We bless the rains down in Africa, gunna take some time...

[RooFlyer]

All she did was pose perfectly for the camera. Magic.

Quite the Princess.

 

[bPeteb]

Day 4
Samburu National Reserve Samburu National Reserve

Two things I forgot to mention that happened yesterday. One was that the Sony RX10 decided to die as bAlt was taking photos of the leopard. I’d tried to talk him into letting me bring my trusty old Samsung NX500 but he’d said no. One camera it is. I then played around with it on the drive up to the lodge and it came back to life. For how long, who knows.

The second was that you are escorted back to your rooms after dark. There is a risk of elephants and baboons.

Oh, a third - the mattresses here are hard, regional China hard. We have a firm mattress but these are next level.

Greeted by a beautiful dawn as we wandered up for our 6am start


Down a different route along the opposite side of the airstrip. A group of jackals playing on the road

Sunrise over Samburu National Reserve


Tawny eagle


Steppe eagle


We spent a long time driving through the undergrowth along the river where we saw some warthogs


more, or the same, elephants


kingfisher


Elephants playing in the river

 

[bPeteb]

Vulturine guinea fowl


A very large tower of giraffes up by the airstrip, maybe 14


A fleeting glimpse of a Kori bustard


Then time for breakfast. A good spread.



breakfast view from our table



We had the rest of the morning and early afternoon until our next drive. I was going to have a swim and even though the water was warm enough, the wind whipping across the plateau was not.

Samburu Sopa Lodge - The Lodge

Tucked away within Kenya & Tanzania’s vast landscape, Sopa Lodges will be found in hand-picked locations with panoramic views. We pride ourselves in offering our guests memorable experiences with the warmest East African welcome.

www.sopalodges.com

looking back to our rooms. bStut in 12B and we're in 14. No 13


lizard visiting us at breakfast


time for some photo editing after lunch, with a beverage of course



All sorts of wildlife visiting the waterhole during the day including a Grevy's zebra

and a huge group of baboons early in the afternoon


More of the wildlife around the lodge

 

[JohnM]

One was that the Sony RX10 decided to die as bAlt was taking photos of the leopard. I’d tried to talk him into letting me bring my trusty old Samsung NX500 but he’d said no. One camera it is. I then played around with it on the drive up to the lodge and it came back to life. For how long, who knows.

I have found that Sony cameras are very susceptible to being disrupted by humidity. It can be a real pain in the tropics and going in and out of cold air-conditioning in a humid environment.

It's a good idea to keep them in a bag with silica gel.

 

[bPeteb]

We have

I have found that Sony cameras are very susceptible to being disrupted by humidity. It can be a real pain in the tropics and going in and out of cold air-conditioning in a humid environment.

It's a good idea to keep them in a bag with silica gel.

Thanks for that John. We have our cameras in a sealed box at home loaded up with silica. Hadn't thought to bring any with us. It's much cooler at the moment and it seems to be working ok again. Fingers crossed.

 

[bPeteb]

Back down to the valley and river at 4



Some better pics of the Grey Crowned Cranes



More elephants


and vervet monkeys



we see these all of the time. They run down the road in front of us constantly and make quite the racket. Yellow-necked spurfowl/francolin



We drove around and around looking for a pair of young male lions, even playing the call of a female lion, all to no avail.

Time to call it a day and then literally beside the road on the way back up to the lodge were the three young cheetahs again. There was just us. No other vehicles. They came right past the vehicle. Bloody amazing.

Jackson got on the blower to let everyone else in the vicinity know but they were on the move and by the time other vehicles arrived they were a good 150m away.

 

[bPeteb]

then over the radio came the message that Jackson had been listening for - the young lions had been located.

We’d literally been 50m away from them when we’d been searching.

Pretty incredible to get as close as we did, along with the maybe eight other safari vehicles


Long drive back up to the plateau that finished in the dark.

Treated to a genet wandering along the edge of the restaurant deck after dinner


Then it was time for bed, in the hard bed. If you want a soft bed you better bring your own mattress topper!

 

[bPeteb]

Day 5

Samburu Sopa Lodge to Rhino Watch Lodge


Another beautiful sunrise greeted us as we walked up to breakfast. This lodge would be an easy 5/5 if not for the hard beds. As they are, it is a very easy 4.5/5.


pool and just one of the lovely staff


We're taking turns sitting up front with Jackson but this morning he asked if we'd be ok taking someone into town for a medical appointment. He is an ex-park ranger who was injured in an accident and now goes into Iseolo for rehab. Of course we said we were ok. We talked about it later in the day and he said not everyone would have said yes. Wtaf? What is wrong with people? Humanity is doomed.

Not a huge amount of wildlife seen on the way to Buffalo Springs. The/a gate between Samburu and Buffalo Springs National Reserve


very soon after something we didn't get a picture of last year - a Secretary Bird! At least we got something, even if a little blurry.


Further into Buffalo Springs Reserve, where we had seen the leopard two days before. Lots of Grant's gazelles, a huge tower of giraffes


and not much more.

We drove down onto a flat plain and could see a lot of vehicles up ahead. To the left of them and a bit closer were a couple of Oryx and behind them something I was sure was a lioness. A quick tele photo confirmed just that.

​

Jackson thought it must be lions where the other vehicles were so we drove there. When he saw them, he just said oh, just elephants.

It was actually at least 20 elephants crossing the river in a group. The group included two little babies that the group carefully shepherded across the river.

 

[bPeteb]

Then we went to look for the lions. One female meant there would be more. I could see them amongst some low scrubby bushes and eventually Jackson did too. Here's what we found out on the plain - a black maned male, four females and six cubs.


Just incredible. The whole being surrounded by lions and cheetahs while sitting in your comfy safari vehicle is such a surreal experience. We absolutely know how privileged we are.

In less than a week we've seen the big five, the Samburu special five and are just one short of the ugly five. Just a vulture, any vulture, and the trifecta is complete.

What a crazy morning.

Out onto the highway to Isiolo. Straight away we were dodging a huge troop of baboons. They just have no fear. As we entered Isiolo a big herd of camels was being herded across the road.


We dropped the ranger off and Jackson explained what had happened. He was on patrol in Samburu on a motorbike and came off. He suffered a head injury that affected his ability to walk. Over the course of the last couple of years he has gotten back on his feet with the assistance of a stick. The lodge has employed him on light duties as a way of thanking him for protecting the animals that are their livelihood.

There are always lots of goat herds on the roadside.

 

[bPeteb]

more street scenes


We were dropped at a mall in Nanyuki while Jackson had one of the shocks tightened. This is the second on the go fix. At Ikweta a spring on one of the breaks came loose and caused a grinding sound. This was fixed late the first second afternoon.

I got some more cash out of an ATM, we visited the supermarket to have a gander and get some snacks and also went to the pharmac_ to get some eyedrops.

Lots of British army personnel in an out of uniform in the mall. Jackson had said to us when we drove through Nanyuki on the way to Samburu that Kenya was close to telling Britain to remove its base and troops. Boris Johnson apparently made an unannounced visit and next minute the PM announced that the British would be staying. Money/corruption talks in Africa.

Lunch was at Serena Sweetwaters Camp inside Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Right on the equator


Camp is an interesting description for this five star lodge with luxury tents looking out across a huge waterhole. As we arrived a mother white rhino was arriving for a drink with her baby.


Lunch was nice but Sweetwaters wasn’t my thing. Forget the cost. Neither of us could cope with being surrounded by people outfitted in head to toe safari gear. Extras in Out of Africa anyone? I’d walked in wearing shorts with rubber Birkies on my feet! Pretentious I ain’t. Maybe it wasn’t wanky but some of the people sat near us at lunch definitely were.



car issue 3. Check the left rear tyre.

Then it was into Ol Pejeta to see the chimps, the only chimps in Kenya. Jane Goodall was behind the establishment of the chimp rehoming centre.

I actually found it a bit disturbing. The two chimps that were ‘hanging around’ the viewing platform seemed mentally unstable. They are all very damaged and if these two are examples of the others they should be left in peace, not being subjected to screaming kids and camera toting adults looking to feel better about themselves.



We were taken by a ranger further into the park in the hope of seeing some more chimps but that wasn’t to be. They were heading back to their lodgings for dinner and bed. On the way we passed a guest safety cage


They’ve had more than one escape and these chimps are strong, and some not man’s best friend. Sam showed us a video of a chimp attempting to break out of the enclosure using dry branches to short the electric fence. It was scary to watch. Planet of the Apes anyone? Here's the cast

 

[bPeteb]

Then we had a drive around to look for some rhinos.


Look at the crazy horn on this one.



Then we went to see Baraka the blind black rhino. Again, a slightly uncomfortable experience. Baraka hurt his right eye out in the main park and then lost the sight in his left due to a cataract. They decided to home him in his own enclosure and he comes/is guided to a platform where we initially thought it was just to see him. Nope, we were there to feed him. What an unexpected and weird and wonderful experience. Who would have known that a rhino likes to have the very soft skin behind his ears scratched!


That was pretty much it for Ol Pejeta. They had so many animals wandering the vast plains on top of the rhino - zebra, buffalo, gazelle, impala, water buck, warthogs. It was an open range zoo on the most epic of scales.

yet another sofa on the back of a bike


It wasn’t too long of a drive to Rhino Watch Safari Lodge where we’d have our first one night stay. It was dark when we arrived and the first thing we had to do was order our dinner. Then it was up to our safari tents and the reveal on unzipping the front flaps was quite the surprise!


Dinner was very good



and they had quite the wine list. We had this Mendoza Merlot that worked out to be over $100. Considering we hadn’t seen a wine on a list that was more than KES5100, they had wines up to KES24000.


We moved into the bar where there was a wonderful log fire burning. Finished off the bottle of red and then had an Amarula each.


Unlike our first two lodges, Rhino Watch had power after 11pm or so when the generator went off at Ikweta and Samburu. A pitch black tent is not fun to negotiate when you need to get up during the night. Oh, even though we had two beds they were extra wide singles, and not as hard as a sheet of chipboard.

Biggest surprise of all was finding the tent turned down and a hot water bottle warming the foot of the bed. What a cool place.

 

[VPS]

Absolutely fantastic photos. I totally agree with your point of view on many issues. Would you want to associate with some who would say no to dropping someone at a medical appointment

 

[Seat0B]

I actually found it a bit disturbing. The two chimps that were ‘hanging around’ the viewing platform seemed mentally unstable. They are all very damaged and if these two are examples of the others they should be left in peace, not being subjected to screaming kids and camera toting adults looking to feel better about themselves.

Yes. I am wondering if our visit to AfriCat Centre (rehab and research for big cats) will have a similar vibe.

 

[bPeteb]

I'm getting behind. We've just spent the whole day at Serentgeti NP. Better get cracking
Day 6
Rhino Watch Safari Lodge to Lake Nakuru Lodge



A very good night’s sleep on our comfy big singles. Of course a great breakfast to go with the previous night’s dinner. We thought that it was just the spread in the dining room but no, there was a freshly cooked plate to come as well!



Some future Olympians in training.


Looking down into the amazing Rift Valley


It is so incredibly green!

We passed so many trucks loaded like this, and maybe worse


Lake Nakuru NP is one of Kenya’s smallest, and it’s getting smaller. The lake is rising and taking both the park, and the shoreline of Kenya’s fourth and newest city with it.


View back across the lake to the city of Nakuru


Nakuru NP is classed as one of Kenya’s premium parks - small with a big selection of easily accessible wildlife. It was famous for its flamingoes but they relied on super saline water and as the volume of the lake increases, the salinity has decreased. Now its waterbirds are pelicans.

Large mob of baboons


Then a spotted hyena bolted down the road


There was a Kenya Wildlife Service helicopter overhead and cars and trucks blocking the road ahead. Jackson stopped and asked a ranger what was going on and it was a rhino translocation. Actually three rhinos were being relocated. From the stickers on the crates to Ol Pejeta.


We drove on but then had to pull over as the helicopter swooped over us then the truck went past and drove to where a whole lot of other people and vehicles were. They had darted a rhino and were waiting for it to go down. Very disappointed we couldn’t get close enough to see exactly what was going on.

 

[bPeteb]

Lunch was calling so off we went to Lake Nakura Lodge

A fantastic homage to the 60s, 70s and 80s. It felt like a cross between a tiki bar and a log cabin lodge in Yellowstone.

Gigantic rooms looking out across the lake towards Nakuru with a gigantic bed as soft as a sheet of chipboard.



Told later that Jom Kenyatta used to stay at a large house on the site and the hotel was built around it.

We had a drink down on the terrace looking out across the lake then went in for lunch.




Another large buffet with some different selections to the Samburu. Really lovely staff.


bAlt and I then went and sat in the tiki log cabin bar and had another drink or two. Me beer, he a local Gilbeys Gin.


A rock hyrax next to our room

 

[bPeteb]

Then it was out for our Lake Nakuru NP game drive. It was a very different drive.

Access to the park is via a causeway that really isn’t that far from going under.

Yellow billed stork


No flamingos of course but plenty of pelicans.


With them lots of buffalo


The park is very, moist. It had clearly rained a lot recently.

Zebra and buffalo


Rothschilds giraffes. This is the only place that they are. A completely abstract pattern is the distinguishing hide difference for Rothschilds


We watched a lot of people looking out across at, nothing. You could just see a tiny bit of colour that was apparently a lion. We didn’t bother hanging around.


And finally a rhino to end the afternoon. Well, part of one


Lovely sunset from the lodge


Dinner was great. Someone near us had an anniversary so we got the singing and dancing for a third time. Then they came over and gave us some of their delicious cake.

So endeth day six

 

[bPeteb]

Day 7

Lake Nakura Lodge to Naivasha Kongoni Lodge

The bed was actually slightly better than a sheet of pine board, but not much better. Some views around the lodge including maybe the house that Kenyatta stayed at



Excellent breakfast. Looked after again by the lovely Leah


My childish mind found this just a little funny


Might be time to change to a pelican


Then it was off to Lake Naivasha. Google just could not work out the route we took via Elementita and directly out to the highway. I’m not surprised. The map shows the options vaguely. One of the roads Jackson took us on was like driving along a street of giant marbles. Terrible and hilarious.



Out on the highway eventually


and straight to Lake Naivasha.

Included with the safari was a boat tour out on the lake with an optional walk with animals. I think it was USD60? To be honest, I have no idea. I thought that it was on an island but it was on the foreshore further around the lake.

We paid whatever it was to the boat company, got onto the quite small boat, and Captain Timothy steered us out onto the lake. First stop was to stop by some fisherman for four tiny fish.


I kinda knew where this was leading.

Fish eagle feeding, but the fish eagle wasn’t interested. It had already been fed 73 times by the time we got there.

The hippos were happy to get second and third helpings of green veg at Lake Naivasha Resort

The lake rose in 2018 and a lot of shorefront real estate went under


Second option for use of the now dead fish - pelicans - and a pelican isn’t ever going to say no to a free feed. And they didn’t.


As I said, I thought that this trip went to an island but it didn’t. It went to a precarious landing on the lakefront. Here we were introduced to our guide whose name I forgot to add to my notes. The nameless but very nice person who I’ll call Simon then walked us around the 12 or so acres where a surprising collection of animals resided.

The animals dated from when Out of Africa was filmed. Crazy collection that you just walk around. There’s even some hyenas!

Gnu


Water buck

 

[bPeteb]

Zebra, including a very happy to see us zebra



Gazelle


an aardvark burrow. They only come out at night


And even giraffes! It was literally just a few feet away


It was a fantastic and weird experience. Yet again, a bit like a petting zoo with no petting. You can camp onsite, and yes, I’ll say it again, there are hyenas that are not fed, if you get what I mean.

happy walkers


on our way back. 'Simon' pushing us off


this was a polo club, complete with playing field and an inground pool


Captain Timothy


The drive to the lodge was less than an hour. On the way we drove past huge greenhouses, Naivasha is the flower growing capital of Kenya and Kenya provides 15% of the world’s cut flowers. Also close to Naivasha is the Menagai Crater. On the slopes around it are a number of ‘wells’ that use steam to generate power. Kenya also has wind and hydro. Take that coal and nuclear.

 

[bPeteb]

So to Naivasha Kongoni Lodge.

Not lakefront but definitely lake view. A collection of rooms and cottages of all sorts of shapes and sizes. Loved the resident donkeys.

Our room was a surprise. It was actually a two bed cabin/house. Ginormous!



Lunch was three courses, as usual so far, and it all seemed a bit gourmet. A whole fried fish!

Jackson our guide with us


new Kenyan beer tried. So far my favourite


bAlt's two favoutire neopolitan favourites


banana grape trifle, not exactly what I was hoping for but delicious nonetheless


Lazy afternoon of nothing. Had some coctails. Perved a bit on the pool guy



The one odd thing about this place, in a country where the LGBTQ community keeps a very low profile, was that more than a couple of the staff were fairly obviously members of that/my community. I think I saw two women on staff and in our time in Kenya so far, women have made up a majority portion of restaurant staff. Maybe I was drawing a conclusion that wasn’t there to be drawn.

 

[bPeteb]

Dinner was excellent.


brassiere beside the table to keep us warm


Choosing wine was a hilarious experience. I chose a wine off the menu. Waiter goes to Peter the barman. Much pointing. A few minutes later Peter arrives with an icebucket. That confused us greatly as we’d chosen a South African Shiraz. He then came back with a Chenin Blanc from the same vineyard. No I say, same vineyard but the shiraz. Totally confused looks.

This arrived. At least it was South African and it was nice, just more expensive. Ah well.


the ravioli tasted a lot better than it looked


pork chops



Day seven, done.