Globus Kenya & Tanzania: The Safari Experience - Lake Nakuru to Maasai Mara - A Long Drive...Again
We departed Lake Nakuru this morning. As we left, a troop of baboons came to bid us farewell.
We also bid farewell to the pelicans.
We started climbing to the top of the edge of the Great Rift Valley, ultimately passing 9,400 feet above sea level before coming back down to around 6,000 feet.
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| The lush, fertile soil was used for farming |
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| We made a couple of comfort and shopping stops along the way |
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| Traffic in some of the towns was nuts |
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| Candelabra trees - euphorbia |
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| A little top-heavy |
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| Lots of vast, open space |
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| Getting drier, so the shift was from crops to livestock |
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| Towns have market days - this one was a livestock day, and it was packed |
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| Residents come to buy sheep, goats, cows, and more |
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| A Maasai structure on the left, built from clay, hay, and cow dung |
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| At the gate to the national reserve, we were accosted by Maasai women selling their wares |
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| They didn't take "no thank you" easily |
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| In the Maasai Mara National Reserve |
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| Our first sighting of Maasai Giraffe |
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| Topi antelope |
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| The Maasai Mara is large, at around 580 square miles |
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| Our home for the next two nights |
One interesting aspect of this camp is that they run on a generator. To be more environmental, they kill the power from 4:00 - 6:00 every afternoon when everyone is out on game drives. They also cut it from midnight - 4:00 in the morning every night. But...we have one guest with a CPAP, so they will be leaving the power on tonight. Yeah, our cellhones will charge!
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| We have a tent again, but this one is much nicer with power and lighting |
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| They pull a mosquito net around the bed at night, although we haven't seen any mosquitoes |
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| A nice desk and chair |
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| A dressing area with a mirror, coffee maker, and fridge |
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| The walk-in shower |
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| Two sinks and a toilet room |
At 4:00, we left for a game drive.
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| Safari Queen |
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| Wildebeest |
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| Zebra and gazelle |
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| Iconic umbrella thorn acacia trees |
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| Looking off toward Tanzania |
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| We found a sleeping hyena |
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| She had friends who were a little more shy |
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| Topi |
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| Zebras and a jackal |
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| A cheetah, enjoying a meal |
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| Time to stretch |
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| A quick look around |
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| Then, back at it |
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| A jackal seemed interested in any leftovers |
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| The cheetah didn't seem interested in sharing |
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| The jackal got bolder |
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| The cheetah showed who's boss |
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| And then, it just walked away, leaving the jackal some scraps |
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| Just a cat, doing cat things like cleaning its paws |
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| A pair of ostrich |
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| Next up was a pair of snoozing lions |
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| Her |
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| Him |
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| Both were out cold, most likely after a big meal or mating |
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| Neither of them stirred, even with about ten safari vehicles nearby |
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| The definition of sleeping hard |
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| The sun was setting |
Our two-hour game drive turned into more than three hours, and we got back at 7:15. We got back too late for the promised Maasai dance show, but they performed a dance for us when we got back.
We ate a quick dinner and headed to the tent. As we were preparing to go to bed, the wind started whipping through the trees. Then, things started falling from the trees and hitting the structural parts of our tent. It sounded like baseballs hitting solid wood. It was seriously loud. We're hoping that it calms down so we can sleep tonight.
It was a good day. With the lion sighting, we've now seen four of the Big Five game - lion, cape buffalo, rhino, and elephant, once again, leaving us with only the leopard unseen. Perhaps tomorrow, we'll get lucky. If not, we'll fail again as this is the last place where we could see leopards on this journey.
Tomorrow, we'll have three game drives, including a very special one very early in the morning. We have to be ready to go at 5:00 in the morning, so the alarm will sound at 4:30. It will be a long and hopefully memorable day.
