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!

The dramatic Oregon coast - South

We didn't realize it at the time but our last two days on the Oregon coast turned out to be the most exciting ones. Cape Perpetua, a volcanic remnant a short drive from Yachats, has some very dramatic rock formations which provided some phenomenal seascapes.

Cape Perpetua in the distance

Based on online suggestions, we visited the area at high tide to get the highest waves crashing against the coastline with its myriads of rock formations like the Devil's Churn, Thor's Well and Spouting Horn. We checked the tide tables before we headed out and it truly was quite a spectacle.

"Spouting Horn" - the tide rushed up Cook's Chasm (first sighted by Captain Cook) then spouted through a hole - endless fascination for spectators waiting to see the highest spout...

Another spout where the tide went almost underground then spouted through this break in the surface

It was mind-boggling watching some photographers risk their lives to take that "must-have" iconic shot. You can see below how one over the top wave or one slip of the foot could have sent these two photographers hovering over Thor's Well into the ocean. The swell at high tide must have been over 10 feet before it hit the outside wall of the well.

Half an hour before high tide at Thor's Well

High tide at Thor's Well - you can't see the other side of the well

One of the many chasms along this stretch that allowed the tide to rush in and create whipped cream like swirls

Heceta Head LIghthouse just before Florence - we took the trail leading up to this historic lighthouse that sends out the strongest beam of light on the Coast. The view down the coast from the lighthouse was quite pretty and worth the hike. The historic lighthouse keeper's quarters are now a bed and breakfast - it was full when we tried to book it six months before our trip - obviously a popular destination.

 

 

 

 

View from the Lighthouse

After Cape Perpetua, the Oregon Dunes was the most unique feature in the south. The dunes stretched from Florence down to North Bend. We saw one section of the dunes near Florence on our way down to Bandon Beach where we spent our last two nights on the Oregon coast. 

View from the Oregon Dunes Overlook - the dunes stretched all the way down the coast

Looking down at the trail from the overlook

 

 

Bandon was just an hour from the dunes so we were able to visit the southern section of the Oregon dunes the following day. We would have missed this even more spectacular section of the dunes if we didn't see a photo of the Dellenback Dunes in the "Mile-by-Mile" publication.


The Dellenback trail is 5.5miles over sand all the way to the sea, not an easy hike. We opted just to do the 1 mile interpretive loop trail which took us to the huge sand dunes and gave us a taste of the desert without being too strenuous. We felt our knees nevertheless the following day because it was tough walking in sand.

The Dellenback Dunes are further south and seemed bigger.

Not quite the Sahara but good enough...

Curvaceous!

Bandon Beach was even more spectacular than Cannon Beach, more remote and much quieter. This whole southern stretch is very scenic and much less commercialized than the north coast. Close to Bandon are a couple of coastal lookouts - FaceRock Park and Coquille Point with Bandon Beach in between.  They provide views of Bandon Beach from the north and south. 

View from FaceRock State Park

View from Coquille Point

We also took the scenic drive to Shore Acres State Park, which used to be the grand estate of timber baron Louis Simpson. It included a formal garden, an Oriental garden, hiking trails and its own private beach.

View from Shore Acres

The formal garden inside the estate

The Oriental Garden

The secluded private beach

Along the scenic drive, there are lookouts on a sea lion colony. Somewhere north along Hwy 101 is a business charging quite a few bucks for you to visit their sea lion cave but didn't guarantee a sea lion sighting. Skip that and come here to watch the sea lions cavort in the waves instead.

Sea lion colony

Several pods of pelicans returning home in late afternoon near Shore Acres

The Conde McCullough Memorial Bridge on the way south to Bandon

We made sure we arrived back at our Inn before dark so we could enjoy sunset on the beach. It was a cold and windy evening so the beach was deserted, but the sunset was spectacular. It was our last evening on the coast - surely a place we would like to come back to.

View from our balcony - miles of beach and not a soul

Goodnight, Bandon!

 Next post: Heading inland to Crater Lake