kenya: lake nakuru park
last year august my mom and dad had their 40th wedding anniversary, so to celebrate, we all went to lake nakuru national park for a few days. lake nakuru is one of my favorite parks. it is relatively close to nairobi, it has beautiful scenery and lots of animals packed into a pretty small space so you are always guaranted to see lots.
as usual it took us a bit of time to get going, so when we got to the park it was getting late, leading to the fastest ever, most windswept game viewing drive through the park.
but soon we were settled into the old warden's house in the park. the spacious and rambling old house can now be rented by...us (and anyone else who wants to come to visit, come to think of it.) it is right in the middle of the park with no fence or anything so wildlife routinely walk by the house.
i really enjoyed the morning sunrise from the front of the house. this beautiful view was directly in front of the house.
it always amazes me how each sunrise is completely different in look and feel. same location, same time, completely new show!
even kennie woke up early for the sunrise!
the kenya wildlife service is right next to the house so every morning they would fire up their little plane which they use to keep track of their animals, and also to keep an eye out for poaching. lake nakuru has a number of black rhinos, which are a 'critically endangered' species. funny enough, they are not really black, they have a pointy mouth instead of a flat mouth (the 'white' rhino). not sure who came up with the 'black' and 'white' names, but they were clearly having a bad eyesight day.
heres dad relaxing in the front yard, about 100 meters from the buffalo below...
this is the african, or cape buffalo. its smaller than the indian buffalo, but nastier. apparently they kill about 200 people a year. the horns of a buffalo are fused at the bottom, apparently (and fittingly) this part is called the 'boss'. it cannot be penetrated even by a rifle bullet. buffalo can even kill a lion (although when the lions work in packs they, in turn, can turn the buffalo into supper.)
one morning we went out for an early morning drive - you can just about see dad having his early morning cup of tea on the veranda as we drove off.
we were rewarded for waking up early by spotting 3 lions walking - 2 males and a female. however many times you see lions, or national geographic shows about lions, or pictures of lions, they have a certain ability to strike fear anew when you see them again. yes, its just a cat, but its a 250kg cat that can be up to 8 feet long. with all the reflexes, eyesight, speed and confidence that regular cats possess.
one was lying next to the road so close to our car that we could see the ticks on its back. when someone spoke too loud it would turn baleful yellow eyes on the perpetrator and to be quite frank it was rather scary.
this couple were playing in the distance and walked across the field in front of us. what is it about the early morning sunlight that makes everything look amazing?
one final sunrise picture from our front yard:
as usual it took us a bit of time to get going, so when we got to the park it was getting late, leading to the fastest ever, most windswept game viewing drive through the park.
but soon we were settled into the old warden's house in the park. the spacious and rambling old house can now be rented by...us (and anyone else who wants to come to visit, come to think of it.) it is right in the middle of the park with no fence or anything so wildlife routinely walk by the house.
i really enjoyed the morning sunrise from the front of the house. this beautiful view was directly in front of the house.
it always amazes me how each sunrise is completely different in look and feel. same location, same time, completely new show!
even kennie woke up early for the sunrise!
the kenya wildlife service is right next to the house so every morning they would fire up their little plane which they use to keep track of their animals, and also to keep an eye out for poaching. lake nakuru has a number of black rhinos, which are a 'critically endangered' species. funny enough, they are not really black, they have a pointy mouth instead of a flat mouth (the 'white' rhino). not sure who came up with the 'black' and 'white' names, but they were clearly having a bad eyesight day.
heres dad relaxing in the front yard, about 100 meters from the buffalo below...
this is the african, or cape buffalo. its smaller than the indian buffalo, but nastier. apparently they kill about 200 people a year. the horns of a buffalo are fused at the bottom, apparently (and fittingly) this part is called the 'boss'. it cannot be penetrated even by a rifle bullet. buffalo can even kill a lion (although when the lions work in packs they, in turn, can turn the buffalo into supper.)
one morning we went out for an early morning drive - you can just about see dad having his early morning cup of tea on the veranda as we drove off.
we were rewarded for waking up early by spotting 3 lions walking - 2 males and a female. however many times you see lions, or national geographic shows about lions, or pictures of lions, they have a certain ability to strike fear anew when you see them again. yes, its just a cat, but its a 250kg cat that can be up to 8 feet long. with all the reflexes, eyesight, speed and confidence that regular cats possess.
one was lying next to the road so close to our car that we could see the ticks on its back. when someone spoke too loud it would turn baleful yellow eyes on the perpetrator and to be quite frank it was rather scary.
this couple were playing in the distance and walked across the field in front of us. what is it about the early morning sunlight that makes everything look amazing?
one final sunrise picture from our front yard:
