At Amboseli Lodge, I was sitting on the patio with a drink and for the umpteenth time since we got there, one of the vervet monkeys with its baby, came out of a tree and sat on the patio wall, not 4 feet away, watching me. They allowed us some great photos. I was marveling how they didn't try to beg or steal food, when a lady behind me tightened her grip on something in her hand, making a crackling noise. The monkey and her baby flew off the wall straight at her and jumped up to try grab whatever she had in her hand. I'm not sure which of us was more surprised.
It wasn't just the wildlife we enjoyed on our Kenya vacation but also the landscapes. The thing that struck me about Amboseli park was the openness and the flatness. The grass is very short and animals are spread out as far as you can see.
Of course the baboons along the side of the road were more than willing to give demonstrations of reproductive behavior. See, a Kenya vacation offers all kinds of educational opportunities!
Another interesting thing about the landscape is the lakes. The lakes don't look like the ones we're used to. They are full of vegetation so they look like swampy areas until you see elephants and hippos wading in them up to their shoulders or more.
At one point we saw a group of zebras that were split up. We were parked on the culvert separating two bodies of water. Because they'd have to pass within 10-15 feet of the minibus, they were very skittish. One was making one heck of a racket because he wanted to be with the other group.
We also came across long lines of buffalo crossing the plains. Big doesn't begin to describe them. They're definitely one animal I do not trust to be intelligent enough not to take offense to us.
While in Amboseli Park, on the afternoon game drive when it started raining, we came across a large spotted hyena lying close to the road. It was big and powerful and absolutely miserable getting drenched.
We enjoyed the guinea fowl wherever we went as part of the Kenya vacation. We called them "chicken birds" because they're all over the place and have that kind of a shape. The noises they make are a riot, especially if a young lion is trying to catch one, but that's later.
At Lake Nakuru we saw a white rhino and calf out on the plain. It was probably within 100 feet of the minibus, just munching nonchalantly. I thought water buffalo were big, but that's nothing compared to a rhino. And there's something about a rhino in the wild that makes the experience so much more intense than a zoo. If that animal takes offense to the vehicle, it could do some serious damage. The calf was interested in us but the mom just kept browsing away.
We also saw two little dik-diks on our Kenya vacation trip.
Back in the woods, we saw two black rhino. We could see through our binoculars they knew where we were despite their bad eyesight (they have acute hearing and smell). Their ears were acting just like antennae, directed right at us. We watched them for about 10 minutes before they moved off. Unfortunately they were too far away and in pretty heavy cover so pictures weren't worth trying to take. Still, listening to them "huff" in the quiet morning air was incredible.
One of the main reasons many people visit Lake Nakuru on their Kenya vacation, is its birds and especially the pink flamingos. They were unbelievable in number, stretching across the lake and painting the shoreline pink. The sound they made was like running water. The smell at the lake was similar to a seashore smell. There were also marabou storks and other water birds, like pelicans. Looking at the tree tops around the lake, you could see all kinds of big predatory eagles and hawks. It was easy to spot African fish eagles because the adults look just like American Bald Eagles.
It was interesting how relaxed the baboons were, not moving even though the wheels of the minibus were just inches away from them.
We drove to the top of a hill to enjoy the view over Lake Nakuru. Once at the top, we got out of the minibus and walked to the edge of an absolutely breathtaking overlook. There are NO guardrails or barriers of any kind. On a Kenya vacation you are expected to be smart enough not to fall over any edges. I almost forgot that in my excitement of seeing the rock hyrax that live on the ledges below. They're the cute, fuzzy, big hamster-like mammals whose closest relative is the elephant.
En-route to Masai Mara, we saw a group of giraffes coming out of the trees and heading for the road and us. It was a big bull Masai giraffe, two adult females and four youngsters. They were impressive to watch. The bull kept eyeing us up as he looked for a good area to cross the road. We were the only ones there on the road and were just about to pull forward for some more close-up pictures when whoosh! five minibuses and Range Rovers pulled in right in front of us to see the giraffes. We weren't too upset, after all we'd had them to ourselves for almost 10 minutes. Still, we missed being in the front when the group finally crossed the highway and took off running.
At the Masai Mara, we came across a pride of nineteen lions (and the most minibuses we saw the entire trip). There could have been more (lions) in the bushes. First, there were three black-maned pride males just sleeping. Some of the minibuses were almost on top of them yet they couldn't even be bothered to lift their heads. Then a whole group of females, teenager-types, and babies came out of the bushes to pose and play for everybody.
It was so crowded around the pride that I asked Francis to follow a teenager-type who started to stalk a group of guinea fowl a little ways away from the main group. It was an absolute riot to watch, just like any cat stalking a bird. The only difference is that these birds make a terrible racket and almost seemed to be taunting the little lion. Then to our delight, some of the younger cubs started towards us to see what the racket was all about and what their older sibling was up to.
We saw Masai giraffes of all sizes, singles and groups, all over the place. I think I could sit and watch giraffes all day. When you really look at them, you have to wonder how they can even exist. Those legs, that neck, the body ... one huge animal. The way they move is just majestic.
We found a recently killed wildebeest covered with white-backed vultures and one magnificent Nubian [or Lappet-faced] vulture. A Nubian vulture puts the others to shame. It's bigger and more impressive, and infinitely more suspicious that the white-backs. We parked right next to the kill and it was not too happy with us. The white-backs ignored us but the Nubian was skittish of every sound and movement we made. We were absolutely thrilled when another flew in to the kill.
Stumbling upon a pack of black-backed jackals was quite unexpected. I was actually hoping for wild dogs on our Kenya vacation but Francis said they had been removed from the Mara years ago. Still, Francis said that if we had jackals, there must be lions close by. Once again I scanned the sky and spotted some vultures so we headed that way.
As we drove over another hill we came across half a dozen mini vans surrounding a pair of mating lions. This was both funny and awesome to watch. First you had a dead wildebeest with a lioness gnawing on it. Standing over her, surveying the rest of us, had to be one of the most perfect male lions I've ever seen live or on TV. He was huge and sleek and drop-dead gorgeous. Pictures don't do him justice. And this was my first time on the safari where I made eye contact with a lion. I'll never forget the feeling but at the same time, I can't tell you exactly what the feeling is. Supernatural, creepy, awestruck all come to mind but just don't quite convey the feeling.
After the third time, we switched our attention to another male lion walking towards us and this pair. He was not nearly in as good a shape as the dominant male. He had some very obvious scars, one of his canines on his bottom jaw was broken and overall looked like he had lost a few battles. He strolled by the pair, they in turn ignored him, and he disappeared into the bushes. Once again, I had eye contact with a lion as he walked within six feet of our minibus. I couldn't help feel like lunch, when he looked at me.
Francis heard on the radio about another pride of lions and we scooted over to the area where they had been spotted. I happened to catch sight of a big female heading into an acacia bush and pointed it out to Francis. He zoomed down this track and pulled up right next to this acacia tree-bush that had a cave-like area around the base. We beat all the other minibuses and were pulled up right at its entrance. Two other buses were on our other side trying to see in.
There were four females and at least five cubs lying under this bush. We were parked so close to the entrance that Mowgoli and I slid our windows partially closed because of the proximity to the lions. We were pulling out to let the other vehicles see the lions when Francis happened to brush the acacia bush with the side of the van, and you could see through the brambles the cubs scattering. A big determined lioness rushed out of the bushes and we realized rattling a full grown lioness with cubs is not wise.
There is an area by the Mara River where there are hippos. There were hippos all over – big, small, really big, sleeping, swimming, etc.
This is also a place where the wildebeest come through on their annual migration. I was really excited over the prospect of seeing a Nile crocodile. Unfortunately, the storm we had seen in the distance caught up with us so it started to rain. Dr. Livingston just looked at me but I was bound and determined to see the crocodiles. We got drenched, but I also got to see one Nile crocodile in the water.
In Zanzibar the roads were much better than in Kenya. En-route to our hotel, the driver pointed out some Colobus monkeys.
We spent some time on the beach and one day Mowgoli and I took a walk out into the corals. The water was anywhere from ankle to knee deep and if you're not into snorkeling, this is great. I wish I had taken the camera out with us. Some of the more interesting things we came across was a big sponge that looked like a warped record and had five baby clown fish swimming on it.
We stumbled on these two foot long, brown tube-like things with short feathery tentacles on one end – sea squirts? There were ALL kinds of baby tropical fish of all colors and sizes out there. As we were weaving our way through the corals and the sea urchins, I was dragging my hand in the water when I got stung on my palm. I couldn't see what did it but I remembered Livingston's warning about the jellyfish. It was more itchy and annoying than painful. We saw huge starfish that looked like fat pentagons.
What would you say were the wildlife spotting highlights of your Kenya vacation?
At Amboseli we went for a guided walk. The highlight of the walk was a giant eagle owl (Verreaux's) sitting in an acacia. We walked right up underneath him and he was huge – over two feet tall.
One of the most interesting encounters on this Kenya vacation was with elephants. The elephants around Amboseli change the landscape, stripping and uprooting tees. Closer to the lodge area, they dug ditches and put roller bar bridges to keep the elephants away from the lodge. Francis explained that the roller bars make it hard for the elephants to walk across, so they learn not to. One night we saw that some elephants have worked this problem out. A large female trailing a very young calf got to the roller bars and neatly and precisely led her baby across the narrow center portion maybe a foot wide that doesn't roll. Once on the other side, she went off the road with her calf in tow and proceeded to strip the remaining acacia trees. We just laughed.
Another one of our most memorable Kenya vacation episodes was a group of zebra where one was madly chasing another around. At first we thought it was two stallions fighting for dominance, then we realized it was a male and female and she was saying "No" in a downright vicious manner. I thought her hind kicks were going to take his head off, but he still wouldn't give up. He was almost able to get her when the female zebra ran under a fallen tree and neatly swiped the male off her back. That finally made him give up.
One afternoon at Amboseli Lodge instead of relaxing, the three of us joined a Masaai guide, a guide in training, and a security person for a leisurely walk outside the lodge grounds. They took pains to point out tracks, plants, birds, bugs, you name it – even poo. Elephant poo is like old hay - it's not digested really well so trust me, its no big deal to pick up a big dry cake of it. It added a bit of flavour to our Kenya vacation!
We came across some members of the Kenyan Wildlife Service on patrol. There were Masai in the park, grazing their cattle and washing their clothes and if I understood correctly, they were allowed to be in one area but not across the stream in another area were there were herds of wild animals.
The Masai Mara was the Africa we expected for our Kenya vacation: rolling hills with stands of trees and thickets. We drove on paths through fields and over hilltops. This was the Africa we'd seen so often on the Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. This was much "wilder" that the other two parks. There seemed to be one main gravel road running through it and then all sorts of secondary paths running off it. Again, there weren't that many other tourists but definitely more than we'd see so far.
Get beautiful photographic books & calendars with African images from National Geographic.
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Apart from wildlife viewing, what other activities did you do on your Kenya vacation trip? |
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We also got to visit a Masaai village. It was a truly unique experience for us. We were greeted with a welcoming song and prayer. And dancing, lots of dancing and so close they were almost in our personal space. The son of the local chief gave us a tour of the interior of the village and his home. He explained the social structure of the village and the roles of the members (everybody is related). Our Kenya vacation safari wouldn't have been complete without meeting some of the local people.
A new aspect in Masaai life is encouraging the families to stay in one place so the children can take advantage of the new free education system. This means that the men are now nomadic as they search for pasture for the animals while the women stay put. This is very foreign to their way of life. For the Masaai, cattle are their money in the bank which means the drought has made serious inroads in their wealth. Francis told us there had even been some rare cases of men committing suicide because all their cattle died in a short time period because of the water shortages.
We visited a volcanic ash vent named Noomotio that you could hike up and get a view of the plains and the Enkongu Narok Swamp below. The Enkongu Narok Swamp is fed by the snows melting on Kilimanjaro. It was a great view but what was really interesting it that with Kilimanjaro at your back, when you looked out, there was yet another round but much smaller ash vent in your view, almost like there was a huge crack running in the ground from Kilimanjaro and here's where excess pressure and materials were released. I loved looking at the landscape around Kilimanjaro, it was my first visit to a volcano.
On our last day in the Masai Mara Francis took us out to the Mara Triangle. This is where Dr. Livingston stood in Tanzania, I stood in Kenya, and Mowgoli stood with one leg planted in both countries.
Dr. Livingston and Mowgoli played some beach volley ball in Zanzibar and the next day got masks and flippers to go snorkeling, where they ended up swimming through a mass of tiny jellyfish and each got stung.
We went for a walk along the beach. It's a really beautiful beach and has a lot of cool shells because you're encouraged to only take pictures home. Consequently we examined all kinds of shells.
I got Mowgoli to do a beach-cleanup with me, to do our bit for the environment. We emptied this huge sack of sand that was partly in the water and used it to collected plastic bags, a soggy backpack, and numerous articles of clothing that were buried in the sand. Now don't get me wrong, there wasn't a lot of things but there certainly were some interesting things. Mowgoli pulls up a pair of swimming trunks and wonders how you could lose them. It was funny but the night gowns were hard to explain.
The Amboseli guided walk was amazing and for sure a highlight of our Kenya vacation. The walk ended at the edge of the lava rock field that resulted from the last time Kilimanjaro exploded. This field looks red with different size lava rocks (some as big as a washing machine) strewed all over. When you look and see how far away from the volcano you are, it just makes it seem all the more incredibly awesome.
Our first night at Siana Springs was our most memorable evening of the entire Kenya vacation safari for all the sounds around us. It's hard to think of descriptions that everyone can relate to. The following day a supervisor informed us that many of those bizarre sounds came from tree hyrax that infest the area. They look just like the cute rock hyrax we saw but obviously live in trees. It's hard to believe the incredible plethora of sounds we heard that night. The following night we had rain and that seemed to put a damper on the volume from the previous night so earplugs weren't necessary.
The best meal of our Kenya vacation was at the Moon Flower Restaurant in Nairobi. Dr. Livingston and I had ostrich steaks which were superbly done and mouth wateringly tender. We stuffed ourselves at lunch which was sad because that evening we went to dinner at the famous Carnivore Restaurant in Nairobi. They had a lot of different meats and the more unusual ones they served that evening were camel and crocodile.
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Was
there anything that didn’t meet your expectations on your Kenya vacation; any
disappointments or regrets? |
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Our luggage got lost on our flight to Zanzibar. What made it more frustrating is that we SAW our luggage get unloaded from the plane but they kept insisting "There was NO luggage on that plane". At least it did turn up later.
Plus, in my opinion Precision Air redeemed itself on the flight back to Nairobi. Their altitude and flight path took them just south and slightly above Kilimanjaro. It was on our side of the plane and I will never forget the view. If there had been hikers on the summit we would have been able to see them. You could see the glacier that has been melting and causing concern. You could see the sunken caldera on the top of the volcano – it was incredibly awesome. You felt like you could reach out and touch it.
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Can you offer any tips and advice to
others planning a safari in Kenya? |
- Get a good digital camera with a big memory card, telephoto lens and carry extra batteries. We went through 4 AA batteries about every two days and they are not cheap in Africa.
- Mowgoli used Bushnell binoculars on our Kenya vacation. They were absolutely wonderful. Our driver-guide Francis had a pair also. I highly recommend the brand. I also recommend that you take a pair of binoculars for every member of your party.
- During our Kenya vacation we found shilling is quite stable and people preferred it over American dollars. In Zanzibar it was the opposite, the dollar was more valued by the locals.
- ALWAYS have a change of clothes in a carry on - regardless of the length of the trip.
Any questions about Elsie's Kenya vacation? Contact her via african-safari-journals.com.
*Dr Livingstone is the pseudonym for Elsie's husband
**Mowgoli is the pseudonym for Elsie's son
Comments:
Martin Samuel, UK
We went to Tsavo East & West on 20 Jan 2004 and 22 Jan 2005 for 14 days each time. I was very pleased with African Safari the first time, so we booked to go back the next year also.
We spent half the holiday in the hotel and the other half on safari and staying in different lodges in the outback.
There were just 2 of us travelling around on safari on an open top jeep. We saw the big 5 except a rhino, we saw a pride of lions with 8 lioness, 4 cubs and a lion. They were hunting a herd of buffalo… money can’t buy an experience like that.
Apart from the safari, we stayed at Travellers beach, Mombasa, which had excellent hotel and staff.
We also visited schools in Mombasa, sad but an eye opener!
Going to Mount Kilimanjaro was one of the highlights of the trip.
My advice to others would be not to take young children, to drink bottled water, wear lots of sun cream/insect repellent and remember to take a camera.
Rating: 9/10.
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Masai Mara: