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| Kilimanjaro viewed from Amboseli N.P. |
Nairobi, Kenya
We arrive in Nairobi a day before the safari is to begin. As expected, it's a little modern and a little third-world. We (read: I) didn't want to waste the day by doing nothing, so Lady Adventurer and I find ourselves on a kind-of mini-pre-safari in Nairobi National Park. And guess what? It ain't half-bad.
The park lies in the shadow of the city of Nairobi; civilization is never far away. Yet, it's huge, and it's teeming with wildlife. And wildlife is what we came to see. Thanks to our driver, Julius, we aren't disappointed.
Shaken-wife Syndrome must be a real thing here. Lady Adventurer mentions it even before we turn into the park. We later learn that the proper term in these parts is, 'African Massage.' Once we are inside the park, look out. We spot Masai giraffes, zebras, cape buffalo, warthogs, ostriches, crowned cranes, guinea fowl, and other birds galore. We see all manor of deer-like animals including impala, two kinds of gazelles, antelope, and others. I refer to them collectively as ‘four-legged creatures with horns that sometimes serve as prey.’ But (so far) not one rhino or lion. We drive around for hours, and finally, just as we begin to view one lion and a pair of black rhinos, Julius' transmission gives out. Maybe it was backing up the sides of mountains in buckets of mud, but try as he might, he can't get it in reverse. Finally, just as the rhinos on the road begin to slowly charge in our direction (yes, this really happened), Julius manages to get reverse to work. We're saved! The baboon families we see on the way out are the icing on the cake.
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| One very proud lion at Nairobi National Park |
In addition to Julius, who's a great guide, all the Kenyans we meet are wonderfully gracious and accommodating.
Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya
We meet the five other tour participants and we're on our way in two different Toyota Land Cruisers. These things are truly all-purpose vehicles made for Africa. Gate 1's rule is six or fewer in each vehicle, so seven gets split into two. We are with Susan and Shel Horowitz. Our driver and guide is Yousuf. The others, Bob, Angel, and Lily, are with Daniel in the other Land Cruiser. The drive up to the north and west of Nairobi takes several hours. Yousuf avoids some of the ungodliest parts of the thousand (okay, maybe it was closer to a hundred) mile traffic jam. Along the way, we drive along and through the Great Rift Valley.
The game drive through Lake Nakuru National Park reveals an even more spectacular jaw-dropping wild game than Nairobi National Park. In addition to what we saw yesterday, we spot hippos, waterbucks, jackals, black-faced vervet monkeys, and Rothchild giraffes. There is bird life galore, including flamingos, yellow-billed storks, cranes, ibis, and fish eagles. We get to observe some great animal interactions, including between zebras, a turf battle between a cape buffalo and a hippo, and some young lions' interest in a passing jackal.
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| Three lion cubs at Lake Nakuru NP |
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| Hungry, hungry hippos at Lake Nakuru NP |
The lodge here is cozy; we have a cabin that includes a mosquito-netted bed. The food is good, and we also watch a Masai and Zulu dance show.
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| Superb (Blue) Starlings |
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| Flamingos at Lake Nakuru |
Masai Mara National Preserve, Kenya
The drive south is a long one. But the route over the mountain range is beautiful with tranquil pastoral scenery. Even so, most of the villages that we encounter seem fairly poor.
Masai Mara is the premier national park in Kenya. Amboseli N.P. is an iconic one as well; it will be our last stop on this trip. Masai Mara makes up the northern portion of the Serengeti Plains. The park shares the Serengeti Plain with and is contiguous with Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. That will be our next gig.
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| Storms on the horizon at Masai Mara |
Our luxury tent is just that; I suppose the canvas walls are there so that we can hear the wildlife at night. And of course, we do - even lions roaring. This is not to mention also hearing everything going on in the other luxury tents. The back part of the tent has stone walls, because who wants a bathroom that is in a tent? Overall, it’s more of a cabin with some canvas walls. Of course, there's the mosquito netting around the bed once again. The resort/lodge consists of several dozen of these ‘tents’ and of course the restaurant, bar, spa, pool, etc. Even though the place is fenced in to keep out the big wildlife, birds, mongooses, and dik-diks run around. Those little dik-diks (they appear to be deer-like creatures about the size of a small dog) get in all kinds of places.
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| Our luxury tent digs |
The game drives around the park are jaw-dropping. There is wildlife everywhere. And everywhere, something is going on. Like the other pride of lions that walk around and in between our vehicle and a few others. Or watching the baboons mating (he didn't even kiss her first). Or the cheetahs laying down and relaxing only feet away from some tourists. Or the four dozen or so hippos enjoying themselves in the Sand River, a tributary to the Mara.
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| Hippos! |
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| Lilac-breasted roller, the national bird of Kenya |
Although they were all so, our final game drive in Masai Mara is special. Have I mentioned that this is the rainy season? We've had gobs of rain every day, and today is no different. The thing is, it hasn't hampered us at all. Today we start in the rain, but it quickly subsides. I believe it may make the animals more lively. We're seeing a lot of them anyway. Only one problem, however: the mud. it's everywhere, and although our Land Cruiser is better than anything else in these conditions, even it slides around through the deep mud pits. At least we don't get stuck anywhere, like a few feet away from hungry lions. During this game drive, a leopard in a tree is spotted (sorry, but pun intended). She sits in a large bird nest and evidently claimed squatting rights. This is especially exciting because it's a rare sight and it's the last of the Big Five for all of us (the others are rhinos, lions, cape buffalo, and elephants). More exciting than that is the sighting of a pair of dung beetles doing their thing with a large ball of elephant dung. You can't have more fun than this.
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| Dung beetles |
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| Leopard at Masai Mara |
A male lion is guarding his kill, a cape buffalo. We believe the actual kill was probably made by a nearby pride of females. When a sighting like this occurs, the game driver will typically radio the other ones in the area. In this case, six or eight Land Cruisers are coming and going, all trying to get close for a good vantage point. One gets a little too close and gets stuck in the thick mud, only a few feet from the lion. Another driver tries, unsuccessfully to push him out. Of course, no one can get out of their cars. He’s probably there still.
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Mr. Lion isn't hungry right now, but don't try to take his food away!
...Or get stuck nearby |
There is only one fly in the ointment here. Perhaps a better term would be ants in the ointment because our luxury tent is invaded by gobs of them as we’re sleeping. I notice them when I am doing my morning push-ups in the dark, before waking Lady A. What’s that tickling my hand, think I. Feels kind of funny, think I. Then I turn on the lights. Whoa. Time to get outta there.
As we're departing Masai Mara, we spot two female lions on the hunt. The prey is a lone zebra, evidently separated from its herd. The lions give chase and the zebra runs away, We drive close by again to see the zebra resting and hiding behind some bushes, We believe the lions will approach and chase again, but unfortunately, it's time for us to move on. What a drama though.
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| Anyone see any lions? |
Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
More drama unfolds as Yousef informs us that, "The bridge is full." We learn that that means that it's underwater. It's actually the river that's 'full.' Therefore there's a very long detour. .....11 1/2 hours and one border crossing later, we pull into Serengeti National Park. We get to our tents and crash. This time, they're not luxury tents; they're just tents. We arrive late, so we can't see very well, but we have to have a Masai Warrior accompany us to and from our tent whenever it's dark like this.
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| Our personal Masai Warrior |
This is it. This is what we came for. The Serengeti is the stuff of dreams. It's why Westerners come to Africa, fall in love with the place, and decide to stay. Every time we think things can't get any better, we find that they do.
We wake up at three-something for our 4:30 A.M. departure. The occasion? Our Serengeti hot air balloon ride. There’s another occasion as well: the anniversary of my birth. The celebration of the beginning of my eighth decade of life will certainly be a memorable one. Shel and Susan join us for the fun. We see the Milky Way as we make the long drive. The sun is beginning to rise as we all crawl into our awkward lift-off positions. There are sixteen passengers altogether. Ali is our pilot. He’s from Cappadocia, Turkey, where we did our only other hot air balloon ride.
The Serengeti is even more beautiful from the sky than it is from the ground. And it seems all the more vast and never-ending. Of course, we see plenty of wildlife from the lower altitudes: elephants, hippos, giraffes, plenty of four-legged horned creatures, and even a secretary bird. It’s all pretty unbelievable.
We’re in the sky for a little over an unbelievable hour before we land by sliding through high grass. We celebrate with champagne and then drive over to the take-off site for breakfast. Yes, I will say that it’s been a memorable one.
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| Hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti |
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| Hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti |
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| Hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti |
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| Hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti |
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| B-day celebration after the balloon ride |
But wait, there’s more. The Serengeti game drives are only beginning as George (our Tanzania guide) picks us up. It's time for a day-long (it's still early) game drive. During this and the other game drives, we are privileged to observe wonders galore:
We’re lucky to have such great drivers as well as great vehicles. Speaking of Gate 1 vehicles, something happens to our other one. A little later, a different male lion decides to pee on its tire before laying down against it. We once again wonder when this particular drama will end, since they can’t go anywhere either. Driver Samson sneaks away when Mr. Lion gets up to yawn and stretch.
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| Mr. Lion decides he has a friend |
A pride of seven or eight lions also decides to have a close encounter with several vehicles. They wander in between all of the cars, not paying much attention to their occupants. Who, incidentally, are peeing their pants.
A cheetah jumps on the back of another vehicle. It’s standing high on top of the back spare tire. This is scary because the people inside are standing and taking photos from the raised roof. Ms. Cheetah could just swipe at them, or possibly even jump inside. It doesn’t though. It looks around for a while, then jumps down.
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| Ms. Cheetah is looking for a ride |
"Get your paws off me, you beast," she roars. There can’t be a more exciting sight than lions mating. We watched the amorous couple for quite a while. Mr. Lion would lick Mrs. Lion and put his paws on her. She would often roar and push him away. But he seemed to win her over by licking her; that’s when she accepted him. It didn’t last long. But then they went at it again a little later. I’ll give him credit for that much. Shel and I are taking notes. The lion porn follows:
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| Step 1 |
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| Migrating herd of zebras |
The Great Migration is something we've seen on Shows like Nature and National Geographic. But to see it for real is one of our greatest thrills. There are several million zebras and wildebeests that cover the Serengeti plains.
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| Migrating herd of wildebeests |
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| Migrating herd of wildebeests |
The Great Migration isn’t truly migrating just yet. They’re happy where they are for now, but in a few months, they will move North to Masai Mara for better food.
And how about this for a sight? A mother lion and her three very young cubs. The cubs are nursing but also learning from Mom how to eat a wildebeest she had killed. If that doesn’t get you, nothing will.
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| Mom and her cubs |
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Mom and her cubs dining on fresh wildebeest
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Have I mentioned the mud? As noted, the rainy season is in full swing. George has a real challenge to get the Land Cruiser through the terrible roads, some of which are pure mud and others totally non-existent swamps. The other Gate 1 vehicle gets stuck, but we manage not to.
Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania
Ngorongoro Conservation Area is adjacent to Serengeti N.P., but that doesn't mean it's close by. Taking only a couple of hours to get here isn't so bad compared with all the driving we've been doing otherwise, however. The highlight of Ngorongoro is its huge caldera. The vast walled area forms a unique ecosystem. That's why it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We spot beasts of all kinds, many of which we'd seen before. But here, they're in the Garden of Eden. It's a real paradise.
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| After the picnic in Ngorongoro |
Speaking of paradise, our overnight stay is as nice an accommodation as we've had anywhere on the planet. The food is wonderful as well. We nearly mutiny the tour so that we can simply stay put.
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| Ngorongoro eden |
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| Ready for mutiny |
Amboseli National Park, Kenya
We hit the road again, and this time, it is a real road. We absolutely love Tanzania, but it's necessary to cross the border, back into Kenya. Things don't go completely smoothly as the border is crowded, and Lady A. almost loses her backpack in the bustle. Good thing we white people have the privilege of jumping to the front of the line. (We later learn that Daniel had told the authorities that we were a bunch of senior citizens that couldn’t stand for long. He wasn’t all that far off.)
We settle into our cabin and look out our front window and door. There it is, right in front of us and the field of monkeys: Mount Kilimanjaro. Like the rest of Africa, it’s the stuff of dreams. Awesome doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Like the Serengeti plains, Amboseli National Park is teeming with wildlife. We see hippos, some just outside our camp. We see all manner of water birds. Of course, the monkeys are everywhere, not to mention the baboons. The greatest thrill, however. is the elephants. The park seems to be filled with them. And many have youngsters. Their family planning here is amazing; extremely few baby elephants were born during the previous two years due to severe drought. But this year, the rains have been plentiful, and so have the babies. It's gratifying to the extreme.
We're eating at the covered outdoor breakfast area, when one of the monkeys sneaks down from the ceiling and steals a bun off the plate on the table next to us, right in front of the couple who is eating there. The monkeys can be ruthless, but their babies are cute. And our guides tell us that the baboons are the gangsters of the primate world. They'll do anything nasty to anyone, and then laugh about it.
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| Gangstas |
During one of our last game drives, we hike to the top of Observation Hill, where we can see much, or possibly all of the otherwise flat park. The sunset is spectacular, and when the clouds finally part, the sight of Kilimanjaro is magnificent.
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| Amboseli elephants |
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| Elephants posing in front of Kiliminjaro |
And that just about wraps things up. Lady Adventurer and Her Escort will remember this one for a very long time.
Some additional random notes:
-Lady A. would like for you to see a list of all the animals we were privileged to see during this trip.
Birds: Kori Bustard (near threatened), the largest flying bird. Black Bellied Bustard. White Pelican. Hamerkop. Goliath Heron. Grey Heron. Black-Headed Heron. African Jacana. Common Ostrich. Marabou Stork. Saddle Billed Stork. Lesser Flamingo (near threatened). African Spoonbill. Sacred Ibis. Hadada Ibis. Grey Crowned Crane, the official national bird of Tanzania (endangered). Bateleur Eagle (endangered). Tawny Eagle. African Fish Eagle. Secretarybird (endangered). Eastern Chanting Goshawk. Lappet Faced Vulture (vulnerable). White Bellied Go-Away-Bird. Helmeted Guinea Fowl. Yellow Necked Spurfowl. White Bora Coucal. Oxpecker. African Jacana. Blacksmith Plover. Superb Starling. Lilac Breasted Roller, the official national bird of Kenya. Grey-Headed Bushshrike. African Golden Weaver. Long-Tailed Widowbird (Weaver). Egyptian Goose.
Other Animals:
The Big Five: Lion (vulnerable), Cape Buffalo, Leopard (threatened), Savanna Elephant (endangered), and Black Rhino (critically endangered). Dik-dik, a very small antelope. Thomson’s Gazelle (near threatened), antelope. Grant’s Gazelle, antelope. Impala, antelope. Hartebeest, antelope. Topi (near threatened), antelope. Wildebeest “Gnu”, antelope. Waterbuck, large antelope. Eland, the world’s largest antelope. Black Backed Jackal. Golden Jackal. Plains Zebra (near threatened). Masai Giraffe (endangered). Rothschild Giraffe (endangered). Olive Baboon. Yellow Baboon. Black-Faced Vervet Monkey. Cheetah (vulnerable). Banded Mongoose. Spotted Hyena. African Hippopotamus (vulnerable). African Warthog. African Dung Beetle.
-A real highlight was the lions mating, with small cubs, hunting,
and roaring at night.
-Another highlight was the vast Serengeti, including the endless
herds of migrating wildebeests and zebras.
-Speaking of the Serengeti, enjoying it by hot air balloon was a
great experience, and it was grand to be able to do so on my
birthday.
-It was fascinating to watch the elephants doing their elephant
things, often with a slew of youngsters. We could watch them all day.
-In general, the food was very good. Some buffets allowed us to try
several different things, but the family-style dinners were the most
fun. Having said that, we’ll be happy to get back to home cooking.
-Some accommodations were fantastic, others not so much. The real
tents in the Serengeti were interesting. Some had bugs though, so we
were thankful for the mosquito netting. We didn’t like having to
wear repellent nearly all the time, especially in Amboseli. But
that’s sort of an Africa thing. The animals in and around some of
the camps were fun, especially the monkeys.
-Without exception, everyone we met in both Kenya and Tanzania was
accommodating, gracious, welcoming, warm, and wonderful. We loved them
all. From our experience, I would say that the people in Tanzania
were the most friendly. We also appreciate their concern for the
environment and its wildlife.
-Gate 1 did a superb job, and specifically, we are very thankful to
our guides, Daniel, Yousuf, George, and Sampson. They all went above
and beyond in order to make our travel safe, fun, and generally
awesome.
-Lady Adventurer and Her Faithful Escort had a great time enjoying our adventure with our new
friends, Susan and Shel Horowitz. We couldn’t have had better
travel companions.
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| Our group at the farewell dinner |
