Amboseli

I spent a couple summers as a tour guide when I was in grad school. I’ve also taken friends and family throughout my life on three different continents. One thing is certain: you never want to be with someone who is unappreciative and/or high maintenance. It’s always fun to share things you think are cool with someone who gets a thrill from experiencing the same thing. My mother-in-law traveled with us from the US and is spending a month visiting the country. She's an incredibly curious person. That’s a quality you always want, particularly when showing someone around. Moreover, she’s genuinely enthusiastic and appreciative. Makes travel much easier.

* * *

After a couple of weeks of getting settled and visiting the sights and sounds of Nairobi, we headed out to Amboseli National Park. It’s the park we’ve been to the most and, though we should probably venture out to other places more often, we sort of wanted to go with something we knew (and love) and avoid any potential unpleasant surprises. It’s also fairly close. We can do new when we don’t have a guest.

One thing we enjoy about Amboseli is obviously its proximity to Mt. Kilimanjaro. Other parks have nice views but the tallest mountain in Africa as your backdrop is pretty special. The question would be whether or not it would make itself visible. We know people that spent several days in the park without seeing it due to persistent clouds. As we approached the park by safari vehicle, it was unfortunately obscured. We were hopeful it would present itself at some point.

We checked into our rooms at the lodge and made our way to lunch. The location inside the park means that the dining area provides you with a gorgeous view of animals milling about in their natural habitat. Meals are “modified buffet style". The buffet spread is laid out similar to normal times but you don’t serve yourself. Masks are required when you are up and moving around. Tables are a sufficient distance apart and all the staff are masked all the time. Works for me.

The first afternoon we spent by the swimming pool, something that plays into the reason we stay at this place. It’s nice to have access to a pool as a grown-up but having that option for kids during the heat of the day (when you’re not going to be out on game drives), is wonderful. Following that, in the British tradition, we had tea around 4pm and then we would head out on the late afternoon/early evening game drive.

* * *

Our guide was the same guy from when we were last in Amboseli nine months ago. He’s a nice guy but I’m not sure he knows the park that well. We’ve been there in our own vehicle (self-guided) and I feel like we managed as well, if not better. One big advantage of a guide is their ability to radio the other guides as they often share info about key sightings. But our guy, who I think is normally based in Nairobi, didn’t seem to be well connected with the other guides and was mostly relying on his own instincts. A couple years ago in Masai Mara, a guide was telling us that guides in national parks are sometimes tribal and will share information with their own rather than inform everyone. Not sure if that's the case in this park but it's possible, if not tribal it could be local guides vs. Nairobi-based.

The weather was mostly overcast but no rain was predicted. Thus the lighting wasn’t fantastic for wildlife photography. Every once in a while I would look south in the direction of Kilimanjaro to see if it was visible. To no avail. Nonetheless, it was good to be out on the dusty roads and feeling the cool air. The landscape of Kenyan national parks, at least for me, is a big part of the overall experience. It’s also just great to be out of the city.

One thing nice about Amboseli is the diversity of the landscape. It has lakes which provide a home to lots of wildlife that you wouldn’t see otherwise.

On this day there was an unusually stiff wind that was picking up as we moved into evening. A guy at the hotel said he’d never seen it like it. Probably an exaggeration but it gave credence that it was out of the ordinary. It really didn’t make it pleasant to sit outside (they make a fire in a pit outside every evening) so when the game drive was over, it was basically dinner and back to our rooms to get ready for bed. I’m not sure what it is about game drives but they do make me tired at the end of the day. I tend to stand inside the safari vehicle most of the time and just keeping your feet sometimes can be a workout.

* * *

The next morning, the game drive would start at 6:30. It’s good to get out early since the animals tend to be a bit more active (and the lighting happens to be better). You basically go out for a couple hours and then come back to the lodge for breakfast. Great way to start the day.

Other than a large herd of elephants near the lodge, many with calves, the day began rather slowly. But before too long we did manage to see three lions. They were a bit far away but things were beginning to look up. About a half hour after that the sun came out and the lighting improved. Kili remained obscured but I was hopeful that as some of the clouds were beginning to dissipate, we might end up seeing the big mountain before the end of the day. I’ve seen it numerous times (and climbed it), but I desperately wanted my mother-in-law to see it at some point during the visit.

Generally speaking, the morning game drive was nice but nothing earth shattering. We’ve had so many wonderful experiences there, I suppose my expectations are a bit too high. Just as we were heading back to the lodge, we did come upon a really nice moment where a herd of elephants passed in front of us (likely the same herd that we saw earlier), alongside some hippos, wildebeest and some zebras. There were things to see on all sides of the vehicle and I had a hard time knowing where to place my focus. Very cool. 

 

* * *

Then it was back to the lodge for breakfast. We would enjoy the down time for swimming, reading and enjoying the views of the animals, often very close to the fence surrounding the grounds. The middle of the day alternated back and forth between overcast and sunny. It kept it from being too hot but I was hoping it would clear up by the evening game drive. Unfortunately it was not to be. It was mostly cloudy for the remainder of the day.

 * * *

At around 4pm, we headed out on the evening game drive. I was sad to think that this would be the final one, other than what we might see as we drove out of the park the next day. The one bright spot was that Mt. Kilimanjaro finally revealed itself to us. It wasn’t super clear but you could see the outline of the mountain on the horizon and the white snows on the top. It really is beautiful and it’s always bigger than you think it’s going to be.

As sunset neared, we were quite a ways from the lodge and in an area where we’d never been. It was nice to see some new parts of the park but there didn’t seem to be much in the way of animals. It’s the kind of thing that can be stressful. You have a limited amount of time and you want to make the most of it. In my mind I was sort of questioning the guide’s decision making. I generally don't like to get in the guide's business (particularly since he's been there far more than we have), but it just seemed to be an uninteresting place to be at that time of evening. Before we could say anything, he suddenly hit the accelerator and off we went. There were another couple vehicles in front of us that seemed to get the same information. It provided some hope that we might see something special before calling it a day.

We hit a couple of dead ends and had to turn around, confirming my fears that he didn’t know the park that well (nor did the other two drivers). But we pushed on and towards the horizon we began to see a large gathering of safari vehicles. It was great that there might be something interesting awaiting us, but it was tempered by the fact that it was starting to get dark (and my camera zoom lens doesn’t do well in low light). Hopefully we could at least see whatever it was with the naked eye.

It turned out to be lions. There were a couple of females lounging to our left as we joined the throng of vehicles. Soon we would realize that there was a male, with a stunningly dark mane, off to the right sitting in some tall grass. The sun was mostly set by this time and the air was mostly still, unlike the prior evening. We shut off the engine and just sat and watched. I knew we wouldn’t have long given that it was late but it was still wonderful.

The male finally got up and walked away and that signaled that it was time to beginning heading back. Just before reaching the lodge we witnessed a couple of bull elephants engaging in a little battle. It was almost dark so it wasn’t easy to see, much less photograph, but it was cool nonetheless.

 

* * *

The next day we had breakfast, packed up and headed out. Overall, we’ve had far more amazing safari experiences. But it was still a great weekend and, more importantly, I think it was a treasured experience for my mother-in-law.