As we crested the rise that revealed Lake Nakuru the near shore had a strange glow to it. Ben told us that it was the flamingos. We drove out onto the crusty shoreline to get a better look. There were zebras, buffalo, and dozens of white pelicans on the shore, but as far as you could see to the left and to the right and for 100-yards out into the lake it was full of flamingos.
The child inside of me was jumping up and down and clapping. It was soooo cool! They were flying in one by one and in groups of three, five, ten and more. This was a preview for us because we still had to get to our lodge and check in. Ben dropped us off at the lodge and we had lunch and rested while he took the van back into town to have a piece of the grill welded. I did say that the going was a little rough. Later that afternoon he came back for us and we went for the afternoon game drive. Back to the lake and more and more and more flamingos. Something stirred up the mass of birds to my right and a huge flight of pink and white rose up and grew in number and chaos as it passed in front of me and my clicking shutter. What a sight.
We drove on along the shore for a while and turned back towards the hills and finally finished my sighting of the big five. A pair of white rhinos was grazing in a huge green field while small birds were grazing on the bugs on the backs of the rhinos. We were fortunate enough to also find the rare black rhino, an estimated 2,500 left in the wild, within about a mile of the white rhinos. Later we see how a group of white pelicans catch fish by swimming in a circle of 7-8 birds and all scooping down together to herd the fish into their waiting bills. I mentioned to Ben that I read about a second type of giraffe that was found in the area called the Rothschild’s giraffe. Within twenty minutes he pulls off the main trail onto a barely worn pair of tire ruts going towards some trees. Soon we see a giraffe sitting on the ground and we approach to within thirty yards. Yes, it is a Rothschild’s giraffe and another flurry of photos are taken as he casually gets up, no small task when you are over 15-feet tall, and strolls off into the nearby acacia trees.
Ben asks me what else I would like to see and I said that I would like to see the face of a leopard since my last pictures were only of the backside. After listening to the radio for a while he says that one has been sighted. After a long search it seems that the leopard may have moved. On our way back to the lodge that afternoon a number of jeeps and vans are stopped on the trail looking up into the trees. It is the leopard. The distance is nearly 100-yards and the light is not perfect, but it is a beautiful animal. He is stretched out on a large branch twenty feet up in the air with a contented look on his face. It appears that he has eaten his fill of some unfortunate furry animal whose remains are draped over the branch a short distance from his face. The face that is now visible to my camera and I take full advantage of the opportunity.
After a short native dance presentation and another satisfying meal that included Kenyan barbeque we retire to our room. The mosquito net has been drawn around our bed, and this is the only place where we were bothered at all by the little devils. We have been using insect repellant and taking low-dose antibiotics as a precaution against malaria. Better to be safe than to come down with something as nasty as that.
The next day would take us to what is one of the great sights at one of the great locations in all of Africa. The great migration from the Serengeti Plains in Tanzania to Maasai Mara in Kenya is taking place now. This is the seasonal migration of millions of grazing animals that follow the new growth of grass along with all the predators that prey on them. The drive is long and very uncomfortable. There is dust, holes on the road, and in many places little or no road at all.
As we finally do get into the gates of the Maasai Mara reserve we find that we have a flat tire. A group of five young Maasai men dressed in long red wraps from their shoulders to their ankles come and ask if they can help. Ben wants to get the jack under the van before the tire is completely out of air and the young men help and chat in friendly Swahili with Ben as the tire is changed. I prepare to take a picture and one of them advises me that if I take a picture bad things will happen. Ben tells me that most prefer not to be photographed, but some at the village choose to be photographed by the tourists. I respect their request and put away my camera. One of the men chats with me a little and we end up bartering for a wristband that he is wearing. They have helped us out and I appreciate it. So I gladly pay a little too much for a hand beaded souvenir with the shield and spears that is the symbol of Kenya and the little story that goes with it.
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