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The front patio at the Fairview Hotel |
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Samburu National Park/Buffalo Springs National Reserve
First we drove north from Nairobi, past Mt. Kenya to the Samburu. We camped
on the Ewaso Ngiro River, where we saw elephants every day.
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| My and my roommate's tent |
TJ watches the elephants cross the river |
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| Shopping at the airstrip |
The Ewaso Ngiro River |
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| Samburu Landscapes |
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| Elephants |
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Beisa Oryx |
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| Reticulated giraffe and Grevy's zebra |
Reticulated giraffe |
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| Dwarf mongoose on a termite mound |
Impala |
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| Somali ostrich |
Long-crested eagle |
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| Hammerkop |
Red-billed hornbills |
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Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (www.lewa.org)
We moved on to Lewa and stayed in a marvelous lodge overlooking a lovely
garden and waterhole while the safari crew moved our camp. The water went
off about two hours after I had taken my shower. A couple of the others
weren't so lucky. They were wet and soapy when, as it turned out, elephants
trashed the water line. It was still being repaired two days later as we
left for Soysambu. Africa, gotta love it!
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| Lewa House |
The living area at Lewa House |
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| Three of us opted for a camel ride around the reserve |
Rhinos have the right of way! |
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| Toki the orphan cheetah |
Very endangered white rhino |
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| Baby elephant |
Endangered Grevy's zebra |
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| Plains zebra with Mt. Kenya in the background |
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Narok, en route
We stopped in Narok for gas and to check out the curio shops.
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| Typical street scene on a busy weekday |
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| Roadside coke stand |
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Aberdare Mountains National Park
In an excellent change of plan, we drove south over the Aberdare Mountains,
which were lush and beautiful. The road goes up over the top and it was rather
chilly in our khaki shirts and shorts, but well worth it!
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| Approaching the park from the north |
One of the beautiful waterfalls in the park |
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| There are bamboo forests at the higher altitudes |
Aberdare forest |
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| Open areas at the top |
A Bohar reedbuck |
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| Wild orchid |
Wild gladiola |
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Soysambu
We descended down into the Rift Valley and Soysambu, the home of Lord and
Lady Delamere and also the late Simon Combes. Our camp was within sight of
Lake Elementaita.
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| Our camp at Soysambu |
The great view |
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| Open area with candelabra euphorbia |
Acacia forest |
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| Flamingos on the lake |
Lakeside reeds. Can you spot the African buffalo? |
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| Candelabra euphorbia in bloom |
Kirk's dik-dik |
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Lake Nakuru National Park
We spent a day at Lake Nakuru which is very close to Soysambu.
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| The lake and famous flamingos |
Greater and lesser flamingos |
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| Morning light and acacia wood |
Later morning light and buffalo herd |
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| White rhino |
African or cape buffalo bull |
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| Impala and savannah baboons |
Savannah baboon troup |
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| Plains zebras at a waterhole |
White-fronted bee-eater |
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| Sodom's apple |
Secretary bird |
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Kigio Wildlife Conservancy
We left Soysambu and went a short distance to Kigio and the Malewa River
Lodge while, once again, the safari crew moved the camp.
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| Malewa River Lodge |
The Malewa River |
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| Plains zebra |
Feeding Molly, who came to Kigio from the Sheldrake orphanage |
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| Chris Campbell-Clause, our host, wishes us farewell |
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En Route to the Masai Mara
We then had a long day's drive to our camp in the world famous Masai Mara
reserve.
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| A roadside farm |
That's my luggage in the trailer! |
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| Another farm on the way to the Mara |
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Masai Mara
Maybe the greatest wildlife show on earth. The Masai Mara. We camped on
the aptly named Paradise Plain.
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| Just inside the gate we were welcomed by this
very large giraffe! |
Our camp with wildebeest |
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| Camp in spectacular morning light |
We had an angry hippo in camp who destroyed a
tent and a case of beer |
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| Simon drove him out with one of the safari vehicles |
I took these photos from the safety of the roof of
the other land rover |
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| Young lions in love |
Enjoying the last warmth of the day |
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| Cheetah |
3-4 month old cheetah cub |
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| Sanguya, son of Bella, who you may know
from Big Cat Diary |
Silver-backed jackal |
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| Hippos |
Spotted hyenas, part of the clean-up crew |
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| Late afternoon clouds |
Fireball lilies |
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| Elephant family group |
Boys will be boys |
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| Wildebeest or gnus |
Thompson's gazelle |
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| Cheetahs setting out to hunt |
Vultures and marabou storks, also part of the
clean-up crew |
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| Our merry band of artists |
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Back to Nairobi
Finally, it was time to head back to Nairobi.
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| Laundry day |
A roadside blessing |
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| We saw a LOT of cattle |
More cattle |
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| A watering place |
Shambas (farms) on the outskirts of Nairobi |
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Back to the Mara and
Camp Rekero on the Talek River (www.rekerocamp.com)
I got to go back to the Mara for two more days and stayed at a wonderful tented camp
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| The biggest, most wonderful lion that I've seen yet |
Thunder and lightning over Lake Victoria about
sixty miles to the west |
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| No one was starving when I was there |
The animals come quite close to the cars! |
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| A beautiful lioness |
Ready for her close-up! |
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| An impressive yawn |
Made in the shade |
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| A serval cat on a morning prowl |
Waterbuck |
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| Very highly endangered black rhino cow and calf |
African buffalo bachelor group |
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| Bush breakfast |
And then, just down the river, a small
wildebeest crossing |
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| Young tawny eagle |
Ruppell's long-tailed starling |
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| Black-headed heron |
Masai ostrich |
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| Nile monitor lizard |
Mara plains and acacia tree |
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| Camp Rekero dining tent |
Lunch al fresco |
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