Amboseli with Liz

This is already a holiday season like no other. We normally would be in the US visiting family. We're now in the midst of our back-up plan. Priya’s sister Liz, in no easy feat, successfully made it here from Nepal. Going from northern hemisphere to southern, she passed from winter into summer - the opposite direction we normally go this time of year. Temperature is in the 80s F (upper 20s C) in the Kenyan summer. Normally we would be in chilly Indiana only to go to chillier Idaho the day after Christmas. We would be plotting out our winter sports and have multiple family gatherings, carol singing, presents, etc. It’s a magical time filled with traditions and in both families.

All that has been blown out of the water. We didn’t make the trip to the US. Even the families in the US are not getting together as they normally would. If I’m honest, we have discussed in the past the possibility of not going to the US in December. It’s traditionally the worst time to travel. The tickets are the costliest and weather is unpredictable and can mess with the flights. But regardless of where I’ve lived, I’ve only missed the holidays in Idaho once in my life. This will be the second. I would have a hard time making the decision not to go if it weren't for a pandemic.

So Liz was able to come and brings the opportunity to be with family without leaving Kenya. With only a couple of weeks to work with, we decided to fit in a safari and a trip to the coast, including a few days in Nairobi in the margins.

We opted on Amboseli as our safari destination. It’s the place we’ve been to the most but it’s really the quintessential safari experience. It’s a relatively small park but it offers loads of animals and the stunning backdrop of Mt. Kilimanjaro. With marshy areas supplied by glacier melt from Kili, it adds to the diversity of the wildlife.

Day 1

We would only be going for a couple of nights but, given the tight schedule, it was the best we could do. We left on Monday morning at 6:30. The drive there is 3 ½ to 4 ½ hours depending on traffic and who’s driving. It’s not a bad drive once you get beyond the outskirts of Nairobi. In fact you begin seeing animals (other than cows and goats) over an hour before you get to your destination. There are some animals, particularly impalas, zebras and so forth, that roam outside the parks. As you get closer to the park gate, obviously, the sightings increase.

at least they're wearing masks

There were many differences about this trip that previous trips. The first thing difference is that we were swamped at the gate by Masai selling their various trinkets. We’ve experienced this at Masai Mara but not here. They’re in a tough situation since tourism is way down due to the pandemic and I’m sure that they’re desperate to make a few sales.

the lodge

We checked into the lodge. We would normally prefer to camp or be in a tented camp, but we were particularly keen on having access to a pool. With the weather being quite warm, it was a fantastic way to cool down after a hot, dusty game drive.

breakfast with animals as a backdrop

We arrived shortly before noon. We proceeded to have lunch, spend some time at the pool, had tea and headed out on our first game drive around 4pm.

On the drive in we’d already noticed that there were large numbers of flamingos. I don’t remember seeing any in our previous times there. It was a nice addition.

Amboseli is sort of known for its elephants. We saw plenty. Unlike some other animals, they generally move slowly so it’s good to park, shut off the engine and enjoy them as they munch on copious amounts of grass.

The rest of the evening was more or less “normal” game drive and we slowly made our way to the lodge. As we were moving down a road along side a flamingo-laden lake, Kinaya announce that she had seen the peak of Kilimanjaro. Obscured by clouds up to that point, we were excited to see that the top of the mountain had emerged and was still visible as the sun was setting. We parked, sat and took it in for a few magical minutes before continuing on to the lodge.

she finally shows herself

The normal drill, once you return after the evening game drive, is to have a nice warm shower, rinse off the dust from the day, and then make your way to dinner. With the faint glow of the sun still in the sky, we could begin to see the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction. It was impressive though I suppose these celestial phenomena, at least for me, never quite seem to live up to the hype.

Saturn on the right apparently

At the lodge, the Masai guards had started a fire in the pit and a few people were sitting around having some drinks before dinner. We didn’t take advantage of it the first evening but we did the following day. I’m not sure where they get all the wood, in an area not particularly laden with trees, but they make these massive fires every evening.  Nice way to end the day.

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Day 2

On day 2, as is the standard practice, we were up early, had coffee and a snake at 6am and were off on the morning game drive by 6:30. The idea is to catch the animals when they are most active – at the bookends of the day, and, thankfully, when the lighting is also the best.

The last time we were in Amboseli, I was doing the driving. This time we had a safari guide. In addition to the advantage of me being able to relax more, it is also good to take advantage of the inter-guide communications. In most parks, guides are generally good about sharing information regarding key animal sightings. Our guide this time confessed that the system is not without flaws. In fact sometimes guides from some tribes only communicate with other guides from the same tribe. Not always, he said, and not in all parks, but he said it does happen.

On this occasion, there indeed was some sharing of information. Within the first half hour, our guide, Elijah, hit the accelerator and off we went. Soon, in the early morning light, we caught a glimpse of cheetahs off in the distance. 

That alone would be great but they were soon heading out direction. There were four in all. They are no doubt my favorite animals. As they neared the road they proceeded to climb all over the road sign. Then they climbed down, darted across the road and headed out across the grass. I’ve never seen cheetahs in pairs, a mother and two cubs, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen four grown cheetahs together. It was pretty amazing. Not a bad way to start the day.

A bit later we saw some bat-eared foxes. I don’t remember seeing them before. We would see them twice on this trip. 

As we went further saw a few vehicles gathered, people looking off in the distance. We pulled up and scanned the horizon. We soon saw a rather large male lion sitting at the edge of a rather lush area of the park. It was a wonderful setting, just a bit far off in the distance. We assume a corresponding pride was somewhere not far away but we never saw them.

By a little after 8:30, we were back at the lodge and ready for breakfast. I do like that routine of going out early, coming back, having breakfast, hitting the pool, relaxing, having lunch, maybe a nap, tea at 3:30, evening game drive at 4pm. I think I could do that for weeks at a time.

afternoon tea - an English legacy in Kenya

In the evening, we headed over to the lookout. It’s not absolutely amazing but it does give a good overview of the park. It is a very nice view. I suppose the only drawback is that, having been there several times, I would rather be driving around looking at/for animals.

As the sun was getting low in the sky, we honed in on a lone bull elephant for a while. I was beginning to think that was the extent of what we were going to see when there was  some chatter on the radio. Once again, Elijah hit the accelerator and off we went. I heard the word “simba” so I knew there was a lion sighting someplace. These things can be dynamic so it’s always good to get there as quickly as possible. Don’t want to miss the moment.

As we approached, some vehicles were already leaving. We began to think the moment had passed, or never was, but Elijah pressed on and we would decide for ourselves. As we approached the area where vehicles were assembled, we saw a beautiful male lion off in the distance – very possible the same male that we saw that morning. 

king of the jungle - as it should be

We had barely come to a stop when he rose and started moving in our direction. There was some intentionality in the way he trotted, as if he had something in mind. At the same time three females were also heading in our direction from the other side of the road. To our good fortune, the four met in the road, directly in front of us. 

in the mood for romance

I have to say, I did feel a bit bad for all those who had given up on the scene and had left prematurely. We weren’t really sure what was going to happen. A part of me felt that there might be a battle. In the end, it turned out to be quite the opposite. It was what appeared to be an amorous encounter of sniffing each others’ private parts and something that almost looked like snuggling. Then the four headed off to our left, the same side from which the male appeared, taking their time as they walked. Apparently they there would be mating, though we would never know which of the three females would be the lucky feline.

As they strode off into the distance, Elijah suggested we head back given that the sun had just set. The air was cool as we took in the last moments of the drive. Back to the lodge for a cold Tusker. Such a good day and there was more to come.

* * * 

Day 3

We were only booked for two nights so on day 3 we would head back to Nairobi. But we agreed with Elijah that we would be willing to get up early and have one last morning safari before having breakfast and hitting the road. I suppose it’s a lot to ask of the kids. They do enjoy the game drives but two early mornings in a row followed by a long drive home was a bit rough. In the US, children are more accustomed to such things but not ours. I will say that the quality of the roads and drivers here make it a bit more exhausting, speaking from experience.

The final morning game drive did have moments that made it more than worthwhile. It began slowly but we eventually found ourselves at an interesting scene where a male lion was lounging alertly next to a kill (appeared to be a wildebeest). 

hovering hyenas

 

 

He was surrounded by about a dozen hungry hyenas looking to swipe his carrion. Hyenas are notorious for allowing other animals to do the work for them and then feast on the leftovers, or whatever they can steal. The fact that this particular, well outnumbered, king of the jungle went unchallenged either said something about him or possibly the level of desperation of the hyenas. Either way, the male lion, seemingly full from his feast earlier in the morning, had no interest in sharing – likely planning on protecting it for his pride who would come later in the morning. We didn’t have time to wait and find out given that we needed to get to breakfast and head out.

After we’d left the scene, on the way back to the lodge, we came across a group of female lions. We were now feeling fully spoiled. Were they part of the pride connected to the male we had just left? Likely, said Elijah. 

They were so beautiful in the morning light and we could have watched them for much longer but we needed to get back before they stopped serving breakfast.

We ate, packed up and loaded everything in the Land Cruiser. Road construction in and around Nairobi caused Elijah to head back a different way. It’s a much longer route but it would prevent us from being stuck in traffic and would allow us to see some new roads.

Masai tending cattle

On the way out of the park we were afforded continued views of Kilimanjaro as well as some gerenuks. They’re like a cross between an impala and a giraffe. Crazy looking animal, and somewhat rare. We’ve only seen them once before. 

gerenuk

 It was a short trip but we packed in a lot. We would now but in Nairobi for Christmas before heading to the coast. Not the same as being in the US, seeing my family, skiing, etc. but not a bad back-up plan.