A Trip We Will Cherish For A Lifetime

We felt it was very well laid out as well, starting with the north of the equator and eventually working our way to the Mara. Once we reached the Ark, we were totally mesmerized by the elephant herds that made their way to the waterhole. It was totally fun for us to just sit back, relax and take in the wildlife pouring in to the waterhole. We must have spent hours at the viewing decks observing all the animals. We saw elephants, Cape buffalos, warthogs, crowned cranes, storks, Egyptian geese, Cape buffalos, bushbucks, waterbucks.

It was good to have 2 nights at the Sarova Shaba lodge. We totally loved the room there, with beautifully done mosquito nets, and a much needed fan. As the windows were screened with nets, we left them open and were able to hear the water running through the natural stream within the hotel and the Ewaso Nyiro river all through the night. It was just so very soothing. We loved the restaurant here as well with the view of the river.

The first thing that caught our eye as we were driving to the lodge were the doum palm trees. Who knew palm trees could have branches! The monkeys and baboons were going nuts for the palm fruit from the wider stemmed palms. We went on a safari to Buffalo Springs reserve on the first afternoon. We saw a whole bunch of animals, but the highlight was seeing a Leopard. We saw plenty of Impalas, gazelles, oryx, dik-diks, gerenuks, black backed jackals, grevy zebras, and 1 secretary bird. We were pointed out the animals we would see only in the northern hemisphere and we would no longer see once we reached the Mara.

The next day we headed to Samburu National Reserve in the morning, and to Shaba National Reserve in the afternoon. Just as we drove out of the resort, a couple reticulated giraffes greeted us! It seemed like all the elephants at Samburu national reserve must have been thirsty at the same time... we saw about 30-40 elephants come out for a drink at about the same time! We also got to see some birds like the starlings, the hornbills, and more secretary birds.

The next day we headed to lake Nukuru (Sharova Lion Hill game lodge), and crossed the equator twice. Just as we headed out of the resort for our afternoon safari, a white rhino who seemed to be in a rush to get somewhere decided to cross our path. We got to see him at about 5-10 feet away! He disappeared into the bushes within the next 10 seconds. Black and white colobus monkeys greeted us on our trip to see the flamingos. We saw plenty of different birds on the way. We later saw 5 more white rhinos. On talking to a ranger we found out that the park has about 20 white Rhinos and 60 black Rhinos, and surprisingly we saw more white than black Rhinos. But we understand that the black Rhinos are rather elusive and shy. We also got to see a baby Hyena.

The last 3 days at the Mara were the best, including the hot air balloon and the breakfast bang in the center of Mara. We got to see all the other animals several times. The hippos in their pool, cheetahs sleeping under a small tree, several Masai giraffes, several prides of lions, a leopard eating its kill on a tree, and another one walking past our safari vehicle. We got to see all the animals promised and more like the wildebeast, heartebeast, Elands, etc. The tents at Sarova Mara were a great experience as well.

Food was excellent everywhere, with a good balance of everything including Indian Cuisine. We loved to sample local food and fruits everywhere it was offered. We had never heard of tree tomato till this trip. All the hotels were excellent in their own ways, very kid friendly and we (including my son who had made some friends with one of the employee’s kids) had a blast on the New Year’s eve.

This is a trip we will cherish for our lifetime. We miss Kenya and the whole experience. Our son was in tears when he found out that we are leaving and it was the last day in Kenya.

Regards,
Sendill & Sangita C.