Kenya
no images were found
no images were found
Alice is a fantastic woman lots of fun and she tried to teach me Swahili and Kukuyu. I am afraid I stuck to Swahili but I learnt quite a lot in a short time. I loved the language excuse spelling but akuna matata= no problem! Alice is very religious and goes to church for the whole day and even occasionally sang and danced throughout the night
The Ark is an amazing place which had a viewing platform and a hide so that we could see the animlas at a Waterhole/ Salt lick. We saw Elephants, Hyena and Buffalo eating at the salt lick. It was absolutely fascinating to watch a bit like going to the movies. We spent hours just watching the elephants mooching around and interacting with each other and watching the baby elephants who were dwarfed by the mothers. We were so close to the animals that it felt like we were among them. It was an incredible experience.
Lake Naguru was beautiful full of brilliant bird life and lovely flamingos which I have always wanted to photograph. We also saw hippos, rhinos, pelicans as well as giraffes, elephants, rhinos both black and white.
Tom nearly had a nasty awakening while he was having an afternoon nap in the luxurious tents by the Lakeside. A large male baboon wandered towards his tent while we watched fascinated. Jeff had the presence of mind to shout a warning and wake Tom just before the Baboon entered the tent.
If faced with any wild animal. You back away slowly. If you run or try and climb a tree you become prey. By backing away slowly you acknowledge that the other animal is king but that you are not afraid and if push comes to shove you will fight. We had the proof of this advice when the bus was mock charged by an elephant and when the bus reversed he lost interest.
We were smack bang in the middle of the Masai Mara in a tented camp so we could be visited at any point by lions, elephants, buffalo or any manner of animal. Animals see a tent as one great big animal so they do not attack tents but if you are out at night you could be fair game hence the Masai guarded us with their spears and we could not go anywhere without our colourful guides in their red and purple blankets. Tom’s niece Sophie and her boyfriend Jamie run Naibor a fantastic very exclusive tented camp.
We ate our breakfast at the side of the river watching the hippos and crocodiles bask and play in the early morning sun and in the evenings we would have a nice glass of South African wine listening to the bird song and the Hippos loud grunts. We got up at the crack of dawn every morning to catch the glorious sunrises and also because it is the time the animals are most active and likely to be seen by us.
This is a time when the Wildebeest from Tanzania and Kenya all migrate together for better pastures and we travelled to the river to try and see a crossing which is apparently a magnificent sight to see. We did not manage to see one although at one point it seemed that it was about to happen when an enormous group of Wildebeest were gathering and drinking at the river but they were scared off by a flock of geese. The migration is feeding time for the predators like the crocodiles that lie in wait for the wildebeest in the rivers while on the land the lions, cheetahs and leopards feast on the plentiful wildebeest. Watching a family of lions eating their kill was both grotesque and fascinating.
We also visited a Masai Village where the young men showed us the famous Masai jumping. Jeff, Joanna and I tried it but were no match for them!!
Our final days were spent in a superb villa near Mombasa with its own swimming pool and enormous gardens leading to the beach. We had a bedroom and bathroom each. The sea was a brilliant green blue and crystal clear with a lovely sandy beach. We had our own staff that cooked and cleaned for us. The fisherman came daily to sell his catch and we lived the life reading books, Windsurfing (Joanna and I), Kite Surfing (Tom and Jeff) and totally relaxing. Spoilt or what?
