s unusual for more than one cub to survive into adulthood. Cubs can fend for themselves at around a year, but usually hang around Mom for another 6-12 months before becoming fully independent.

We have now seen the Big Five! The term “Big Five” has nothing to do with size! It originally referred to the difficulty in hunting the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and African buffalo. These five large African mammal species were known to be dangerous and it was considered a feat to bring them home.

We encountered Giraffe, Impalas, Common Zebras, the Maasai Ostrich.

We had heard of a Lion pride nearby and went off to find it! The pride consisted of  17 animals, including two males. They were moving in a coordinated effort across a field toward the big herd of buffalo we had seen yesterday. There  must have been 100 vehicles in attendance and this is low season. I’d hate to see how many would be here in high season. The lions seemed oblivious of the trucks, weaving their way through them with the huge male bringing up the rear. It appears they gave up on the hunt  since it was getting too hot and will spend the day by the stream under shade of trees. Another hunt opportunity lost!

We drove up a hill, claimed a spot in the shade under a tree to stop for breakfast. Michal set the hood of the truck with juice, coffee, yogurt, fruit, potatoes, pastries, and a hard boiled egg.

We headed back toward the lodge and our tent. On the way, we saw a family unit of elephants, a stork perched beside the road, a lumping buffalo (obviously hurt his leg), giraffes necking (sometimes a sign of aggression between males, but can be play among younger individuals), and dwarf mongoose. The dwarf mongoose is small with a shoulder height of only 2.8 inches. It is often seen around termite mounds and hollowed dead branches it uses as home. 

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Thursday, Massai Mara

Thursday!

We got to sleep in – sort of! We had breakfast at 7, departure at 8, then on the road with George to the airfield to catch a puddle jumper to Maasai Mara.

Naturally we were held up by a herd of elephant and a few other forms of wildlife on our way to the airfield.

We arrive a bit early. So we watched planes land and take off on a landing strip of dirt. George told us that today was the first day the field was operational after the rains. The strip had been non-functional, washed out but now it had been graded and was ready to go.

Our pilot landed, we climbed aboard and took off for Maasai  Mara, about an hour away.

It was a pretty uneventful flight and we were met by our guide, Michal. He asked us if we wanted to go back to the lodge and check in first or, if we wanted to take a game drive. We agreed let’s go check in, scope out our accommodations at Entim then go out at 4 pm.

We’ll, all did not go as planned. We kept trying to get to the lodge, but the bridge was out, so turn around and go back, wind your way around, swamp too wet, back up, go around and so on. Finally we made it to Entim and scoped out our new lodging tent. Lunch was almost over, so we ate lunch and made arrangements to catch up with Michal at 4 pm.

All our diversions on the way to Entim, brought us in view of wildlife much of what we had seen before. We were treated to a pair of resting lions: a papa and his son. There were lots of onlookers, so the Lewa rule of only three vehicles at a time viewing an animal was not in practice here. 

But we found a few interesting things: a herd of over 200 buffalo so far away a photo was impossible. They looked like bumps or rocks.

The Maasai ostrich with its pink neck and legs visible plainly on the male. We had previously seen the Somali ostrich with blue/grey legs and neck in the male. Michal told us that the female sits on the eggs during the day; the male at night.

We saw warthogs in. Closer proximity so we could take better photos.

We found Topi, which looks like a darker and glossier Coke’s Hartebeest, and prefers open grassland, like the savannahs of the Mara. It is dark brown with some black on the flanks and snout with striking yellow legs. The usually travel in small herds and are considered one of the fastest antelopes in Africa. 

A close cousin, we saw the Coke’s Hartebeest. It is very similar to the Jackson’s hartebeest we saw previously. It has large shoulders, a backward sloping back, slender torso, pale yellow-brown coat, smallish unisex horns, and a narrow heart shaped face as alluded to in its Dutch name. Males frequently climb on termite hills and rocks to scan, as a display of territorial dominance. 

We also saw jackals. This common small dog species in Africa is most active at dusk and dawn and its shrill yelping can be heard at night. It has an ochre coat offset by a silver flecked black saddle. It is an opportunist feeder, subsisting on small mammals, birds, and is often seen near lion kills.

We also visited the hippo pond, and saw about a dozen hippos of various ages – possibly a family. The hippo has a purple-grey hairless hide with pink undersides and cheeks. It has a barrel-like torso and stumpy legs. Eyes, ears, and nostrils are placed high on the skull allowing it to spend most of its time submerged in the shallow water. It feeds on land between dusk and dawn but spends its days in the water for cooling. It does secrete a sort of sun screen to protect its hide from the sun. It lives in pods of up to 30 members, is very territorial and fights for dominance between males can result in serious injury or death (often from infection obtained s a result of a gash). Though bulky in appearance, they can attain a speed of 20 mph on land.

We did a good deed for the day, Michal asked us if we minded that he took the time to help another truck that got stuck in the mud at a river crossing. Of course, we said no. We maneuvered into place, hooked up a cable to tow them up the hill and out of the mud. First try snapped the tow, but the second was successful and we headed on our way.

We arrived back at camp at 7, in dire need of a shower before dinner. Then a delicious dinner and time for bed.

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Wednesday, Sambura Elephants Bed Room

Wednesday

Coffee at 5:30 am, then meet George for a 6:30 departure on a game drive. Breakfast is scheduled on our return around 9:30 am.

We were still on our cheetah search and on the way elephants, giraffe, gerutuck with their necks outstretched munching on leaves, antelopes engaged in a tussle for dominance, tawny eagles, and monkeys – that took over a tree stump by the river as their colony complete with babies. But no photo, they were on the wrong side of the Land Cruiser.

Back at the lodge, it was a breakfast buffet at the tables by the river. Obama, the resident elephant, took that opportunity to saunter by. So the guards herded us all up onto the deck for our own safety. Luckily, we were returned our breakfast was still there!

We returned to our tent to try out the plunge pool. Despite the heat or, maybe because of it, it felt pretty cold!

Our afternoon game drive failed to yield a cheetah sighting but we continued on the elephant, giraffe, gazelles, birds, etc.

We spotted an impala that had left her herd with a baby. George explained that impalas about to give birth separate from the herd, have their baby, then return to the herd. Mom was looking around and sniffing the air, searching for their herd. During this time away from herd both mother and baby are vulnerable. The baby can keep up with its mother within minutes after being born.

We saw a male ostrich doing his dance to attract a female. Once the dance was completed and the mating over, they went their separate ways.

George and Carmen, the manager of The Elephant’s Bedroom camp, had planned a surprise for us. George flew by camp and Glenn was getting alarmed, but soon we came upon a campfire, chairs, a portable bar, some snacks, park rangers and other guests and guides. We had a rum drink mixed for us and watched the sun set on our last evening in Samburu.

Dinner was delightful, as usual, and under the stars. George ate dinner with us as well. The next morning we could sleep in, breakfast at 7 am, leave at 8 am for the airstrip and a 9:40 flight to Maasai Mara.

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Tuesday, Samburu, Elephants Bedroom

Tuesday

We were able to sleep in – sort of. George was planning to pick us up at 10am, but Abdul had to drive us to the main gate of Lewa Conservancy, which was about 1 hour away. So we had our wake up coffee and call at 6:30 am, breakfast at 7:30 am, and met Abdul at 8:45/9:00 am.

We got to the main gate a bit early, around 8:45 am – but George was waiting! We moved our gear to George’s car and off we went to Samburu and the Elephants Bedroom for the next two nights. We drove through villages and, even a town, before turning left into a road which led us to Samburu. 

We arrived at The Elephant’s Bedroom in time for a delicious lunch. It is called such since many elephants choose to spend the night on the grounds of the resort – especially an elephant called Obama. 

The Bathroom

The Bedroom with two Queen Beds

Deck with Chaises and Plunge Pool

Our room is a private tent, with bedroom, bathroom with separate shower off a sheltered deck, sitting area, deck overlooking the river complete with a plunge pool to cool off! Good thing – because it is warmer here than in Amboseli and in Lewa. One issue is that baboons like to drink the water out of the plunge pool. The cover to the pool is attached with velcro and they are quite adept at loosening them.  Ask Kimberly Baker about how threatening male baboons can be!

Elephants heading to the river

Impala

Giraffe

Elephant flapping his ears to keep cool

We were scheduled for an afternoon game drive beginning at 4 pm. George told us rumors of cheetah sightings earlier in the day – a mother and two cubs almost at maturity. So we embarked on a cheetah quest! We saw elephants and giraffes and two new-to-us species.

Gerenuk and baby

We saw the Gerenuk, a sort of gazelle giraffe, because of its long neck which distinguishes it from the gazelle. It makes the most of this feature when it feeds by standing goat-like on its hind legs with its neck at full stretch to nibble at leaves others can’t reach. It usually lives in small family herds near dry acacia thorn bush. Here is one with a baby! But it doesn’t have its neck stretched out and isn’t on its hind legs nibbling leaves!

Kirk’s Dik-Dik

Then we caught sight of the smallest pretty antelope – a Kirk’s Dik-Dik. They have a grey-brown coat, white eye circles, and twitchy elongated nose. It was a small family and George told us that they mate for life. 

The search for the cheetah was unsuccessful. We returned to our camp and were greeted by antelope that almost seemed domesticated since they were looking for treats and petting strokes. We got back at 7 pm and dinner was at 7:30 pm. After dinner, it was off to bed for another 5:30 am wake up!

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Day Six Lewa Safari

Monday Morning Game Drive 

The moon was still bright when we left at 6:30 AM for our third game drive here at Lewa Conservancy. the previous evening, we arranged with Abdul to carry breakfast out and stop during our drive to enjoy it. 

Again we saw many of the same species of animals we had encountered previously. Early in the morning, the natural light isn’t the best for photos. 

Abdul told us stories about big game hunting, poachers, and how times have changed. He asked us what happened to poachers when they got caught. After a few guesses, he laughed and said: we turn them into park rangers. Here at the conservancy, they count the rhinos every morning. They employ about 60 unarmed park rangers and 40 armed rangers. The armed rangers are trained by the US, Canadian, and British military. Originally, folks in town were resistant to government interference in most aspects of poaching but, after learning  about poachers with huge numbers of kills, after realizing how they would eventually decimate herds of rhinos and elephants, and after realizing that their tourist industry would die, they began supporting efforts to conserve the wildlife.

Abdul drove us on some familiar roads, if you can call them roads. The are so bumpy that my watch reads them as exercise! My watch even says at the end of the day that I have taken over 18,000 steps – all the while sitting in the Land Cruiser!

Eland, Africa’s largest antelope

Elands move about in groups of two or so

We came across an Eland, one of the spiral horned antelopes. The Eland is the largest antelope and can weigh up to a ton. It is sort of cow-like, light tan in color, with faint white vertical stripes, and small horns. It moves about in groups. The eland was revered by the hunter-gatherers that once inhabited East Africa and they depicted it often on rock paintings they left behind. Eland meat is similar to venison and is hunted (off parks and conservancies) for its meat.

Hartebeest

Jackson’s Hartebeest is one of Kenya’s more conspicuous large antelopes inhabiting its grasslands. It has large shoulders, a backward sloping back,slender torso, pale yellow-brown coat, smallish horns, and a narrow heart-shaped face. They often climb on termite hills to scan the area.  They are usually found in northern Kenya.  Often Coke’s Hartebeest will be found in the southern area and is called the kongoni,

Abdul bringing out the Kenya Coffee

Breakfast came in this trunk

Breakfast on the hood of a Land Cruiser

Abdul navigated our Land Cruiser up onto a ridge overlooking the floor of the valley. Here we had our carry out breakfast served on the hood of our Land Cruiser. Abdul spread out one of our blankets on the hood of the truck, unpacked a trunk of goodies. We had yogurt with granola, fresh fruit, muffins, sausage and bacon, roasted vegetable medley, and of course, Kenyan coffee made with a French press!

Pond with birds and two hippos, but not clearly visible

Afterwards, we headed back to the lodge, stopping at the watering hole to see all the birds and two Hippos in the watering hole with only their eyes visible.

Giraffe using its long tongue to get the tender Acacia leaves

Also on the way, we saw a giraffe eating the soft tender leaves on the top of an acacia tree. Giraffes are able to get to the tender leaves without getting punctured by the large thorns on the tree because of their very long tongues. We learned that their horns are not attached to their skulls at birth. Males horns are usually attached by 3 years old; females by 7. Giraffes also have very powerful hearts to circulate their blood all the way up to their head – it is a very long neck! When giraffes are young the skin is tight on their skinny legs – acting like compression socks! As they age, that skin gets looser and they become prone to edema. Some even perish due to hypertension.

African Buffalo

We came across an African buffalo with a very long horns.

We also saw a Warthog (no photo too quick)! It is Kenya’s wild pig, long legged and slender bodied. It has an almost hairless coat, a long dorsal mane, upward curving tusks, and callus-like warts on its face. They often trot away with their long thin tails held stiffly erect. 

We had lunch at the lodge and took some time off before heading out again for our evening game ride. The weather was threatening rain and we went to a part of the conservancy where the animals are less plentiful.

Black Rhino

We came across Black Rhinos. Most of the Rhinos we had seen up to now were White Rhinos (they aren’t white but their name comes from Dutch meaning “wide.”)  The black rhinos are more aggressive than the white rhinos and more territorial. With its armored grey hide, massive bulk, fearsome horns, and irascible disposition, the Black Rhino is one of the most ancient branches of the species to survive.  Adult male black rhinos are fairly solitary. Both sexes are aggressive with unfamiliar individuals but are accepting of rhinos with neighboring or overlapping territories, even pairing off temporarily. Their gestation period is about 15 months and a single calf can weigh 110 pounds and is usually mobile in 3 days. The mother and calf have a generally strong bond and will stay together about 3 to 4 years.  The female will terminate her relationship with the calf once another calf is imminent. We stayed a bit away from them in case they decided that our land cruiser was a threat.

We saw gazelles, waterbuck, elephants, and birds. It got overcast and a bit chilly so we headed back to the lodge. We even found a road less traveled to take us there.

The road less traveled

Check out this pair

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Day Five Sunday Morning Game Drive

What a success! We ventured out at 6:30 AM Sunday morning with Abdul at the wheel!  In less than an hour, we saw 8 different animals – plus birds.

Somali ostrich

The sun was barely up when we encountered ostriches. At a height of about 7 feet and weighing in around 220 pounds, ostriches are the world’s largest birds. The common ostrich has pink legs and is commonly found in the protected grassland areas. The Somali ostrich, with its blue legs and its blue neck, is more thinly distributed in the semi arid north. both species, the larger male has handsome black and white plumage, with the female being smaller and a bit duller. They are known for their feathers, eggs, and low-cholesterol meat.

We couldn’t get a photo of a jackal running across the road ahead. He or She was just too fast. Jackals usually live in pairs rather than packs and are usually more active at dusk and dawn,  however we did catch a photo in the bush. Its shrill yelping is a characteristic sound of the African night. It’s an opportunistic feeder, subsisting on small mammals and birds, and is often seen lurking near lion kills.

White Rhino, from the dutch meaning wide.

And, of course, we came across white rhino (differing from black rhino by the hump on its back), giraffe, elephants, zebra, and African Buffalo. 

African Buffalo

The African Buffalo is similar in appearance to the Indian water buffalo and closely related to domestic cattle. It is powerfully built, can weigh up to 1,700 pounds, and heavy splayed horns. Elderly males tend to live singly or in small bachelor herds and have a reputation for being grumpy. The ones we saw were elderly, living in a bachelor herd, and had been pushed out by younger males who wanted the dominant male role in the mixed sex herd. Female calves stay with their birth herd, but males are forced out when they reach sexual maturity to preserve their genetic structure. Aggregations of more than 1000 buffalo can be found in Maasai Mara in Kenya. The African Buffalo is generally quieter than its domestic counterpart in every day communication.  However, upon sighting a predator it makes an explosive snorting alarm to mobilize the rest of the herd into defensive mode.

Common Oryx

We came across the Common Oryx, an antelope about 4 feet high at the shoulder with horns that sweep straight back from the skull at the same angle as the forehead and muzzle. Usually seen in nomadic herds, it can go without water almost as long as a camel, getting all it needs from the plants it eats.

Impala

The impala is actually a relative of the wildebeest.  It is an elegantly proportioned antelope with a chestnut coat and black-and-white stripes on its rump and tail. Males have magnificent black horns. They are usually found in large herds with more females and young than males. They are agile jumpers and herds often jump in all directions to confuse predators. Locals sometimes refer to them as McDonald’s since the black stripes on their rump often looks the letter M, referring, of course to the US fast food outlet.

We stopped for breakfast finding our chef and his sous chef out on a hill under a tree with the grill fired up. Agnes, our hostess, was there to serve us Kenyan coffee, a sort of oatmeal blended with nuts, banana, and raisins, healthy muffins, and breakfast burritos with sausage and bacon. Tummies full, we continued on our way.

We stopped at a pond full of various varieties of birds, including Egyptian geese, white pelican, and grey heron.

On the way back to the lodge, we asked Abdul about the training he went through to be a guide. Guiding is a profession here in Kenya. He has 6 licenses that he must renew annually and he studied tourism and the native plants, animals, and birds at the college level. In many of our sightings, he gave us the scientific name for the animal, bird, or plant. He is young, has two sons (one is 6 years old, one is 6 months old). His family lives 4 hours away, so he stays at the resort for 2 months, then goes home for 2 weeks. Sundays are usually days off, but since his family is 4 hours away (8 hours driving total), he prefers to work and save up the days for a longer period at home. 

He dropped us off at the lodge and made arrangements to pick us up at 4 for our evening game drive and, perhaps a lion sighting

Afternoon Game Drive

On this afternoon’s game drive, we encountered many of the animals we had seen before. Things were a bit slow since it was overcast and rainy so the animals were hunkered down. But, we did watch a male ostrich fluff his feathers and start his dance to entice a female ostrich into a relationship. However, she wasn’t impressed and ran the other way! 

We found herds of zebras crossing over to shorter grass. We noticed a family (Mom, Dad, and two babies) with the babies skipping and doing zoomies through the grass. Dad tried to regain control and order but wasn’t really successful.

Momma and baby Vervet Monkey

We came across monkeys carrying their babies on their chests with the babies holding on tight for dear life.

Lioness just checking things out after napping

Abdul had a feeling that as the sun came out, lions would start up to a nearby ridge to bask in the sun toward the end of the day. First we found a lioness, very calm despite how close we were. She was young, still had pink on her nose. Abdul asked us to be very still and make no sudden movements. The lions don’t have very good eyesight, perceiving everything in black and white and grey. Lions in the conservancy do not view the Land Cruisers as threats, since they see so many of them.  

Let’s stretch! I am a cat after all!

The largest ground-based predator in Africa, the lion is the most sociable and least secretive of the world’s 36 cat species. It seldom takes to trees, and an adult male has a regal blonde or black mane. Lions spend up to 20 hours a day at rest. They are not very active usually during the heat of the day. But they can cover long distances at night.

The lion is the most sociable of cats living in a pride of 5 to 10 animals. That includes an adult male a few adult females and they’re offspring. Hunting is normally a team effort, undertaken by females who rely on stealth more than speed. A common strategy is for one or two lionesses to heard their prayer in the direction of other pride members lying, hidden in tall grass. Males seldom take part in a hunt, but are quick to exercise their feeding rights once a kill is made. Favored prey includes antelope, and large pride can even bring down a giraffe or buffalo. 

Adult lions are most active around dusk and dawn, but cubs interact throughout the day, playing and mock fighting for hours on end. Subordinate individuals stop to greet or groom, dominant pride members, especially when they reunite after period apart. The most common call made by females as well as males is a series of far-carrying moaning grunts that first increase and then fade away. Dominant males often move separately from the main pride. This characteristic sound of the African night has a dual purpose of advertising the issuers presence to the pride and warning rivals off its territory.

Here she is strolling by the Land Cruiser on my side! I guess I am the sacrifice!

The male Lion hiding in the tall grass!

After watching the lioness as she relaxed in the grass, stretched, yawned, and twitched her ears while she flicked her tail. She got up, walked down the road a ways, then plopped down on a rock looking into the valley, calling to the rest of the pride. She got up, sauntered by our Land Cruiser (on my side) and then took off down the hill into higher grass and disappeared. We left, but Abdul was told lions had been found down the hill in that high grass. So down we went into the high grass and found two male lions, one of which we couldn’t get a good photo.

Hyena

Our Land Cruiser climbed back up the hill and we headed back to the lodge.  On the way back,  we saw a hyena, Africa’s second largest predator. Hyenas are highly vocal at night emitting a haunted whooo-whoop that ranks as the most definitive sound of the African night. Hyenas live in matriarchal groups of 5 to 25 and those groups are wide ranging. They are powerfully built, with a characteristic sloping back, powerful jaws, and a dog like face and snout.

We arrived back at the lodge after 7PM with headlights blazing and Abdul heavy on the accelerator. 

Plans were made to take breakfast with us and leave tomorrow at 6:30 AM. Then right to dinner at the main lodge and back to tent to make preparations afterwards for the next day

 

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Day 4 Lewa Conservancy

Breakfast with a view of Mt Kilimanjaro and the pool

We grabbed an early breakfast at Tawi, climbed aboard George’s trusty LandCruiser to set off for Amboseli airport – I spelled it with a little a not a capital A since it was hardly more than a landing strip. We bid goodbye to George, who we’ll see again Tuesday morning. 

Our pilot, Seth, at the wheel

Our pilot, Seth, diverted us further south to pick up three additional passengers, who almost missed the flight, scheduled to leave at 8:45 am, and they showed up at 8:43 am with rolling bags! Smart travelers we are with soft-sided hand carried bags (1 per person). This landing strip was more basic than the one at Amboseli – it wasn’t even paved! Later, back at home, we found out that one of the men was a professional photographer from Williamsburg, VA and that my friend had gone to a photo safari he gave at the Williamsburg Library! This trip he was looking for a cat he hadn’t been able to see on his earlier trips! Small World!

This is how we fly in-country!

It was a short 50 minute flight to Wilson Airport in Nairobi, where we hopped an AirKenya flight to Lewa Downs, in the central highlands. IYKYK, the area was also home to Happy Valley,  a hedonist community of aristocrats, farmers and socialites whose promiscuous lifestyle was centered in the area in the 1930’s.

We were met by Abdul, our guide for our game drives here in the Lewa Conservancy.  He came equipped with water and other drinks for our ride to the lodge. Lewa was established as a cattle ranch in the 1920’s. A portion was set aside as a wildlife sanctuary in 1983, the remainder (102 square miles) followed 10 years later, the Lewa Conservancy.

Mount Kenya

We caught a glimpse of Mount Kenya, the second highest peak in Africa.

The grass here is higher and greener than normal due to the recent rains. It appears that the grass is as high as the sides of our vehicle. The driver sits lower than the passengers, each row of passengers sits higher than the row in front to ensure the best visibility for all.

Grevy’s Zebra, his stripes don’t go onto his belly and his ears are round and cute

Baby Elephant nursing

After we passed a baby elephant nursing, we caught a glimpse of zebra. One of whom was the endangered Grevy’s Zebra.There are only about 380 individual Grevy’s zebra here which is about 20% of the world population.

We also passed an area known as Acheulean Hand-Axe site, where hand tools made from volcanic rocks have been found dating to 800,000 years ago. 

Our bedroom

our Veranda

roof structure under thatch

We finally arrived at the Lewa Safari Camp and explored our accommodations for the next three nights. We have a beautiful veranda overlooking the valley in front of essentially a permanent tent structure with a bedroom and bathroom. The lodge itself has a pool, a lunch veranda, a dining room for dinner, and a gathering center, with administrative area, spa, and gift shop. 

We had a delicious lunch by the pool and settled into our lodging. Plans were made to assemble for afternoon tea and a late afternoon game drive with Abdul before dinner

Afternoon Game Drive Saturday

We set out on a game drive with Abdul about 4pm over roads that were merely wheel ruts through the conservancy. The terrain here is different than Amboseli with rolling hills, marshes, swamps, and watering holes spread out throughout the area. 

Dazzle of Zebra

Grevy’s Zebra – notice the ears and the white belly

We were very fortunate to encounter many zebra, both the Grevy’s Zebra with a white belly, narrower stripes, and round bear-like ears. The ones we saw this afternoon appeared to be in herds that mixed the plains zebra with the Grevy’s zebra — and also some hybrids. The Zebras stripes are as individually unique as fingerprints. Zebras are in the same genus as their domesticated counterparts, resembling a striped hybrid between a horse and an ass. The most common is the Plains Zebra, a grazer, often seen in large herds, but its core social unit is an aggressively defended non-territorial herd made up of one stallion, up to five mares, and their respective foals.The striping is not camouflage, since they inhabit arid areas. More likely, it is to confuse predators when they scatter. Grevy’s Zebra is the world’s largest equid, standing up to 5 feet at the shoulder and weighing up to almost 950 pounds. Grevy’s move in smaller herds than plains zebras and a stallion enjoys exclusive mating rights with any female passing through its territory.

Waterbuck

We found a Waterbuck, a large member of the Kob family and is recognized by its shaggy gray brown to chestnut coat. The males have a large, lyre shaped horns, and have bold white rump markings. It is usually found in standing water or marshes with herds of up to 10 individuals overseen by one aggressive, dominant male. The waterbuck of the Rift Valley is more chestnut and has a full white rump, while the eastern variety has a white U on its rump.

Vervet Monkey and baby

We found a group of Vervet monkeys playing in trees along the edge of the road. They are generally mischievous and viewed as one of the true characters of the African savannah. It can live in troops of 30 to 75 animals that are constantly engaging in entertaining interaction, whether fighting, grooming, carrying young on their chest, clambering around branches, or raiding lunch buffets.  It is thought to be the most numerous primate species (apart from humans) and is mainly terrestrial, although it rarely strays far from trees. It is smaller and lankier than a baboon, with a light-olive or grey coat offset by a black face, white ruff and pale belly. Males have gaudy blue scrotum offsetting this dull coloration.  It is highly intelligent, has quite an array of alarm calls that scientists have likened to  rudimentary language.

White Rhinoceros

We got up close and personal with White Rhinoceros. They are bulkier than Black Rhinos, and are the world’s heaviest non-marine mammal after the elephant weighing up to almost 8,000 lbs.  Misleadingly named, it has smooth grey skin – the misnomer “white” comes from the Dutch word weit (wide) and refers to the square lips it uses to crop grass. The White Rhino was once found throughout Africa, but hunting brought them to almost extinction.  The Rhino now is found on preserves, sanctuaries, conservancies and parks.  The White Rhino has a bit of a bump on its back to differentiate it from the Black Rhino. In many photos of them you will see cattle birds riding on them, picking off ticks, etc.

Our Rainbow

We saw other wildlife and birds and even a rainbow! We returned our lodge and tents shortly after dark, close to 7:20 PM. Freshened up a bit, then enjoyed another delicious dinner!

 

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Day Three Amboseli National Park

We grabbed a cup of coffee to be ready to meet George at 6:30 AM. He had arranged with Tawi Lodge to get our breakfast-to-go. Our goal was to get to the park early to catch a glimpse of as many animals as possible!

Right out of the gate, we caught sight of a lion. He didn’t stick around to pose for us.

Male Lion

Lions are the largest terrestrial predator in Africa, but usually the most sociable but the least secretive. The lion we saw was alone as far as we could tell though they usually live in a pride of 5 or so animals usually consisting of an adult male, a few females, and any offspring. It seldom takes to trees, and an adult male sports a regal black or blond mane. Those lions in reserves or parks are protected but lions elsewhere are in decline. Lions can spend up to 20 hours a day at rest, are seldom active in the heat of the day, but can cover great distances at night. Prides have been known to defend their territory between 8 and 77 square miles. Females in a pride usually give birth more or less simultaneously. Females usually stay with their birth pride, but young males are forced out by the dominant male when they reach maturity. Our fleeting lion sighting was over quickly but hopefully there will be other opportunities. 

Shortly after the lion retreated into the brush, we saw giraffes running away in the opposite direction.

Maasai Giraffe

Giraffes are easy to spot in the wild since they are the tallest mammal. Giraffes are very common in most of Kenya’s national parks. The giraffes here In Amboseli are the Maasai variety. The Maasai giraffe has ragged spots on a yellow-fawn coat. Giraffes typically move around in groups of 10 to 15 animals.  The group we saw only consisted  three. We fabricated a story that they were running away from the lion we saw earlier. Herds usually are Impermanent meaning they can join and leave at will. They also may be all male or all female or mixed. Males are significantly larger in size than females. Females normally have one calf or occasionally twins and give birth standing, allowing the newborn to drop up to 7 feet to the ground. The calf gets up on his feet immediately and  might start suckling within 30 minutes. The giraffe is a highly specialized canopy feeder, browsing on high-grade leaf foliage at heights of up to 20 feet, although it will occasionally eat grass as well. They strongly favor Acacia‘s leaf structure. The combination of their long neck and versatile tongue allows a giraffe to reach, leaves that no other species can. It mostly feeds in the early morning and late afternoon, retiring in the shade to chew the cud during the hotter hours of the day.

One baby is sprouting tusks; the other hasn’t started them yet

Turning to check us out!

Check out this pair

Next we came in a herd of elephants consisting of multiple clans. They had spent the night over toward Mt Kilimanjaro and were preparing en masse to cross the road to head to the swamp/marshland. The elephant is the world’s largest mammal with imposing bulk. Elephants are notable for two unique adaptations – along trunk that combines strength with the sensitivity to isolate and tear out a single blade of grass, and outside tusks that grow throughout its life, sometimes reaching lengths in excess of 10 feet. They have a complex social behavior. Females and youngsters usually move around in close-knit matriarchal clans. Sisters often have their own clan within the herd. Adult females maintain a vigilant watch over the young until they are old enough to deter predators. We saw many youngsters actually walking under their mother’s  or aunt’s feet. Calves are often raised communally. Elephants have an exceptional sense of smell, and good eyesight. Researchers in Amboseli National Park, discovered that the elephants main means of communication consists of subsonic rumblings well below, or at the very edge of human perception that can travel through the Earth for several miles. These sounds are picked up by the skin on the trunk and feet, allowing dispersed herds to coordinate their movements over a vast area.  Elephants flap their ears to cool their skin.

Flamingos in the Marsh

Once the elephants had crossed the road, we continued on to the national park airport, or actually just a tarmac, short runway, to eat our breakfast that George brought from the lodge. Of note, is that we will be flying out of that airport tomorrow. On the way, we saw flocks of flamingoes. We had fruit, yogurt, a small pancake, a breakfast sandwich, juice, and assorted tasty bites.

George took us to see Amboseli Lake, pretty much dry in the dry season. We were able to see some water since it had rained the week before. Maps of the park show Lake Amboseli as a vast blue tract covering much of the parks western third. In reality the lake has only filled with water on a few occasions in the past century, more often it is a barren expanse of clay swept across by swirling armies of dust, devils, and the occasional herd of wildebeest or zebra.

We saw dozens of birds along the way and Kimberly Baker has a list of them.

We saw a hippopotamus beside the road, chewing on grass next to a body of water by observation hill. Hippos have purple, gray, hairless, hide, with pink underside and cheeks, a barrel-like torso, and stumpy legs that render it unmistakable. Ears, eyes, and nostrils are placed high on the skull, allowing it to spend most of its time submerged in the shallows. It feeds on land, emerging between dusk and dawn to eat grass with its wide mouth. often it wanders from the water in the process. The hippo is highly gregarious, living in pods of up to 30 members, and very territorial, with fights for dominance between males, often resulting in serious injury or death. The hippo is highly mobile on land and can attain speeds above 20 miles an hour. It can be dangerous to humans as it typically heads straight to the water when disturbed mowing down anything in its path.

Grey Crowned Crane with a gold crown

Common Oryx, with bold black face markings

We headed back to lodge, seeing animals we’d seen before, to grab a bite of lunch, arriving after 1 pm. Then a short period of rest before heading out to a sundowner with George in the late afternoon.

At 5 pm, we waited in the lobby for our sundowner organizer to come meet us.  We found out that the 15 minute walk to meet up with George was a 50 minute nature walk through the plains outside the lodge.  Patrick was our guide and was very informative about what we encountered from skat/dung, to hoof prints, to the toothbrush tree, and desert basil which the Maasai use as a broom to sweep their floor and give the house a pleasant basil smell.  We saw a termite mound (inactive) so it was probably inhabited by a mongoose and a snake in their separate chambers.  After walking around the field, picking up burrs on our socks, we found George and Tom.  They had set up the perfect spot to view Mt Kilimanjaro and the sunset. We enjoyed the wine and snacks they provided and shared them with them. Among the munchies were Kenyan cashews, bigger than ones we get in the US and plainly roasted. Once the sun had set, George drove us back to Tawi. After a quick refresh, we enjoyed a BBQ provided by Tawi Lodge.

Then off to pack and bed, since breakfast is at 6 am, and we are leaving Tawi Lodge heading to our next stop

order Pregabalin Kenya Birds Amboseli
Amboseli National Park
Landed in Finch Haddons
Weaver birds
Masked weaver (Make nest in Acacia trees)
Lilac Breasted Roller. National bird
Hornbill
Superb starlin
Yellow neck spaffell
White headed Buffalo Weaver
Tawny Eagle
Crested cranes
Greater flamingos
Black winged stilt
African ibis
Hadeda inis
Spalling lapwing
Sand bill stork
Greater and lesser sandpipers
Egyptian geese
African Jacana
African pied avocets
Greater flamingos
Lesser flamingos
Yellow Bishop
Pied Kingfisher
Madagascar heron
Black head heron
White faced duck
African starlings
Crowned plover
Kitrich
White pelicans
African spoonbills
Red billed Oxbird
African fish eagle
Swifts
Swallows
Elephant Egret
Double band course
African doves
Common shrike
White head full
White head pelican
African pied wagtail
Superb starling
Tropical Boubou
African fire finch
Augur  Buzzard

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