Kenya Piorini Rhino Camp Mesmerizing day

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Day 4: Chimps. White and Black Rhinos and Lions.

Began with the sunrise of Mount Kenya. Perfectly positioned, we were treated to the sunrise slowly materializing until all of its glory. We took off from there and went to a watering station area and came across a pride of Lions . Our driver Benjamin followed along the plain as they loped off. The Lions were irritated,. One had blood on its face. They fed well over the last night.

A picnic breakfast later in a beautiful scenic area by a river allowed me to capture amazing shots of the tamer wildlife , of birds in a tranquil setting..After eating away at all the food we were interrupted by a German tourist that said he had a permit to be where we are and that we should go as soon as possible because it was his space! Whaaaaat!! I''m'on vacation, but the Maasai were gracious and we left for better pastures..

To our surprise, we did not know that we were going to a Ol Pejeta Chimpanzee Conservatory established by Jane Goodall. We were lucky that it was a quiet day and were toured by sanctuary guide, who escorted us throughout the huge enclosure.We were introduced to a number of Chimps that were rescued and are now living in luxury for the rest of their lives.. It was an amazing pristine , well kept environment that afforded the Chimps a stress free life. We meandered through areas that were cordoned off into two separate areas. As we walked, I noticed a cage out in the open and asked why the cage was out in the open with no inhabitants. The inhabitants were us, if a Chimpanzee or more escaped it would be our protection against the Chimps. Chimps are bigger than I thought and can kill a human with the swipe of an arm. we needed protection! Fortunately the areas are well fenced, but there have been instances in the past that the smart Chimps are able to figure out escapes and will burrow under fences or over branches or watch how a guard closes a gate, and will learn how to unlatch it.Now the protocol is for a 2 guard system to double check the procedure to ensure no errors on coming and going. They look so innocent. But wily.

After hamming it up with bones and our guide, the others were enrolling into a sponsorship program to adopt some Chimps for a year. Yes I did too.

Afterwords we headed of to a Rhino enclosure to see Baraka. A blind Rhino who is the ward of a conservancy. He was out in the pasture and had to be brought in so we could feed him and be near him. I was looking with apprehension at getting close to this behemoth, but he was serine and manageable. Even the wife was jittery at first , but soon braved the day and reluctantly petted and fed Baraka. The skin is tough , yet soft in a way. Its hard to explain. You need to touch an elephant to get the gist of the feeling.. We fed him alfalfa which was his preferred snack. Eating blind is not a problem. As he nibbled up the alfalfa, I noticed that the gentleness gave me courage to touchy feely his horns and his face in different areas. He snorted in pleasure. Wow. After all, when am I going to get another chance to dance around a Rhinos face with my hands without getting them chewed up or decapitated!!

A few minutes after we left, we came across a comical Rhino that seemed to make faces at us. (Actually me) The photos turned out to be precious.Once we got back to a safe area, I asked the Maasai to take us for another walk. I was getting tired of the Land Rover and want to walk in the savanna, so off we went again and this time walked on for a few kilometers. We were treated to a jumping up contest , where they were trying to see who could jump the highest. What I noticed is sometimes they close their eyes as they jump, concentrating on the action as if they are lost into themselves. They jump and seem to be transported to another dimension. I love the visual and can watch all day, seeing them get into it.

Getting close to sunset we climbed an area called Leopard Hill where we sat and watched the sunset while drinking beer while saying good-bye to the day.

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