Amboseli

We spent the weekend at Amboseli National Park down at the base of Mount Kilimanjaro. The road from Namanga to the camp was definitely the worst I've ever been on. I call it the bladder-buster! It was bad washboard for nearly three hours, so bad even my nostrils rattled. We had to laugh at the sign by the roadside, about two hours into the drive: Bumps ahead. (meaning speed bumps) About 400m from the campsite, shook loose by the endless rattling, our left hind wheel decided to take off without us. That left us coming to a stop with a big THUMP! But the stray wheel and bolts were corralled and put back on satisfactorily and lasted well throughout the weekend. (Until Sun. morning, when the right fore was found flat and had to be refilled 7 times on the way back)

Driving in we could see Kilimanjaro in the distance. From our campsite we could see it clearly with the aid of a full moon. It cleared off during the nights and disappeared behind clouds during the day. So my best shot may have been taken at nearly midnight with a long exposure. The moon was so full that even colors show! We slept outside both nights and got to see the moon rise and set with the snows of Kilimanjaro on the other side. At 5895m, it's the tallest mountain in Africa and the tallest free-standing one in the world.

The advantages to sleeping outside is that you get to see the sun rise.

We saw lots of animals and lots of baby animals too. Within a few minutes on Sunday we saw over 200 elephants all in the same area. Water buffalo were also abundant as were ostrich and zebra.

Coming back we drove through Lake Amboseli. Fortunately for me, it was dry. Mirages made it seem as if we were surrounded by water, but it was all dust.

On the road between Namanga and Kajiado we saw a herd of camels eating and stopped to take a few pictures.