Kenyan Safari - Lake Nakuru

It was another 7AM start this morning - and that was the GOOD news.  The bad news was that we were setting out on a 6 hour drive along the same road that we traversed when we arrived at the Masai Mara only 2 days ago - the road from hell.  UGH. 

I wish I could say that it was better this time or the time went quicker - it did not. 
When we finally hit solid pavement we all let out whoops of joy and celebration - especially Daniel, our driver, who said that road had given him a headache this morning. 

Flamingo Hill Camp

Our journey continued to Lake Nakuru and the Flamingo Hill Camp which would be our home for the night.  This was another tented game camp which was conveniently located near the gates to Lake Nakuru National Park.  It was another really lovely resort - not what I am used to when we stay in tents at home!  We found our tent, quickly unpacked and headed over to the lodge for lunch.  After lunch our itinerary called for an afternoon game drive around the Lake Nakuru National Park.

Storks

Lake Nakuru is a salt water lake so many aquatic birds call it home.  It is a bird lover's paradise.

Pelicans

Flamingos

A bird lovers paradise

In addition to the water birds, the park is also home to many larger mammals including the white rhinos and the water buffalo.  Unfortunately the leopard continued to evade us today - he was the last of the "Big 5" that we had yet to see.  However, we did see another lion, more giraffes and lots of zebras.

White Rhinos

Water Buffalo

Zebras

I think my favourite sightings of the day were the baboons who were grooming each other on the road near the camp.  We also had a bit of an encounter with a monkey who thought we should have left out some food when we all left the van for a few minutes at the park entrance. 

 

Baboons

Monkey in our van!

Back at the resort after our game drive, we had a fabulous dinner.  Kristina and I shared a bottle of red wine.  For the third night running now we have been the last patrons in the dining room as we drank wine and laughed at the day's events.  When the wine was finally gone we were escorted back to our tent by 2 Masai brothers with flashlights and official resort uniforms.  During the very short walk back to our tent we got into a very interesting conversation with them, using broken English and sign language.  They were both young - probably mid to late 20s.  One had 2 wives and 4 children, while the other had 1 wife and 1 child.  The one with the 2 wives and 4 children commented how expensive it was to support them all - go figure!