Kenya February 2020: From Tsavo to Samburu via Meru National Park (page 5 of 5)

Thanks Sylvie for this lovely animal-themed break 🙂. It’s true, dreaming does you good... even if I find it hard to picture myself on a future trip, especially outside Europe. Muriel

Thanks, Muriel, for following this travel journal. I also feel that the evolving health crisis makes it tough to plan a new short-term trip. Of course, for all those whose livelihoods depend on tourism in East Africa, it’s a huge disaster, and they could really use our visits... But with the virus still circulating widely in Europe, taking the risk of bringing it over—knowing the healthcare conditions there—what guilt...

Hi Sylvie,

Thanks for this trip through the Kenya you love so much. Beautiful images—maybe not too many mammals, but what a show of big cats and birds! A lovely outing, wasn’t it🙂!

See you soon for more adventures in the wild, wild Africa...

Hello,

Congrats to Ben for his stunning shots that make a Canon or Nikon novice like me (and the photography lover that Yolande is) dream. I loved them all, especially the last one with the baby elephant and the ones featuring the gerenuk. During our visit, we met and befriended a scientist studying this animal, who told us that Samburu was the best place in East Africa to see them (I’d add, except for Ethiopia, where they’re quite common in the semi-desert regions of the east). In this beautiful park, there was only one lodge, few trails, few people, and still a sour note: every evening, the authorities lured the crocodiles from the Ewaso Ngiro to the bar’s edge with waste and the leopard with a piece of meat tied to a tree. The leopard had gotten used to gnawing on its bone while tourists were at dinner.

All this, of course, makes us want to go back, but the future is very uncertain with the pandemic and, even more so, its consequences: 2020 is a write-off, and 2021 isn’t looking promising yet!

Could you send us the cost of such a trip (vehicle rental, driver, accommodations, and possibly a cook, etc.) in a private message? No rush. Thanks in advance.

Best regards, Jety 34.

Thanks Sylvie for this amazing travel journal. I hope to go back in mid-November 🤩

Thanks Sylvie for this beautiful discovery... and kudos to the photographer! 🙂

Thanks Sylvie for taking us on this journey and making us dream with this story, complete with some gorgeous photos 🙂

Sylvie, I’m joining in—belatedly—to add my well-deserved thanks and congratulations for this amazing travel journal that really let us "safari" through some tough moments... Great observations, thoughtful reflections, beautiful photos, and solid writing—what more could you ask for (another journal?)?

Thanks for such a generous share!

BL

Good evening everyone, thank you to Bernard, Anne, Jean-François, Régis, and Eric for your kind messages! I don’t know when a new travel journal will be possible, but we haven’t lost hope of being able to travel again.

A big thank you to Jacky and Yolande for your feedback! Benoit uses a Nikon but has also been using a hybrid Olympus for the past two years—he really likes it because it’s less bulky, though it’s a bit power-hungry when waiting for action, which means keeping a good stock of batteries.

I love reading about your memories from the 80s. It’s really interesting to see how the different parks or reserves have changed. Thankfully, I think lodges no longer practice feeding animals these days.

No problem—I’ll dig through my little travel journals (I have one for each trip) to give you the details on the costs for this safari (we organized this one ourselves).

Have a great weekend everyone!

Hi Sylvie,

Congrats on this beautiful travel journal—I loved it so much that I’m now planning a similar trip for..........January 2021.

I’m probably being optimistic, but we’ve got to keep hope and dreams alive in our heads and hearts, or our near future is going to be pretty depressing.

We were supposed to be in South Africa and Namibia in less than 3 weeks..........for a 3-week trip postponed to September 2021. That’s why I had the idea not to wait a whole year before returning to Africa (our last trip was in September 2019 to Botswana-Namibia and Zimbabwe) and to make a quick trip to Kenya in January 2021 to visit parks we haven’t seen yet. Our last stay in Kenya was back in 2013......it’s been a while: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr41nyYcDx4 The advantage of Kenya right now is that it’s still accessible: https://ke.ambafrance.org/Point-Info-Covid-19-du-5-aout-2020 We’ll have to see how COVID-19 evolves in France and Kenya over time????

To be continued. Have a great summer and take care.

Loïc

Thanks Loïc for stopping by this travel journal—I totally agree, we’ve got to keep dreaming or life gets pretty dull... I watched the video of your 2013 trip, and it brought back all the emotions of those first steps on safari.

So happy to hear our itinerary inspired a new project for you. I really hope it comes together! Kenya’s borders are open, and I know some European travelers have gone back (let’s hope they don’t bring the virus with them...). We’re tempted to return for the All Saints’ break (mid-October), but for now, we’re also waiting to see how COVID-19 evolves...

Hi Sylvie

A little angelic reminder:

No problem, I’ll dig through my travel journals (I have one for each trip) to give you the details on the costs for the different parts of this safari.

I’m interested too! ;) Muriel

Oh right, I replied to Yolande and Jacky in a private message. Muriel, I’ll send this to you privately too if you’re interested 😉

Have a great day, everyone!

Hi Sylvie56,

I just read through the five pages of your travel journal from February 2020 in Kenya with so much pleasure and interest. At exactly the same time, we were in southern Tanzania, surrounded by the same tall grass, for a "green color" getaway.

Thanks to you and Ben for the photos and the story. This October, we’ll be taking a similar trip—though sadly without Meru. Maybe our paths will cross somewhere along the way?!

Warm regards,

...

Hi everyone, Thanks Puma for bringing back these "old but good memories"! If I get the energy to finish sorting the photos, I might start a new travel journal about our latest safari from January 2025... even though it wasn’t the most prolific in terms of wildlife sightings...

For October, we haven’t completely finalized the itinerary yet—we’re seeing our friends this afternoon. We’ll definitely spend at least 3 days in Meru NP.

Have a great day!

even if it wasn’t the most prolific in wildlife encounters...

Hello,

I think the landscapes also interest forum members, as well as the impalas we see by the thousands during a safari.

So, in October, there’s a chance we might run into each other somewhere. Since I’ve already seen your photo, I think I’d recognize you... (In Tanzania two years ago, we crossed paths with a Routard forum member in a reserve... our drivers stopped, chatted. We said hello, but it was only a few weeks later that we realized we’d been near each other for a few seconds... because we’d never met before!!)

Greetings.

By the way, here I’m Puma2A....😉