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.