Kenya 2022

Starting the Trip with Strawberry Sparklers at the Club at ATL	Welcome Aboard Qatar Airways	Turn Down Service on Qatar Airways	Getting a good night's Sleep on an Airplane	Waffles and Mimosas for Breakfast
First time I've seen this instruction on an Airplane	Flying over the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt	Flying over the Gulf of Aqaba	Flying over Saudi Arabia	On the Ground in Doha, Qatar
23 ft tall Bronze Teddy Bear at Hamad International Airport in Doha	Entrance to Al Mourjan Business Lounge in Doha	Enjoying time in the Al Mourjan Business Lounge	Chandelier & Staircase in Al Mourjan Business Lounge	Al Mourjan Business Lounge is over 107,000 sq ft
Glad to be at the Nairobi Serena Hotel 26 hrs after leaving home	Our view from Nairobi Serena Hotel	Nairobi Serena Hotel Lobby	Statue made from old typewriter, bicycle chains, etc.	Nice Garden at Nairobi Serena Hotel
Nice heated pool, but too cold for us to swim	Fan Palm Poolside at Hotel	Aksum Bar is named and decorated for Aksum, Ethiopia	No central heat, so we got a smiley-face heater	Old & new apartments side by side in Nairobi
Morning traffic coming into Nairobi	Selling Pineapples along the road NE of Nairobi	Charcoal for sale along the road in Kenya	Bathroom stop in Kenya	Bathroom stops in Kenya are always at curio shops
Bags of rice are the main product of this area in Kenya	Fruit stands along road A2 in Kenya	Hotel means cheap cafe-restaurant in Kenya	Lumber yard in Karatina, Kenya	Maasai cattle on Road A2 (main North-South Highway) in Kenya
A rock put a smiley face on the windshield of our almost new vehicle	Refilling Water Bottles to reduce plastic waste in Kenya	Entering Ol Pejeta Conservancy (the largest Black Rhino Sanctuary in E. Africa)	Herd of female Grant's Gazelle	Arriving at Sweetwaters Serena Camp, Kenya
Chef preparing pasta for lunch at Sweetwaters Serena Camp	Sweetwaters Serena is a "tent camp"	Inside our tent at Sweetwaters Serena Camp	Front Porch of Sweetwaters Tent	View of watering hole from our porch at Sweetwaters
The Pool at Sweetwaters Serena Camp	Black Rhinos coming to watering hole is our first sighting of one of the "Big Five"	Black Rhinos have a hooked lip	Male Impala on afternoon Game Drive	Waterbuck
Pair of Grant's Gazelles	Crash of Black Rhinos	Ol Pejeta Conservancy has about 140 endangered Black Rhinos	Warthog Family	The Warthog is the first of the "Ugly Five"
Small pride of lions sleeping gives us our second of the Big Five	Grey Heron	Plains Zebras on the left and the endangered Grevy's Zebra on the far right	An endngered Reticulated Giraffe	Two Cape Buffalo sparing makes three of the Big Five we've seen
We have a takedown	Pre-dinner cocktails at Sweetwaters Serena Camp	Pair of Waterbucks in front of our tent at night	No heat, but a hot water bottle helps	Up before sunrise for AM Game Drive
Early morning moon over Ol Pejeta Conservancy	Mount Kenya (17,057 ft) is the 2nd highest mountain in Africa	Waiting for sunrise in Kenya	Baby Gazelle having breakfast	Lilac-breasted Roller is Kenya's National Bird
Secretarybirds are fun to watch walk	Cold morning on Game Drive	Mother Elephant and two juveniles	Jackal Pups	Mama Jackal
Zebras in front of Mt. Kenya	Cape Buffalo on the move	Our first sighting of an active Lioness	Lioness taking a break	A second Lioness showed up
Zebra, Secretarybird, & Cape Buffalo	Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary is home to rescued chimps	Some of the Chimps rescued during transit through Kenya	Rescued chimps live in 2 large groups	Cage has only been used once to protect visitors from Chimps
Taking a break on our tent's porch	A visitor in front of the tent next door	Just passing through the camp	African Sacred Ibis	Desert table at lunch at Sweetwaters Serena Camp
Susan under big acacia tree at Sweetwaters Camp	Ron & Susan at the tent next door	Troop of Baboons outside the gate of Sweetwaters Camp	Momma Baboon with infant on her back	At the Equator
Some facts that I didn't know about the Equator	We're not in GA anymore, Dorothy	Baby Gazelle looking for mama	Rhinos drinking from pond fed by underground spring	Mama & little Rhino
The Superb Starling is iridescent	Visiting Baraka, the blind Rhino	Bill feeding Baraka	Susan feeding Baraka	Lots of mammals to look for in Ol Pejeta
A Confusion of Guinea Fowl at Ol Pejeta	Memorial to Rhinos who died in Ol Pejeta Conservancy	The world's last N. White Rhino died in Ol Pejeta	Beautiful Reticulated Giraffe at Ol Pejeta Conservancy	Pair of Giraffes with Oxpeckers removing parasites
Three Thompson Gazelles	Cape Buffalo are some of the most dangerous animals in Africa	Cape Buffalo Carcass at Watering Hole	5 minutes before sunset in Ol Pejeta	Late afternoon at the watering hole in front of our tent
Waterbucks across from our tent	Elephants sighted on Night Game Drive makes four of the Big Five	Hyena with leftovers from dinner is the second of the "Ugly Five"	Hyena moving pup to new location	Hyena and her pup at night
Our first male Lions were spotted on our Night Game Drive	Sleepy Lion on Night Game Drive	One Lion is up	Last look at Lion on Night Game Drive	Our hot-natured friends gave us their hot water bottles for the night
Full moon over Sweetwaters Serena pool	Last look at Mount Kenya as we are headed back to Nairobi	A stop at the Equator in Nanyuki, Kenya	Demonstration of Coriolis effect at the Equator	A Minaret towers above Kenyan town
Nice house in rural Kenya	Bridge construction in Kenya	Kids love to wave at passing safari vehicles	Disneyland Hotel in rural Kenya	Roadside Nursery in Kenya
Interesting plants for sale	Stopping to taste local fruit	Pretty fruit display on the roadside	We enjoyed these small, sweet bananas from this market	Horned Melon is also known as African Horned Cucumber
Horned Melon ready for Bill to eat	Proliferation of apartment buildings on outskirts of Nairobi	BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir is a Hindu temple in Nairobi	Friday afternoon traffic in Nairobi	Made it back to Nairobi Serena Hotel
Dinner out with our friends at Carnivore Restaurant	Meat is skewered on Maasai swords and cooked on coals at the Carnivore Restaurant	At the Carnivore Restaurant	Meat continues to be served until "you surrender the flag"	Meat being served at Carnivore Restaurant
These were supposedly Ox Testicles	Pots for sale along the road in Nairobi	Arriving at the Karen Blixen Museum	Karen Blixen's book "Out of Africa" chronicled her life here	The house (built in 1912) was occupied by Karen Blixen from 1917-31
1922 Fordson Model F Tractor	Photo of Karen Blixen and one of her Scottish Deerhounds	Karen Blixen's property in 1917 consisted of 4,500 acres	1917 Coffee Drying Machine on Karen Blixen's farm	Apparently, luxury & serenity are for sale in this gated community
An exclusive Nairobi neighborhood	The Daphne Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage rescues orphaned baby elephants	Most baby elephants are orphaned by poachers killing their mothers	The first elephants brought out are the younger ones	Second group of elephants are being bottle fed
An Elephant able to hold its own bottle	Two Elephants playing	Susan feeling skin of a young Elephant	Two young bulls still jostling	Elephant eyelashes
Ebony wood is a favorite for Kenyan woodworkers	Michael helping sand a statue	Using shoe polish to help seal the wood	Garden setting for lunch	A visit to the Giraffe Center in Nairobi
Feeding the Giraffes	Beware of Headbutts	Looks like he's eating my hand	Good-looking Giraffe Profile	Susan Feeding the Baby Giraffe
Warthogs waiting for dropped food	Last of the food for Susan	Rothschild Giraffes are an endangered species	By the end of the trip we will see all three types of Giraffes	A piece of the Nairobi Skyline
Masjidunoor Makutano Mosque in Nairobi	Colorful fruit & vegetable market in Kenya	Roadside Woodcarving Shop	Waiting for Zebras to cross Highway A104 in Kenya	Church in what appears to be the middle of nowhere
Closer look at isolated Church looks very nice	Another interesting looking church in Kenya	A Gerenuk (giraffe-necked antelope)	Herds on the plains of Amboseli National Park in Kenya	African Jacana
Hippo in an Amboseli marsh	A Goliath Heron	One-tusk Elephant in a marsh in Amboseli National Park	There are an estimated 1200 elephants in Amboseli National Park	Wildebeests in Amboseli National Park are third of the "Ugly Five"
Arrived at Amboseli Serena Lodge	Amboseli Lodge landscaping	Key attached to imitation Maasai Rungu	Room in Amboseli Serena Lodge	Dining Room at Amboseli Serena
Desert table at Amboseli Serena	Porch of our unit at Amboseli Serena	Back of unit overlooks watering hole	Striped Mongoose at Amboseli Serena Lodge	Afternoon Game Drive begins with Vultures (the fourth of the Ugly Five) feeding on Zebra
Baby zebras are really cute	Elephants move from the marsh to forests each night	Elephant taking a dust bath to protect her skin	Elephants (females) form defensive perimeter while waiting to cross the road	Baby Elephant looking for milk
Elephants move as a group with young ones in the center	Elephants follow the same path every day	Safari vehicle traffic jam following Elephants crossing the road	Black-mane Lion at a distance	Hyena with a bone
A pair of Hyenas at sunset	Sunset occurs at the same time every day at the Equator	Room prepared for the night with mosquito net	Balloon over Amboseli National Park	Baby Elephant having breakfast
Elephant using toenails to dig for roots	Vultures hanging out in tree	Mawenzi Peak (16,893 ft) of Mount Kilimanjaro starting to emerge	Mt Kilimanjaro is the world's highest mountain at 19,341 ft above sea level	Mount Kiliimanjaro is Africa's highest mountain and has snow on its peak year round
Long zoom of Mount Kilimanjaro snowcap	Male Maasai Ostrich	Female Maasai Ostrich	Black-bellied Bustard	Red-billed Oxpecker and Superb Starling
Amboseli National Park is largely semi-arid, but has some swamps and forests	Maasai Warrior carving a Rungu (wooden throwing club)	Vervet Monkey listening to George's information about tomorrow	Monkey behind Susan	Vervet monkeys are known for their blue balls
Susan says she didn't take this picture on purpose	Maasai are allowed to graze cattle in Amboseli National Park	Maasai harvesting vegetation to feed cattle	Kori Bustard	Yellow Baboon
African Fish Eagle	Baby Zebra is about 2 months old	Pair of Hippos	What you lookin' at?	Animals grazing in Amboseli National Park
A Congregation of Ostrich with grazing animals	Animals have the right of way in Amboseli National Park	Sleeping Spotted Hyena	Two young Hyenas	Hyena with her cub
Curious young Hyena visiting mamma and cub	Flamingos on one of the lakes in Amboseli	Glossy Ibis	Pelicans on Amboseli lake	Nature reclaiming flooded abandoned lodge
Cape Buffalo outside safari lodge that was abandoned due to flooding	Baboons playing on fallen tree	Infants playing & adults grooming	Sunrise in Amboseli National Park	Kira Kira Academy is on the Kenya-Tanzania border
Outfitter (store) in Kenya	Stopped at this courtyard for picnic lunch	Nice spot for another picnic lunch	Cheers Pub in Tanzania	Moving cows on the road
Pretty purple school uniforms	Wide load on a motorcycle	School clothes drying on stacks of bricks	Loading calf into motorbike trailer	Propane tanks in Kenya are painted in bright colors
Rural healthcare in Kenya	Local market in Kenya	Maasai men make sandals from recycled car tires	Interesting location for a driving school	Pushing a loaded bicycle uphill
First look at the 580 sq. mi. Maasai Mara National Reserve	Entrance gate to the Maasai Mara Conservancy	Striped Mongoose and two pups	Striped Mongoose	A really big Candelabra Tree
Young Baboon eating	A pair of Massai Giraffes in Maasai Mara	Black-headed Heron & African Sacred Ibis on the Maasai Mara	A muddy Cape Buffalo	Female Waterbuck posing
One-horned Topi probably lost his battle for dominance	Our next lodge sits on this hill	Communication towers are visible for miles before arriving at Mara Serena Lodge	Pretty entrance to Mara Serena Safari Lodge	Checked into Mara Serena Safari Lodge
View of the Maasai Mara savanna from the lodge balcony	One of our nicest rooms on the trip	Very cool mirror with recessed lighting on the sides	Another interesting mirror in the bathroom	View of the pool from our room
Looking over the Maasai Mara (also called 'The Mara')	Herd of Elephants on The Mara	Rock Hyax out our back door	Watching a Rock Hyax from our balcony	Bill found another new beer (probably his favorite)
Decor in the bar area of Mara Serena Lodge	View of the firepit and pool from our table at dinner	Lots of hot air balloons over Maasai Mara in the early morning	There are an estimated 1.3 million Wildebeests in Maasai Mara for the Great Migration	There are an estimated 200,000 Grant's Zebras in Maasai Mara
Sometimes these animals just decide to start walking in single file	Mom and Cheetah cubs viewed at 80X zoom	A tree full of White-backed Vultures	A Lioness sleeping on a mound of dirt	A little closer to the Lioness sleeping
Another Lioness near the first one	Lionesses in tall grass near a fresh kill	Lioness moving fresh kill	Lion pride on the move	Lions relaxing after feeding
Young Male Lion	Hartebeests	Vulture coming in for a landing	Vultures arguing over dead Wildebeest	Vulture staring contest
Maribou Stork (rounds out our search for the Ugly Five)	The Hyena is another of the "Ugly Five"	A Spotted Hyena crossing the road	Kenya-Tanzania border marker in the middle of the Maasai Mara	Heading to a nature walk on the Mara River
Agama Lizard on edge of bridge	Susan with Ranger on the bank of the Mara River	Crocodile on the banks of the Mara River	Crocs open their mouths to release heat from their bodies	Hippos in Mara River
Hippo trail coming from the Mara River	Rangers who accompanied us on nature walk	Two of the 'ugly five' running together (Wildebeests & Warthogs)	Stopping for a drink of muddy water	Kneeling Warthog
Crocodiles on the riverbank	Good advice with Crocodiles & Hippos right behind the sign	Crocodile in the Mara River	Big Croc just came out of Mara River	Egyptian Goose
The Mara River is low in places during the dry season	Kingfisher	Sun trying to break through cloud cover on Maasai Mara at sunset	Waiting for hot air balloon ride over Maasai Mara	Balloon almost ready to launch
In the hot air balloon basket	1st balloon is away	Bill with our balloon captain, Serje	Heating up the air in the balloon	Sunrise over the Maasai Mara
Following 3 balloons across the Maasai Mara	A dazzle of Zebras on the Maasai Mara	Herd of Thompson Gazelles viewed from the balloon	We're a little higher than this balloon	Watching a herd of Elephants from above
Selfie on hot air balloon	Cape Buffalo in the shadow of our balloon	Cape Buffalo checking us out in the balloon	Good shot of the range of vegetation across the Maasai Mara	Male and female Waterbucks in Maasai Mara tall grass
Mom & baby Giraffe checking us out	Love watching Giraffes run	Rainbow on the Maasai Mara	Wildebeests on the run	The first balloon landed close to herd of Wildebeests
Julius picked us up from balloon landing site	Maribou Storks in pond	Porto-johns at the hot air balloon breakfast site	Preparing for Champagne Breakfast	Cooking omlets and crepes in the bush
Enjoying Champagne Breakfast with mimosas	Serje hosting champagne breakfast on the Maasai Mara	Bill's 2ne Hot Air Balloon Flight Certificate	Susan's 2nd Hot Air Balloon Flight Certificate	Rainbow after Champagne Breakfast
Finishing up champagne breakfast	Enjoying Mimosas while waiting for our driver to pick us up	Bees enjoying left over mimosas	Found a male Lion on the way out of Maasai Mara	A pair of Hippos by a pond
Looking at a Hippo up close	Found the Cheetah and her cubs (from the day before) sitting on a mound	What a beautiful animal	Our first look at all four cubs	Mom is looking a little agitated
Cheetah moved to higher ground	Friday afternoon soccer game at Kenyan school	Last souvenir stop where we found a bowl we had been looking for	Roadside butcher shop in Kenya	Wild Aloe Vera with orange flowers
Baboon eating food thrown from vehicles	Narok County produces half of Kenya's wheat on an annual basis	Interesting sign since we've seen animals crossing the roads for 19 days	This extremely long grade on a narrow road took about 45 minutes to clear	New apartments are being built every day on the outskirts of Nairobi
New apartments co-exist with older, existing structures in the neighborhood	People in Nairobi cross three lanes of highway traffic	Selling plants in a traffic jam in Nairobi	The University of Nairobi Towers is a 21-story building completed by a Chinese firm in 2016	Driving through Nairobi
Saying goodbye to our Kenyan driver, Evans	Leaving Nairobi for the airport	Fancy toll booth on Nairobi Expressway	In a Q-suite on Qatar Airways	On the runway at Doha, Qatar
Doha Skyline in the fog	Banana Island, Qatar in the fog	Settling in for a long flight from Doha to Atlanta	You wanna talk about a straight road	Bill was stationed on Bahrain in 1972
937 miles (not including off-road game drives) & 9 different rooms in 20 days