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Published: September 1st 2013
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So as my time here in Kenya is winding down and I prepare for my next part of my adventure, I started to realize there were some things that I wanted to be sure to see before I leave Africa. And thus, Sam and I decided to venture off and go on our own little safari to see some new animals.
We set off to hit three main lakes in Kenya: Nakuru, Bogoria, and Baringo, all of which had a little something special to offer. However, being a foreigner sometimes has its downsides, and in this case, ridiculous entry fees. At our first stop in Lake Nakuru, Sam paid a mere 300 shillings ($3.50) while my tickets was 74,000 ($75). Since I'm coming to the end of my trip and thus the end of my money, we devised a plan for free entry. This consisted of me hiding in the trunk of the car through the entry gate omitting the high costs. The look on the faces of the locals was priceless and I can only imagine what was going through their minds when they saw a white girl climbing in the trunk of the car.
Lake Nakuru is
your stereotypical safari-type park. Most people rent out Land Rovers and plow through what would otherwise be the African wilderness. We (in a Toyota Corolla) tried to do all of the same things despite our low undercarriage and without 4-wheel drive. And for the most part, it worked! We set up camp right next to a waterfall taking in all of what the park had to offer. We got up early for a game drive and saw some of the coolest things I have seen thus far. In fact, we came across a pride of lions that had taken down a giraffe and got an up close feeding experience that was out of this world. Looking back, we were only about a mile or so away from the lions the previous night, and we soon realized our campsite was unfenced. I was glad it was the giraffe and not me.
After the game drive, we headed to one of the places I was looking forward to most, Lake Bogoria. Aside from all the awesome things I had seen at Nakuru, Bogoria was really a sight to behold. Having only seen flamingos in a zoo, this was truly breathtaking to
Flamingos
Lake Bogoria see thousands upon thousands of flamingos resting on the banks of the warm lake waters. All the pictures I took really do not do it justice. Sadly, Kenya is experiencing an extremely 'wet' dry season and the lake waters have reached extremely high levels and had completely flooded all hopes of camping. Thus, Sam and I headed to a nearby hotel, if that's what you want to call it. Here was the very first time in my life I took a bath in a bucket, in freezing cold water. I don't think I have ever showered that fast in my entire life.
The final day of our little safari adventure took us to Lake Baringo, which was also flooded due to the excessive amount of rain. In fact, almost all of the lodging was completely underwater and you could just see the tops of the rooms out in the lake. However, we set up our campsite right on the new edge of the lake and had the best view of all the nighttime visitors. It really is something when you are fast asleep and are awoken in the middle of the night to find three hippos not 20 feet
from your tent.
It did rain everyday we went camping and we only missed out on camping one night, but after 3 days, I was ready for a legitimate shower. With my little scheme of hiding in the trunk, I saved myself over $200 and realized that about 20 minutes hiding in the trunk at each park was totally worth it. Even though it was extremely hot and uncomfortable. And to top off my whole adventure, I even got to cross over the equator! How cool is that?
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Grandma
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Wonderful!!!
I can't believe things you did & saw!!! You have done such a wonderful job with your blog, I almost felt like I were with you!!! Can't wait till you get home to more hear details. Stay safe & have a good time in Italy!! Wish I could be a little fly in the corner when you see your Mom & Dad. Love you so much God Bless. Grandma