Safaris dawn to dusk

Tuesday was a long day. We left on our first safari at 6:00 in the morning, came back for a late breakfast, then went out again at 10:00, then relaxed at the hotel in the afternoon, then went out for an after-dark safari after 7PM, followed by a late dinner.



Early morning at Ol Tukai Safari Lodge in Amboseli National Park.


Speaking of that kill site, we heard an interesting story of something that had happened when we there. We were watching the cheetahs lounging near the kill (five of them total), and suddenly they all jumped up and ran away. (I didn't get a photo of that, because I was looking another direction at that moment.) At the time, we wondered what had startled them. And back at the lodge, we learned the answer.
There was a traffic jam near the cheetahs, with many safari vehicles parked on the road, and it was impossible to get past. Two women in a small car – elephant researchers – were annoyed that they couldn't get past to get back to their accommodations. So one of them stepped out of their vehicle, knowing that the cheetahs would be startled by this. The cheetahs ran away, the safari vehicles scattered, and they were able to drive past.
A tourist who was at the site saw it, and took a photo of their license plate when her guide explained to her what had happened. She then had her guide take her to the park ranger station, where they reported the incident and gave the license plate number. There's a big fine for being out of a vehicle in the wildlife areas of Amboseli, so the impatient woman is probably now regretting her little stunt.












Amboseli is home to over 400 species of birds.



Warthogs in the foreground, elephants in the background.






Driving around Amboseli. The terrain is quite different from Masai Mara (very flat, and almost no trees because the elephants like to knock them down).





We watched a herd of elephants cooling off in a swamp, and while we were there many other species came to the water: wildebeests, hyenas, Thomson's gazelles, Zebras, impalas, and others. They all found spots away from the elephants. As Willie says, "the elephant is the true king of the jungle."




A few more animals from our mid-day drive: wildebeest, buffalo, zebra, and ostrich.





At the outdoor dining area, a young Masaai man uses a slingshot to keep monkeys away from tourists, and when Megan and Rhonda bought items in the gift shop they were told to hide their bags on the way to the room because the monkeys think it's takeout food.









The night safari was an interesting glimpse of the wilderness after dark. It wasn't ideal for photography because the floodlight was constantly in motion (constantly changing the brightness of subjects), but I got a few shots.
