Our son hurried to breakfast and then immediately he ran off to find his friend the "tall guy".
So he got to fish a bit more in the ponds that morning.
Masai Village
When we took our final goodbyes of the lodge and waved farewell to the "tall guy" our son shed a few tears. In just a few days there was a bond built up even if they could not talk to each other.We had been invited to a nearby Masai village to see how they live their lifes.
As with most things in life nothing is for free, they ask for a payment to visit them.
But as they explained the money goes to the community to maintain schools and clean water supply.
Anyways we thought that if we now had traveled all the way to Kenya we of course wanted to see what most consider synonymous with Kenay, the Masai that is.
The villages really are enclosed by thorny branches just as one see them on television.
A simple and clever way to keep the wild life out and the domestic animals on the inside.
Once there we got greeted by the son of the chief and they performed a dance and singing exhibition.
Even Agneta got involved in the experience.
Well quite honestly I also got involved as I was invited to participate in the traditional jumping dance/competition. I'm fairly athletic and have a rather good "bounce" which seemed to impress them a bit, or they just said so to make me feel good.
The local "medicine man" showed what local plants they used to cure common illnesses such as fever and nausea. My favorite has to be the root of some tree that according to him would "give big family", some kind of Masai Viagra...:)
We then toured around the village and got guiding in how they live and what they eat.
Tsavo West
It's a relatively short trip from Amboseli to the lodge in Tsavo West.
But as most all travel i Kenya the roads are gravel roads not allowing for any greater speeds.
The more time you get to observe animals. By now we'd seen so many zebras, giraffes and antelopes that one really almost didn't care anymore. Amazing how quickly one gets used to the animal richness.
On the way to the lodge we hit a large lava field from an eruption that have occurred within the last few hundred years as there is still nothing that grows there. I've seen exactly same types of lava fields on on the island of Lanzarote the only difference was that here the combination of the black rock/lava and the scorching sun made it almost impossible to walk around.
A few hours later we arrived at the Kilaguni Serena Lodge.
It was a rather dry season when we visited Kenya so any water hole was guaranteed to be well visited by the animals.
During the cause of our meals at the lodge there was always some animal movement. Various species of gazelle, elephants, zebras, hyenas, baboons visiting the water hole.
The area at lodge is like an oasis considering the dry landscape in the surrounding area.
A small but very welcome pool did provide a few hours of relief from the heat.
Suddenly we got reminded that the lodge is not surrounded by fences and the animals do roam rather freely, as a congress of baboons passed through the lodge.
Safari
As the afternoon set in it was time to go on our first safari in Tsavo West. As always our trusted driver Ian was waiting to pick us up.
In case anyone wonders this is the vehicle we traveled around in. A standard Nissan minibus customized in Kenya by cutting open the roof so it can be lifted/opened. A rather clever construction.
The landscape in Tsavo West is completely different from Amboseli. Amboseli was open flat lands with few trees and mostly low bushes/shrubs wheres Tsavo West is full of rolling hills and thick bushes.
Our tour took us down to the Mzima Springs which apparently supplies Mombasa (at the coast) with fresh water. Here a (armed) guide took us on a tour around the area and showed the lake.
Our local guide was really keen on showing our kids all the things there was to be seen.
Standing a few meters from a large croc was a rather interesting experience. I've seen many crocs in my life but there's always been a fence between them and me.
Going down in a tank submerged into the water one realized how clear the water was. Fishes and crocodiles could be seen 10's of meters away.
No matter how clear and cool the water was and how tempting it was to take a cooling dip we managed to restrain our selves. One could see "logs" floating in the water, which of course was either hippos or crocs. Couldn't help guessing how far one would make it, 10..20..30m?
Note that I do stand a few meters from it as abandoned mounds tend to become home to various other animals, often snakes.
Due to the massive heat and dryness most larger animals seemed to have taken shelter in the thick bushes. Though ostriches did present themselves to us on several occasions.
The roads goes criss-cross over the entire area, one could easily get lost unless every road crossing had a clever little system of signs pointing out the direction.
I especially like the little hint of being observant and patient written on top of one of the sign posts...:)
Buffaloes are just massive tanks, one can easily understand why lions hesitate to take on one of these beasts.
The open hatch really makes the safari so much more as you're experiencing the open air as opposed to staring through windows.
We stopped on the road and they just walked pass us and onto the road again, not really bothering to even look at us. It's so amazing how little attention the animals pay us human visitors.
At dinner we marveled the elephants drinking just some 10 meters away from us.
This particular dinner will always be in my memory, can't even remember what we ate.
All of our family was just staring at the elephants.
And yet another night we crashed into bed...
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