29/03/2019: The leopard in the sausage tree
The Sopa Lodge on Lake Naivasha is a wonderful location. As we woke, many of the animals who had been sleeping on the lawn had gone but a few waterbuck roamed about.
The number f supporting staff at these hotels is extraordinary. As we left for breakfast two gents were waiting outside to carry our cases to the jeep. They were still waiting half an hour later when we returned to pack. Everyone says "Chambo" to each other as a greeting and it is polite to ask "How are you?"
Though this is a packaged holiday, we have decided to go off menu. This morning we were due to take a boat ride on the lake but there is a park nearby called Hell's Gate. It is rare as you can walk or ride in the park, rather than travel inside a vehicle.
Around the lake there are hectares of greenhouses all growing flowers for the export market.
At the park, we paid for us all. The landscape is volcanic with basalt pillared cliffs and a couple of volcanic plugs. Guinea fowl roamed around and it was good to be free from the jeep occasionally. There were zebras, giraffe and ugly warthogs who have bad 1970s rock star hair.
There is a gorge you can walk down with a guide so we hired one for an hour. We descended into a gorge formed by swirling water. The river was low which was good as the water rises rapidly and once washed away and killed several folk. On the way Jackson our guide showed us the location of a Tomb Raider scene where Angelina Jolie got winched out of the gorge Further on we came across a juvenile cobra, which though small can still be lethal. Jackson carries a stick to hit snakes with but this one slid under a rock without encouragement.
George had only allowed us one hour's walk so we missed out on visiting the Devil's bedroom, but experienced plenty of hot water falls. Jackson explained there is a lot of good hiking around here.
After returning to the car park, George showed us a geothermal power station which runs off the local volcanic energy.
In the guidebook, there are lots of interesting things to enjoy close by and an overnight stay has not really done the area justice.
So, heading south to the Masai Mara. It was a long way and the road there is under construction. The bumpy roads give prople an "African massage" - and it certainly was a dusty, jerky ride.
We stopped for lunch at another souvenir place. We were told to eat at a table inside and use the conveniences. We're not souvenir buyers but the owners were very pushy and one kind of felt morally obliged to purchase. As before, there were no price tags. We chose a coupe of small things and explained we did not like bartering. Could they just give us a final price. But it's all a con to extract as much money as possible and when we argued, the guy laid it on heavy with a sob story. Whether what he said was true or not, we would just like to pay a fair price and not be put in a situation like this. It leaves a nasty taste in the mouth and, if they had been labelled, we may have bought more. We were glad to escape.
On towards the Massai Mara, we passed through the bustling town of Nabok. At the park gates, more sellers knocked on our windows with jewellery, wooden carvings and wristbands, but we are also running out of Kenyan cash and we need t save it for tipping.
Before heading to the hotel, George took us on a game drive. The Masai Mara is hillier than Amboseli, with rolling countryside.
He seemed determined to head down to one area where there was an "oasis" with a line of trees and bushes. We suddenly stopped and there in a tree which appeared to have sausages hangng from it was a leopard. We managed to take a photo or tow and then headed round to the other side of the tree too get closer. George got on the radio to the other guides but by the time we had got there, the leopard had slipped down off the branch and into the bush.
He then drove us to see five male cheetahs who have formed a gang and are famous locally for hunting together. Though we were close they were insouciant to our presence and snuggled up to one another.
On the same safari, we would see giraffe and elephants and eland, the biggest of the gazelles.
The Simba Lodge is in the park. It has a wooden treehouse like central structure with a bar and dining area and the chalets we stayed in were separate. It was possibke the least luxurious of the places we have stayed with a view overlooking a stream.
The staff were so friendly. We had barely got into bar when a lad, Dickson, ushered us to a balcony to look at a huge crocodile basking on a sandbank.
Kevin chatted to the owner, and there was an all girl birthday party going on.
Dinner was as formal as ever. A group of folk in traditional Masai dress performed round the dining room. Then later all the staff brought in a cake and sang for the birthday party. Once again Dickson called us. A mama hippopotamus was there with her three day old baby, feeding by the river. We also saw a mongoose and a genet cat.
The number f supporting staff at these hotels is extraordinary. As we left for breakfast two gents were waiting outside to carry our cases to the jeep. They were still waiting half an hour later when we returned to pack. Everyone says "Chambo" to each other as a greeting and it is polite to ask "How are you?"
Though this is a packaged holiday, we have decided to go off menu. This morning we were due to take a boat ride on the lake but there is a park nearby called Hell's Gate. It is rare as you can walk or ride in the park, rather than travel inside a vehicle.
Around the lake there are hectares of greenhouses all growing flowers for the export market.
At the park, we paid for us all. The landscape is volcanic with basalt pillared cliffs and a couple of volcanic plugs. Guinea fowl roamed around and it was good to be free from the jeep occasionally. There were zebras, giraffe and ugly warthogs who have bad 1970s rock star hair.
There is a gorge you can walk down with a guide so we hired one for an hour. We descended into a gorge formed by swirling water. The river was low which was good as the water rises rapidly and once washed away and killed several folk. On the way Jackson our guide showed us the location of a Tomb Raider scene where Angelina Jolie got winched out of the gorge Further on we came across a juvenile cobra, which though small can still be lethal. Jackson carries a stick to hit snakes with but this one slid under a rock without encouragement.
George had only allowed us one hour's walk so we missed out on visiting the Devil's bedroom, but experienced plenty of hot water falls. Jackson explained there is a lot of good hiking around here.
After returning to the car park, George showed us a geothermal power station which runs off the local volcanic energy.
In the guidebook, there are lots of interesting things to enjoy close by and an overnight stay has not really done the area justice.
So, heading south to the Masai Mara. It was a long way and the road there is under construction. The bumpy roads give prople an "African massage" - and it certainly was a dusty, jerky ride.
We stopped for lunch at another souvenir place. We were told to eat at a table inside and use the conveniences. We're not souvenir buyers but the owners were very pushy and one kind of felt morally obliged to purchase. As before, there were no price tags. We chose a coupe of small things and explained we did not like bartering. Could they just give us a final price. But it's all a con to extract as much money as possible and when we argued, the guy laid it on heavy with a sob story. Whether what he said was true or not, we would just like to pay a fair price and not be put in a situation like this. It leaves a nasty taste in the mouth and, if they had been labelled, we may have bought more. We were glad to escape.
On towards the Massai Mara, we passed through the bustling town of Nabok. At the park gates, more sellers knocked on our windows with jewellery, wooden carvings and wristbands, but we are also running out of Kenyan cash and we need t save it for tipping.
Before heading to the hotel, George took us on a game drive. The Masai Mara is hillier than Amboseli, with rolling countryside.
He seemed determined to head down to one area where there was an "oasis" with a line of trees and bushes. We suddenly stopped and there in a tree which appeared to have sausages hangng from it was a leopard. We managed to take a photo or tow and then headed round to the other side of the tree too get closer. George got on the radio to the other guides but by the time we had got there, the leopard had slipped down off the branch and into the bush.
He then drove us to see five male cheetahs who have formed a gang and are famous locally for hunting together. Though we were close they were insouciant to our presence and snuggled up to one another.
On the same safari, we would see giraffe and elephants and eland, the biggest of the gazelles.
The Simba Lodge is in the park. It has a wooden treehouse like central structure with a bar and dining area and the chalets we stayed in were separate. It was possibke the least luxurious of the places we have stayed with a view overlooking a stream.
The staff were so friendly. We had barely got into bar when a lad, Dickson, ushered us to a balcony to look at a huge crocodile basking on a sandbank.
Kevin chatted to the owner, and there was an all girl birthday party going on.
Dinner was as formal as ever. A group of folk in traditional Masai dress performed round the dining room. Then later all the staff brought in a cake and sang for the birthday party. Once again Dickson called us. A mama hippopotamus was there with her three day old baby, feeding by the river. We also saw a mongoose and a genet cat.
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