Grand Canyon - June 9-10, 2012

While in Phoenix, I took the weekend to revisit the Grand Canyon after many years.  It is much more built up around the south rim but the NPS did a nice job of designing the walkways and buildings to blend in.  Also visited Sunset Crater NM, Walnut Canyon NM and Toozigoot NM before hitting major traffic on the way back to Phoenix....barely made the flight!

Texas - January 20-22, 2012

 Austin Capitol

 The Alamo

San Antonio Missions NHP

In January, I traveled to Austin and San Antonio over a weekend, two cities I had never been to before.  In addition to the capitol building in Austin, I visited the Lyndon B Johnson NHP and LBJ ranch in hill country.  While in Austin, I stayed at the historic Driskill Hotel which is worth a visit.  After driving to San Antonio, I walked through The Alamo and the San Antonio Missions.  

Kenya - Twiga House - September 2-3, 2011

From the Mara, we drove back to Twiga House for one last stop before heading to Nairobi and flights home.  It was nice to be in a familiar home as a last stop.  It gave us time to reflect on what a fabulous trip we had been on and even share each other's pictures.  Fantastic experience!

Kenya - Jacquelin's House - August 30-31 and September 1, 2011

After a brief drive, we reached Jacquelin's House, our last stop in the Mara where we stayed for three nights.  The house was built in 1969 and used to house a researcher.  It was more rustic than expected but a beautiful location overlooking the Mara river where it was roaring and rushing.  We did a hike up the mountain under the leadership of the local Masaai but otherwise spent more relaxing time lounging around the porch at this location.  A few of us went on one last safari drive in the Mara Triangle.  As you can see in the picture above, the landscape was much different in this corner of the Mara, much more open and arid.  Here we found both a leopard and a lion lounging up in trees.

Kenya - Intrepids Camp - August 28-29, 2011

 Cheetahs

 Leopard

 Lions

 Caracal

Rhino

Sunday, we transitioned to Intrepids Camp, more Disney-like than any place we had stayed - electric fence surrounded the camp, manicured pathways, etc.  But we used their safari jeeps and drivers and had the best wildlife sightings as a result.  We usually went out in the morning and the afternoon for safari drives.  Some of my favorite sightings were the leopards, the cheetah with baby, the hippo kill, the lions and the zebras.  The next day was our last real opportunity to hope to see a rhino.  We went out early in the morning and on the way, came across a group of caracals which is rare to see.  They were fending off two interested jackals.  Then, we managed to find a lone rhino which was tremendous...very prehistoric looking and light on his feet. With that, we accomplished seeing the Big Five - elephant, buffalo, lion, rhino, and leopard!

Kenya - Entims Camp - August 26-27, 2011

 Hippos

 Wildebeasts

 Great Migration crossing

Made it!

Friday morning, we left Acaluma Camp to drive to Entims, right on the banks of the Mara river where the wildebeasts cross during the Great Migration.  It took a long time to get to Entims because the nearby Tarek river was too high at the closest crossing point for the jeep so we had to drive very far around.  We were lucky to be there at the right time of year and saw the wildebeast crossing two days in a row!  After seeing the crossing, we went out on a sunset safari drive where we found tons of wildebeasts, zebras, buffalo and a few lions in the beautiful evening light.  This camp was a bit larger so we dined with other guests.  

Kenya - Acaluma Camp - August 24-25, 2011

 Our Jeep

 Along the way to the Masaai Mara

 "Sweets, sweets"

Acaluma Camp

It was a long drive (all day) to get from Lake Naivasha to Acaluma Camp, a new, but well-hidden spot with only four sleeping tents.  Our Masaai guide David finally found us and led us to the camp.  While we had some help, this was the camp where we had to bring our own food which made it difficult to prepare dinner that evening.  The next morning, we went on our first safari drive around the Masaai Mara entering from the Mussiara Gate.  We were out for 7 hours starting at 7 am and saw all sorts of wildlife - giraffe, eland, buffalo, baboon, elephant, hyena, jackal, vulture, hippo, crocodile, water buck, thompson's gazelle, lion, ostrich, topi and zebra.

After returning to camp, we walked to the nearby Masaai Village with David where we were welcome with song and dance and able to see the village and buy the jewelry they sell.  Back at camp, we had a delicious chicken cooked over the fire.  With animals all around us, we depended on the Masaai night watchmen to protect us.  

Kenya - Twiga House - August 22-23, 2011

 Hippos

 Giraffe Family

Twiga House

On Monday morning, we met our driver, Timothy, and loaded up the safari jeep.  After lunch, we left for Twiga House, located on Lake Naivasha, about a 2 1/2 hour drive north from Nairobi.  Our route crossed the great Rift Valley, arriving at the lake just before dark.  Luckily we had a chef, Charles, who was able to prepare a dinner of omelets, tomatoes and rice since the local stores were all closed.  The next morning, we took a boat ride around the lake where we saw tons of hippos and flamingos in the water, and zebras, giraffes, Thomson's gazelles, warthogs, impalas, water bucks and cormorants along the shores.  After lunch, we drove over to the home of Olea Hamilton for a visit.  

Kenya - Ngong House - August 20-22, 2011

Upon arrival in Nairobi, we were driven to Ngong House where we stayed for two nights in "tree-house" rooms while everyone in our party of eight gathered.  We were within walking distance of the Giraffe Center where we saw Rothschild and Reticulated giraffes up close.  One day, we visited Kentega Glass and another day, we traveled to the elephant orphanage where we saw the baby elephants that have been rescued and are being reintroduced to the wild.