An Epic Kenya Safari: Part 2

I’m sharing some photos and memories from our epic Kenya safari, visiting Amboseli, Samburu, Masai Mara, and Ol Pejeta. This is part 2 of a multi-part series.

After three nights at Amboseli (see An Epic Kenya Safari: Part 1) we drove back to the airstrip to catch a plane back to the regional airport in Nairobi. I was VERY happy to finally see my backpack, which had spent a few extra days hanging out at the Paris airport while I was in Amboseli. Of course I never check my camera bag, but checking my clothes for a direct flight from Paris had seemed pretty safe. I was wrong. From now on, it’s carry-on only for me! Thankfully, I had traveled in safari-friendly clothing, and Amboseli was hot and dry enough that clothes washed at night were dry by morning.

Another short flight from Nairobi to another airstrip in the bush, and we’re now in Samburu National Reserve.

Predators

Our guides were excited to find a leopard, hanging out (literally) in a tree.

When it finally decided to get moving, we watched as it walked along a dry riverbed. The soil here is very red making a striking background.

Another leopard sighting, the next day.

At one point, we heard monkeys screeching. Our guides, recognizing the sound as a predator alert, spent some time searching with their binoculars in the direction the monkeys were looking, but we never figured out what they had spotted.

Speaking of predators…

We always got an early start, because by late morning a lot of the animals—especially the predators—are hiding out in the shade and won’t be active again until early evening.

In fact, I think our first lion sighting was of this pride, still lazing around as the sun was setting.

Prey

Predators are exciting, but I think the prey animals have more character, and I really enjoy seeing and watching them. And there are several endangered species here.

The giraffes here are called reticulated giraffes. Reticulated means resembling a net or network, which makes sense once you see them! Reticulated giraffes are endangered, with only 20,000 left in the wild. The good news is that their population seems to be recovering.

The zebras here are different as well, and also endangered: Grevy’s zebras. Only 3000 of these remain in the wild. Stop and let that sink in before you scroll.

Big sigh. I could look at zebras all day, but should probably move on here.

Antelopes

We had seen a lot of antelopes, especially impalas and some gazelles, but here we discovered a few new ones. Dik-diks are tiny antelopes—a fully grown adult is only 30-40cm (about a foot) tall and weighs 3-6kg/6.5-13lbs. They’re adorable!

Gerenuks have tiny heads and huge ears, and stand on their hind legs, using their front legs to steady themselves, to eat prickly acacia trees.

Big birds!

I’m planning a separate post about birds, but had to include these: Ostriches!

Elephants

Did I hear you ask about elephants? I’m saving the best for last! Most of our fellow safari goers seemed focused on the big cats, but the elephants are by far my favourites.

The Samburu elephants often look red, because of the red dust that they spray on themselves.

An intense encounter

While the elephants do sometimes walk pretty close to the vehicles, we had a particularly close experience one day in Samburu. Our three Land Cruisers, with 9 guests, 3 guides, and 3 photo hosts, pulled up near the dry riverbed in a spot that is commonly used for breakfast, sundowners, etc. Our guides set up folding tables and the a generous breakfast buffet, and made coffee. We were enjoying our breakfast, standing around the vehicles, chatting, when we noticed a group of elephants coming closer.

Now I have to tell you that our guides were phenomenal. Most of them have 10-20 years of experience, and they are members of the Kenya Professional Safari Guides association, which means they’ve passed grueling exams about everything related to guiding in Kenya. So they know how to read the animals. They always have an exit plan, and if they see a hint of aggression they don’t hesitate before leaving.

The guides told us to go to the cars, but also just to stay calm and quiet. The elephants came very close, but also seemed to keep some space between themselves and us. It was an intense, magical 15 minutes or so, before they wandered off.

It’s hard to think straight at a time like that. I took a lot of pictures, taking advantage of the situation to focus on details like leathery skin, eyes and eyelashes, trunks and tusks. I didn’t think to switch to a wide angle lens, although even if I had, I might not have felt comfortable moving around enough to get it out of my bag.

We were floating on air for the rest of the day. What a rush!

Elephants are apparently right- or left-side dominant, the way we are right- or left-handed. They always have one tusk that’s a little more worn; that’s the one they use more for pulling at branches.

For today, I’ll leave you with a landscape. More to come!