Kenya - Amboseli Porini Conservancy

 We spent three nights at the Amboseli Porini Camp in the vicinity of Amboseli National Park and spent a full day at the National Park.  We went for game drives in the conservancy every day, even as we drove through it on the way to and from the National Park.  There are lots of wildlife at the conservancy which provided a more intimate experience with wildlife.  The guides had a good idea where the lions hang out and knew when the elephants would show up at the watering hole.  

At the conservancy, we went on several drives to look for lions and cheetahs.  While the family who left just as we were arriving told us they saw cheetahs on their morning drive, we missed seeing them.  We found the lion and was able to get a good enough shot of it.  We did find lots of birds though - I scored 31 lifers just at Amboseli alone.

One of the highlights of the stay was a visit to a Masai village on the conservancy.  It was an interesting experience, walking through the cow dung covered front yard of the village and going inside one of the dimly lit homes to see how they live.  The villagers entertained us with song and "adumu" - their jumping dance.  Lots of fun for both the performers and the audience.

Close encounter - creepy!

Much better!

This is a Masai giraffe with a different pattern from the other ones we had seen so far in Namibia and Nairobi.  Note that the patches have jagged edges.

Grant's gazelle - distinguished by its white rump and lyre shaped horns

Grant's gazelle with young

Thomson's gazelles in front with the distinct black flank stripe - Grant's gazelle in the back

White-bellied bustard - found exclusively in Africa

Tawny eagle

Superb Starling - very common here

White-headed mousebird - found
solely in east Africa

 

An unusual Pygmy Falcon - native here and is the
smallest bird of prey in Africa

Crimson tip butterfly


Mongoose - despite their small size they are known to be intelligent and bold hunters

The elephants!  They are really the star of the show at Amboseli.  So many young ones and so much action!  Here they are at the watering hole at the camp, every evening.  The camp has set up a viewing platform and we could watch the elephants from a safe distance.

This one gave us the periscope salute

Enjoying the splashing!

Even foreplay!

This is Umoja, the oldest elephant with the longest tusks

We did a bush walk one afternoon to connect with the Masai villagers.  It was a joyful occasion as you can see below.

Multi-tasking!

Decked out in her finery

Singing for the guests

Kids having fun

The guys having even more fun - "adumu" the jumping dance.  The one who jumped the highest is the winner, and sometimes he wins his woman!

One of our guides is from this village, he was proud to show us his home.

Fire starting demonstration

Say "Porini" - their way to make us smile...

Then there are the gorgeous landscapes...

Morning light

Golden hour

Tree with weavers' nests

Mt. Kilimanjaro chose to put an appearance late in the day