Click
photos to enlarge...somewhat :-)
|
The Colisseum in Rome, en route
to Nairobi
|
Robert at the Colisseum
|
Robert at the Safari Park
Hotel in Nairobi
|
Mosaic depiction of Masai warriors
at the hotel bar, Nairobi
|
Nairobi skyline as viewed from Uhuru
Park
|
Ahmed, the famous elephant
(well, a fiberglass reproduction)
in the Natural History Museum
|
Sleeping under mosquito nets
was a prudent precaution
|
Leaving Nairobi we headed south into
northern Tanzania, passing a number
of Masai villages en route
|
Olive baboons traverse the hotel
grounds at Lake Manyara
|
The patio at the Lake Manyara Hotel
|
Baobab trees, also known as
"upside-down trees"
|
A young elephant
|
Hippos wallowing in the muddy water
at Lake Manyara
|
An African Fish Eagle surveys
his domain
|
Olga Clarke and Liza at the entrance
to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area
|
Panorama view of Ngorongoro Crater
from the rim
|
Our driver fixing one of many flat
tires
|
An immature Greater Kestrel greeting
us at the entrance to Serengeti National
Park
|
Sunset at the Seronera Lodge,
Serengeti National Park
|
Grant's Gazelle
|
The Seronera Lodge was set in a
kopje, or rocky
outcropping
|
Colorful Agama Lizards patrolled
the kopjes
|
Hyena...looking cuter than I thought
they would
|
How do you greet a lion? Jambo,
simba! These two plopped themselves
down in the shade provided by our
vehicle
|
Zebras were plentiful on the
Serengeti
|
A Tawny Eagle eating lunch
|
A lioness and her cub relax after a
meal, Serengeti National Park
|
Superb Starling - a lot prettier than
the European Starlings we have at
home
|
Leaving the Serengeti, we made a
stop at Olduvai Gorge
|
Looking into Olduvai Gorge
|
Traditional Masai dance being
performed at a Masai cultural center
|
Masai women and children
looking on as the men dance
|
Robert with a friendly Masai man
|
Next day we switched into rugged
4WD Land Rovers (from Toyotas)
and descended the steep switchback
trail into Ngorongoro Crater
|
Lots of Cape Buffalo and Wildebeest
in Ngorongoro
|
Beautiful tall yellow-bark acacias,
also known as fever trees, in the
crater
|
A Black Rhinoceros (although we have
it on good authority you can't tell from
a distance...but we took our driver's
word)
|
From Ngorongoro we headed back to
Arusha, Tanzania's fourth largest city,
passing a Masai market (above) en
route
|
Liza at Mountain Village, our lodge
just outside Arusha
|
Mountain Village...beautiful...
we actually had a glimpse of
Mount Kilimanjaro from here
(not pictured :-)
|
Back in Kenya, negotiating the busy
streets of Nairobi...quite the experience
|
Liza and Robert at the Equator,
where (for a fee) folks were eager
to show you the Coriolus effect
(which way the water swirls down
a drain) on either side of the
Equator..or so they said
|
This is a tent! Sweetwaters Tented
Camp, a private game reserve, where
the tents are both permanent and
luxurious
|
A Reticulated Giraffe on the run
|
Robert meets Murani, a tame
Rhinoceros (white or black?)
|
Robert and Liza at Sweetwaters
|
Landscaped garden meets acacia
scrubland at Sweetwaters
|
Kenyan roads are in general better
than in Tanzania, but away from the
cities, they're all about the same...
bumpy
|
Woodcarvers turning out quality
animal carvings at the Equator
Wood Carving Cooperative
|
Rosy-patched Bush-shrike
|
We continued north past the western
slopes of Mount Kenya to descend
a
steep escarpment into Kenya's Northern
Province and the Samburu Game
Reserve,
where we enjoyed a rosy sunset
|
Why they named a car after the
graceful Impala, I'll never know
|
Lilac-breasted Roller at Samburu
|
Can you find the leopard in this photo?
|
Gerenuks (a type of antelope)
stand on their hind legs to nibble
leaves higher in the trees
|
Little Bee-eaters
|
Termite mound...eek
|
Zebras on alert
|
Lioness checking out the zebras...
|
...while her partner yawns
|
Liza at a champagne brunch outside
Samburu Game Reserve
|
Yellow-billed Stork
|
A leopard in a tree with a recent kill
|
Black-faced Vervet Monkeys
were practically pests at the
Samburu Serena Lodge...don't
leave any food unattended!
|
Robert surveying the Lesser and
Greater Flamingos at Lake Nakuru
|
Bird watching is a wise use of a
wetland...what the sign says
|
An Olive Baboon protects her baby
near Baboon Cliff at Lake Nakuru Park
|
Mocking Cliff-Chat
|
Mostly we travelled in Toyota and
Nissan minivans outfitted with
pop-tops
|
Hot air balloon prepping for
flight over the Masai Mara
|
View of one balloon from the
other
|
How do you get out of a balloon?
Very carefully.
|
Roughing it, this isn't. A cooked-to-
order, elegant "bush breakfast" at
Masai Mara
|
Enjoying champagne and OJ at
our bush breakfast
|
Liza rode a bike in Kenya!
|
Mara Serena Lodge - the sign
pinpoints our location
|
An old male elephant with a broken
tusk - who later charged the vehicle
behind us
|
Landscaped grounds at the
Mara Serena Lodge...from our
"cabana" we could hear lions
moaning half the night...eerie
|
A Thomson's Gazelle checks
us out before bounding off
gracefully
|
Last view of the Great Rift Valley -
a fuzzy shot...we returned to Nairobi
that afternoon to begin the 31-hr
trip home (20 hrs of flight, 11 of
layover)
|
