The trip has started

Note: Pictures are adding at the top, scroll through them to get to our comments. Will post more soon.

As planned, our friend Lori delivered us to the airport in plenty of time for us to check-in and make our plane. As we waited, Sue spotted Swathi, Shilpa’s sister. We weren’t sure, but she was indeed flying the same flights as us.

Nothing spectacular about the flights. Uncomfortable seats, bad food, movies were the saving grace. We could watch whatever we wanted. 20 hours (4 hour layover in Amsterdam) later we landed in Nairobi, Kenya. The landing was smooth.

Waiting just out of Immigration, was PK, Shilpa’s father. Immigration took forever, but the offset for that was the wait for our bags, they came out of the turnstile right when we got there. PK knows the Customs guys, so we walked right through without any questions. At the car, there was a reunion with PK’s driver Jao who had been Sue’s driver on her previous trip.

Then we were off to our first party. In the guise of a reception for the Bride and Groom, this was actually a surprise 60th birthday party for PK. Also celebrated was an 85th birthday for another guest. Food, drinks, dancing, and of course cake. After about three hours of this we were shot, so off to the house. PK and Prema had us stay with them in their home for the first two nights.

Day one in Kenya. We’re not going to see much of Kenya this day as we helped set-up for party number two. This was a very special dinner to welcome the Groom’s family. There was a short formal welcome ceremony, and then more food and drinks (not dancing or cake this evening). Roses are a big commodity in Kenya and there was no shortage at this party. The welcome sign is made of 100% rose buds. We didn’t make it to bed until well after midnight, and a good time was had by all.

Day two. We were up early as our van to our first Safari was supposed to leave at 7:30am. One of the couples going with us was flying in from India and their plane was delayed 2 hours. Sue’s went back to bed and I chatted with the family. We did get on the road at about 9:30.

Now the roads in Kenya are inconsistent to say the least. There were a couple of very nice stretches, but more often, the potholes were bigger than the remaining pavement. The van’s speedometer didn’t work and I think that was for the better. The drive took a bit over 4 hours and I’m guessing it was 150-200 miles.

We got to the park just in time for a late lunch. Our tent wasn’t ready for us yet, so we lounged around until our first game drive. The vans are all specially equipped with pop up tops. From in the van a person can stand up and shoot pictures. Good thing as you’re not allowed out of the vans. But shoot pictures we did.

Attached are just a few of the shots we got. Most elusive was the black rhino, but we managed to get a couple of him. In addition, we shot giraffe, buffalo, zebra, elephant, gazelle, topi, eland, wildebeest, hartbeast, warthog, and lions. Not bad for our first excursion.

Back to camp for dinner. We were now able to get into our tent. Now tent it may be, but we’re talking 5 star tents. All the amenities you would expect in a 5 star hotel. The front windows face out into the park (as I write this there are zebra grazing just out the windows). We freshen up; had dinner, then to bed. Day three is going to start early.

Day three. Our wake up shout (no phones, they send out a runner to the tents) came at 5:30am. We’re at the van by 6:15 for a morning drive. Three hours of bumping around the country side, again, a lot of pictures. On this drive we came upon a couple of recent kills. Good shots of lions again and with rare luck a cheetah kill. The cheetah still digging in. At one of the lion kills, there was a jackel waiting to scavenge his share. The vultures were getting their share from a couple other kills.

After lunch back at camp, we decided to take a long afternoon excursion to the river. Hoping to see a crossing. The river was quiet. There was a group of hippo’s laying about and more were resting in the water. Every few seconds they would stick their noses out for a breath of air, and then back down into the water they would go. We were warned to stay away from the waters edge because of the Crocodiles. A guide from another group pointed one out to us resting on the other bank of the river.

This trip we stopped and got out of the van a couple times, first was at the Tanzania border. There was a marker identifying the border, no customs though, so I didn’t get a Tanzanian stamp in my passport. Next stop was the river, and again a couple of times later, where we got out to take pictures of us with the animals in the background.