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.

Lake Bogoria

On Saturday we went to Lake Bogoria. At first it was cold and rainy, but it got clearer after awhile. The lake was long with mountains on one side. There were hot springs at one place, and they were hot. The scenery was quite beautiful, well worth seeing. Lots of flamingos.

Lake Baringo

Last weekend we went camping up at Lake Baringo with the Crutchers, Rusenescus, Sandovals, Ryan, Heidi, Espy and me. It was wonderful. The scenery along the way and at our destination was beautiful and for the most part we had nice weather. The drive took us six hours, half of it on good roads. I was really happy we had no river crossings. I'm really glad we went.

This is Mount Longonot, the volcano we climbed on a prep hike about a month ago. Altitude 2776m from sea level. Last erupted in 1860's. This was the first time we had seen anything from the escarpment. Normally everything has been clouded over and misty. This time we got to see the Valley.

I took quite a few night shots. The moon was so full and pretty. The moon was so bright that some of my pictures looked like day pictures. That night it rained and the guys were somewhat miserable. Our tent stayed dry though.

This was one of our friends. They would come up on the bank and sunbathe. Of course they looked all harmless lying there, so I got up close enough to take this foto. But they do move fast too. And those teeth looked sharp.

This guy was cute. He moved about 10m during the whole weekend. We fed him bananas and apples. I thought his head looked very much like a dinosaurs.

The flora and fauna were pretty. There was one bird I didn't get a picture of, that was my favorite. It sounded like a mixture between a little happy kid and Orbie from Katie and Orbie. It was really cute. The others didn't like it though :(

Heidi and I got up early Sunday morning to watch the sun rise. It was quite beautiful with all the colors reflecting off the still waters.

Sunday morning we took a three hour boat ride out on to the lake. (I was Mary Ann) On the ride we saw birds and crocs and hippos. One hippo actually jumped at us, so we didn't spend much time there. True to form, I forgot that my legs also needed sunscreen... They're both toasty red and quite sore. I suppose I'll never learn...

We got some fish from this guy to feed the fish eagles.

We threw out a fish and one of the guys whistled for the eagle. It came flying over and grabbed the fish and took it home.

These are the fishing boats the Maasai of Baringo use on the lake. They're made of lightweight wood and don't sink even if they fill with water.

On our way back we stopped by the equator. Ryan, Heidi and me.

Magadi

On long weekend Sabbath we drove down to Magadi hot springs in the afternoon. Driving down was beautiful. Through the valley with wide expanses of differing landscapes. It was hot there though. But nice.

The springs were located in a plain with mountains far away in every direction. The water just bubbled out and flowed away. It was pretty.

Some people dipped into the springs. I would have, but didn't have time (had to take pictures). I'll have to go back sometime and take a good swim :)

The springs looked cool with all the different colors and formations.

We saw some zebra and wildebeest and flamingos. There were also lots of little fishies swimming around in the springs.

The colors were incredibly vibrant.

Climbing

Elvin took us climbing on the other side of the Hills. There were six of us: Elvin, Heidi, Andrew, Jerald, Marielle and me. It was a beautiful day and we had fun. I only made it up the first wall about 2m. The other wall I did better on and almost got to the top. My height was somewhat limiting though :) I also took a different route all the way up to the top of the cliffs and enjoyed the scenery from there.

The view from the cliffs towards the Ngong hills.

Marielle inching her way up with her lollipop

Heidi in between a rock and a hard place

The view from the top of the cliffs was wonderful. I sat up there for awhile and enjoyed the breeze and sunshine. This is my first attempt at a panorama picture. The colors weren't all quite the same in the different pictures. They're the Ngong's from the other side.

On our way back we watched the sun set until all that was left was this fluffy cloud.