1001 ways to get "The Lion King" stuck in your head (Kenya)

Hakuna Matata!

Sasa! My African journey continues. After that amazing weekend in Mpala, I was worried that I would be disappointed in an organized safari, and I'm so happy to say that I worried for naught.

The morning after my last update, I left Nairobi for a four day safari to the Maasi Mara and Lake Nakuru national parks in Kenya. The hostel I was staying at put together a small group (myself and two brothers from Wisconson, Pete and Toby), outfitted us with a guide, Patrick, and set us off in a pop-top van for an epic adventure.

We left in the morning and drove for most of the day through the Great Rift Valley to a small Maasi village on the northern edge of the Mara, one of Africa's most famous national parks, and part of one of the biggest national park networks in all of East Africa. The Mara streches from the Serengeti plains in Tanaznia up, across the Mara River, into the south of Kenya... and it's packed full of wildlife.

Our accomodation in the area consisted of permanent tents just outside the Maasi village. When I signed up for a "camping safari" I expected to be roughing it, but this was easily the most luxurious camping I could imagine. Big, permanent canvas tents, comfy matressed beds, and wonderful meals cooked by Osman, our tag-a-long chef.

That first night in the village, rather than going into the park, we took a "walking safari" with a local Maasi tribesman, who took us out into the savannah to see some of the grazing animals. Even this close to habitation, there were plenty of gazelle, wildebeast and zebra to whet the appetite.

Actually, the most amazing part about the walk wasn't the wildlife, it was the setting. When you walk out onto the plain, you're instantly struck with just how big the sky here is. It wasn't until this walk that I really understood what Karen Blixen was talking aout in that quote I started my last post with. Spend even just a moment here, and you really do feel like you've "lived for a time up in the air."

Yes, our guide is talking on his cell phone. Kenya has one of the greatest cell phone penetrations of any country on earth, and even in the plains you can get reception

The next day, we went into the park, and that's when the real fun began. The top of our van poped up, so we could stand up and be basically in the open air as we drove through the park (for obvious reasons, you're not allowed out of your car in most of the park). As always, pictures don't do any justice to being there, but words would be worse, so here you go:

A lioness with her kill!

These were the Zebra that escaped her, see how vigilant they are...

After that exhausitng day, we came back to camp and got to bed early, because we woke up before dawn to drive into the park again to watch the sunrise and to see the wildlife when it tends to be more active, before the heat of the day...

We found these three lionesses as the sun rose, with seven (!) cubs

After our morning drive, we left the Maasi village and headed to Nakuru, the village just outside the Lake Nakuru National Park, right in the Great Rift Valley. After the early morning and a long, dusty drive, we were thankful for a chance to relax, walk around the town a bit, and go to bed.

It was another early morning which took us into Lake Nakuru National Park.

Lake Nakuru has a lot of wildlife to offer, bit it is most famous for its bird populations:

As you can see, there are one or two falmingos there, and a couple pelicans too. Besides the staggering number of birds, we got an amazing opportunity to see a trio of White Rhinos up close during a nap and subsequest post-nap lunch. White Rhinos are the largest (and most placid) species of rhino in Africa.

We ended up seeing five (!) other rhinos tht day, including this one grazing while some jackals scampered around its feet:

And here's a couple other pictures from Nakuru of the ever-pervasive baboons:

After Nakuru, we made the long drive back to Nairobi. I spent three more nights in Nairobi preparing for my departure from Kenya, and this morning left the country via plane to Rwanda. I am currently in Musunze, getting ready for a long day hiking in the Virunga mountains. Get ready to hear all about that next time!

(to see all of my pictures from the Mara and Lake Nakuru, go here)

Love always,

Clay