I have officially gone on my last two safaris while in Nairobi. Saturday, I started off the weekend at Crescent Island on a walking safari. Because the island has no predators, you can actually walk around and see the animals up close – or at least as close as you can get before they run off. It's actually pretty fun chasing them around to see them scatter. Giraffes run even more awkwardly than they look, which is hard to imagine, I know. In addition to giraffes, we saw wildebeest, zebra, and impala.
The island is named "Crescent Island" because it's shaped like a crescent. It's actually the protruding rim of a collapsed volcanic crater which you take a boat through Lake Naivasha to get to. There are hippos all around you and even though they look cute, they are really dangerous. They are one of the most aggressive animals in the world. All you can see are their ears and nose sticking up out of the water until they come up for more air, then you can see how huge they are, especially their enormous mouth and teeth. There have been numerous incidents reported of hippos attacking humans without any provocation, but I am happy to report that I, along with the four other friends I went to Crescent Island with, have returned to Nairobi with all limbs in tact and no scary hippo stories to tell.
After Crescent Island we drove a little farther through the Great Rift Valley to Nakuru. We checked into our "camp" for the evening a little after 3PM. I have put the word camp in quotation marks because this was not like the rustic camping experience that most people think of. The Maili Saba Camp is a luxury camp with tents that are elevated on wooden platforms, furnished with queen-sized beds with comfy pillows and heating pads, include three course meals (all ending with a delicious dessert), the friendliest staff in Kenya, and views of the Rift Valley that are hard to imagine. Needless to say, we weren't really roughing it as we lounged by the pool or had sundowners on our porch.
The island is named "Crescent Island" because it's shaped like a crescent. It's actually the protruding rim of a collapsed volcanic crater which you take a boat through Lake Naivasha to get to. There are hippos all around you and even though they look cute, they are really dangerous. They are one of the most aggressive animals in the world. All you can see are their ears and nose sticking up out of the water until they come up for more air, then you can see how huge they are, especially their enormous mouth and teeth. There have been numerous incidents reported of hippos attacking humans without any provocation, but I am happy to report that I, along with the four other friends I went to Crescent Island with, have returned to Nairobi with all limbs in tact and no scary hippo stories to tell.After Crescent Island we drove a little farther through the Great Rift Valley to Nakuru. We checked into our "camp" for the evening a little after 3PM. I have put the word camp in quotation marks because this was not like the rustic camping experience that most people think of. The Maili Saba Camp is a luxury camp with tents that are elevated on wooden platforms, furnished with queen-sized beds with comfy pillows and heating pads, include three course meals (all ending with a delicious dessert), the friendliest staff in Kenya, and views of the Rift Valley that are hard to imagine. Needless to say, we weren't really roughing it as we lounged by the pool or had sundowners on our porch.
Early in the morning, after a breakfast waffle sandwich, we left camp for Lake Nakuru National Park. I have to admit, it was a great way to end my Kenyan safari experience. The park is known for being surrounded by Lake Nakuru and thousands of flamingos lining its shore. It is also one of the few places where you are pretty much guaranteed to see both black and white rhinos. The park was a completely different landscape than Amboseli or Masai Mara. It has a huge lake in the middle of it for one thing. But besides that, it also had a waterfall, dense green forests, and spectacular views points where you could look down on a full panorama of the park. In addition to flamingos and rhinos, I also added a few other new animals to my safari animal scavenger hunt:1. Ibis
2. Rock Hyrax
3. Saddle-billed Stork
4. Olive Baboon
5. Waterbuck
I have now seen all but one of the "Big Five" animals that Africa is known for - rhino, lion, elephant, buffalo, and leopard. I guess I will have to wait until my next visit to Africa to see a leopard in the wild.
More dangerous than the hippos at Crescent Island or the sleeping lions we came across at Nakuru, was our drive home. We were almost driven off of the road twice by a large tanker that had "Danger: Caustic Soda" written on the back. After the second time, we pulled over and our driver had some words with the truck driver. The police got involved and the truck driver was in quite a bit of trouble. I'm not sure why I've been involved in multiple safari vehicle disasters (or vehicle disasters in general) but after this weekend I guess I can add another interesting story to the list.
More dangerous than the hippos at Crescent Island or the sleeping lions we came across at Nakuru, was our drive home. We were almost driven off of the road twice by a large tanker that had "Danger: Caustic Soda" written on the back. After the second time, we pulled over and our driver had some words with the truck driver. The police got involved and the truck driver was in quite a bit of trouble. I'm not sure why I've been involved in multiple safari vehicle disasters (or vehicle disasters in general) but after this weekend I guess I can add another interesting story to the list.
These pictures are AMAZING
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