Friday, 26 September 2025

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.





Monday, 22 September 2025

Kenya - Masai Mara National Reserve

 We spent a day at the Masai Mara National Reserve and it was an eye-opener.  I have been warned before to expect ruthless driver/guides cutting off each other in their jeeps to jockey for positions but I couldn't believe what I saw when scores of jeeps surrounded a leopard and chased after it, almost running it over.   There were no rangers around to keep people in line.  It was a horrendous situation for the pair of leopards, hounded by these metal monsters.  I felt sorry we became unwittingly part of this circus.  It was our only encounter with leopards on this trip.

But there were wonderful moments when we saw the cheetah at a distance and the massive movement of the wildebeest migration - from the top of a hill, then beside us and then crossing in front of us. It gave me goose-pimples seeing this impressive gathering and moving in unison of these animals.  We did not see the river crossing but these are hard to time and it was not the sole purpose of our trip.  After seeing the frantic jockeying for positions at the river bank, I was almost relieved that there was no crossing and everyone left.  LIfe returned to normal and we went on to see other interesting things in the park.


Hyena cub seen on the way to the park

Hyena and cub


The entrance to the Mara National Reserve is right beside the river.


Line up to enter the park

Lion on a mount



The leopard hunt 



The leopard came out in between the vehicles towards us


Cheetah in hunting mode with flattened ears, just like a big cat







This marks the border between Kenya and Tanzania






Hippos and crocodiles in the river



Baboon on a mount


Seeing the wildebeest migration from atop a hill
 - little black dots on the savannah


Closer up

This was where we had hoped they would cross




Wildebeests closerup












The Marabou storks hang out with the wildebeests - here's one in close up mid flight

On our way to the National Reserve we pass by the town of Narok.  Some interesting shops there, including a Hard Rock CafĂ©!










Locals going to work



Going to school


Some of the pleasurable and memorable moments: picnic under a lone acacia tree



Watercolours in the making... 
Golden hour and gorgeous sunsets!