Kenya - Driving through the wild

When I think of Africa, the first thing which comes to my mind is Lion King, Timon and Pumba :) I am a huge disney fan, and I also have a great weakness for animals.. be it tame or wild! 
Once we decided that we shall go to Kenya, the top priority was to have a wonderful safari :), and we had exactly that at Amboseli National Park, Kenya. We researched quite a bit and went with Explorer Kenya, and they did have an amazing driver/guide waiting for us at Nairobi. We stayed at the Amboseli Sentrim Lodge and it was an experience which I shall not forget. 

Amboseli Sentrim Lodge

The tent which was provided, looked quite barren from the outside, but was furnished with african artifacts, rugs and much more. The interiors were beautifully done, and the most amazing aspect as per me was the shower cabinet and its various jet settings! Once we exit the tent, then alone we realize we are in the middle of the jungle, and there were even signs which read " Please do not feed the animals, they are wild and might bite" !! 

Our tent from the outside

Wonderful interiors

We were at Amboseli for 3 days and these 3 days we went on 2 game drives, one following a torrential downpour all through the night. Our two game drives saw completely different terrains due to the rain, but lucky for us that the one before the rains hit ensured that we saw all the animals out in the open. We saw a pack of lions with 5-6 lions, huge african elephants, zebras, deer, giraffes, water buffalos, hyenas, jackals, warthogs, hippos and most importantly I SAW a cheetah chase a deer:) The chase was just amazing... maybe just for 10-15 seconds, but the movement of the cheetah was what I have been seeing for so many years on National Geographic and hoped and wished to see it in real life someday.

Baby Hyena

A Majestic lion lazing in the sun

Herd of elephants crossing the road

The second day drive saw us driving through practically a marshland, and the place looked so different as compared to what we had seen just under 12 hours back. Amboseli is said to easily flood with rains as the water runs down the Mt. Kiliminjaro along with melted snow and the park being at the foothills results in water logging here. Once it rains, the animals are said to move up to slightly higher areas to keep away from all the water and muck created all over the park. The rains did one goood thing, bring out all the fishing birds. We saw egrets, cormorants, pelicans, black-necked cranes, yellow crowned crane and storks, in large numbers too. An interesting fact that I go to know was that, a young pelican has brown feathers and as they grow older, their feathers become white. We saw both baby pelicans with brown feathers and the huge ones with white feathers. There is also a huge variety of migratory birds which visit the Amboseli region during the winter months. 

Baby Pelican

Marshland at Amboseli

And that was my first safari :)