The managers Ann, Mennina, and Edwin had a lovely sendoff for us in the morning from Naboisho. We all agreed that the people in Kenya are some of the warmest and most caring folks we’ve ever encountered traveling.
Departing from Naboisho we had a long drive to the air strip and then flew to another airport near the border of Kenya and Tanzania. There we were met by a driver to take us through immigration and across to Tanzania. Then another air strip and the flight to the Serengeti. It took most of the day. We were met on arrival by our guide for this camp, Nangida, and off we went.
When on safari, everyone talks about seeing “the big five.” These are Lions (check+++++), Elephants (check+++), Rhinos (check+++), Buffalo (check++), and Leopards 😦
Nangida told us he would find us one.
The first animal we saw on our way to camp wasn’t a leopard but close – a serval. It is a smaller cousin to leopards. He/she obligingly left the tall grass and crossed the road:)
Next critter was a leopard tortoise lol. Nangari relocated it out of the road. Continuing the leopard theme…
Next, lions in the late afternoon sun.
It was our first day here but I was getting a bit discouraged with all the leopard wanna be’s. Then, Nangida came through with the real thing! This boy was magnificent!!!
A gorgeous male leopard. I went a little overboard with the pictures, but couldn’t resist.
Getting a good scratch.
Don’t think I can top that!
Holding to the pattern, we closed out our drive with lions.
The expression on is guy reminds me of Beau when he’s bad rofl.
The next morning we started out at sunrise with – you guessed it – lions. These three are last year’s cubs.
The zebras were keeping a watchful eye on the lions. If you look closely, the lions all have full bellies, they weren’t interested in the zebras right now.
We drove a little further, and this is probably why the lions were full. The hyenas were doing the final cleanup.
That didn’t do much for our appetites, but the next stop was our bush breakfast.
On our way back to camp we were fortunate to find another leopard and a cub.
After watching them a bit, a second cub popped up from the grass.
When we got back to camp, our room had been decorated.
A view of the lounge area for a drink before lunch.
We had an amazing lunch of rare burgers and fixings. All the food was excellent and the local beef was delicious!
After lunch and another nap we went out on the evening game drive. And it ended as it began, with lions.
Christian captured this great video with his phone. if you look closely, at the beginning you’ll see the corner of the jeep to get an idea of how close we were.
Our view with our evening sundowner.
On our last full morning, the first thing we found were lions.
Then a Kori Bustard.
King of the hill watching over his girls.
It rained hard during the night so lots of water everywhere. Seven lioness drinking.
This was the only time we saw a lion in a tree.
We’re in a different spot than the day before, a hyena doing more cleanup.
We seemed like we were wandering around, it turns out we were. The camp had planned a special surprise breakfast for us, and was going to set up where we just saw the lions on the rocks. So Nangida told them over the radio (in Swahili) that it probably wasn’t a good idea and they had to relocate so he was killing some time 🙂 Surprise!!!!
Champagne, cooked to order omelets – in the middle of the bush by our crew!
We made our way leisurely back towards camp. A Marabou Stork.
Harem of ostriches.
Rock hyraxes in the sun.
Baboon and baby.
Nangira and a buffalo skull, show off:) The things that look like worms kind of are. They are bugs that build cases (the wormy things) to consume the keratin horn of the buffalo. Yuck!
I took the afternoon off to rest my back before the trip back to Nairobi the next day.
At dinner that night the staff wished Christian a happy early birthday with song and a cake. The staff was awesome!
Our warm sendoff in the morning. These guys were the best!
In closing, it was a trip of a lifetime and we would (and will) go back in a heartbeat. Our outfitter, Asilia, couldn’t have delivered more. Every one of our guides and staff were outstanding and a real pleasure to get to know. If you would like more information this is the website https://www.asiliaafrica.com/
That’s it for this trip. Next up, Christian and Beau are already on their way to Arizona in the Beast. I’ll be flying out to join them in a couple of days in Albuquerque. So more to come then!
3 For the Road 
Amazing photos! Thanks for sharing. Trip of a lifetime for sure! Bon voyage. Richard
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