Kenya 2008 (Part 4)

Watching documentaries of free spirited animals roaming in the vast open lands can leave you in awe at their beauty, stature, grace of movement and nonchalant manner. Wild, unsubdued and poised for a kill or to be another's dinner. The safari. We were there in Amboseli National Park!




The reserve is famous for being the best place in Africa to get close to free-ranging elephants and we truly weren't disappointed. The park, over more than 39,000 hectares in size, spans Kenya and Tanzania. The semi-gravel semi-dirt track into the safari (within which was our accommodation - Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge) was long, winding and bumpy. It was akin to having a full-body massage while seated. Our bus took to the rough and windy track like cheese over a grater.


It seemed forever and the land stretched beyond what the eye can see. There was no landmark aside from mountains (including Mount Kilimanjaro) way in the distance. Almost suddenly, the bus turns into a driveway. It almost seemed like an oasis after travelling hours in the dessert, but this stunning hotel wasn't a figment of our imagination.



The local people are largely Maasai - a semi-nomadic indigenous ethnic group. Their brightly-coloured (mostly red) dressing consists drape-overs, accessories, a stick and the sporting of a huge hole in their earlobes.

Increasingly, this group is being exposed to trade and do not survive merely on the simple crops they plant, nor their cattle produce. In fact, a Maasai was scrubbing the floor at the resort while we were tucking into our breakfast. Looks like they can be found in the hospitality and tourism sectors too nowadays!


Back to the animals, they were aplenty and looked content grazing. The zebras, the wildebeest, antelopes were the most numerous animals we saw.









We spotted ostriches that reminded me of can-can girls showing off their long legs. We caught a 'hurray' of hippos basking in the sun and a herd of buffalos staring us down.

Then there were the prowlers and those that tagged along to feed on the spoils. That's Lion King, Dr 'Jackal' and Mr 'Hyena'.