1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #589 - Elsamere, Lake Naivasha, Kenya

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #589

 

- Elsamere, Lake Naivasha, Kenya 

 

(We literally stumbled onto this historical treasure - Elsamere, the home of Joy Adamson, the author of 'Born Free' about that famous lioness, Elsa. We didn't know that our home for 2 nights was going to be this famous cottage, which has been kept the way it was since 1980, when she died. All her drawings and paintings were still hung here, with the furniture and fireplace kept as it was then. Wild animals roam free here because it is right beside Lake Naivasha, including hippos. We were kept on our toes both nights, with guards accompanying us to our cottage unit for safety reasons - concerns heightened by the death of a China tourist caused by a charging hippo just 2 nights before, on another location near this lake. We had a bellyache full of laughter, acting silly each night as we hear the hippo stories from Sam, the CEO of this fascinating cottage)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #588 - Hotair Ballooning, Maasai Mara, Kenya

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #588

 

- Hotair Ballooning at Maasai Mara, Kenya 

 

(Hotair ballooning over the Maasai Mara Game Reserve? Serious? We couldn't pass up this magic-carpet ride over the most captivating wildlife park on earth, especially after hearing from other fellow tourists that their ride had to be cancelled due to bad weather 2 days before. And what a day it turned out to be - a cloudless brilliant morning, coupled with mild winds gave our balloon experience a once-in-a-lifetime feeling! All the animals below were like ants, especially the hundreds of wildebeest below. And when the balloon landed just metres over their heads, our 1st hotair balloon experience was totally uplifting. With a champagne breakfast to round up the morning, these guys at Hot Air Safaris really know how to put up a perfect, out-of-this-world morning - a wow moment indeed!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #587 - Nakuru Lake National Park. Kenya

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #587

 

- Nakuru Lake National Park, Kenya 

 

(We had to see the last of the Big 5 here - the rhino. We didn't see one at all, even inside the rhino sanctuary in Tsavo West 6 days ago - a place which lost 10 rhinos just 3 months ago due to suspected salt water poisoning. So, we decided to make a detour to the Lake Nakuru National Park, some 2hrs northwest of Nairobi. And it was well worth it - seeing 3 black rhinos in one go! Against the backdrop of this calm lake and huge flocks of pink flamingos flying about, the scenery was simply astounding, especially with a rainstorm looming. What a great decision to come here to Nakuru Lake)

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #586 - Kings of Maasai Mara, Kenya

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #586

 

- The Kings of Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya 

 

(There may be kings in the sky like vultures here, but the real kings cannot be matched in both beauty and majesty! We saw 3 male lions on our final day, just when we thought they would elude us. One was sleeping like a domestic kitty, just 10metres away - we could see our van in his eyes! The king of speed was here too - cheetahs. So were the biggest antelope specie, the elands. The biggest show on earth - the wildebeest migration of the Mara River - is literally surrounded by so many biggest, fastest creatures here at the Maasai Mara)