27th – Return to Nairobi

Before getting back to Nairobi we had an early drive, leaving camp at around 0700. This night had been quite calm; our first night we could hear hyenas close by and the dogs and the Maasai village going absolutely bonkers as a result.

Nothing special happened on the drive, only noteworthy was that we saw 3 lions eating the remains of what looked like a small cow (Maasais often take their herds inside the park for them to graze – as a result they lose one or two now and then).

We left the park at 1030 and at around 1600 we were back at the hotel and said our goodbyes.

At 1800 we met up with out next guide, Moses, who gave us an overview of how our next couple of days would look like. The group will be bigger than now, but not very. For dinner we went to restaurant Carnivore, a repeated success from last year.

Tomorrow we will depart at 0730 and expect to arrive at the hotel in Arusha at around 1300-1400 for lunch. I will likely be skipping breakfast, dinner was… filling.

With a mane like that he must be using a conditioner.

Buffalo with yellow-billed oxpeckers.

These three lions were found eating the leftovers of what could have been a small cow.

The crunching sounds were fascinating.

Grey flycatcher.

Violet-eared waxbill (or common grenadier).

26th – Masai Mara

As game drives go there was nothing out of the ordinary today. Morning went as planned, we left at 0800 and entered the park 15 minutes later.

We drove around until leaving at around 1630, only interrupted by a break on a hill and lunch under a tree after driving off a wildebeest. Apparently this is pretty normal procedure; looking around you could see several lonely trees being occupied by safari vehicles with tourists having their lunch. Shade is a rare commodity on the otherwise open savannah.

The hilltop felt familiar with good reason; it was the same place as where we had lunch last year.

Other than that things went more or less as planned; several of the usual stuff, no leopards or rhinos, but cheetahs. All in all not a bad day.

Coming back in camp Monika (the other tourist) & Patsie went to visit the Maasai camp while I stayed behind. When they returned they had invited themselves including me to a naming ceremony that was to start at 1900. Arriving we found out that the actual naming wouldn’t start until after 2100 so after a bit of talking with the locals we returned to camp and had dinner (which was as planned; we had not planned to stay there for much longer than half an hour).

Tomorrow we will have an early morning drive leaving at 0700 before returning to Nairobi, and in the evening we will meet with our guide for the next leg of the trip.

Bare-faced go-away-bird.

Zebra with foal.

White-back vultures.

The lion and jackal look like friends going for a walk. In reality they both wanted access to a carcass and they were constantly eyeing each other to make sure the other didn't get too close while taking a bite.

Lappet-faced vultures.

Cheetahs taking a nap in the shade.

Lioness.

Hildebrandt's starling. Quite a few of these showed up during our lunch break.

Black-backed jackal.

Banded mongoose with pup.

25th – Leaving Nairobi

We left the hotel at 0730 sharp and after fighting our way through the slow morning commuter traffic we were on our way at a steady pace to our camp near Masai Mara. At around 1230 I suddenly recognized a school on the right – the school we visited last year when I came to Masai Mara for the first time. Instead of continuing up to Sopa Lodge we instead made a turn to the left, and 5-10 minutes bumpy ride later on an almost non-existing road we arrived at our camp site. 15-20 established tents with each two beds, and we were the only ones there!

We had lunch short after our arrival and at 1600 we went on our first drive in the park. On the 2:30 long (short) drive we managed to see the usual animals (warthogs, impalas, gazelles etc.), but also giraffes, elephants, buffalos and lions. Yes, less than 3 hours of game drive and we are already 3/5.

We also met a couple of other cars parked with the passengers focused on something nearby. Apparently they were looking at/had spotted a cheetah, but no matter how they explained its location were we able to locate it.

Back at camp we had dinner, a quick shower (the shower did have warm water, and even more so as it wasn’t possible to turn down the temperature!) and the generator stopped giving light at around 2100.

Tomorrow we’ll be having breakfast at 0730 before we have a full day of driving in the park until 1600. The other passenger has never been doing a safari before so she is obviously in 7^th heaven these days. When coming back the plan seems to be to visit the nearby Maasai village. Something that I’ll probably decline as it is the same I visited last year among others. And honestly; have you seen one you have seen most of them – especially if you are returning to one previously seen.

Wildebeest.

Thomson's gazelle.

Giraffe.

Vulturine guineafowl.

Secretary bird.

First lion sighting.

All lions carry around their own small teddy bears.

Sunset over the Masai Mara.

Surprise Easter trip!

Due to quite a bit of overtime at work last year I have been allowed to take a little bit extra off this year. This has resulted in me deciding to take some extra time off before Easter which gives me 2 weeks + change off in a row. I have decided that the two weeks is to be spent on staying home and doing nothing, not going anywhere for once.

Pfff. Yeah, right.

This turn I am going back to Kenya and Tanzania, an 11 day camping safari going through all the big fun parts containing wildlife. After the trip to Argentina it’ll be nice to just relax on the savannah, lazily looking at the wildlife.

23^rd – 24^th of March

Flight to Nairobi via Amsterdam.

25^th – 26^th of March

We will leave the hotel in the early morning to go to Masai Mara. According to plan we will arrive in the afternoon where we will set up camp which we will be using as base for when we are there. Despite the slightly late arrival we will still be able to have a late afternoon drive.

27^th of March

We have time for the regular morning drive before having to return to Nairobi in the late afternoon.

28^th of March

Today we will leave Kenya and cross the border to Tanzania and go to the town Arusha where we will arrive in the afternoon.

29^th of March

Visit Lake Manyara. Apart from looking at wildlife we will be visiting a local village and seeing the Rift Valley.

30^th – 31^st of March

Crossing through the Rift Valley we go towards the Serengeti NP. This area is pretty self-explanatory. Spending time on driving around and looking at animals. What’s not to like?

1^st of April

After the last morning drive in Serengeti NP we leave and drive to the Ngorongoro conversation area and driving around the rim of the crater to reach our next camp site.

2^nd of April

With an early departure from the camp we travel into the crater where we spend most of the day driving around taking in the sights (i.e. more wildlife!). In the afternoon we will take our leave and go back to Arusha.

3^rd of April

Flight out from Kilimanjaro Airport via Dar Es Salaam and Amsterdam.