Round up....
The weather was pleasant. Large white clouds drifted slowly across the deep blue sky. From Namanga, we cruised down the dusty road to Amboseli National Park. The elusive lesser kudu galloped across the road to the nearby bushes as if to herald the exceptional experience of the safari that would unfold! We promptly pushed up the pop-up roof of our safari vans at Mashenani Gate, ready to behold the spectacle of African wilderness Safari. The sun was withdrawing its last rays behind the Kilimanjaro mountain, and the brief, African twilight shed its insinuating mantle over everything, throwing into sharp relief each animal and feature, endowing every creature with a story.
Driving through the dry bed of Lake Amboseli, a herd of masai giraffes came into focus browsing on the acacia bushes. An association of impala, Grants gazelles, masai ostrich, and Thompsons gazelles wandered across the parched plain. Seemingly astounded warthogs wagged their tails as they wandered around a wetland. A group of Beisa oryx walked majestically with their long horns held up high. A drove of elephant families that had been wallowing in mud sauntered across the plains to the doum palm bushes. The chirping birds were returning to the boughs after a day out.
oodles of carcass littered the park on account of the severity of drought.
Three hyenas were spotted lazily sleeping, awaiting for the night so as to swing to action.
The vans slowed down at the bog where marabou storks and other water birds were paddling.
As darkness slowly stole our glances, we astoundingly spotted three cheetahs lurking behind a bush. We stopped there for sometime as the explorers observed the very rare spectacle.
It was pitch dark when we finally made it to our base camp. The group shared tasks, some pitching the tents while others lit the cooking & bonfire as others embarked on preparing the food to be cooked.
We all gathered around the bonfire to eat, share stories and simply have camaraderie. It was time to bond with friends enjoying the warmth of a bonfire and roasting meat as we talked about cavernous issues!
The pleasure of outdoor cooking over hot coals, relaxing with friends around the warm glow of fire, sharing stories, gazing into the fire’s red heart, and feeling safe and secure despite the surrounding darkness and calls from nocturnal wildlife was a magical experience!
Occasionally, we heard elephants breaking trees near the campsite. From time to time, we observed meteorites plunging across the star studded southern sky.
One by one, we retreated to our tents all set for a night under canvas in the African wilderness.
We woke up very early the next morning ready for a game drive. We spent time marvelling at the majesty of the snow capped Mt Kilimanjaro. Watching the sun rising was such a phenomenal experience. The sun rays spread across the expanse of Amboseli endowing our camp with magnificence on the beautiful panorama against the backdrop of Kilimanjaro.
The morning game drive was such a splendid one. We spotted three cheetahs feasting on a wildebeest. They were enjoying the kill with no rush.
Taking the Makindu loop, we came across a lion furiously tearing a fresh wildebeest carcass. A flock of marabou storks and vultures waited anxiously from a safe distance. Given a chance, they would nick the carcass and reduce it to bones!
Having had a very fruitful game drive, we went back to Camp for breakfast. It was time to break camp, prepare our picnic and pack up.
We drove to the observation hill, the Noomotio hill which was formed during Pleistocene period through volcanic activity of Mt Kilimanjaro. We had a gorgeous view of the wildlife below. We saw several species of wildlife including buffaloes, defassa water bucks and zebras. We took group photos and shared our picnic before driving off to Nairobi.
