We had a short drive on Saturday (Nov 28) morning from Samburu to the
We arrived at the hotel which sits on a sprawling 120 acre property, which exists inside a much larger animal reserve and at the base of the mountain. The resort room is probably up there as one of the nicest hotel rooms we have ever stayed in, and Christine and I have been in a lot of hotels. The service was top notch and the amenities endless. We had options to take out mountain bikes, ride horses, golf, play all sorts of racquet sports, pools, etc. The grounds themselves were beautiful and they even had a couple of resident dogs that you could take out for a walk if you wanted some company. (Right - Our incredibly deluxe room).
After an incredible buffet lunch Christine and I decided to try our hand at the hedge maze they had on the property. It only took us about 15 minutes to get through it, but apparently some people can spend more than an hour in it. We never did run into a dead end, but when we looked at the map afterwards it looked like there was quite a few. After the maze we decided to visit an animal orphanage that sat in the game park just outside the Hotel grounds. The orphanage was designed to take in abandoned animals and nurse them until they could be set into the wild. It also had the responsibility of managing some animal restoration projects. (Left - In the hedge maze)
The orphanage had a large variety of animals, and one of the staff spent a couple of hours showing us around. He introduced us to an antelope type called a Bongo, which is a species that is almost extinct. The orphanage is trying to bolster their numbers and bring them back from the brink. A number have been sent abroad and they have a sizeable population growing back on the mountain. They have beautiful striped colouring and at one point in time were more sought out for hunting than the Big 5. We also had an opportunity to feed a couple of different types of monkeys as they crawled all over us. There little hands and the way they used their tales to hold on felt a bit weird, but it was fun. We met a giant tortoise who is more than 150 years old, so he just passed into middle age. He was aptly named Speedy and weighed in at 400 pounds. We also got a chance to toss some corn at some pigmy hippos who looked exactly like a hippo but about 1/5 the size. Even so, they still had the massive teeth. (Right - Hovan feeding a monkey).
The highlight of the orphanage was most definitely the cheetah pen, where they held three full grown cheetahs. Apparently Cheetahs are the rarest of the cats in 
were allowed into the pen to pet them while they were busy eating their food. We were told as long as they had food and we didn’t step on their tail we would be fine to do so. That still didn’t alleviate Christine’s apprehension, but I just wanted to give them a big hug. The cheetah fur is so incredibly soft that you would be hard pressed to find a plush toy that feels nicer. (Left, Right - Hovan and I petting a hungry cheetah).
In the evening, when we were about to leave for dinner I read that there was a dress code, similar to the Empress Hotel. We were supposed to have on nice shoes and a collared shirt and pants. Unfortunately we didn’t know to bring some nice clothes with us, so the best I could manage was sandals, jeans, and a nice t-shirt. Christine really couldn’t muster much better. I wasn’t sure if we would be denied access to the dining room, but they seemed unconcerned by both our appearances. After a sumptuous plated 4 course dinner we returned to our hotel room just as someone was finishing up lighting a fire in the fire place for us. It was a wonderful end to a very pleasant day.
The next day we were off to our second park,
At one point we got a flat tire and so pulled over to swap it for another. While we were outside a few vendors tried to sell us some stuff, but they were unsuccessful. Then a small group of children came up to us to watch us. I don’t think a lot of white people stop near there homes and they seemed pretty excited. One little girl kept looking at me and laughing and laughing. I would smile and she would laugh, I would say hello and she would laugh, I would look in her direction or away from her and she would laugh. I am guessing it was the beard she was laughing at, or at least I hope she wasn’t just laughing at me, but it was pretty funny. Then we were on our way once more.
Once again we stayed in a high quality lodge in Lake Nakuru and the whole lodge experience is so much fancier than anything we have done up until this point on our trip that it feels like we are living in supreme luxury, and in point of fact, we are.
While we were relaxing on the bed after lunch and waiting for our game drive we had a special visitor. We had left the door open a crack for air flow. I looked up as the door swung fully open and thought it was a strong gust of wind. There in the doorway was a large baboon, staring right at me with the look of a guilty child on his face. He grabbed our basket that had tea and coffee, etc. in it and took off. I started chasing him and yelling at him. As he got to the end of the lodges he turned around and looked at me. I could see the plastic package of a bright blue sugar packet sticking half way out of his mouth. He dropped the empty basket and scrambled off into the trees. It was quite a sight and gave Christine and I a good afternoon laugh. (Right - the flamingos of Lake Nakuru).
We enjoyed only one game drive in
On our drive through thepark we came across a lot of new wildlife not seen in Samburu. We discovered a large herd of buffalo, and though quite large and not to be messed with they look dorky. They have these horns that go over their head like a scull cap and make them look really dumb. We also came across several rhinoceros, and they are a sight to see. We managed to spot the white rhino, which is the larger of the two. They looked like they were almost as big as the van and their horns looked very large and nasty. They are an incredible specimen and a rare one given all the poaching. I think anyone making a trip to Nakuru will see the white ones, but we were unable to see the shyer and even rarer black rhino. The white rhino grazes out in the open grass, but the black rhino stays in the forest and eats off the tree shoots. We did manage to get very very close to two separate white rhinos along the drive, and thankfully neither of them charged at us. The day also produced our first viewing of hyenas, and they look as unpleasant as their reputation indicates. We also got to see a couple more lions and this time one of them had a massive mane and looked like he was right out national geographic. We couldn’t help but think of good old Aslan. We didn’t manage to get super close, but that’s what the binoculars are for. (Left - Zebra, Rhino & Antelope).
Near the end of the day we were fortunate enough to spot the elusive leopard. He was reclining up in a tree and incredibly difficult to see. The leopard is the shyest cat and they have great camouflage skills. Apparently it is something not too often seen, despite being the most populous cat in
Now for those of you keeping count, between Samburu and Nakuru we were actually able to see all of the Big 5 and they were as impressive as one would expect. On our way back to the lodge Ian took a detour just for some variety and he brought into view of a hippo that had recently come out of the water. It was a large, blubbery mass, but he moved very fast across the ground to get where he wanted to graze. The other animals around him were apparently quite afraid and despite their almost comic appearance, they are incredibly dangerous. Christine seemed to have some special affection for the hippo, so we asked Ian to keep an eye out for more. The evening was quite pleasant and we were treated to a dance from the local tribe before enjoying dinner and heading off to bed. (Right - Hippo down by the lakes edge).
On Monday morning we started a fairly long drive to the Masaii Mara. Though it is not the largest park in
When we arrived at the park we found we were staying in yet another fancy lodge, but this time in tents. I was told at the outset that they were luxury tents, but after all the camping we did it was hard for us to believe that tenting could really be fancy. Boy were we wrong. The lodge upgraded us to the Presidential Suite tent, which seemed a bit humorous, but we were rolling with it. The tent turned out to have gorgeous wooden flooring, glass doors, two desks, a comfortable sitting area, a giant king size bed and an enormous bathroom with two sinks, marble and tile floors. The balcony allowed us to recline comfortably in the middle of the forest with great privacy and seclusion. It truly was luxury camping. (Right - Our deluxe tent).
Our first game drive in the afternoon was a wonderful experience, as we managed to spot all of the Big 5 once again. Apparently some people have been here for 10 years and never seen a leopard or maybe even a rhino. The Masaii Mara is incredibly popular, so even in low season there were a lot of vans driving around, and they would radio each other to tell if something important was spotted, so this increased the chances of seeing popular animals. (Left - Elephant and Baby).
When the radio told of a leopard pretty much every vehicle in the park dashed in that direction. We managed to see our second leopard, but again the sun was at his back and we couldn’t get a good picture. He climbed to the very top of the tree, almost as though showing off for the crowd. After climbing down he slipped into the denser brush, never to be seen again. What was really funny was the gathering of about 25 vans at the base of the tree to watch him. Then all of a sudden there was this huge urgency of movement as every van rushed off. We asked Ian what the deal was and apparently there is a $150 US fine for anyone caught off the road and on the grass, which almost every vehicle was.
Above - Leopard leaping down a tree
Later on in the afternoon we were fortunate to see a full maned lion and his lioness just a few feet off the side of the road. They were off from the pride to mate, and we were treated to a bit of voyeurism of the act. We were actually able to see them consummate their relationship but it happened so fast Christine couldn’t even get the camera ready in time to snap a picture. I thought it unwise to tell a huge, lethal, killing machine with massive claws and even bigger teeth that he was a little on the “quick” side and not really a tender and thoughtful lover. I kept those thoughts to myself. (Right - Lion relaxing in the evening sun).
Later in the afternoon we were treated with a sighting of our very first wild cheetah. Despite being known as the fastest animal on earth it was just lounging around like all the big cats seem to do most of the time. Shortly after seeing the cheetah we spotted a pair of the very elusive black rhino’s, hanging out near the edge of a small forested area. The elephants and buffalo are abundant through out the park and very easy to spot. We were also treated to large herds of hartebeest, topi, zebra and many other grazers. (Left - Pregnant Cheetah).
The next day started off well as we spotted a giant male lion sitting only a few feet from the road. He had a huge golden mane and looked as majestic as the king of the jungle should. Later in the day we spotted a pride of lions that had 9 cubs, 4 females and strangely 3 males. The males were spaced out about 80-100 metres from each other, so maybe the outside two were looking for an opportunity to take over. The cubs were so adorable and tiny. There were two batches and 5 of them were a bit larger and the other 4 were incredibly small. They were all very playful with each other and the females, though the moms didn’t seem to move a lot. The little ones kept crawling all over, suckling and enjoying the sunshine. We had them all to ourselves for about 20 minutes before Ian radioed it in to the other drivers. (Right - Lioness & Cubs).
We got to see a group of ostrich start running across the savanna and are they ever ungainly looking birds, especially in motion, but they can run really fast. We were also treated to the largest elephant herd we have ever seen. I could count 35 elephants that were visible and judging by the number of separate sections in the forest that were shaking violently, there must have been more than 40. They included lots of playful little ones, plenty of watchful moms, and a few humungous males that towered above all the rest. (Left - Ostrich)
At one point we got another flat tire and so we had to get out of the van to help Ian swap it over. He asked if we were nervous about being out of the vehicle, but we both felt totally comfortable. This was of course after having a quick scan for snakes. We did know that we had stopped only a couple of hundred feet from some lions, but were still nonplussed.
That night, after dinner, we were treated to a dancing and singing performance of the Masaii warriors. They put on a nice little show and we were amazed at how high they can actually jump. If you watch a movie called the “Ghost and the Darkness” it is about
On Wednesday Ian treated us to an all day game drive where he took us to the far side of the park. We requested of him to try and let us get closer to hippos, see a baby giraffe and spot another leopard. We were driving for not more than 10 minutes when he found us a pair of cheetahs, relaxing in the shade and looking for some possible prey. About 20 minutes later he found us another cheetah in an open field. Judging from her distended belly, she was very much pregnant. (Right - Baby Giraffe).We drove on for many hours and passed through field after field that was filled with thousands and thousands of grazers. The zebra and topi seemed to cluster together so that the zebra can take advantage of the topi’s keener senses. The buffalo and gazelle roam in the same group as well, but the topi try to stay away from the wildebeest, which is a tasty draw for predators.
At one point we came across a reclining lioness in a bit of shrub smack dab in the middle of a field. Hundreds of grazers were walking her way, and normally she would be spotted as she did not have much cover. We changed that by interposing the van between her and the other animals, and she could definitely sense it. You could see her coil herself up, ready to chase the nearest prey when it came close enough. Sadly the wind shifted and they caught her sent to keep clear of her bush. So instead of hunting she settled on an afternoon snooze. (Left - View of the fields).
In the early afternoon Ian spotted a leopard in a tree, and as soon as we got right underneath the tree it started to move. It went higher for a second, thought better of it and then dropped out of the tree. After staring at us from the bushes for a few seconds it took off, leaving us once again without a good picture.
Later on we spotted a large herd of giraffe, including some cute babies. Then to the river for a viewing of about 50 hippos as they lazed on the beach. A number of them were underwater and kept reappearing to show only their head, take a breath and disappear below. Apparently they can hold their breath for up to 4 minutes. They shared the river with the biggest crocodiles that we had seen to date. (Right - Hippos).
We enjoyed a picnic lunch in a field with all sorts of animals, and under the shade of an acacia tree. The view allowed us to look into nearby
We had a pleasant and uneventful evening and a safe ride the next day back to
Cheers to one and all,
Christine and Hovan
Great Pictures!! I love the picture of the hippos. They may be incredible dangerous animals, but something about them makes me like them. Maybe it's all those hours playing hungry hippos as a kid...
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