Amboseli Game Park

It's been quite a few days since we've been able to access the internet, but once again we've been full-on, so much so it's hard to keep up with everything.  Again I'm going to do a bullet-point list and let the photos tell the story.

I can't even remember how long ago we flew from Johannesburg to Nairobi to begin our Kenyan safari tour, but safari is the key to what we're here for.  Nairobi is a massive city and very densely populated.  The traffic is a gridlock most of the working week, so we were lucky to leave on Saturday when we managed to get out of the city fairly quickly as we headed to Amboseli Game Park.  From here on, the photos can tell the story.

- Evening safari the first day and our guide popped the tops of our 4x4 vehicles so we could stand up and get good photos.

These will be our wheels for the next 2 weeks.  They have pop-up tops so that we can get good photos

- Amboseli Game Lodge - It's here that the animals are right outside the fenceline.  Elephants, Zebra, Buffalo.  It's all just so close.  They also have monkeys which are living in the grounds and if you're not careful, they will push your door open and come in and help themselves to the sugar for your tea or coffee.  Cheeky little characters.  

Resident monkeys at the lodge

- Once were settled in we hopped into the 4x4 vehicles and went out to see what we could find.  Heaps of Elephants, Zebras, Wildebeest, Antelope of all sorts, Lions, and Buffalos.  Plus a few I can't remember

A pair of crested cranes scratching for food

Well, you've heard of a Zebra crossing haven't you?

Wildebeest and Zebra mix comfortably as the day settles

You can see the snows of Kilimanjaro behind this here of grazing elephants

- A visit to a Masai Village.  Our guide kept telling us that the Masai are a proud people and don't like to have their photos taken.  We had no idea what to expect when we were taken to a village not far from our lodge.  We found the villagers to be friendly, welcoming, and our guides were only too happy to tell us of their way of life, their medicines, their schools, and some of their customs.  The guides were 2 young men of around 35, one of whom was the chief.  They were handsome, and spoke excellent English, having been educated at a mission school.  This visit was one of the highlights of our stay in Ambosili.  

This girl was using the water pump outside the village enclosure

The Masai dancers who greeted us on our arrival at their village.  And yes, they really can jump very high

The women sang while the men danced, and their headbands and necklaces were sparkling in the sun.  They were truly beautiful

Yep, it's a man's world.  The men stand around and the women do the work

These people have nothing, yet they were happy for us to take their photos and their smiles were pure

The children were brought in from their school holidays to greet us with singing.  They were curious and not quite sure why we were there.  We took up a collection after our visit so that the school could buy books and pencils for for children, and the village received enough money to buy 2 cows.

Now we've moved on, but that story for another post.  I'm off to bed.