Part Two - Eqypt

We left Amboseli and the road took us back close to the Tanzanian border.  On the drive out we saw some herds of camels wandering along.  I'm not sure who they belonged to or how they got to be in the wild but it added some interest to our trip!

 At the border, Bob and Clarence were met by a driver and they headed to Moshi, a town at the base of Kilimanjaro, where they would prepare to hike the mountain in the week ahead.

Sandra and I continued back to Nairobi, where we would depart the next day for an amazing week in Eqypt.  Our travelling companions, Iris and Albert, also from Alberta were heading home the next morning.    We did a little shopping at the mall across the street from the Jacaranda Hotel, caught up on emails and tried to nap since we had to get to the airport by 4 a.m.!

Our flight took us 2194 miles northwest, over lots of desert and eventually we saw the Nile River, meandering along.  Cairo is a city of contrasts!

Green fields of rice and grains grow in between tall buildings.

More than 6.5 million people live in the city itself, many of them in apartment buildings.  Laundry is hanging from many of the windows and balconies and building continues on upper floors.  Our tour guide said that taxes aren't charged until building is complete - so most buildings are in a continual state of construction.

The architecture was amazing with minarets, fancy arches, intricate blockwork and mosaic detail everywhere.

An additional 10 million people live in the urban area of Cairo and the traffic and smog are unbelievable!  The sun was shining but there was a constant grey haze over the city.

Amboseli

Our day in Amboseli National Park was the hardest day of the whole safari.  The extreme drought in this area meant that the animals were under great stress and many, many had perished.  The smell was very bad and lots of bloated bodies were visible.  We had been told that this park was not to be missed because of its great beauty but unfortunately we did not see that on this trip.

Amboseli Lake has dried up so much that for many miles the road actually goes across the salt plains of the lakebed.

Marshlands are found in Amboseli and it interesting to watch the elephants, hippos and water buffalo in the very wet areas.

Chris, our driver, said that the swamp water in some places is not suitable for animals to drink and they can get sick and die from drinking it.   You can imagine the scene when there is a drought.

The golden crested cranes were beautiful to watch as they gathered in groups here.

The shy ostrich was closer here, probably looking for food.

The elephant population numbers about 1000 and we did see lots of them.  The mudlines on their body made them look funny!

The cat population here was severely hunted when the Masai people managed the park in the 1960s and the lions attacked Masai cattle.   Amboseli is now a national park but the large number of safari vehicles and tourists has taken its toll on the whole ecosystem.

We know another family who visited Africa 3 months after us and followed the same safari route that we did.  They saw a completely different Amboseli as the rains had come!

This park is 150 miles from Nairobi and sits in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Driving from Manyara to Amboseli

Leaving the lake, we headed northeast to Arusha and then north to cross the border back into Kenya, in order to visit the last of our safari destinations.  This was a long travel day, on some of the roughest "highway" we had yet seen.  Lots of construction was being done - albeit not the way we imagine construction.  In many places the road detoured down into the ditch, sometimes around but most often over  the rocks which made for an incredibly rough and bouncy trip!

It was so, so dry and the fields were empty in this area.

But there were lots of rocks!  They had been cleared off the fields and fences had been built in some places.

The ever-present goats were herded and wandered in search of anything edible.

The fields around this church misson were bordered with aloe vera plants.  I think this was in a little valley that had a stream going through.

Sometimes the goats were right in the yard where daily tasks were being performed.

And always there were people walking, walking, walking.  We couldn't tell what the hole was but wondered if it had once been a waterhole that was now dried up.

It seemed something was happening in this field but we were too far away to see.  The plume of dust caught our attention.

For a time, we drove through a small rainstorm.  You can see the dirt pushed back for the highway - and the lack of a ditch.

The water collected in pools and driving became a bit slippery.  Just a shower, it wasn't long before it stopped.  The area was desperate for rain which they hoped was coming in November.

Side note:  we know a family who visited this area in January, 3 months later,  and they were amazed at how beautifully green and lush it was.  We were very happy to hear that the rains had come!

Lake Manyara National Park

"This unusual park lies in the shadow of the Great Rift Valley whose reddish brown escarpment wall looms 1,950 feet high (600 metres) on the eastern horizon. Waterfalls spill over the cliff and hot springs bubble to the surface in the south.  It is considered one of the Rift Lakes that stretch like jewels along the escaprment and Ernest Hemingway said it was "the loveliest spot he had ever seen in Africa".  



Much of the park often appears to be in a heat haze created by the soda lake - Lake Manyara. The lake attracts considerable birdlife, and its surrounding terrain contains such a rich mosaic of different habitats that it supports a large number of animals." 
(from GameReserve.com)


Our hotel was on the top of the escarpment so we had to drive down the steep highway to get to the park gate.  

You can see the highway that we've just driven down.

Along the way were the most interesting baobob trees.  

It was the dry season so they were all leafless and totally reminded me of Halloween trees!

They are nicknamed "upside-down trees"!  Some are as old as 1000 years.  When they bloom they have large showy white flowers (which we didn't see) and elephants love the smooth bark and soft pulpy fiber.

The first part of the park is a groundwater forest.  This park is said to be the only national park that is always green.  You can see the size of the trees compared to the safari vehicle!

The road curves through the forest

with lots of Vervet and blue monkeys 

alongside.

Big groups of olive baboons played, cleaned each other and watched as the vehicles passed by.  There were some very young ones that were chasing each other over fallen trees and they were so cute to watch as they flipped upside down, trying to run and still hang on to the tree trunks.

They were always grooming each other.

We also spotted some elephants in the forest.  It took careful watching to spot animals in this park because of the plant growth, unlike the wide open savannahs in other parks.

We left the forest and came out to the lake where hippos were resting in the water.

But it was the giraffes that captured us this time.

There was a big group of them roaming throughout this field 

and standing in the shade of the trees.

It's fascinating to watch them eat and observe how their necks work. 

Sandra kindly shared her zoom lens and I was able to capture some awesome closeups again!

It was wonderful to spend some time watching these gentle giants.  By the end of our trip, Bob declared them to be his favourites of the big 5.

I loved the sign at the park gates.

Another interesting event this afternoon was a long chat that we had at the rest station with a group that had just finished a Kilimanjaro hike the day before!  Bob and Clarence asked lots of questions and got more information about the hike that they would begin in 3 days!

Lake Manyara Serena

You've heard me say it before but it bears repeating - the Serena line of hotels were just beautiful!  They had unique locations, amazing designs and decor, and we were always welcomed with big smiles and excellent service.

Individual 'houses' had 4 suites each -

2 upstairs and 2 downstairs.  We were in the top left corner.

The central reception area was beautiful with a pond, beautiful plantings and lanterns.  

Each lodge had a central reception area with its own decor.  Being close to the lake, this one featured water and waves.

We ate out on the verandah.

One thing we did regret on our safari was that we had so little time to enjoy the beautiful pools.

This was our bedroom

and the room key!  Each lodge had a unique keychain - usually it was so big that you couldn't even get it into your pocket!  

Tomorrow we'll drive down through the banyan trees and into the park.