Seniors on Safari in Kenya
Oct 11th, 2009 | 11:11 AM
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Seniors on Safari in Kenya
We just got back from Kenya and at 75 and a diabetic 59 are very proud of our recent adventure.
After the most extensive research and homework I have ever done, because of our age and health concerns. After e-mailing ten safari groups, recommended by various travelers, I narrowed it down to one outfit: Dawn@ Dusk. www.d2dsafaris.com.
Reason: Simon Koech of D2D was willing to work with me on my budget, had immense patience when it came to answering all my questions promptly and courteously AND remembered everything I told him we would need to do or not do.
His first words to me at Nairobi airport, accompanied by a broad smile were, "After 63 e-mails!" .
This is the gist of our trip organized and accompanied by Simon:
Day 1: Escorted Tour of Nairobi. A visit to the Masai Market ( a must for unique and inexpensive crafts and only held on Saturdays), lunch at Tamarind (a GRAND sea food restaurant), a visit to the Kenya cultural center for dances by the different tribes and a visit to the models of different villages.
Day 2: In the hands of Matu, our driver and guide, we set off at 9. We were at Outspan, (home of Lord Baden Powell, founder of the scouting movement) by lunch.
Matu handed us over to the Treetops staff as no private vehicles are allowed into the area.
After lunch there were some African dances to watch (optional) and then we were transported to Treetops. There is a small walk to the house, and you are told to be prepared to run to one of the stockades if an animal is sighted, but you can tell them you want to stay on the bus and be driven there. The walk is led by a ranger with a rifle.
Our tiny room faced the waterhole. Lots of water hogs around it.
We opted for the game drive after tea, and saw: huge hyena, forest hogs, wild buffalo, monkeys, an anteater. Back in the room I looked out of the window and was eye to eye with the largest elephant! Treetops puts salt licks down and the elephants come for that. They also have a water tank to supplement the diminishing water level in the waterhole. Their are also viewing stockades with peep holes at ground level for those not fortunate enough to have the rooms that face the waterhole. A pair of eland strolled by. All night a pair of crowned cranes presided over the waterhole, left at 3 a.m and came back at 4.
TIP: If you're a diabetic like I am, be prepared to stroll down the hall to the bathroom or ask for one of the few suites.
A good dinner was served family style.
We were up at 4 and watched the waterhole
An early morning drive back to Outspan for a good breakfast and then we left for Lake Nakuru under Matu's care again.
DAY 2: Lake Nakuru
We reached Nakuru by lunchtime, with a stop at the Equator and another at the Rift Valley.
A brief glimpse of a leopard's legs hanging from a tree made all our tiredness drop away. Now I look at my pictures of the legs and see what looks like two leopards on the tree.
I was wonder struck by the incredible green forests of acacia, which I call SHREK jungles because of the glow of green they cast around them. These top heavy acacias fall over when they get too big as the volcanic soil of Nakuru offers them little support.
After a GREAT lunch at the SAROVA LION HILL LODGE and a brief rest we are off on our evening drive where we saw: armies of baboons, herds of zebra, bush bucks, wild buffalo, Rothschild's giraffes, a young leopard getting it's stashed prey down from a small tree and feasting on it, pelicans, an infinite variety of pink flamingo, and the tree climbing lions of Sarova. Impala and Thomson's gazelle. So much in one evening.
At the hotel we relaxed with a drink (all drinks are extra) and watched the dances before a sumptuous dinner.
The next morning I was amazed by the birdsong the minute I stepped out of the room.
The dazzling peacock blue superb starling sitting on the Shrek green acacia, the nests of the bright yellow weaver birds, was Nature at it's best. Breakfast was great.
The morning drive took us to a rhino area. One male lying on t he ground got up and charged parallel to our van for a short distance. He was battle scarred with fresh wounds which hadn't improved his disposition but he was about two hundred feet away and running parallel to the vehicle not at it.
Another three hundred yards away was a family, Mama, Papa and Baby all grazing peacefully. We watched them as Matu told us about the white rhino and it's distinctive broad lips made for grazing.
"We have to go," he said and we were driving to the entrance when he braked suddenly.
"Look!" The familiar urging had our heads turning but it was a while before we could make out the leopard lying under the bushes.
TIP: Always look for the tail and then it's easy to find the rest of it.
It was huge and we were lucky enough to see him raise his enormous head and then after a while stand up and walk off into the bushes where he was met by another leopard and they frolicked off into the thickets.
DO NOT MISS LAKE NAKURU IF YOU PLAN A SAFARI IN KENYA.
We drove up for a closer look at the lesser and greater flamingo then up to a lookout point for a bird's eye view of the lake and the animals below.
We saw a couple of rock hyrax nestled into their surroundings and hard to make out and then we left for Lake Naivasha driving past the town of Nakuru and stopping at Barclays to get some money.
TIP: Barclays doesn't charge a fee for exchanging money and ATM's are not easy to find on a safari. Naivasha had one too but that was the last one on this trip.
LAKE NAIVASHA
We left Nakuru for the short drive to Lake Naivasha and then went for a short walk to the water's edge for a boat ride. Originally the ride was intended to take us to Elsamere but with the water level down we were told it would be just a ride on the Lake for an hour. There were amazing numbers of water birds dotting the lakeshores...again no notes or pictures of individual birds, so I can only name the fish eagle and the ibis. The boatman had to maneuver us out with a pole till the water got deep enough for him to start the engine. All the crocodiles, he said had left because of the water levels...I felt sorry about the water levels but glad about the crocs not being there. The first raft of hippos we came upon was amazing: 40 of them with young, sunning themselves on the surface of the lake with eyes closed. Enormous group.
We watched while they submerged and then left. Further out there was another raft of them but not as amazing as the first. We went further out in the lake before turning back. The walk back to the lake was cooler as we had taken our safety jackets off.
TIP: Do not walk with safety jackets on to the water's edge though you are put into it as soon as you get out of the car. Put it on just before you get in the boat...much cooler that way!
We were at Elsamere, Joy Adamson's home, in 45 minutes. The pictures, her sketches, watercolors and oils adorn the walls. Her paintings of the Masai are breathtakingly real...even after so many years, the expression she captured in their eyes makes you feel they are right there with you.
Our cottage was set apart from the main building and after lunch Matu bade us goodbye, saying he would pick us up at 8 the next morning. Lunch was really bad but we learnt later the cook had gone walkabout. I guess the substitute cook knew very little about cooking.
Afraid to lie down and fall asleep, we spent our time at the main house, lucky enough to find Jean, head trustee of the Elsamere foundation there. She had amazing stories to tell of Joy Adamson. We walked around the small museum, bought cards of Elsa in her camp cot, watched a documentary of Joy's life, had a nice high tea and passed a few hours in the company of an English couple who were holidaying there, Jean and her young friend who had accompanied her from England.
During dinner, which was much nicer than lunch (the cook had returned said the English couple), the waiter asked if we would like to see hippos. We got up and there they were on the back lawn munching on the grass. A pair of eland sauntered past too, not to be outdone. The warning we had seen in our room not to leave our quarters after dark or before 7 a.m unescorted, sprang into our minds as we watched those huge hippos. When we had our fill of the hippos, we asked for an escort back to our rooms.
The skinny, young Kenyan with a big torch who showed up didn't reassure us.
"What," we asked as politely as fear allowed, "will YOU do if a hippo appears?"
"We know what to do," he said.
"Which is?" asked Bob.
"The important things with hippos is not to come between them and the water," he said. "That's when they feel threatened."
He held the torch up high and kept shining it into every bush on the side of the path and it wasn't till we were in our room that Bob reminded me of Sam, the manager's story, of having seen a leopard in the bushes, when he stepped out, a few night ago.
The water at Elsamere: There was a warning in the room, not to brush with anything other than the filtered water provided and we could see why. The tap water ran brown, and we decided against showers using wet wipes to freshen up as best we could, brushing our teeth and washing face and hands with filtered water. Luckily for us Matu had left us extra bottled water. Even in the dining room they served filtered water, but I will say stick with bottled. My stomach did not feel good the next day and
I know it wasn't the food, it was the water.
TIP: Always carry wet wipes. Never drink filtered water...stick with bottled.
A few mosquitoes had also found us at Elsamere and we were glad we were on Malarone so though Treetops said they never had mosquitoes just take your medication. It's safer.
I had also on the advice of our travel doctor, bought Permethrin but instead of soaking just one pair of jeans and a shirt and mosquito net (label instructions), I diluted it a bit more and soaked 5 pairs of jeans from the knee down, all our socks, and a couple of shirts (collars only). Permethrin should define odorless because that stuff has an odor.
I'm not using Permethrin again, because we are not going camping in Africa.
I also carried Avon's Picaridin wipes with us and used another product from them on our jackets just in case. Bob used the wipes but complained it smelled like perfume.
TIP: One packet is plenty for two people to share at a time...there is liquid in the packet after you take out the wipe and I dumped it on our shoes.
Breakfast the next morning, at Elsamere, was the best meal there, and we left for the Mara. The best part of this visit was it broke up the long drive to the Mara for us, and gave me a chance to indulge in nostalgia associated with Born Free. The bonus was to see first hand the work of the incredibly talented Joy Adamson, and the charming people we spent the afternoon and evening with.
"Your longest drive," said the Englishman.
"A bumpy road," said his sweet wife insisting on giving me a roll of pastilles, because I'd told her I didn't have hard candy with me.
MASAI MARA
The drive was 5 hours not 71/2 as they'd said, but every bone, muscle and joint was shaken and rattled by parts of that road, in spite of Matu's careful driving. Simon had worried over us and that road and warned us about it, so it wasn't a surprise but it was still the most arduous part of our adventure.
"We are going into the bush," said Matu, a note of elation in his tone, as if he were coming home.
He took us straight to the lodge and said, "Eat and rest." and then added, "Till 4:30!"
My silent groan died on my lips. Bob said he was fine and that made it okay for us to keep going.
On our evening drive we saw: impala, gazelle,herds of wildebeest, zebra, a family of Masai giraffe.
"Look!" The van comes to a stop. I turn and on our left if a family of elephants.
"Look!" I turn to the other side and there, very close to the track is a HUGE lion with two lionesses. The latter are fast asleep, one on it's back, massive paws in the air.
The lion sat up after some time to give us a better look at him, then got up walked a few feet and sat down again!
Our heads were busy swiveling from elephants to lions for the next half hour.
"Do we bother them?" I asked Matu.
"Not at all," he said, "If anyone got out they would attack but they are used to vehicles."
I noticed that with all the animals and told myself if they were bothered they would just run away like the skittish wildebeest did and not just sit there.
Every vehicle passes the info on about animal sightings and so there are usually about fifteen vehicles at a spot and these animals didn't even stir.
When we had our fill we moved on and soon stopped...there was a lioness sitting right on the track looking right at us.
We watched her for five minutes before she decided to move off the track. On the way back we saw the elusive bush buck and back at the lodge, the bush babies coming to feed on a platform.
The next morning we vultures galore, the Marabou stork, also a bird of prey, a pair of lilac breasted rollers perched on a tree, a pair of agama lizards sunning themselves as well as all the usual: giraffe, zebra,wildebeest. lions. Our new sightings were of Coke's Hartebeest , Topi, jackals, ostriches, the secretary bird, warthogs.
Our morning break was at Keeroks Lodge where there's a waterhole and we saw some hippos submerging and then under a bridge a cheetah's stash: a Coke's Hartebeest killed the night before.
We drove off and I could tell Matu was looking for something from the way he drove.
A talk with a warden in a truck, a group of vans and then I spotted the flicker of a tail.
Three cheetahs resting under a bush! What an amazing sight.
Back at the hotel for lunch and a quick rest and we were off at 4 for our evening drive.
More lions, herds of Grant's gazelle, wildebeest and zebra, lions and elephants dotting the hillside. Matu kept driving, searching the area on either side of him.
Finally he stopped. "Look!"
Far away in the distance we could soon make out three cheetahs moving in the shoulder high grass. From the way they move we know they are hunting. One cheetah turned and chased off a jackal that's annoyingly close and I knew they are hungry and irritated.
One cheetah suddenly broke away from the pair in front and started walking towards the line of vans. We held our breath as she walked between two vans to the other side, stood where we can all get perfect shots of her beauty and then sat for the longest time.
We keep turning our heads from her to the pair in the grass. They spot something and are off. We watch them chase a young gazelle, which took off at an amazing pace, We watch till trio is lost in the bushes in a nano second! We are spellbound and so grateful to the powers that be that we could see this.
We turned to the other cheetah, calling out to her young. (I've decided she's the mother and the other two are her young adult children in training).
We had to leave soon as 6:30 is the time to be out of the park but for a farewell scene we could ask for nothing better than the cheetahs gave us.
The early morning drive was filled with a visit to a Masai village and then we drove to the airstrip for our flight back to Mara. Matu said he would be back in time to take us to the airport. The flight back to Mara cost extra but it was worth it in time and comfort.
Simon meets us at Nairobi, happy over our enjoyment of the trip and escorts us to the hotel for a rest and dinner. He has gifts for me to bring back to family and friends!
We told him how much we appreciated his planning and organization skills...and Dawn2Dusk safaris for setting such high standards in the industry and giving so much more than expected.
We could tell he had been worried about us and made sure Matu took excellent care of us. I would give them and Dawn@ Dusk seven stars.
We left Nairobi that night very happy...btw Nairobi airport isn't very easy to wait at as the lounge is after secuirty, has no restroom/water and if you have to come out through security if you want these. Three hours ahead is what you need as there are about 4 security checks of you/your luggage/everything and then this long wait before you get on the plane!
One last word about the safari...if we can do it and 75 and a few months short of 60, so can other seniors. We had no hard, long walks just bumpy rides. We never had to carry our luggage and at every place felt we were well cared for.
Our fears about Nairobi, health concerns etc were laid to rest by choosing an escorted tour. We had a lot more control as we chose a tour just for the two of us. We arranged everything after a consult with our doctor and taking all our shots and malaria meds. We also took protection for our skin against mosquitoes and used it.
As far as we are concerned, we couldn't have chosen a better trip.
After the most extensive research and homework I have ever done, because of our age and health concerns. After e-mailing ten safari groups, recommended by various travelers, I narrowed it down to one outfit: Dawn@ Dusk. www.d2dsafaris.com.
Reason: Simon Koech of D2D was willing to work with me on my budget, had immense patience when it came to answering all my questions promptly and courteously AND remembered everything I told him we would need to do or not do.
His first words to me at Nairobi airport, accompanied by a broad smile were, "After 63 e-mails!" .
This is the gist of our trip organized and accompanied by Simon:
Day 1: Escorted Tour of Nairobi. A visit to the Masai Market ( a must for unique and inexpensive crafts and only held on Saturdays), lunch at Tamarind (a GRAND sea food restaurant), a visit to the Kenya cultural center for dances by the different tribes and a visit to the models of different villages.
Day 2: In the hands of Matu, our driver and guide, we set off at 9. We were at Outspan, (home of Lord Baden Powell, founder of the scouting movement) by lunch.
Matu handed us over to the Treetops staff as no private vehicles are allowed into the area.
After lunch there were some African dances to watch (optional) and then we were transported to Treetops. There is a small walk to the house, and you are told to be prepared to run to one of the stockades if an animal is sighted, but you can tell them you want to stay on the bus and be driven there. The walk is led by a ranger with a rifle.
Our tiny room faced the waterhole. Lots of water hogs around it.
We opted for the game drive after tea, and saw: huge hyena, forest hogs, wild buffalo, monkeys, an anteater. Back in the room I looked out of the window and was eye to eye with the largest elephant! Treetops puts salt licks down and the elephants come for that. They also have a water tank to supplement the diminishing water level in the waterhole. Their are also viewing stockades with peep holes at ground level for those not fortunate enough to have the rooms that face the waterhole. A pair of eland strolled by. All night a pair of crowned cranes presided over the waterhole, left at 3 a.m and came back at 4.
TIP: If you're a diabetic like I am, be prepared to stroll down the hall to the bathroom or ask for one of the few suites.
A good dinner was served family style.
We were up at 4 and watched the waterhole
An early morning drive back to Outspan for a good breakfast and then we left for Lake Nakuru under Matu's care again.
DAY 2: Lake Nakuru
We reached Nakuru by lunchtime, with a stop at the Equator and another at the Rift Valley.
A brief glimpse of a leopard's legs hanging from a tree made all our tiredness drop away. Now I look at my pictures of the legs and see what looks like two leopards on the tree.
I was wonder struck by the incredible green forests of acacia, which I call SHREK jungles because of the glow of green they cast around them. These top heavy acacias fall over when they get too big as the volcanic soil of Nakuru offers them little support.
After a GREAT lunch at the SAROVA LION HILL LODGE and a brief rest we are off on our evening drive where we saw: armies of baboons, herds of zebra, bush bucks, wild buffalo, Rothschild's giraffes, a young leopard getting it's stashed prey down from a small tree and feasting on it, pelicans, an infinite variety of pink flamingo, and the tree climbing lions of Sarova. Impala and Thomson's gazelle. So much in one evening.
At the hotel we relaxed with a drink (all drinks are extra) and watched the dances before a sumptuous dinner.
The next morning I was amazed by the birdsong the minute I stepped out of the room.
The dazzling peacock blue superb starling sitting on the Shrek green acacia, the nests of the bright yellow weaver birds, was Nature at it's best. Breakfast was great.
The morning drive took us to a rhino area. One male lying on t he ground got up and charged parallel to our van for a short distance. He was battle scarred with fresh wounds which hadn't improved his disposition but he was about two hundred feet away and running parallel to the vehicle not at it.
Another three hundred yards away was a family, Mama, Papa and Baby all grazing peacefully. We watched them as Matu told us about the white rhino and it's distinctive broad lips made for grazing.
"We have to go," he said and we were driving to the entrance when he braked suddenly.
"Look!" The familiar urging had our heads turning but it was a while before we could make out the leopard lying under the bushes.
TIP: Always look for the tail and then it's easy to find the rest of it.
It was huge and we were lucky enough to see him raise his enormous head and then after a while stand up and walk off into the bushes where he was met by another leopard and they frolicked off into the thickets.
DO NOT MISS LAKE NAKURU IF YOU PLAN A SAFARI IN KENYA.
We drove up for a closer look at the lesser and greater flamingo then up to a lookout point for a bird's eye view of the lake and the animals below.
We saw a couple of rock hyrax nestled into their surroundings and hard to make out and then we left for Lake Naivasha driving past the town of Nakuru and stopping at Barclays to get some money.
TIP: Barclays doesn't charge a fee for exchanging money and ATM's are not easy to find on a safari. Naivasha had one too but that was the last one on this trip.
LAKE NAIVASHA
We left Nakuru for the short drive to Lake Naivasha and then went for a short walk to the water's edge for a boat ride. Originally the ride was intended to take us to Elsamere but with the water level down we were told it would be just a ride on the Lake for an hour. There were amazing numbers of water birds dotting the lakeshores...again no notes or pictures of individual birds, so I can only name the fish eagle and the ibis. The boatman had to maneuver us out with a pole till the water got deep enough for him to start the engine. All the crocodiles, he said had left because of the water levels...I felt sorry about the water levels but glad about the crocs not being there. The first raft of hippos we came upon was amazing: 40 of them with young, sunning themselves on the surface of the lake with eyes closed. Enormous group.
We watched while they submerged and then left. Further out there was another raft of them but not as amazing as the first. We went further out in the lake before turning back. The walk back to the lake was cooler as we had taken our safety jackets off.
TIP: Do not walk with safety jackets on to the water's edge though you are put into it as soon as you get out of the car. Put it on just before you get in the boat...much cooler that way!
We were at Elsamere, Joy Adamson's home, in 45 minutes. The pictures, her sketches, watercolors and oils adorn the walls. Her paintings of the Masai are breathtakingly real...even after so many years, the expression she captured in their eyes makes you feel they are right there with you.
Our cottage was set apart from the main building and after lunch Matu bade us goodbye, saying he would pick us up at 8 the next morning. Lunch was really bad but we learnt later the cook had gone walkabout. I guess the substitute cook knew very little about cooking.
Afraid to lie down and fall asleep, we spent our time at the main house, lucky enough to find Jean, head trustee of the Elsamere foundation there. She had amazing stories to tell of Joy Adamson. We walked around the small museum, bought cards of Elsa in her camp cot, watched a documentary of Joy's life, had a nice high tea and passed a few hours in the company of an English couple who were holidaying there, Jean and her young friend who had accompanied her from England.
During dinner, which was much nicer than lunch (the cook had returned said the English couple), the waiter asked if we would like to see hippos. We got up and there they were on the back lawn munching on the grass. A pair of eland sauntered past too, not to be outdone. The warning we had seen in our room not to leave our quarters after dark or before 7 a.m unescorted, sprang into our minds as we watched those huge hippos. When we had our fill of the hippos, we asked for an escort back to our rooms.
The skinny, young Kenyan with a big torch who showed up didn't reassure us.
"What," we asked as politely as fear allowed, "will YOU do if a hippo appears?"
"We know what to do," he said.
"Which is?" asked Bob.
"The important things with hippos is not to come between them and the water," he said. "That's when they feel threatened."
He held the torch up high and kept shining it into every bush on the side of the path and it wasn't till we were in our room that Bob reminded me of Sam, the manager's story, of having seen a leopard in the bushes, when he stepped out, a few night ago.
The water at Elsamere: There was a warning in the room, not to brush with anything other than the filtered water provided and we could see why. The tap water ran brown, and we decided against showers using wet wipes to freshen up as best we could, brushing our teeth and washing face and hands with filtered water. Luckily for us Matu had left us extra bottled water. Even in the dining room they served filtered water, but I will say stick with bottled. My stomach did not feel good the next day and
I know it wasn't the food, it was the water.
TIP: Always carry wet wipes. Never drink filtered water...stick with bottled.
A few mosquitoes had also found us at Elsamere and we were glad we were on Malarone so though Treetops said they never had mosquitoes just take your medication. It's safer.
I had also on the advice of our travel doctor, bought Permethrin but instead of soaking just one pair of jeans and a shirt and mosquito net (label instructions), I diluted it a bit more and soaked 5 pairs of jeans from the knee down, all our socks, and a couple of shirts (collars only). Permethrin should define odorless because that stuff has an odor.
I'm not using Permethrin again, because we are not going camping in Africa.
I also carried Avon's Picaridin wipes with us and used another product from them on our jackets just in case. Bob used the wipes but complained it smelled like perfume.
TIP: One packet is plenty for two people to share at a time...there is liquid in the packet after you take out the wipe and I dumped it on our shoes.
Breakfast the next morning, at Elsamere, was the best meal there, and we left for the Mara. The best part of this visit was it broke up the long drive to the Mara for us, and gave me a chance to indulge in nostalgia associated with Born Free. The bonus was to see first hand the work of the incredibly talented Joy Adamson, and the charming people we spent the afternoon and evening with.
"Your longest drive," said the Englishman.
"A bumpy road," said his sweet wife insisting on giving me a roll of pastilles, because I'd told her I didn't have hard candy with me.
MASAI MARA
The drive was 5 hours not 71/2 as they'd said, but every bone, muscle and joint was shaken and rattled by parts of that road, in spite of Matu's careful driving. Simon had worried over us and that road and warned us about it, so it wasn't a surprise but it was still the most arduous part of our adventure.
"We are going into the bush," said Matu, a note of elation in his tone, as if he were coming home.
He took us straight to the lodge and said, "Eat and rest." and then added, "Till 4:30!"
My silent groan died on my lips. Bob said he was fine and that made it okay for us to keep going.
On our evening drive we saw: impala, gazelle,herds of wildebeest, zebra, a family of Masai giraffe.
"Look!" The van comes to a stop. I turn and on our left if a family of elephants.
"Look!" I turn to the other side and there, very close to the track is a HUGE lion with two lionesses. The latter are fast asleep, one on it's back, massive paws in the air.
The lion sat up after some time to give us a better look at him, then got up walked a few feet and sat down again!
Our heads were busy swiveling from elephants to lions for the next half hour.
"Do we bother them?" I asked Matu.
"Not at all," he said, "If anyone got out they would attack but they are used to vehicles."
I noticed that with all the animals and told myself if they were bothered they would just run away like the skittish wildebeest did and not just sit there.
Every vehicle passes the info on about animal sightings and so there are usually about fifteen vehicles at a spot and these animals didn't even stir.
When we had our fill we moved on and soon stopped...there was a lioness sitting right on the track looking right at us.
We watched her for five minutes before she decided to move off the track. On the way back we saw the elusive bush buck and back at the lodge, the bush babies coming to feed on a platform.
The next morning we vultures galore, the Marabou stork, also a bird of prey, a pair of lilac breasted rollers perched on a tree, a pair of agama lizards sunning themselves as well as all the usual: giraffe, zebra,wildebeest. lions. Our new sightings were of Coke's Hartebeest , Topi, jackals, ostriches, the secretary bird, warthogs.
Our morning break was at Keeroks Lodge where there's a waterhole and we saw some hippos submerging and then under a bridge a cheetah's stash: a Coke's Hartebeest killed the night before.
We drove off and I could tell Matu was looking for something from the way he drove.
A talk with a warden in a truck, a group of vans and then I spotted the flicker of a tail.
Three cheetahs resting under a bush! What an amazing sight.
Back at the hotel for lunch and a quick rest and we were off at 4 for our evening drive.
More lions, herds of Grant's gazelle, wildebeest and zebra, lions and elephants dotting the hillside. Matu kept driving, searching the area on either side of him.
Finally he stopped. "Look!"
Far away in the distance we could soon make out three cheetahs moving in the shoulder high grass. From the way they move we know they are hunting. One cheetah turned and chased off a jackal that's annoyingly close and I knew they are hungry and irritated.
One cheetah suddenly broke away from the pair in front and started walking towards the line of vans. We held our breath as she walked between two vans to the other side, stood where we can all get perfect shots of her beauty and then sat for the longest time.
We keep turning our heads from her to the pair in the grass. They spot something and are off. We watch them chase a young gazelle, which took off at an amazing pace, We watch till trio is lost in the bushes in a nano second! We are spellbound and so grateful to the powers that be that we could see this.
We turned to the other cheetah, calling out to her young. (I've decided she's the mother and the other two are her young adult children in training).
We had to leave soon as 6:30 is the time to be out of the park but for a farewell scene we could ask for nothing better than the cheetahs gave us.
The early morning drive was filled with a visit to a Masai village and then we drove to the airstrip for our flight back to Mara. Matu said he would be back in time to take us to the airport. The flight back to Mara cost extra but it was worth it in time and comfort.
Simon meets us at Nairobi, happy over our enjoyment of the trip and escorts us to the hotel for a rest and dinner. He has gifts for me to bring back to family and friends!
We told him how much we appreciated his planning and organization skills...and Dawn2Dusk safaris for setting such high standards in the industry and giving so much more than expected.
We could tell he had been worried about us and made sure Matu took excellent care of us. I would give them and Dawn@ Dusk seven stars.
We left Nairobi that night very happy...btw Nairobi airport isn't very easy to wait at as the lounge is after secuirty, has no restroom/water and if you have to come out through security if you want these. Three hours ahead is what you need as there are about 4 security checks of you/your luggage/everything and then this long wait before you get on the plane!
One last word about the safari...if we can do it and 75 and a few months short of 60, so can other seniors. We had no hard, long walks just bumpy rides. We never had to carry our luggage and at every place felt we were well cared for.
Our fears about Nairobi, health concerns etc were laid to rest by choosing an escorted tour. We had a lot more control as we chose a tour just for the two of us. We arranged everything after a consult with our doctor and taking all our shots and malaria meds. We also took protection for our skin against mosquitoes and used it.
As far as we are concerned, we couldn't have chosen a better trip.
Oct 13th, 2009 | 05:25 PM
#5
Original Poster
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
Flowerpower, twaffle and scruffy: it was truly amazing.
I do have pictures, but I see so many better ones here that I hesitate to put mine up...taken with a Canon sd750.
Should I share them?
check out safariwannabe and robin for the best pics.
I've just spent an hour browsing.
flowr do air, but Iw anted to see all I could of Africa the first time and driving was great. If I'm lucky enough to have a next time...I'll do it by air BUT they are putting great roads in to the Mara which should be done soon.
I do have pictures, but I see so many better ones here that I hesitate to put mine up...taken with a Canon sd750.
Should I share them?
check out safariwannabe and robin for the best pics.
I've just spent an hour browsing.
flowr do air, but Iw anted to see all I could of Africa the first time and driving was great. If I'm lucky enough to have a next time...I'll do it by air BUT they are putting great roads in to the Mara which should be done soon.
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Oct 25th, 2009 | 09:19 AM
#8
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 10,496
Likes: 1
There are no better pictures than your own because it was your experience and each photo is attached to <i>your</i> memories. I agree, there are many very talented wildlife photographers here but I would love to see your images!
Oct 25th, 2009 | 03:46 PM
#9
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 14,440
Likes: 0
Kodak Gallery Easyshare is an easy way to share your photos. It's what I use, but there are many other sites as well.
Picasa, snapfish, to name a few. Please post the photos. We like to see what animals are being viewed where and not interested in judging your skills.
I got to where you saw giant forest hogs. I'm still swooning and will read more later.
Picasa, snapfish, to name a few. Please post the photos. We like to see what animals are being viewed where and not interested in judging your skills.
I got to where you saw giant forest hogs. I'm still swooning and will read more later.
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