Sami was an imposing man if you measure by size. I am six feet three inches tall and I had to look up at him. Really look up. Dressed in the bright red plaid and colored beads of the Masai he looked every bit the warrior. But the smile on his face and the warm reception as we climbed down out of our safari van were anything but menacing. He said this would be our home while we were there in the shadows of Mount Kilimanjaro and that we should only ask if we should need anything.
A pair of smaller porters led us down the flagstone path to the cluster of huts that held our lodging for the next two nights. Outside it was a thatched roofed hut while inside it revealed a pair of large beds with buffalo horn shaped head headboards and elephant print linens capped by gossamer mosquito netting suspended above each waiting for the evening turndown ceremony.
By the time we got everything settled in our hut it was nearly sunset. Dusty, knowing my passion for a good picture, told me to run along and get back to the restaurant at the main lodge where the views of Kilimanjaro were the best. If you look at the start of this story you will see why I was anxious to get there.
Dinner was an elaborate buffet affair. With a choice of where to sit we asked if we could sit outside as it was cool and clear that evening. Dusty had gone back into the main restaurant to pick up a few more tasty morsels when we heard rhythmic screams coming from nearby. Soon a parade of Masai men and women in full dress danced into sight. I was watching from the sidelines as they performed their jump dancing when Sami insisted that I join them. After exercising some of my long dormant high jumping muscles I returned to my seat to the applause of several of my fellow adventurers. Dusty arrived shortly thereafter with the next course none the wiser that I had been playing in her absence.
In the morning I had to, of course, hurry up to breakfast to get the morning view of the mountain. Often the peak is shrouded in clouds and is not seen for days. We had the picturesque privilege of seeing in twice in just a few hours.
At breakfast Dusty chatted with a group of women who were traveling together. They had done a number of journeys and were not going to let age or illness get in their way. I had to admire their grit and hope to be able to keep up the pace that they are for years to come.
It was a beautiful morning for a game drive. On the way to the Kimana Gate to Amboseli National Park we saw a classic Masai Giraffe with Mount Kilimanjaro in the background with puffy clouds dotting the sky.
At the entrance to Amboseli we started down a long dry gravel road that seemed to be void of life. I was starting to be anxious that this was going to be a bust in spite of the stellar reputation of the park. Sure, there were a few zebras and birds with Mount Kilimanjaro in the distance, but. Then we started to see green areas where there were huge ponds and that was where the life would be. My favorite bird, a lilac breasted roller, let me know there were going to be good sightings today!
In the distance Isaiah spotted a lion, which I could barely see off to the right, slowly strolling towards the greener area far to our left. With a little mental geometry he decided that the best place to be was about two hundred meters in front of where we were and so that was where we parked and waited. Sure enough the lone lion crossed the road not far in front of us and we finally started to see the good stuff that Amboseli is famous for.
There were elephants playing in the water surrounded by water plants up to their bellies and white egrets on their backs. Nearby there were hippos in the water as well.
Our next elephant introduction was to a celebrity. This is Craig. He is one of the few remaining "Super Tuskers" still in the wild. He has his own bodyguard assigned to protect him from poachers. He is fifty-one years old and his older brother, Tim, passed away last year making Craig that much more rare. For more about our fortunate photo op take a look at this:
https://www.naturettl.com/photographing-one-of-the-last-super-tuskers-of-africa/
And then. Well, I won't say anything but. Look at these zebras!
And more and more birds.
Lunchtime found us at the bottom of the only hill for miles around. Isaiah parked with the other vehicles and Dusty and I hiked to the top get a look from an amazing vantage point. Below there was a lake with a small island in the center and brilliant green foliage around the shoreline. But you could see that as you went any distance from this and other bodies of water the land quickly became arid and barren. There were at least a half dozen whirlwinds twirling in the distance at any time you looked around. Along the edge of the lake were a number of hippos grazing and strolling in the bright sunlight. Watching them lumber along it's hard to believe that they are the biggest killers in African wildlife.
As we left the hilltop a pair of young elephants swung by.
And more and more and more...
When we got back to the lodge we made our way to the Hemingway Bar. It turns out the Ernest Hemingway lived in this house while he was in Kenya. The house was built on a rock outcropping at the edge of the lodge property with the back wall of the bar itself being the stone of the mother earth that it sits upon. The windows are aligned to see the sunrise, the sunset, and Mount Kilimanjaro. The bartender is called Papa Em, or Emanuel. His uncle was the Masai tribesman who worked with Hemingway while he was living in this house. In the photo below you see him showing Hemingway the tribal bow and arrows. Ernest Hemingway insisted on standing on a rock out of the frame of the photograph because he was much shorter than Papa Em's Uncle. He told us that his uncle lived to the age of 103 years.
Papa Em introduced us to the closest relative of the elephant. And it inhabits the rocks below the bar. The Rock Hyrax.
Our next stop would be our last stop. Tsavo East. As we left the lodge the next morning the last person I saw was a tall Masai. Sami.
That zebra shot is amazing!