In Nairobi we visited the David Sheldrick Animal Orphanage, one of the two remarkable charities on our itinerary. Founded by Dame Daphnne Sheldrick the orphanage rescues orphan elephants (the most come cause of the mothers’ death is ivory poachers). The animals are cared for intensively for five years, and then reintroduced into the wild. You can walk among them at their feeding time.
Our constant companion on the trip, Patrick, playing soccer with an elephant.
We visited Singita Sasakwa Lodge for lunch and a ride on trail bikes. Singiti Sasakwa is the lodge built by Paul Tudor Jones that I mentioned in an earlier post. Here’s a link: Sasakwa Lodge.
Here’s an image of a burned out area from our bicycle ride:
Finally, a sunset back at our tented camp – our last in the bush as we return to Nairobi tomorrow.
This gives some idea of just how ugly the spotted hyena is:
We took a late afternoon bush walk. This is Maria with our Maasai guide, Ping, inspecting a termite hill. Ping is an amazing story teller; he’s the fellow who spent six month’s in Orlando advising on the safari ride.
A four shot sequence of a croc killing a zebra:
Wildebeest and Zebras massed at the crossing.
Wildebeest diving competition:
The Maasai who guard our camp at night (from from animals) walking 12 miles back to their village.
Wildebeest:
Setting up for breakfast in the bush:
Lion up close:
Cape buffalo. These large, tough animals are considered dangerous if you’re on foot.
Here’s a Thomson gazelle with a group of impala. The guides refer to Thompson gazelles as “cheetah snacks”.
Here’s a giraffe confronting a spotted hyena. The hyena is the nastiest predator in the bush. It jumps on its prey, clings to it with it claws and simply starts eating it, crunching flesh and bone with its powerful jaws. It’s no match for a healthy adult giraffe though, so the hyena in this picture is making a respectful circle around the giraffe. Here’s a link to the Wikipedia entry on hyenas: Hyenas.
Crocodile. Rivers and streams are infested with them. Some look like they are about the size of nuclear submarines.
Vultures on a termite mound:
Male ostrich looking for a date. The males have black bodies; the females are gray. The red neck and legs are a courtship display.
Ditto impalas:
Here we are, eye-to-eye with the giraffes:
Bush:
Dry watering hole:
Hot air balloon landing:
