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

[bPeteb]

Day 8

Lake Naivasha to Fig Tree Camp, Maasai Mara

The very odd wall safe each of us had in our bedrooms


The lodge’s resident donkeys



Delicious sounding breakfast



we chose the scrambled eggs. Not sure what happened to the bed of toast, chives or butter


One the road


definitely not the route we took at the end. It was over an hour of bone jarring 'short cut' to get us to the camp

Menegai crater



Kenya's Dish(es)




thankfully we're nearly there. Cow's wandering through the local town


not exactly the largest sign


and we've arrived

 

[bPeteb]

We found out on arrival that a large part of the common area of Fig Tree Lodge is still under construction after it, and most of the tents, were severely damaged earlier in the year by floods. They are racing to get everything ready for July when high season begins. The usual open air restaurant and second bar, with reception, were due to open the week after we stayed



we arrived just as a whole lot of other groups did so after a lovely hot towel and welcome drink we were ushered off to lunch. It amazed us that they were able to greet everyone else the same way and escort every person to their rooms/tents.


then we were taken to our rooms.

instruction sheet


One thing that is missing from the safari itinerary is adequate description of what type of room we'll be in at each of the camps/lodges. Fig Tree offers tents on the riverfront and then rooms in bungalows behind them.

We were led back to the carpark where we'd arrived and then into a maze of small bungalows on poorly sign posted paths. bStub went one way and we another. After a very long walk we arrived at a little bungalow that backed onto the worker's cottages

It was very dark and was our first disappointment. Maybe the first stays has given us higher expectations. It is mid-range after-all


look back at reception from the bridge to the Mara


gabian riverbank


tented accommodation


then it was back on the bumpy road through the small nearby town to the entrance gates to the Maasai Mara National Park. There was some drama happening with Jackson. He was on the phone to the office we guess then came to us and said he'd left his payment card behind somewhere and did we hve USD300 to cover the entrance fees. Luckily we had our money with us. How we'd be repaid we had no idea.

Finally in to the Maasai Mara at about 4:30pm and we were greeted with a beautiful double rainbow


animals literally straight away

spotted hyena


topi


pumba





eland




huge herds of zebra and topi

 

[bPeteb]

our first lions on the Mara. Some mums, older siblings and cubs



another hyena


sundowners


just as we were getting back to the park side parking area this was walking along the road!


what a crazy afternoon.

No dinner photos. All food is being served in a large dining room. It's noisy, and even noisier with a couple of large groups of loud American's in them. Food was ok. Our server lovely. bAlt and I stayed in the bar for a couple of local Kenyan gins. bStub made his way to his room that was even further than ours and sounded just weird - no verandah/porch, out on a grassed area that led to the staff quarters.

We got lost on the way back to our oom and found out the next morning that bStub did too. Not happy.

Day 8 done

 

[bPeteb]

Ngorongoro Crater yesterday. View back towards the crater from last night’s digs taken after we arrived
And this morning


The weather gods were looking after us

 

[kookaburra75]

We're really enjoying your photos as always. MrsK and I are thinking about an African safari in a few years, and your trip reports, and the others on AFF are certainly providing a lot of great ideas.

I'm a bit behind with the drinks though, as while I can get an Argentian Malbec, Kenyan beer has proven a bit hard to get. So, I'm making do with local beers.

 

[Seat0B]

Your food pics remind me of home style cooking in Aus circa 1970s. I had this feeling/experience too in Kadavu, Fiji a few years back.

 

[bPeteb]

We

Your food pics remind me of home style cooking in Aus circa 1970s. I had this feeling/experience too in Kadavu, Fiji a few years back.

We're not fancy people. We like nice food and wine but at the same time have no expectations of gourmet dining at the African camps that our budget goes to. The red meat is often tough and Jackson warned us about this right at the start. It's much better in the stews and Indian based curries usually offered.

 

[bPeteb]

Day 9

Full day Maasai (Masai) Mara NP

Up bright and early for 6am breakfast for our 6.30 all day game drive. We didn't need an alarm clock. The rooms on both sides had wake up calls via loud knocking on their doors at 4.30. They must have been doing balloon rides. Half an hour later they were loudly shutting their doors and talking loudly in Hindi as they headed back to reception.

Breakfast buffet was busy. Great omelettes I was told but I had peanut butter on toast

The last tent waiting to be repaired


It was amazing to walk across the bridge from tyhe camp and onto the Maasai Mara. Close to 20 safari vehicles were parked over there.

As we'd been heading off on our intro safari the afternoon before Jackson had asked about our rooms. We both said they were a long way from the restaurant and bar. He was surprised that we weren't in tents.

This morning he asked how we'd slept. Both said 'so so' and commented that we'd gotten lost going back to our rooms the night before. We mentioned the wakeup calls for the rooms either side of us. Stu had been told as he was taken to his room that he'd be moved today so he'd packed his bag. We would have just stayed where we were so our stuff was all over the bungalow but Jackson was having none of that.

Off he went back to reception and five minutes later jumped back in and said you're both being moved. He is a man of action!

Jackson decided to head in the opposite direction to everyone else. That turned out to be both a good and a not so good thing.

Very few vehicles for the majority of the day. Not a huge number of animals either.

We started with zebra


then more of bAlt's new favourite the topi. Love the sheen and colouring


ostritch, the pink knecked one in season


elephants




vulture


and the iconic acacia on the horizon, complete with hyena


hartebeest



here's a couple of the balloons and baskets coming back after their morning trips. We came across the loaded trailer later in the day. It had a flat and they'd gone off to get another, leaving four staff out in the hot sun with no water. We gave them a few bottles of ours


then we came across a whole bunch of vehicles looking down a plain. Had to be lions and it was.


Six young lions eyeing off three buffalo. Eventually the hunt was on and it was a miserable failure. The first buffalo chased them instead of the other way around. The second also got through unscathed. The third did end up with a scatch or two but the six juveniles were just not skilled enough.

Once the hunt was over we, and 49 other vehicles, pretty much chased the lions around It was uncomfortable but we got very close and took some pretty decent photos



we found another sitting on the top of a hill. Just a couple of cars this time