I am back from my East African adventure none the worse for wear, I think. A little dirtier perhaps and definitely exhausted. . . What ever possessed me to go on a two week camping trip through the wilds of Africa? What was I thinking and why didn't anybody say anything?
I have to say that the entire experience was unlike anything I had expected. While Kenya and Tanzania are two countries known for their safari industry they are still quite undeveloped. To say the roads in Kenya are bad is a gross understatement. It took us twelve hours of serious driving on roads that were better traveled off road than on to go a little over 500 km.
The first week we were in Kenya. There were only three of us on this safari. Surprisingly the company decided to continue the trip with only the three of us. We were spoiled that first week with good and plentiful food, our tents erected and broken down for us and our clothes washed if needed. We saw the big five in the first two days of our trip with a greater variety of animals than anywhere else we went.
We started the trip in Samburu National Reserve in northern Kenya about 350 km north of Nairobi (on mostly dirt roads). Here we saw animals only found in this area like Grevy's zebra, reticulated giraffe and the oryx. But the most impressive thing we saw while in Samburu was the cheetah. We didn't realize until later how lucky we were to see two cheetah. It wouldn't be until near the end of our safari in Tanzania that we would see another one and that one was too far away to get a picture. Without a doubt seeing a cheetah was my favorite part of the entire trip. Especially the one that crossed the road directly in front of our safari vehicle (it's the one in the picture above)!
The parks we visited in Kenya were smaller and more intimate. Like Lake Nakuru, Kenya was by far superior to Lake Manyara in Tanzania for the flamingo viewing. We were able to get almost close enough to touch them in Nakuru but couldn't even approach the waters edge in Lake Manyara. I have to say that I preferred the Masai Mara to the Serengeti. Although we missed the million animal migration we still saw large herds of wildebeests and zebra in the Masai Mara but very few in the Serengeti. The Serengeti seemed too large to get good animal viewings in only 2 days of game drives (the distances needed for traveling to where the animals were are vast). Also, In Tanzania we picked up more people and our three person safari was suddenly increased to 13. The weather was against us in Tanzania as we got soaked in our tents one night during a downpour in Lake Manyara and pursued by avaricious mosquitoes.
It was hot, dusty and dirty but we had good times around the camp fire at night and great game drives. Finding a bathroom at times was difficult and the driving was atrocious. . . My least favorite part was the lack of shower facilities (cold or hot) and the poisonous spiders of Kenya (could have done without them). And sleeping on the ground for two weeks, not for me again. . . The next trip will be a luxury tent or lodge safari!!
It was an experience that I will remember forever. I would love to go back and see southern Africa next. . . Who knows, it could happen. . .
Here are some more pictures from my trip. . . It was hard to pick the best but these are some of the ones I liked most. . .
