Photo Safaris in Kenya (page 7 of 18)

Like in most Kenyan parks, a multitude of birds gather here. Birds of prey are very present: a tawny eagle tearing apart its prey, a juvenile taking flight, African vultures on a nest, and lappet-faced vultures tackling a large bone.



Others are smaller and more colorful, which we try to capture in the frame: little bee-eater, European roller, drongo, Nubian woodpecker, yellow-billed hornbill, and many more...

But our most amazing encounter from our first trip was undoubtedly the young female leopard we nicknamed the Queen of Samburu. She has stunning blue eyes and was still staying with her mother, whom we only glimpsed briefly.





When we returned two years later, I really hoped to see her again, but she was no longer there. I hope she found another territory, leaving this one to her mother.



A little anecdote from our first trip: On the last morning, just before leaving the park, Félix realized one of the tires was flat. He wanted to change it, but the spare tire was completely different—it was impossible to mount it on the vehicle. We had to go 1 km away to a lodge, whose name I don’t remember, completely abandoned but with a gas station that had a compressor. Many places struggled during Covid, especially the big ones like this lodge.



The rest here

Besides the beautiful leopard, the cheetah photos are stunning!

In addition to the beautiful leopard, the cheetah photos are stunning

Do you have the same ones of the gorgeous Queen of Samburu 😊? However, in 2021, we didn’t see any cheetahs in Samburu 😢

Yeah, I know, but I couldn’t just let this one slip by—it’s way too gorgeous! 😍

Wow, those are stunning photos from what looks like an amazing park! My dream is to have an encounter with cheetahs… :)

Samburu









The light in this series is stunning. Your photos are such a treat! You can tell you had a blast living and capturing these moments.

“Travel is a triple pleasure: the anticipation, the wonder, and the memory.” — Ilka Chase The quote in your profile really comes to life here :)

Bravo, gorgeous photos in a park that looks really interesting.

Thanks JF 😊, Personally, Samburu is one of my favorite parks—very few people, a pretty varied and abundant wildlife, and nice landscapes along the river.

For me, it’s the encounter with cheetahs that I dream about... 🙂

Big cats are the animal every safari-goer dreams of seeing. Spotting a cheetah in its natural habitat makes me even happier, knowing this animal is classified as an endangered species. What really melts my heart are the cubs, with their fur standing up like a crest on their backs 🙂

Samburu

The light in this series is stunning. Your photos are a real treat! We can imagine how much fun you had living and capturing these moments.

Yes, Kate, I try to capture the beautiful light on the subject, but it's not always easy... you have to be in the right place at the right time. And indeed, what a joy to experience these moments. And now, as I write this travel journal, I’m reliving all these beautiful moments while going through my photos 🙂.

“Travel is a triple pleasure: anticipation, wonder, and memory.” Ilka Chase The quote in your profile really hits home here 🙂

Yes, that’s exactly my mindset about travel—a journey starts with a dream and never truly ends thanks to memories and photos 😉.

a fairly varied wildlife and very present

Yeah, well... it depends, right? 😏 We didn’t see all that, far from it 😕, so it’s not a given every time (as always on safari, but we stayed almost 3 days anyway!) ... and we won’t blame the driver-guide’s skills... since it was the same one 😎 (and the poor guy really did everything he could—he was almost more disappointed than we were!)

P.S. Gorgeous photos, of course! 😉

Yeah Muriel, you weren’t lucky with the animals in Samburu 😢 “Unfortunately” for you—and fortunately for the animals—it had rained a lot in the area. The grass was green, and the animals had food everywhere. They didn’t *have* to come to the river to drink or find food around there.

Yes, that’s part of the answer, but we also saw very few elephants and giraffes (which should’ve been visible from far away). Looking back, Meru gave us way better wildlife sightings than Samburu (though the landscapes are more stunning on the Samburu side, I think)

Yes, that’s part of the answer

I agree with you, Muriel. The other part of the explanation is that it’s not impossible that really good photographers stage things—or even over-develop the film. Or maybe it’s an anthropomorphic explanation: animals are real hams. If I pull out the Kodak I got for my First Communion, they hide, but when a photographer whips out their big zoomed-in Canon, they come running. No way they’re ending up in a family album—it’s National Geographic or bust!

Your photos are gorgeous! The elephants in the Samburu River, the guinea fowl all dressed up, the cheetahs, and that stunning leopard on her rock—I’m loving it all 🙂 The Samburu accommodation is less dreamy, though 😛

Yes, that’s part of the answer

I agree with you, Muriel. The other part of the explanation is that it’s not impossible that really good photographers might be overthinking it—or even over-developing the film. Or maybe it’s an anthropomorphic explanation: animals are real hams. If I pull out the Kodak I got for my First Communion, they hide, but when a photographer whips out their big zoomed-in Canon, they come running. No way they’re ending up in a family album—it’s National Geographic or nothing!

Yes, I completely agree with you, Jean-Luc! Those bodybuilder Canon users—the animals love them 😄 We’re Nikon users, so it doesn’t work for us… just luck being in the right place at the right time, but sometimes that doesn’t work either 😢

Samburu accommodation doesn’t quite inspire me, though 😛

Yeah, it wasn’t the best place we stayed at in Kenya, but it does the job 😊

Jean-Luc, I think you nailed it! 😏

Yes, Muriel, next time go with Régis—he’s got a Canon 😊

this gorgeous leopard on its rock 😛

Just a little clarification—it’s a termite mound.