Kenya Adventure - Day 3

What a late night last night - half past eleven by the time I finished the blog post and got it published, so today I am trying to be more organised and start this in the afternoon telling you about what we have done so far today and then I will come back and finish off after we have been out on another game drive <g>.

I wondered when we knew we were coming to Kenya if we could pick up from where we left off and I see Ingrid left a comment asking the same thing.  To answer that question, Pete last night just came out with, 'this is amazing, 30 years but it seems like yesterday, you haven't changes one bit' (I should add here nor has Pete, the only difference is a few more grey hairs and bigger bellies lol).

Off to bed last night and slept like a log with Alan on one side and the hot water bottle on the other, a heavenly sleep but oh did we wake up early this morning.  Our tea was due to arrive at 6 a.m, drink that, get dressed and head out on a drive taking our breakfast with us. It didn't quite work out like that, we woke up at 4.30 a.m., wide awake and needing a cup of tea so I headed off to the kitchen to ask them to bring that to us early.  How wonderful, sitting in the dark, well dawn just about to arrive on our veranda outside our rather posh tent drinking chai tea.  So now I will share with you a picture of our temporary home - rather plush!!!

And now the view from out veranda - wide open space, no concrete, no roof tops, no electricity cables, no cars in fact nothing but but what nature intended us to see!!!!!

Yesterday beautiful Mount Kenya kept herself shrouded in a veil of cloud (wow that was a bit poetic lol), but this morning, in the early morning light she revealed herself in all her beauty :)  Yes you can tell I am passionate about Mt. Kenya.  Our old home in Nanyuki was on the slopes of Mt. Kenya and when I opened my bedroom curtains in the morning it was this beautiful lady who welcomed me to a new day.  I have never forgotten what she looks like, her image etched into my memory and, how wonderful, she has remained unchanged, just as I have always recalled her :).  Alan had some lovely photos of Mt. Kenya taken before I met him (35mm slide) but they are so damaged I have never been able to recover them to anything near acceptable, I now have this and who knows maybe another one later which will less hazy.

As the sun started to full bloom and the skies cleared the light became perfect for photography so what better subject to find than a magestic giraffe, standing tall and proud, or maybe just being a poser!!!

It is always a great plan to find a spot to take in the surrounding, chat about this and that and just enjoy the sounds and smells around you.  A safari is not just about finding the big 5 or taking a pic of this animal then rushing around to find another, it is about experiencing the wonders of nature, the things some seem to hold in little regard with the way they rape the land for human benefit (or their own greed) instead of learning to live a balanced life, in harmony with all living things!!!!

Ooooo - big learning curve, and yes I am learning.  I was asked yesterday if I was a professional photographer (surprising what a nice size lens give people the impression you can call yourself a photographer).  My reply, was absolutely not, I am a happy snapper, very true, I take many pics hoping one or two will come out really well and not playing with to many buttons.  Alan is so patient and learning now that I don't do manuals and I don't retain a lot of information in one go, I like to learn one bit at a time, today I managed to fix two issues all by myself - oooo so proud and later started to use my camera in a bit more depth.  I have to admit this time my camera has not been on auto once <g>

Here is a special photo (I am busy evesdropping behind me where Pete is chatting to another guide about this pic - this bird is apparently a pretty rear in the area so brownie points for Jane getting the bird flying and in focus) - it is a Buteo Augur

Time to find some ellies - a couple of boys who did not have a lot to say, they were just pottering around but how could I not take a photo of them.

Here is a beautiful Crested Crane, such stunning birds, just think how many odd folk pay a fortune for a bit of plume like that on a hat!!!

This is a Yellow Throated Longclaw

Now for a Black Rhine

Tummies have started rumbling so time to find a comfy spot and dig out the picnic breakfast we have with us.  How exciting is it to get a package out and have no idea what is inside, and boy, did we find some yummy goodies to tuck into - pork sausage (a treat as no pork in Saudi), bacon and egg sandwiches with homemade bread, BANANAS lol, Tree Tomatoes and Passion Fruit, shop bought yougart which nobody touched and of course tea and coffee - what a feast.

Now Lewa is a very special place, when we lived in this area it was a cattle ranch but now has become a major conservation area.  Lewa is home to about 25% of the world Grevy Zebra population, stunning zebra with the narrow black on white or is it white on black stripes?????

What a fabulous herd of zebra and we sat in awe watching these two having an argy bargy. I have just been told that the Grevy Zebra is more endangered than the Black Rhine. I have always thought of zebra as common striped horses, I really have to think about some things a little more differently don't I??

Now how is this for ignorance, talk about living somewhere and never really looking at what there is. When I lived in Zambia and visited the Luwanga Valley I fell in love with the Lilac Breasted Roller and until today I never knew they were also in Kenya - Oh WOW - how totally awesome. So here we have a Lilac Breasted Roller

It seems as if today was a giraffe day, we saw so many and took umpteen photos but knowing I will bore you silly I will just show you one, what a totally adorable face this chappy has and so tolerant of the birds busy feasting on his Tic Take Away - now that really is harmony with nature lol and not as many calories as the Big Mac or KFC.

I have no idea about most of the birds I am seeing, poor Pete keeps telling me what they are then unfortunatly ask me later as if I can remember.  My answer back seems to be it is a buzzard or in desperation, it had wings its a bird hahahahahaha  Bless him he has not got cross with me yet.  Tonight I was clever and would not let him go to bed until he had named each of the birds I captured today and here we have a Black Shouldered Kite.  I am not sure which is my top pic of the day, the Lilac Brested Roller, the Grevy Zebra fighting or this beauty but I can say I am so pleased with what I am capturing.

We are still in Lewa tomorrow and doing much the same as today, tea at 5:30 then try to head out of camp at around 6 a.m. taking our breakfast with us - oooooo another bacon sandwich yummy, yummy, yummy.  There are a couple of large male lion around so I suspect it is on the cards we will try to find them but then beauty of an adventure like this is nothing is guaranteed, we may see them we may not and we may see something else which will totally blow us away.

Early to bed tonight, not an 11:30 time slot like last night, it is so hard to be sensible and sleep as I may miss something but even the frogs have decided that party night is over and beauty sleep is needed. Catch up with you again later with another blog post but must sleep now :) :) :)