Kenya – Pretty in Pink

March 27

Hello everyone!

After an incredible experience in the Masai Mara, my sister Laura and I headed north to one of Kenya’s larger towns: Nakuru. It has a lake which has some pretty visitors.

Flamingos: strange birds

It took about 5 hours to drive from the Masai Mara
to Nakuru, including stops for lunch and toilets

Lake Nakuru is situated within a national park of the same name. As well as the wacky waders, there are many other animals found in the confines of the park.

The Rothschild giraffes were moved here from western Kenya
for protection and conservation

At 188km², Lake Nakuru is much smaller than the Masai Mara

Laura had had an incredible first safari adventure, seeing four of the ‘Big Five’ animals in the Masai Mara. The missing piece of the jigsaw was the rhino. Luckily for her, Lake Nakuru is home to Kenya’s first national rhino sanctuary and has one of the world’s largest concentrations of black rhino.

The last survey suggested there are about 80 rhinos in total in the park

Our luck was out on that front – the pictures in this blog are white rhinos, no matter how much they rolled around in the dark mud to try to convince us otherwise (yes, I know that’s not the difference between them). I love rhinos so am happy to see any kind, particularly with recent news.

White rhinos aren't counted in the 'Big Five' -
black rhinos are more aggressive

The mother and baby above were adorable, with the youngster poking its horn gently into its mum’s side for attention. Another family, of four, were to be found on the grassland a short distance from the lakeshore.

The one at the back didn't move for so long I was convinced
it was a rock - even with binoculars...

What inhabits that water is the reason many flock to Lake Nakuru. During breeding season, the lake can often transform to varying shades of pink and it can be difficult to see the water beneath the mass of pink and white feathers.

Flamingos lose their colour as they age, passing it on to their young

We were told that many of the flamingos now reside
at nearby Lake Bogoria, to the north of Nakuru

Up to two million flamingos can descend on the lake at that time. Clearly, we weren’t around at the right time as we saw less than two dozen, in addition to cormorants and pelicans. Still, they are amazing and weird creatures. Just look at those spindly legs!

There may be a darker reason for the lack of flamingos. As it has no outlet, the level of Lake Nakuru has been rising dramatically in recent years, to the point where the main park office has had to be relocated. The effect of this is that it is becoming harder for the flamingos to get their algae from the soil, resulting in them flocking to other lakes nearby.

Scientists (and Wikipedia) reckon that the flamingo population at Nakuru
consumes about 250,000kg of algae per hectare every year.
That's a LOT.

The lake has also suffered from human hands; pollution and sewage from the nearby town, which itself is growing rapidly, is inexplicably pumped into the lake. Why you would knowingly damage the very thing which puts you on the map is…well, I don’t have words.

Industrial pollution also contributes to the problem,
often poisoning the water

I’m more interested in seeing the animals do something now, having seen most of them in the flesh. As well as the rhinos rolling around in the mud, there were other moments in Lake Nakuru National Park which seemed to bring it to life.

There was a fight between two zebras…

A herd of eland leaping across a road, often one at a time…

The eland is the largest antelope species

All of this after watching a troop of baboons, including a baby which looked like it could have been born that morning, jumping around.

A monkey swinging from a tree branch

Look at that cute ugly baby!

Watching the little one try desperately to jump onto an adult’s back and fail miserably was as endearing as it was funny.

Baby animals must be in vogue at the moment at Lake Nakuru National Park. The four baby warthogs feeding from their mother got scared as we passed and started trotting along, their legs seeming to whirr in comparison to the mum.

Little warthogs trying to keep up with their mother

We have been very lucky on our safari adventures in Kenya (less so on the return, when the car broke down). Lake Nakuru is a different experience to the Masai Mara – you have to stay on the roads, there are no elephants, far fewer cars – but both have provided memories that will last a lifetime.

Love you all

Matt

Kenya – Watch Out For That Tree!

March 24-26

Hello everyone!

You can find animals anywhere. For most creatures, you would look on the ground. Some you would search for in the ground. Others would be found in the water. The most elusive, however, are often a bit higher…

Leopard

Lion

The only member of the ‘Big Five’ – the five animals historically thought to be the most dangerous in Africa – which I hadn’t seen in the wild was the leopard. I have seen one at close quarters in a rehabilitation centre in Namibia; the thrill of spotting one of the rarest cats in its natural habitat had eluded me on all previous safaris thus far.

This is Wahu, looked after by AfriCat in Namibia 

He can't be released as he is too used to human interactions

This wasn’t the only reason for me to visit the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. For one thing, the East African country was a suitable point to meet up with my sister Laura, who was coming to sub-Saharan Africa for the first time. Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, is the transport and business hub of the region, and is one of the three regular international destinations you can fly to from Malawi.

Atop the Rift Valley, which cuts through much of the eastern
African continent

The Masai Mara is linked to the much
larger Serengeti in Tanzania

From the chaos and traffic of Nairobi, it was a seven-hour drive to the entrance of the Masai Mara. This included some stops for breathless scenery.

A stunning view of the Rift Valley

Not sure this would give you the safest vantage point, though...

Being the rainy season, I wasn’t expecting to see a plethora of animals. What I did assume was that we would be driving through stunning landscapes. We certainly weren’t disappointed…

I was surprised at how green the Masai Mara National
Reserve was - very vivid and lively hues

A giraffe gracefully meandering through the long grass

It’s always nice to go on safari with someone who hasn’t been before. Their sheer joy is something which I take great happiness in seeing. Even seeing the more ‘common’ animals, such as zebra and giraffe, put a wide smile on Laura’s face.

Snapping a buffalo

One of the few times when human is taller than giraffe

It would be an understatement of the highest order to say that Laura’s first game drive was a success. Within the first hour she had seen cranes, zebras, buffalo, elephants and a number of different species of antelope.

Cranes

Mother and baby elephant

We then saw an annoyance of jeep (a collective noun I’d like to patent) in the distance. Word on the radio was that there were lions. Off we zoomed, our drive Zac showing little regard for driving rules or laws of physics. The lions were across a large crack so we turned left, looking for a route around. Suddenly, we swung sharply to the right and ground to a halt near a large tree.

An annoyance of jeep in the distance

There it was. A solitary, snoozing, black-and-yellow sphinx. My missing piece. A leopard.

A leopard hiding in the tree

As quickly as we saw it, the cat sprang into life, descending the trunk of the tree and vanishing into the bush.

Our car crept around the bush, trying to get a visible on the leopard whilst not disturbing it. Through the zoom of my camera, I managed to see its fur in detail. I then found its eye…staring at me…

The famed leopard print

The leopard is watching...

The annoyance had gotten wind of our sighting and were zipping across the lush grasslands en masse. Zac hatched a plan, deciding to move back to our original position. His thought process was that the number of jeeps would annoy the leopard into moving, with its only escape route being the way it came in. You sometimes get a feeling that you have a special guide – this proved that Zac belonged in that category.

The annoyance of jeep gathering on the other side
of the leopard's bush

After all that, Laura still got to see her lions on the first drive!

A proud, pondering, female lion

Two younger lions messing around

Lions were the theme of the day on our full day drive, which pierced into the heart of the 1,600km² park. We inexplicably drove past a lioness lazing on a rock in the bright sunshine. When we returned, we found two of her cubs in close proximity. Cute doesn’t begin to describe them.

National Geographic quality? Surely?

Two cubs keeping each other company on the rock

Later on, we were driving through the grass and came upon an isolated tree standing over a small but deceptively deep stream. Laura spotted two lions. In the tree…

Only an idiot would drive across that, we thought...

Awake but dozing

Unable to see the faces of the lions, Zac opted for the somewhat high-risk move of driving under the tree, through the small but deceptively deep stream, to see if the view was better from the other side. I’ll let you decide whether safety was a high priority; though the rooftop was kept wide open, I was told to sit down. Nerves frayed a little when the car struggled to get up a muddy verge on the other side, with the lions clearly watching our bravery/stupidity closely.

The view from under the tree - the car was shaking violently
as it struggled through the water, mud and rocks

Arguably my favourite of many memorable moments, aside from the thrill of seeing a wild leopard, was tracking a cheetah, which swaggered along the savannah early on our final morning. It had such a sultry walk, showing the arrogance a natural born killer can exude. I’d never noticed just how pronounced a cheetah’s leg/shoulder muscles are – little wonder they can run at incredible speed. We witnessed it trot a couple of times but it never burst into full pace.

Sleek and speedy

The Masai Mara is a wonderful park, full of colour, adventure and a simply staggering number of animals. The migration must be a truly special event. The park will always hold a special place in the hearts of me and my sister, however. Turns out the best bet is to look up!

Still watching...

Love you all

Matt