We left the Zebra Tented Camp at Masai Mara https://zebraplainscollection.com early in the morning on our way to Lake Nakuru. We had been there on our previous safari in Kenya in 2007 and it was one our favorite places. They are famous for their populations of flamingos (a group of which is called a "flamboyance"), but had reported a decline in the population due to the impact of rainfall. The abundant rainfall that they had experienced over the past couple of years had raised the water level and changed the pH of the lake resulting in less food for the birds. Fortunately a reduction from an incredible number to just a large number is still a sight to see.
As we left the rutted paths to the dilapidated dirt roads to the gravel main routes we finally came to the paved road that would direct us north to our destination. There were others sharing this journey, this safari, to see the natural wonders of Kenya. Over the days we had encountered other vans and jeeps with drivers that Isaiah, our driver, was familiar with. They shared knowledge and I am sure also meals and stories about the passengers from around the world, like us, who were either a joy or a pain to guide.
On the left side of the road was a van that was familiar stopped in the middle of, or possibly the edge of, nowhere. There were a number of passengers standing near the van in the warming morning with all the signs of damnit on their faces. Isaiah looked back at us and we indicated that of course he should stop.
After he spoke with the other driver for awhile it was clear that it was going to take some time to get the van going again. Having just come this way a couple of days earlier we knew there was a curio shop with food and bathrooms less than an hour away. Since we were all going the same way anyway we suggested that they join us as far as the rest stop and they could wait for their driver there.
The safari vans are designed to fit eight passengers plus one driver. Since we were only two and they were five it was easy to accommodate everyone. They piled in and began introductions. They were here from India and were on their way to Lake Naivasha, where we had been before Masai Mara.
The four younger people were involved in the technology side of financial institutions. The older gentleman of the group sat behind me and we chatted a bit about a shared passion. He has his own blog and enjoys posting videos on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/alumnitrek Since his primary focus is on travel videos that he creates it was a natural flow of ideas back and forth.
When we finally got to the curio stop we said our goodbyes, took a few pics, and got on our way to Lake Nakuru. Along the way we passed a reminder that Lions Clubs are everywhere and doing good works. Their motto is "We Serve" and they were working together with the local Rotary club to provide a small hospital to serve the local community.
We arrived at Lake Nakuru Lodge after lunch and ate our boxed lunches of chicken, bread, orange, hard boiled egg, and a small piece of cake in our room. After wandering the grounds to see the view of the lake below us and the hundreds of weaver birds nests we took an evening game drive.
On the drive down to the lake we saw one of my favorite birds. The Lilac Breasted Roller. It gets its name from both the color of the chest feathers, but also the mating display that the males perform. They will fly up, dive down, then roll from side to side to display their brilliant colors.
Down at the lakeside we saw a flamboyance of flamingos. Although the numbers were down from what we saw in 2007 it was still an awesome sight. The population has not suffered in numbers they have just moved to other lakes in the area after heavy rainfall raised the level of Lake Nakuru changing the amount of food support available there.
Driving on around the lake we hear that there is a leopard nearby. It doesn't take long before we see a dozen or more vehicles stopped along the trail with all our fellow safari adventurers peering off to the right. With a little help from Isaiah I am able to spot him. He is lounging on a log over 100-meters away. With my telephoto I am able to see some details. Better than what we were able to see at Masai Mara this one is not obscured by trees.
Soon the beautiful beast gets bored with doing nothing and he climbs down behind the fallen log and disappears into the forest behind. Thinking this was the end of the show we turned around and started back towards the lodge as it was nearing sunset.
The next thing I knew we were going back to where we had been and a little further on we found another crowd of vans and jeeps looking to the other side of the road where our leopard had moved into the tall grass. Waiting and watching from a fair bit closer, but with dying light I saw him climb up onto a low branch of a large tree. I guess I went a little crazy with my liberal use of digital film as I took shot after shot as he quickly scaled the vertical trunk of the tree and strolled out onto a significant bough before turning and stretching out onto his improvised lounge.
As a photographer I was very happy to finally have some nice shots of the difficult to capture leopard. Also as a photographer I was hoping that I could get closer with better light and all those little things that make perfection impossible to achieve.
We returned to another beautiful sunset and another nice meal where we chatted with an American couple. Steve was a firefighter who had invested a lot of money into his camera gear and was happy to share some of his shots with me. I must admit that the stuff he got in Greece using a drone was worthy of placement in a magazine. I needed to remind myself that envy is a sin and that I was trying to strike a balance between living the experience and recording it.
Time to get to bed because tomorrow would be another long day on the road. Little did I realize that we had a little extra unplanned adventure with a mechanic and a welder coming up.
Comments