Blogs from Kenya, Africa - page 7

We woke to a very heavy dew in our national park campsite and slowly got going. We saw many more buffalo and Zebra as well as a variety of birds on our way through the park but unfortunately no Black Rhino! We did stop at a very impressive view point overlooking the lake and saw approximately 1000 baboon along the way. Outside the park we made a critical stop to buy the boys some much promised Masai knives, to say they were excited at their purchases would be an under-statement. We then made our way down toward lake Naivasha again to stay on the lake shore. We had a very relaxed afternoon (except for spending two hours fixing the handbrake and getting very dirty). We played cards, looked for crocs, the boys did some excellent pictures ... read more

19thFeb – maasai village - Nairobi A very lazy start for us with breakfast at 8am and leaving the camp at 8:45 after saying goodbye to Peter, Patrick and the others. We also gave one of the older villagers a lift to a local town to save him a long walk. Our first stop for the day was a Maasai village where Raphael, the son of the chief, greeted us and showed us around. First we were shown a couple of traditional items – one was a lion’s head skin from the days when to get married a man had to go and kill a lion. If he wanted to get married a second or third time he had to go and kill 2 or 3 lions. This no longer happens and instead he pays a ... read more

Up a bit earlier today and leaving camp with Wilson at 6:50am to get to the park gates soon after 7am for a full day in the Mara. We spent much of the morning driving to and fro across the Mara following sightings of a leopard. The first we missed so had a brief detour to the river where we saw a baby crocodile and the stone marking the boundary with Tanzania (we didn’t stop for a photo as leopard!) - then shot off back to the other side of the Mara where a leopard had recently made a kill (wild dog Simba said). We passed lots of vans going the other way so were a bit worried it would have gone but there was still one van there who pointed out to us the bush ... read more

Slept very well, up & ready to leave for the Maasai Mara at 7:30am with a packed lunch and joined by Wilson who was going to help Simba find us a leopard! On the way out of camp we passed a dik-dik and once in the park we saw: Black rhino Elephants (incl. more babies) Cheetahs (a single one in the grass then a group of 5 in the shade under a tree) Vultures Great bustard Secretary bird Shrike Warthogs Ostrich Baboons Buffalo Impalla Topi Gazelles (Grant’s & Thompson’s) Hartebeest Hippos Lilac-breasted roller Maasi giraffe Vervet monkey Although I think Chavaunne spotted more than out two guides! Lunch was eaten under the shade of an acacia tree keeping a close eye on a nearby herd of elephants in case they decided to come our way! ... read more

Packed up bags and tent and ready to leave by 8am for the long drive down to the Masai Mara. Moses had to leave us today to take another tour group to Meru National Park (as he knows it best) so on route we met up with Simba and transferred our bags to his van before saying goodbye to and thank you to Moses. We stopped for lunch and a loo break by a curio shop where we bought more souvenirs before heading down to Wajee Mara Camp not far outside the Masai Mara gates. We met Patrick, the camp manager just off the main road & drove with him down the very rough & bumpy track to the camp. It was a beautiful campsite nestled among trees. We also met Peter there & were given ... read more