On the Road Again – A Safari is Not Just a Journey by Another Name

African safaris don’t lend themselves to communication with the rest of the world, especially if you stay in tent camps in the Maasai Mara (Kenyan part of the Serengeti Plain).  So today Wednesday, February 8, I begin this update from the comfort of our small hotel in Istanbul as it rains and snows outside.

We spent Sunday, January 29 in Kakamega after saying goodbye to the Watafutaji on Saturday.  Here’s what Sandy and I saw while Maureen visited teh Kakamega Friends orphanage.

White-browed robin chat

On Monday, January 30 we hopped on the bus and began our safari with a six-hour ride to Naivasha.  We were treated with the usual sights of many vendors along the roadside.

We met our guide and friend David Gakule at the Kobil gas station just outside town.  After a quick transfer from bus to safari van, and a quick ride to the Elsemere lodge on Lake Naivasha, we were on a boat ride on the lake by about 4.  We saw hippos, fish eagles, kingfishers, plus floating islands of water hyacinth and papyrus.

  

Elsamere lodge was one of the homes of Joy Adamson (Born Free) in Kenya.  She was an impressive lady, not only because of her wildlife rehabilitation but also because of her talents as a painter.

Tuesday, January 31 started with thousands of lesser flamingos at a small salt lake near Naivasha, then a few giraffes nearby followed by miles and miles of kilometers and kilometers through Narok to the Sadia tent camp next to the southeast gate of the Maasi Mara national game reserve.

Time for a light lunch along the road 

 D'Arnauld's Barbets

 Dust Bin "Dusty"

 Superb Starling

 Sadai Tent Camp

We were on our first “game drive” in the reserve by 4:30.  An unbelievable number and variety of animals! This is the most kinds we have ever seen in one drive and their health seems better than ever too. The “short rains” in November and December were plentiful and it shows.

 Banded Mongoose

 Helmeted Guineafowl

 Dik Dik

 Secretary Bird on nest

 Maasai Giraffe

 Cape Buffalo

Wednesday, February 1 was a day for both a morning and an afternoon game drive.  Again, animals were plentiful. 

On Thursday, February 2 we left the camp at 7 AM or so and did not return until about 6:30 pm.  We saw hippos and crocks at the Sand River and stepped into Tanzania on the other side of the Mara River just a few hundred meters away to collect rocks, photos, and bragging rights.

On Friday, February 3 Maureen slept in (she would not get real sleep until she was back in the US some 40 hours later) while Sandy and I took a last predawn game drive (we would sleep in Istanbul).  The sunrise in the clear dawn air was exhilarating.  During the drive we came across many kinds of animals we had seen previously but we were especially pleased to get clear close up views of jackals, warthogs, hippos, ostriches, an unusual hornbill (name recorded but not available now) and a Go Away bird.  After that, it was a long ride to Nairobi, dinner at the Carnivore Restaurant, and waiting in the airport for our Turkish Airlines flight out of Africa.