Samburu

July 8

All rooms are fitted with a buzzer which will sound during the night. We had been told about the night time buzzer: 1 for hyena, 2 for leopard, 3 for black rhino and 4 for elephant – of course we had already seen our elephant but it would have been terrific to be alerted to another exciting arrival.

However, no buzzer disturbed us. Awake early I decided to shower and head to the viewing areas. A beautiful sunrise was beckoning. Unfortunately clouds gathered so the light just gradually increased.

We left the lodge early and continued north to the Samburu region. The day grew gradually hotter. After a brief tourist stop at the Equator we continued. Mt Kenya was no longer shrouded in cloud and made an appearance. We soaked up the ever changing African landscape and after only an hour or so we had arrived at Buffalo Springs NP. We toured this park standing up gazing out at the landscape through the top of our safari vehicle.

Today we saw:

Grevy's zebra – endangered and only found in this park, Common zebra, Dik dik, Reticulated Giraffe – one of three different Giraffe, Leopard, Elephant, Warthogs, Impala, Grant's gazelle, Water buck, Yellow necked spur fowl, Crested crane, Secretary bird, Red billed hornbill, Oryx, Crocodile, Geru (long neck) antelope, White headed buffalo weaver.

It's amazing when it's all added up how much you see over a long period even though you seem to drive and see nothing for ages.

We had lunch boxes and enjoyed our lunch in the park then toured some more and finally made our way to our accommodation which was only a short distance away. It was sheer luck Abraham spotted the leopard shortly before we had to leave to go to our accommodation. This was our first realisation that he has amazing skills for sighting the wildlife and this was to be demonstrated time and again throughout our time with him.

Crossed the Equator - did the tourist thing!

Mt Kenya now appearing on a clearing day

So many images of local life. Bags of onions for sale

Wonderful landscapes - simple lives. Many in the region live in mud huts

They have willy willies here too

The ever present impala

Oryx - our first sighting

The endangered Grevy's zebra

Having fun rolling in the dust

Reticulated giraffe

Males have the extra horn

Our safari vehicle

Geru or long-necked antelope. They stand on their hind legs to reach higher in the bushes

Our first elephant family - first sighting of the Big Five (not counting Treetops)

The smallest would be less than one year old

Crested or Uganda cranes at the river

A prize sighting - our second of the Big Five

We drove around to the other side of the tree for a closer view

This ostrich is looking for a mate - the legs turn pink as a sign

Our first hornbill

July 9

This morning we went into Samburu reserve. Buffalo Springs, Samburu and Shaba are adjoining national parks offering different sights. Samburu is the largest area. We left very early and saw many zebra and oryx again. This time, however, we found our first lions.

Today we saw

Lion, Cheetah, Buff crested bustard, Pigmy falcon, Yellow billed hornbill

Back at the lodge (which, by the way was fabulous) we had a chat with Chardy the local Samburu tribe guide who was able to take us to see the George Adamson pool. Joy and George Adamson (think Born Free) lived in Shaba where the story of Elsa the lioness was told.

We were back at the lodge for lunch before heading out to the Shaba reserve. This area has wildlife but not as plentiful. It is the landscape which is the attraction.

Our third Big Five animal and my favourite

This young male was checking for scent of his pride

Totally oblivious of all the attention, they walk past and between vehicles

Oryx keeping a watchful eye in the direction of the lions

These beautiful antelope have very clever anatomy to help keep them cool in hot dry conditions

See the elephants?

You can see that fallen tree in the photo above.

Youngsters flexing their muscles on the opposite bank

A beautiful bull

Our first yellow billed hornbill

Trying to catch the group which crossed ahead of him

Not counted in the Big Five, but a sought after cat nonetheless

Can you spot them under the tree centre right!

We were so lucky to have this man as our guide. Happy me - he found the lions!

Born Free Lodge - if only I'd known I should have been staying there!

Chardy a local Samburu showed us George Adamson's pool in the grounds of the lodge

Shaba NP - beautiful landscapes

We did see some game - this Water Buck, not called the toilet seat buck for nothing!

Wonderful accommodation

A wonderful dinner on our last night at the lodge

July 10

Leaving Shaba we visited Buffalo Springs again before returning to Nyeri for the night. Abraham went looking for the leopard but without success.

In addition to other animals we had already seen we saw Vulturine and Guinea fowl

A beautiful sunrise greeting us on our last morning here

Vulturine

Glossy starling

Guinea fowl

A rather fine water buck

Usually very shy animals, he posed beautifully for us

Eagle - did not note the type

The river in Buffalo Springs, where danger lurks

This chap was sunning himself. Tucked into the bank

Weaver bird nests. They are always on one side of the tree away from the prevailing wind

More Geru (long-necked) antelope. Fascinating to watch

These were part of a much larger group - probably more than 20

More of the same herd

A lilac breasted roller, one of the most beautiful birds in Africa

Many wonderful sights - this is the roof of a public transport van

Lots of road blocks, sometimes we were pulled over sometimes not. You have to slow down regardless because of the road spikes

These social weaver birds had chosen to build their nest on a tree in the town