Love at First Sight in Kenya (page 4 of 5)

- 27 January After Charlotte on the 22nd, it's Anny's turn to celebrate her birthday. The night was particularly eventful—after a beautiful storm yesterday evening, a torrential downpour with constant lightning and thunder lasted for over an hour and a half, making us worry about the river rising and keeping Charlotte and me awake for a while. The camp has flooded several times during the wet season, and we can imagine a worrying situation. Sure, the water level has risen since yesterday, but we're far from any risk of flooding—the rains in the wet season are nothing like what we just experienced in terms of duration. The main thing is that this morning, calm has returned, and the sun is slowly making its appearance again. However, some areas are quite muddy, so we'll need to be careful. Today is a non-stop day since Alfred decided to bring a picnic to eat during the safari. This morning, we're heading to a part of the park with more relief, less crowded, and somewhere we haven't been before. Once again, Alfred is informed about a cheetah in the area. After a few minutes of searching, we actually find the animal lying under a bush. It doesn’t seem inclined to move, so after a few minutes, we decide to continue on our way. Nearby, we spot a beautiful eland.

Shortly after, what we feared happens: Alfred gets caught off guard by a particularly muddy path, and our vehicle gets stuck. Attempts to free it prove unsuccessful. Fortunately, we’re equipped, and Alfred grabs his boots and shovel to try to dig the wheels out—but nothing works, and it’s another failure. Luckily, the area is fairly busy, and we have a tow strap for this kind of situation. A passing vehicle helps us out quickly, and we’re able to get going again, being even more cautious. While we were stuck, Alfred mentioned that lions had been spotted just a few dozen meters away. Sure enough, we quickly arrive at the spot and find a group of about ten lions lying under some bushes. Though a few are moving around, most are fast asleep, so there’s no point in lingering. A few minutes later, we see some elephants,



some young hyenas, and, most excitingly, a group of giraffes—including two calves putting on a show and passing right by us.

We watch them for long minutes, amazed by the spectacle.





Alfred was determined to find us some ostriches, and we soon spot a large group. But just a few meters away, a new cheetah is lying in the grass.



Like the previous one, it isn’t very active, but the viewing conditions are much better than earlier. After this, we go to see the ostrich group up close—absolutely stunning to observe.

We continue on our way and spot zebras, hartebeests, gazelles, warthogs, and an eagle.

The search for new big cats is unsuccessful, and by late morning, we return to the spot where we saw our first cheetah. There’s no one else around, and the animal is still there, just a few meters from where it was resting this morning. At this hour, we’re completely alone, and the viewing conditions are much better than this morning. It’s not very active, but with a little patience, we manage to get some good photos.







We’re near the river, and once again, we spot hippos before crossing the bridge over the water. It’s now time to find a spot for our picnic. A few dozen meters after passing a herd of buffaloes, we stop on higher ground, giving us a view to spot any animals in the area.

The meal prepared by the camp is truly hearty, and we’re loving every bite. After eating, we take a few souvenir photos since these are our last hours with Alfred, whose company has been absolutely delightful throughout the trip. Then, we head out for one final safari. During these last few hours, we spot elephants several times



(one of them passes just a few centimeters from our vehicle!),



as well as giraffes, a secretary bird,



and impressive herds of buffalo.







After this last safari, we return to camp a little earlier since Alfred didn’t take a break. It poured at the camp during the day, and the surrounding areas are soaked. At dinner, as expected, the entire camp staff surprises us for Anny’s birthday (she’s tearing up) and brings out a cake, with Alfred joining in, singing and dancing. Meissy feeds Anny a huge piece of cake, and everyone’s laughing—she nearly chokes! Such an amazing memory! Alfred stays with us to enjoy the cake together.

- January 28 to 30 Sadly, the safari part of our trip ends today, and we have to catch a bush plane at 11 AM from the nearby airstrip. We say warm goodbyes to the Oloshaiki team, and Alfred drives us to the airport. He waits until our plane takes off before heading back to Nairobi. Once on board, one of the passengers realizes they’ve lost a piece of luggage. Instead of going back to their vehicle to look for it, they search the plane, and all the bags have to be unloaded from the hold—obviously with no luck. After nearly 15 minutes of fussing, the couple’s guide arrives with the infamous suitcase, which had, of course, been left in the car. Some people really aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed...

We make two stops during our flight: one in the Maasai Mara and another in Amboseli, where we fly over marshes with dozens of elephants cooling off, while the rest of the park looks completely dried out.

The weather is a bit overcast, and we don’t spot Mount Kilimanjaro, which isn’t far but is hidden in the clouds.

We arrive in Diani a little after 1:30 PM. A driver from Siri Ya Kenya is waiting for us to take us to our hotel, the Nomad, located right on the beach where it’s at its most beautiful. We arrange to meet the driver in three days around 1 PM to take us back to Mombasa Airport. We’re welcomed by Ali, who, after a welcome drink, shows us to our family suite overlooking a garden with lounge chairs, which opens directly onto the beach.

We spend the rest of the afternoon relaxing, swimming in the sea, and strolling along the beach—a routine we’ll repeat over the next few days. In the late afternoon, we explore the hotel grounds, which are quite extensive, to check out the gym (where Juliette and Charlotte will work out the next two days), the restaurants, and the little shop where we find the perfect souvenirs to bring back to France.

The restaurant is truly excellent, and we joke with our waitress during dinner about our room number, 22 ("two two," which we turn into "toutou"). This leads to an explanation of what "toutou" means in French. She adds that "chicken" in Swahili is "kuku." As always, the vibe is fantastic.

Our three days in Diani fly by, and we feel the need to take it easy after 10 pretty active days.

- January 31st We spend our last morning, first lounging in our deck chairs in front of our suite,



then, starting at 10 AM (we have to check out by then), by the poolside. After one last cocktail (a good excuse, we still have some small change left...), we go to get ready, take a shower, and the driver arrives right on time. It takes us about an hour to reach Mombasa Airport, where we have a flight to Nairobi at 3:45 PM. The airport is small, and domestic flight formalities are extremely quick. We arrive in Nairobi at 5 PM and collect our luggage in 10 minutes. Our concerns about slow procedures, like we experienced on the way there, turn out to be unfounded, but the wait is long before our international flight at 11:20 PM. Nairobi Airport is oddly designed—once inside, the space is very limited, and there’s no shopping in this first area. Since we’re checked at the entrance, we can’t come and go as we please. And since our flight is in 6 hours, we can’t check in yet. We eventually manage to find some seats to sit down and wait for check-in, which finally happens not too late. After completing the formalities, we go eat to pass the time and spend our last shillings. Unlike on the way there, our flight leaves on time, and we arrive in Paris as scheduled. All that’s left is to pick up the car and head back to Rennes, where we have lunch before continuing to Finistère, arriving in the afternoon.

This marks the end of an extraordinary trip—one we won’t forget—and it ranks in our top 3 most beautiful journeys, and number 1 for wildlife sightings. The itinerary was perfectly balanced, and we wouldn’t change a thing about the program. Maybe we’ll explore some of the less-visited northern parks on our next trip...

Until next time for another adventure.

Jacques

Hi Jacques,

Thanks for the whole story. And for letting us relive that special East African vibe.

Best, Puma2A

...

Thanks Jacques, it's always a pleasure to revisit these safari countries 🙂

Thanks Alain I need to take the time to read your travel journal on Tanzania Jacques

Thanks Muriel!

Thanks Jacques for this beautiful travel journal. You were really lucky with the animals.

Thanks for this travel journal.

What a wonderful trip, Jacques, thank you so much. Stunning wildlife photos, bravo! 🙂

Thanks Jacques for this lovely travel journal!

Thanks Carmen! We really didn’t have a single dull moment. Jacques

Thanks Pascale!

Thanks Nathalie!

I haven’t even left for Tanzania yet, and Kenya is already calling to me... Thanks for this travel journal—I’m noting the stops for next time.

And kudos on the photos! !

Bravo and thank you, Jacques, for this travel journal that made my trip so enjoyable!

Thanks Manu, and have a great trip in Tanzania! Jacques