Stu's Travels

14th September, Masaai Mara, Kenya

Arrival in Kenya means two things: more people and lots more wildlife! We have picked up a further 6 passengers, taking the total now to 15, which has changed what had become a very tight group.

After a painless border crossing from Uganda, we arrived in Eldoret and enjoyed a rowdy night in its stunning 'Cavern Bar' before moving on to a campsite on the outskirts of Nakuru game reserve where we were lucky enough to spot rhino, zebra, impala, thousands of flamingoes, and best of all aq young leopard stalking two waterbuck. This was all within the first hour, which certainly got our heartrates up after such an early start!

Then it was on to Navasha, where we camped on the shores of the hippo pools who often came ashore to graze alongside our campsite. WE spent a day on Lake Navasha, viewing hippo by boat and giraffe and zebra on foot. To finish the day we visited a local school and walked through a town which looked more like a rubbish dump.

And now we are here on the edge of the famous Masaai Mara- the game reserve with the highest concentration of game on the planet- during the wilderbeast migration. Our epic 11 hour game drive today was nothing short of spectacular. Aside from seeing 14 different lion in the day, there were plenty of buffalo, wilderbeast, warthog, thomson's gazelle and elephant, who were undoubtedly the highlight of the day. At one point the a mother and her young calf brushed past within a metre of the truck totally obliviuos to our prescence. The only slight disappointment in the day was that we didnt see any leopard or cheetah- but beggars cant be choosers I guess!

The first part of this tour is coming to an end now as we leave for Nairobi tomorrow, stopping off to visit a Masaai village and to drop our Masaai guide Samuel off. Then its Nairobi for two nights before we bid farewell to two close friends.

!! PS: Check out my photos at: http://sgilchriest.photosite.com/ or on Facebook