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 - Mara Porini Lion Camp

 

We arrived at the Porini Lion Camp in the Mara after two flights on bush planes.  The transfer was surprisingly smooth as we were escorted from one plane to another.  On our way from the landing strip to the camp we had our first game drive in the Porini Conservancy.  We had our first sighting of the Topi, a fast antelope found here in the savannah, a warthog among the topis and then our first cheetah!  The cheetah was lazing under a tree and was unperturbed by the four safari vehicles that had gathered.  We were later to find that if this had been in the Mara National Reserve, it would be a totally different environment.  

The highlight of our visit to the Mara was for me the joyful young lion cubs running freely at the Lion Camp without being chased by a horde of safari vehicles as they would have been had this been in the National Reserve.  The Conservancy, being private, only had a few vehicles, if any, gathering at a sighting at a respectful distance.  The wildlife was relatively undisturbed, as far as we could see.

We saw a variety of wildlife, as you can see below.  As in Amboseli, we were doing game drives even as we were driving to and from the National Reserve, which was almost  an hour away.  We spent one day in the National Reserve and two days in the Conservancy, which I enjoyed more.

Giraffe and young crossing the savannah

Topi - standing on the mount is a way of establishing territory

Warthog in handsome light

Cheetah - on the lookout for a prey

First sighting of the Common Eland, the largest antelope, typically weighing 500-600 kg but could weigh over 900 kg

A jackal, on the alert

Handsome in blue - Southern Tree agama

Cape Buffalo - one of the Big Five, with young below.  The young looks like an ordinary calf.

Fish eagle ready to hunt at dawn

Goliath Heron -  the biggest heron on the continent

A long-billed Pipit perching on a thorny acacia tree

We didn't get to see a leopard, but the guides showed us this carcass that had been left on a tree by the leopard.

Lion couple relaxing in the golden hour light

All of a sudden, the female noticed something and went into hunting posture

Lion cubs bounced out of nowhere

Lioness finally appeared - the cubs were completely carefree

What a joy to watch!

Sunset with the lions - finally everyone settled down, including the photographers...

Sunset with the lone tree - a typical scene on the savannah