AMBOSELI – shutters going berserk

Monday – Today, as the itinerary goes, is a full day of game drives in Amboseli National Park.  This park is famous for being the best place in Africa to be able to get up close and personal with free wandering elephants and typical of my holidays – rain.

We are told rain is very unusual for this time of year, obviously they saw my name on the ‘travelling list’ and ordered it just for me.

Fortunately the rain is not troublesome – it has kept the temperature down and hopefully it will not turn out humid.  The good thing is we will still be able to trek around and get our photos – let’s just hope the animals have not become pussies and headed for shelter.

I will split this day into two parts – AM and PM.  That way your little peepers won’t get tired as you wade through everything – you can have a break, make coffee or have something alcoholic.  You might even need a couple of breaks – sounds like a good idea!

As we wait at the entrance for our paperwork to be validated, Masai women come to the jeep to offer necklaces, bangles and trinkets for sale.  There are some nice ones and I always carry a small amount of money in my pocket (unlike some).  Don’t know what I expected to spend it on today – it’s not as if I expect to see a souvenir shop or a KFC in the middle of the bush – but it’s there in my pocket just in case – and in this case 3 necklaces. Two elephants and one giraffe but the elephant necklaces are assured to bring us luck so we put our wares around our necks and head off.

Sure enough 5 minutes down the track and elephants!  The rain has stopped – our charms are working – and we are able to snap away.  They are so big and so close, just ambling along having a snack every now and again.  This is incredible and it’s only the first 10 minutes. So exciting that not much detail is given to photo composure, ISO etc – just aim the camera and go ballistic.  Doing my best impression of a Japanese tourist I realise that this will have to change.

How on earth am I going to cope with the rest of the safari – have to make sure that photos are downloaded everyday so that I have enough room.

We all calm down and it is time to move on. For most of the blog I will not give a photo by photo description of where we are, what the weather is like, who was annoying who etc. I will just put the photos in with a few words (yes, I see you with that look of ‘who is she kidding?’ on your face) so that you can see for yourself what we saw.

First two are an eagle and a Thomson’s Gazelle.  I am bewildered why herd animals like the gazelle seem to be out all by themselves. I would have thought there was safety in numbers?  Just another question of the universe I suppose.

Maybe because of the rain over the past days there seems to be a lot of birds and what stunners they are.  I would imagine that the animals tromping through the grass would stir up the insects which in turn attract the birds.  I have my camera set for bird mode so time to practice – bottom left is a Black Headed Heron; right are a pair of Grey Crowned Cranes.  Are they not magnificent?  I am sure the photos will get better as we travel along.

Our driver today is Moses  and we have Chris as our spotter.  The roof of the jeep is soon up and we bump and grind our way over the tracks – hanging on to everything within reach.  Once we spot something Moses stops and we all stand up, position our trusty bean bags to rest our cameras and click away.

I am sure Moses and Chris (also known as ‘They who have seen all this before’)  have the patience of Job – we click hither and yon and back to hither and on the odd occasion they ever so gently but firmly ask ‘are you finished?  We say yes, gather in our bean bags and cameras and sheepishly sit back down to continue on until around the bend or whenever there is something else of great interest.

I love Cape Buffalo – they are my favourite.  Of course there are cuddly cubs and smiling hippos but Buffalo have the cutest faces.  I am sure they would run you over without a ‘By your leave Milady’ if you annoyed them, but lucky for us they seem to be too busy chewing their cud and have full tummies with the added extra of having some grooming done by Oxpeckers.

We are able to get really close about 8 metres away and it is incredible that they just sit there with that ‘not bloody tourists again!’ look on their faces.  There will be lots more happy Gruffalos later as the days go by.

We pass some Zebra and Wildebeest – but they do not co-operate for us so we move on and spy some Spotted Hyena trying to outsmart a couple of Hippos on the other side of the water.  They are either young and brave or just plain stupid.  The Hippos don’t move a muscle and the Hyenas, after a while think better of it and leave.

It is around a corner in the track that we come to a sudden stop as we have another group of Spotted Hyenas with a kill. Now, I don’t know if they made the kill or something else did (and I am glad I didn’t see it) but it is fresh and they are having a feast.  Poor old Wildebeest. They always look simple to me – don’t ask me why.  Anyway, here are some photos – there was no smell which was surprising seeing the beast had been gutted and ripped from one end to the other and we were about 4-5 metres from them. Oh so close – oh so great.

After their meal, a swim seems like a good idea or maybe just a lay down in the grass, all the while keeping a watchful eye on us and anything else that must just happen to mosey on past.

While they are relaxing Chris decides it is time play with his GoPro.  Attached to its very own safari vehicle which has been covered in tabasco sauce, it is soon on the ground and heading into the fray.

At first they are not too sure what is going on but curiosity gets the better of them and they advance.  Chris is ever so patient and only moves the camera when the hyenas seem to settle.  They then get right up close and have a sniff which doesn’t please them all that much but they are still intrigued with this intruder.

We now head off for our picnic breakfast which will be eaten on top of Noomotio Hill otherwise known as Observation Hill otherwise known as Breakfast Hill. Doesn’t sound anything out of the ordinary but once there was time to do a bit of web surfing at home it is a very interesting place.  It was formed through volcanic activity of Mt. Kilimanjaro. which in turn, was formed some 750,000 years ago, and its geological changes continued for 250,000 years. During this period, a number of upheavals and tremors caused formation of 250 volcanic hills and crater lakes around Kilimanjaro. This was in the Pleistocene period, which stretched from 2.5 million to 11,700 years ago.

On the way there is time to stop for some more photos – just a small stop this time.

Happy hippos and a Great Egret looking for a meal.

We arrive at the bottom of the hill where I face the climb to the top with just a tad of apprehension but the path is not too bad and my musical knees make the climb ever so slowly.  Once at the top the views are incredible.  You can see for miles.

Such a lot of marshy areas – ideal for hippos so out come the cameras and breakfast will just have to wait. Chris and Jess get all our little brekky boxes ready for us and this together with hot coffee sure hits the spot.

What a great place to have brekky.  Obviously it is not the hot brekkies we have had over the past days but there is enough food in the box to satisfy even the hungriest of us.  Even a chuppa chup for the sweet tooths in the group!

After we are fed and watered – the cameras come out again (were they ever put away?) and there are loads of opportunities to snap away, especially to take photos to compile into a panorama!

The swamp beneath the viewpoint is called Enkongu Narok Swamp. It is one of many swamps owing its existence to Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Rains and snow melt from the mountain form underground springs that feed the swamps, which attracts hippos and a great variety of birds.  Kilimanjaro is Africa’s tallest mountain and its name means “Place of Water” in Masai.

Granted these Hippos and Elephants are a fair distance away, but I had to put them in because not many of you would have had these views at breakfast – (major gloating going on!)

OK – brekky is over we pack up and going down the hill is a lot easier than coming up I tell you – gravity takes over and it is practically a trot.  We will now be driving back to Kibo for lunch and a couple of hours rest but I am sure that there will be many stops along the way that will take up the time.

As we drive along, a herd of elephants appear – don’t worry about the little one – she is having a sleep – they are so close you can hear them rumbling and munching.  Just love the crossed leg, it’s like she is saying ‘For Heaven’s sake that’s enough sleep, get up!’ although she is most probably just having a little elephant relax.

It goes without saying that every time we stop, we are mesmerised for ages.

Our next stop is hippos – yes, hungry, hungry hippos munching on the marsh grasses and daring anyone to come and mess with them.  Bottom right are some Impala – very interested to see what is going on.

We are following the track around the marshes and come across more hippos just lying out in the open.  Maybe they are enjoying not having any burning sun – we stay here for ages and they do not move.  Makes me wonder if the Natgeo cut outs are back in action.

Above right is a female Ostrich, and you can see we have left the marshes and are now trekking over the grassy plain.  The track is still as bumpy as ever but as Chris said ‘T.I.A’.

Left is a Kori Bustard which is the largest of the Bustards – and the largest of the flying birds native to East Africa.

Normally they have a scrawny neck but during courtship the male inflates the neck into a large whitish ball.  They also make a sound like a muffled bass drum – very impressive if you ask me.

Another species where the male is a typical show off – unfortunately we did not see a female but he must have known she was around somewhere to put on this display.

Now that is a better photo of a Wildebeest.  He is all in one piece and doesn’t look too bad.  Another herd animal all by itself – no wonder they get eaten.

As we drive along Moses and Chris  spot this Agama Lizard.  How on earth they spotted it as we were bouncing around is beyond me.  Going by my trusty Collins Traveller’s Guide this brightly coloured one must be a male, it also says that the females are drab which isn’t particularly kind – less colourful would have been nicer and anyway it is typical of the male – females don’t need to show off – they have enough going for them as it is.

And speaking of show offs – on the left is a Male Ostrich.  Remember the photo of the female – all brown and nothing spectacular, well here he is in his black and white finery strutting around trying to impress.  He sure impressed us that’s for sure.

On the right is the Superb Starling.  What stunning feathers.  This sure puts any starling I  have ever seen to shame and I would gladly have them in my backyard instead of those bloody Indian Minor Birds!

Through the gates and leaving Amboseli,  we now head back to the comfort of our tents.  It will be good to sit and relax for a while before lunch.

Plenty of time to get organised for the PM journey – and hopefully the clouds will have cleared over Mt Kilimanjaro and we can get some of those great photos of elephants in front of the mountain.   I will wear my lucky elephant just to be on the safe side.

Bum shot time – Thomson’s Gazelle.

Highlight of the morning – has to be the hyenas at the kill.