The Kenya trip was planned with three days at MasaiMara, two days at Nakuru and three days at Amboseli. We left Uganda from Kihihi airport early morning for next destination Ol Seki airstrip in MasaMara. The flight is a six-seater, apart from we two, there are four more passengers flying to Mara airstrip, we will get down at Ol Seki. We are flying over Lake Victoria under cloudy skies, stopped at Kisumu for immigration entry, got Kenya entry stamp and then proceeded to the same flight. Kisumu is a nice small airport, we were only six tourists, everything was done in 10 minutes.
Arrived Porini Cheetah Camp at 3pm. Ben and Jackson were the two Masai people who drove us from Ol Seki airstrip to the camp Ol Kinyei. On our way to camp we saw Nempiri, the lioness. We also saw giraffe, zebra, impala, gazelle, eland, topi and different species of birds. Wildebeests were everywhere, it’s the main food source for lions and other predators.
On our arrival at the camp, John the manager briefed us about the camp and its rules. We were assigned to cabin number 2. After lunch we went for game drive when we saw two beautiful lion cubs, only three months old with their mother Nempiri. Read more
Next day we started the game drive at 6am with packed breakfast. Around 6:45am we found the lion pride just hunted down a wildebeest; all members of the pride had their own portion. Hyenas and jackals were painfully watching the feast for their turn. Then we turned to another area of the conservancy where Cheetahs or leopards could be seen. We saw a piece of impala probably hunted down by a leopard but hyenas and vultures were feasting on it when we arrived. The landscape changed, it was absolutely flat and animals could be seen from any direction. Zebra, giraffe, gazelle, impalas are everywhere. We had our breakfast at 9am in the open grassland and saw elephants from a distance. We were at the bank of a small river around 11am when we saw hippos. Came back for lunch at the camp, had an hour rest and then went for evening game drive at 4pm. Now we see huge herd of elephants. We also saw the big male Lion with his pride, got some good pictures of his face, while yawning. Then we went to a hilly area around 6:15pm where we had some drinks and snacks while watching the sunset. Came back around 6:40 pm, took showers and had dinner at 7pm. We met people from Minneapolis and Essex in England who were members of a photography club and headed for Bwindi.
Next day, we went for MasaiMara Reserve after breakfast at 7am. It was about one hour drive. We had few Masai villages on our way, schools where little kids were going to. We arrived the reserve around 8:30am, saw zebras, giraffes and then found an elusive cheetah walking through long grass. It was a bit far and with many vehicles we could not get good pictures. We saw hippos and crocodiles on the river, also witnessed the path followed by wildebeest for the migration. About 3 million wildebeest migrates in mid-July through mid-August from Serengeti to MasaiMara and about 250,000 die or killed by crocodiles or lions.
Left Ol Kinyei conservancy next day on our way to Nakuru lake. Here we were passing through great rift valley. Nakuru means whirling dust in Masai, Paul was our driver who has a good knowledge of the animals and was briefing about Nakuru. Water of Nakuru is alkaline while another lake Naivasha is sweet water. He also explained how the conservancies are formed, different challenges for the establishment including cost of lands, other expenses etc.
We arrived at 3pm at the lodge at Nakuru and right away went for lunch, we were late but the lodge left it open for us. Then we went for evening game drive at 4pm, saw pelicans, flamingos, buffalo and lions.
Next day morning went for the drive at 6am, saw Rhinos, giraffes Rothschild variety. It has white legs from the knee looking like a sock on foot. Black Rhinos are critically endangered species; however, their numbers are increasing recently in Kenya due to proper conservation efforts. There is an airstrip in the forest for helping sick animals.
Here we saw leopard next day evening game drive. The guide cum driver Paul took us on a different route where we found the leopard stalking on impalas. However, impalas smelled the danger and moved away. The leopard gave up and walked away towards the dense bush.
Left the beautiful Lodge at 7am and drove to Amboseli camp. We took a break for 30 minutes at a view point for the rift valley. It was at an elevation with few handicraft shops.
Arrived Amboseli camp in the afternoon 3:25pm, the traffic was really bad, Paul took us through remote villages avoiding highway jam. We went for evening game drive after late lunch. At first, we went to a local Masai village, Manyatta. They greeted us with their traditional dance. The ladies had beautiful costumes with traditional dresses, gents had typical costumes on their feet. They mainly live on cows, also do little farming of cabbage, the main problem with farming is the lack of water. Saw elephants drinking water from a small reservoir made for animals. Climbed a watchtower to watch animals drink water.
Next day we started early morning for the game drive. Found cheetah brothers looking for food. They went up to a mound and looked around for gazelles or other animals.
We started next day at 6:30am for the whole day game drive. We took a route to follow lion’s footprints. We saw dikdik, grant gazelle, impalas, giraffes, zebras on our way. Elephant name Umoja about 36 years old appeared in National Geography. Saw him on eating on high tree leaves during our whole day game drive. Amazing experience with Umoja when at 9:30am he came to our car, pat the engine bonnet with his trunk and went away to cross the dry river. Went for the evening game drive at 4:30 pm, saw Kudu and a big owl. The guides Wilson and Daniel looked for lions by tracking their foot prints, it was interesting to watch how they identify foot prints of different animals. Came back at 7, took showers and enjoyed the fireplace. Left the camp next day morning for our flight back home from Nairobi airport.
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