Aberdare

We stayed at a supposedly treetop hotel called The Ark. Its design was nautical, a shout-out to Noah's Ark, with rooms that were very much like cabins on a boat. The back of the hotel overlooked a waterhole which was frequented by elephants, hyenas and others. It was a fantastic sight to see a herd of elephants playing in the water.

Each room had a bell alarm system which rang whenever there were visitors, the number of buzzes indicated which type of animal, like 3 buzzes would be a leopard. They even provided extra blankets for wrapping so the guests could just run out to the viewing rooms in the middle of the night whenever there were interesting visitors. Unfortunately we weren't woken up because nothing interesting came along during that one night we stayed.

The Ark & the waterhole

The elephants

And the surprises kept on coming. Our last excursion was a walk inside the country club to see the giraffes. It was truly a fabulous end to a memorable trip.

Scenes

Kenya was full of surprises and contrasts. Everything was so new, so different, made us forget about the stresses of our mundane lives. We came to realise the real beauty was the wilderness, the animals. That you could be driving along seemingly empty bushes then you turned a corner and there was a herd of zebras. We felt so small, so insignificant, yet so privileged at being a part of the wonderment that is nature.

It's all part of the experience.

Living conditions were basic for most Kenyans, most in huts of concrete walls and tin roofs and very small windows. It must be stifling hot in the heat. Roads were full of potholes, sometimes entire sections of the tarmac had fallen away. Toilets were holes-in-the-ground but most times there was paper. But it's everyday life. People were poorer in the countryside, the cars more beat up, most people walked, some had donkey carts. Children and women in traditional dress came up to the van to beg or sell souvenirs.

We drove by towns but mostly stopped at roadside souvenir stops. Not so many opportunities to explore the towns, except once we stopped at a gas station and we had a few precious minutes. But the Kenyan people were not keen on being photographed so we had to be kinda sneaky.

In total between the two of us we took 27 rolls of film, close to 1,000 pictures in total. Here's a selection of the rest, scenery, roadside snaps, people, signs. And the "You are Now Crossing the Equator" sign. We even got a certificate.

On the road — scenery

Working animals

People, buildings, signs

The call of the wild

In the end we come back to the animals.

Here's what we saw: giraffe, elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, servor cat, baboon, monkey, zebra, rhino, wilderbeest, topi, gazelle, impala, hartbeest, eland, waterbuck, bushbuck, hyena, jackel, warthog, wild pig, mongoose, vulture, eagle, malibu, flamingo, pelican, ostrich, camel.

Nakuru - Baboon fight

Here's another experience we never expected to see. Baboons fighting. Right in front of us.

The 2 baboons have this other one cornered and partially down the face of the cliff

Snarling match between the remaining two, with the one on the left eventually winning

Aberdare

From the central lakes we made our way via Thomson's Falls to the Aberdare Country Club. Set in surroundings that is reminiscent of a colonial club it had dark mahogany bars, a golf course, high teas and just the whiff of the Empire long gone. Warthogs, gazelles and impalas roamed freely on the grounds.

The Aberdare Game Reserve was very different from the Masai Mara. While the Mara was mostly flat plains, Aberdare was like a rain forest with dense undergrowth and trees. The soil was rich clay, so the overall effect was a red tinge on everything. So the types of animals found there were different.

Baboon and monkey

Bushbuck and waterbuck, don't remember which is which

Warthogs

We saw so many buffalos we were pretty sick of them at the end

Nakuru

Another long bumpy ride from the Mara and we arrived at Lake Nakuru, one of a series of salt water lakes which from above seemed to be lined with pink shores. Pink from flamingos and pelicans in the thousands. Around the lake were dense bush where other animals could be found - monkeys, zebras, even a couple of rhinos.

Pelicans on trees and all lined up. It's a sight.

Other birds, monkey, zebra, rhino, hyena

Here's the lake at night

Masai Mara - Lion Hunt

Getting up before sunrise, warming ourselves up with cups of tea, and we're off by 6.30am. We were able to catch lions in action as they hunted and breakfasted on an eland.

It's all part of the experience.

Watching. Waiting. Are the buffalos the target? Or could it be the zebras? Something's up.

Something's definitely up. Here comes the pride.

What about the others? Zebras run, buffalos charge back for revenge.

The lions hightail in the presence of so many buffalos but the victim is already down.

Can't keep a hungry lion waiting for long.

After the lions, it's the turn of scavengers, until nothing's left.

Just another day on the plains.

Africa changes people.

It's not every day that we get to set foot on a brand new continent and there are fewer to choose from now. Only South America and Antarctica left.

We went there full of trepidation, full of worries about crime and disease and drinking water. Did as much research as we could beforehand, getting travel books from the library, looking all over the net. But at the end, it worked out just fine.

Nairobi

Yes Nairobi can be dangerous, but it's no more dangerous than Bangkok or Rome or New York. Watch out for pickpockets, follow the traffic, don't go to certain areas, be careful after dark. As a tourist expect to be harassed to buy stuff. People were friendly, with a purpose, but never hostile. Bargain for souvenirs and walk away if an agreement can't be made. See? Not so different.

The flight arrived early in the morning and we got settled into the hotel. The first day in Nairobi was no more than a filler, to get used to the country, to have a bit of a tour round the city, visit the shops and museums.

Dinner at a restaurant called Carnivore. A rather touristy place but then again we were tourists, so embrace the label. On the menu were all sorts of meat, grilled on skewers in a giant BBQ pit. The usual lamb, beef, sausages, chicken, but as a local flavour there was zebra, hartbeest, eland and crodocile. We tried everything, the game meats were a bit tough, at the end we decided we like the lamb best.

On the game menu: zebra, eland, hartbeest, crocodile

Masai Mara

From Nairobi it was a long drive south, made worse by the conditions of the roads which at some point, resembled the lunar surface. The journey drove home the vastness of Kenya as we passed the Great Rift Valley, past the town of Narok and across acres upon acres of farmland onto the arid plains of the Masai Mara Game Reserve.

Four, or was it five hours of bumping and we finally arrived at our camp. To call it a mere camp is like calling Disneyland a park. Lush surroundings, pool and well kept gardens were a big contrast to the emptiness outside the fence. Living quarters were tents but these were large fixed affairs with proper beds and an ensuite bathroom. The meshed openings at the sides served as windows and there was even a small sitting area out in the front.

But no TV.

At night with the window coverings in place and no lights outside it was eerie lying in bed and hearing the sounds of nature so close by. Birds and insects mainly. But we knew there were monkeys on the grounds and did a leopard manage to get in? The imagination can go into overdrive there. The uncertainty of what was outside the canvas walls added to the sense of adventure.

Scenes from the camp

Game drives were early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Other times the animals tended to hide and sleep so it would be hard to spot them. The drives took place in white minivans with a roof that opened up. So whenever the driver spotted an interesting animal we would all scramble up and peek over the top of the van at the animals.

Buffalos, wilderbeests, gazelle, elephant

The big cats