1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #585 - Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #585

 

- Maasai Mara Game Reserve, Kenya 

(The Maasai Mara Game Reserve - right where we are standing, at last! The biggest highlight of our wildlife national parks tour here, this game reserve is unlike any other. To see the crossings of the Mara River by hundreds of wildebeest - it is "the greatest migration of wildlife on earth", as David Attenborough would say. True to form, our visit here coincided with 2 crossings that we witnessed ourselves. Seeing the Nile crocodiles twisting and tearing up the remains of a wildebeest on the Mara River? Priceless. What an awesome spectacle - surely, one of the world's best natural wonders!)

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #584 - Crescent Island Game Sanctuary, Naivasha

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #584

 

- Crescent Island Game Sanctuary, Naivasha, Kenya 

(My fascination with giraffes is now complete! Seeing them so close here at the Crescent Island Game Sanctuary was a perfect closure for my new found love for this beautiful creature. Imagine, sitting next to a wild Maasai giraffe, just 5metres away! This sanctuary allows for all visitors to walk through it. Yes, there are creatures that can harm you here like the buffalo or hippos, but Guide David assured us that they are out of harm's way. This sanctuary is a favourite location for movie shots. When you are here, you can see why - serene, peaceful and most importantly, picturesque - even with a baby wildebeest born just minutes ago)

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #583 - Hell's Gate National Park, Kenya

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #583

 

- Hell's Gate National Park, Kenya

 

(With a name like Hell's Gate, one has to see it to believe it. So where is hell, and its gate? Here at the gorge, which requires one to climb down fairly steep lava-hardened rocks and walls. With hot steam coming off certain areas of this tight gorge walls, the area is also a key thermal generation plant for the country. To get to Hell's Gate, we can opt to cycle through this wilderness park, with buffalos and baboons running loose. We chose our van instead, for obvious reasons. We would have been puffed out halfway to this gate of hell. We can now say, we have "gone to hell, and back"!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #582 - Mzima Springs NP, Kenya

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #582

 

- Mzima Springs National Reserve, Kenya

 

(This Mzima Springs NP was supposed to be running with hippos and crocs everywhere. But upon arrival, we were taken by an armed guard to see some of the choice views..but from afar. I guess walking on the grounds here by ourselves would be tempting fate, but it was nice to walk again, after being in 2 huge national parks where being outside of our van was forbidden. Fed by the nearby Mt Kilimanjaro, the spring waters here was clear as tap water, giving the hippos here a clean bath each day)

 

 

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour #581 - Amboseli National Reserve, Kenya

1001 Places/Experiences to See or Savour After Remission #581

 

- Amboseli National Reserve, Kenya

 

(The Kibo Safari Lodge here was a story in itself - we have never seen such a fancy safari tent before! Just look at those beds - we knew it was going to be a special safari. Sure enough, Amboseli National Reserve did not disappoint at all. Because it is much smaller than Tsavo, most of the animals and birds seemed to be much closer to each other, making it easier to spot them, And it seems to be a haven for elephants - the biggest in Africa, according to Guide David. Just look at those huge tusks. The birdlife here seemed livelier too, including flamingos - very nice, Amboseli!)