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!

Serengeti

I was researching information about the Seregeti Plains today and found this interesting list on Wikipedia.

Natural travel wonders

1. Serengeti Migration
2. Galápagos Islands
3. Grand Canyon
4. Antarctica
5. Iguazu Falls
6. Amazon Rainforest
7. Ngorongoro Crater
8. Great Barrier Reef
9. Victoria Falls
10. Bora Bora

I have been to half the places on this list!!  Only 5 more to go :))

Back to the Serengeti:  Covering an area of 30,000 km2 in northwestern Tanzania and southwestern Kenya, the plains are covered with grasslands and more than 70 larger species of mammals can be found here.  Wikipedia goes on to say:  Around October, nearly 2 million herbivores travel from the northern hills toward the southern plains, crossing the Mara River, in pursuit of the rains. In April, they then return to the north through the west, once again crossing the Mara River. This phenomenon is sometimes called the Circular Migration. Over 250,000 wildebeest alone will die along the journey from Tanzania to Masai Mara Reserve in upper Kenya, a total of 500 miles. Death is often caused by injury, exhaustion, or predation.^[1] The migration is chronicled in the 1994 documentary film, Africa: The Serengeti.

We entered the Serengeti National Park (part of the Serengeti Plains area) on the west side at Ndabaka Gate, just a little ways from Speke Bay, after crossing through customs at Isebanjia,  the Tanzania border crossing the day before.  At the border, they were more interested in the registration of our safari vehicle than they were in us!  There is a big market for stolen 4 X 4 vehicles so Chris had to have all the documents in perfect order - which he of course did.  We stood in the shade and watched people come and go while kids selling peanuts and bananas tried, with no success, to convince us to buy something.  Our cameras were tucked safely away as government sites are definite "no photo" zones.  

The park gate - you can see it's 136 km to our hotel.

This was a private safari vehicle that needed a new tire - a fairly common occurrence while driving - 

on these kinds of roads.

We had hardly entered the park when we started spotting animals like this baboon sitting up in a tree -

elephants pushing trees over - 

giraffes grazing on tree tops - 

small herds of wildebeest milling around -

and Thompson's gazelles.  This was a herd of bachelors - you can see they all have horns.  

Females will be found in a harem guarded by a dominant male.  The bachelors will individually challenge him as they mature and begin to look for their own harems.  

Chris spotted this small gazelle carcass that a panther had hauled up into a tree, which they will often do to preserve their kill from other predators.  Can you imagine a cat dragging this UP into a tree??

And this was the morning when we watched the Amazing Elephant Bath!

From two playing in the mud - 

it grew to many rolling and spraying - 

taking turns -

until all 28 had finished and moved off into the forest.  

It was absolutely marvelous and is probably the single thing we have most shared 

and talked about since we got home!

We stayed in this park for 2 nights so stay tuned for many more pictures!!

Speke Bay, Lake Victoria

Speke Bay is located in the south-eastern part of Lake Victoria in Tanzania, East Africa. It is 15 kilometres from the Serengeti National Park, and 125 kilometres north of Mwanza. Speke Bay is part of Speke Gulf, named after the famous explorer John Hanning Speke, who, in 1858, discovered Lake Victoria to be the source of the Nile. 

The second largest fresh water lake in the world, Lake Victoria dominates the area with its 70,000 km² surface.

The area is ideal for birdwatching as the lake attracts a variety of large water birds. The area is very pretty and as the lake virtually borders the western Serengeti.

You might find that lodges in the Masai Mara or Serengeti National Park offer day trips or fishing expeditions to Lake Victoria but it has never really featured on the Tanzanian or Kenyan tourism circuit. The Rubondo IslandNational Park - located in the southern portion of the lake - is the only major highlight of a visit to this area.

Despite its huge size, the murky lake is quite shallow - only 100 metres at its deepest. The giant lake borders three African countries - Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Travelling between these countries via the lake is, sadly, a luxury of the past.

The basin is home to the Luo people, who moved into the area from Sudan in the 15th century and are now Kenya's third largest ethnic group. Although Western Kenya does not attract many tourists and is blissfully free of safari minibuses, it is the most densely populated area in the country and the most productive.

(taken from Go2Africa.com)

Our stay here was in the Speke Bay Lodge, a little village-type spot.   Each couple had a small round thatch roofed hut, looking out onto the beach.

The lake is a haven for birds!

and is renowned for beautiful sunsets.

The next morning a huge assortment of fishing vessels were out on the lake

pulling in tilapia, the predominant catch in the lake fishing industry.

The grounds were so well kept and beautiful.

Ready to depart and spend another day on safari!

Our group with the lake in the background.

Next stop - Serengeti!