Kenya - Nakuru National Park

 Nakuru, our last game stop on this trip, is a long two-hour drive from Naivasha.  With traffic jams on the highway, the driver took a short cut which turned out to be another bumpy ride on gravel roads.  We were happy we finally got to the National Park and greeted right at the entrance by a mountain gray woodpecker, with an insect in its beak nonetheless.  It was also interesting to see several school buses with children in school uniforms, some of them even waving cell phones at us.  It seems that these children are out on end of school year field trips - it was nice to see that happening.

Since we were still missing one of the Big Fives - the rhinoceros, we were counting on Nakuru to cough up that last sighting.  And we were not disappointed.  After the driver pointed out a white and a black rhinoceros at an impossible distance, we drove around and finally found one sleeping under a tree.  We came back to the same spot after lunch, and to our excitement, it got up on its feet for us to photograph!  Five minutes later, it's back in its sleeping position again.  This whole episode highlighted how a lot of what we saw on safaris depend on luck, perseverance and of course driver/guide knowledge of the area.  We have been lucky to have good guides who worked hard at their jobs.

There were lots of bird life around the lake, but as expected, the huge flocks of flamingos are no longer around.  We saw just a few flamingos and a small group in the distance.  So I was glad we got some nice shots in Amboseli.  But it was the first time I saw a Waterbuck and with a young calf to boot.  I also chanced upon a surprise lifer - a Pink-backed Pelican that I had initially thought was a juvenile white pelican at a distance.  

We had a picnic lunch at the waterfall at the same time as the students.  It was heartening to see the teacher taking individual photos of the students in their uniforms at the waterfall - I am guessing it would be for their year book if their school traditions are like ours.  

The drive back to Naivasha was uneventful.  By the time we got to Naivasha it was late on Friday afternoon and there were lots of Kenyans on the street on their way home from school/work, some obviously heading out to a Friday evening on the town. 

We enjoyed a last sunset then sunrise on the lake and after a morning tour of the property, left for Nairobi after lunch.  We headed straight for the airport for our flights home.  This wrapped up an amazing 3 weeks on the continent.  

Lake Nakuru is huge - this is just a small part of the lake in the distance

Cattle crossing on the way to the park

Watering hole in the park

Giraffe conference - note these giraffes are different from the ones in the Mara.  They have smooth outlines on their patches.

White Pelicans on the lake.  

Pink-backed pelican - a surprise lifer.  I had thought they were juvenile whites from a distance.

A Little Egret -very similar to the Snowy egrets I saw in California, in fact slightly bigger in spite of its name.  

Cormorant with big fish!

Waterbuck and calf

Mountain Gray Woodpecker

Gray-headed kingfisher

White-fronted bee-eater

Long-crested eagle

Northern ant-eater chat

One last shot of the beautiful Lilac-breasted roller, here with all its colours clearly seen on a cloudy day

First time we saw higher ground on this trip

Bus load of school children on field trip 

Students at the waterfall, some in school uniforms for their school photo

Cape Buffalo - one of the Big Five

Black rhinoceros on the left and white rhinoceros on the right - both very far away

White rhinoceros at rest - got up briefly (five minutes!) for our cameras

Baboon and young

Such maternal concentration was testing the patience of the young one

Pair of Tawny Eagles

African fish eagle out on a hunt

On the road back to Naivasha:

Students in unitorms walking home after school

Friday afternoon on the town - curious to know where everyone is headed!

One last sunset

One last sunrise

This wraps up the Africa series.  Thanks for coming along!

Kenya - Lake Naivasha

 

From the Masai Mara, we headed back north to Lake Naivasha, our final stop in Kenya before heading home. It was a long drive from Narok to Naivasha but there were interesting things to see along the way, providing us glimpses of how Kenyans live.  Especially interesting are market day scenes, herds of cattle on the way to market, huge sacks of farm produce on a small motorcycle, etc.  

Our home for the next two days was at Elsamere, the former home of Joy Adamson of "Born Free" fame.   It is a beautiful lakeside property which included a conservancy, a small museum, and even a projection room where we watched an interesting documentary on her life one evening.  While the majority of Joy Adamson's work is being displayed at the National Museum of Kenya, there are a few originals displayed here in the dining room.  Her portraits of various indigenous tribes in Kenya are treasured collections.  

The property was not fenced in so animals roam the ground freely.  One evening just before dark, as we were walking back to our cabin, a giraffe darted in our way!  Not sure who was more startled - we or the giraffe.  That was before the hippopotamus, which stalled our exit from the dining room later that same evening.  Another member of our group could not get out of her cabin at breakfast because two zebras were standing in front of her door.  It was quite hilarious at times.

When we arrived at Naivasha, we did a boat tour of the lake in the afternoon and encountered a surprising number of birds and wildlife, especially after we landed on Crescent Island, a wildlife sanctuary on the lake.  There were many submerged trees on the lake, providing an almost apocalyptic scene.  Apparently, flooding is a big issue due to rising lake waters, thousands of people were displaced.  

The road to Naivasha:

Our last view of the savanna at sunrise

















Market day

Looking beyond the roadside


I like the shop names!




As we got closer to Nairobi, the buildings became taller

A supermarket - quite a contrast to the little shops on the way

Cabins on the grounds

These two in the dining room are originals by Joy Adamson

A family of Colobus Monkeys live at the lodge

Recycled plastic bottles used for propagation at the Conservation Centre

Leopard Turtles at the Conservation Centre - the staff showed us how to tell their age from the lines on the shell

Lake Naivasha

Large areas of submerged trees

Pied Kingfisher

Another unusual bird - Squacco Heron, breeding in Southern Europe and the Middle east, a migrant wintering in Africa.  I was lucky to see it.

Yellow-billed stork

Perched in the right place for fish!

Giant Kingfisher with big fish

White Pelican - such a treat to see them so close

Hippos big and small

Giraffes big and small on Crescent Island

Gray-crowned crane of varying sizes

Taking off

For once it's not sleeping or in the water

Sunrise at the Lake

We got up early the following morning to go on our last game drive at Lake Nakuru, a two hour drive north from Naivasha.