[Previous entry: "July 26 - Masai Mara, Kenya"] [Next entry: "July 27 - Lake Nakuru, Kenya"]

Today we left Masai Mara to journey to Lake Nakuru which is about 4 hours drive away.

We said goodbye to our waiter, James, who had been with us throughout our stay at the Sopa. He was a really cool guy and taught Mike several Swahili phrases, including "see you later" ("tuonane baadaye"), and "one beer" ("pombe moja"). Mike wasn't feeling so hot this morning, since he took his malaria tablet on an empty stomach - he threw up a couple of times and felt better. Other than that, our health has been great (knock on wood).

On our way to Lake Nakuru, we passed through the town of Narok again, as well as Njoro, which is a farming town. There were herds of sheep and goats everywhere. When we were driving through the village I saw a slaughtered lamb on top of a truck. Again, we enjoyed seeing all the uniformed school kids wave as we passed - they all seem so happy, as kids do anywhere in the world. The road past Narok was AWFUL! It has rained recently, so the roads were full of mud, and very bumpy to begin with. It is amazing that we did not get carsick! One thing we've noticed, is although you are supposed to drive on the left side of the road in Kenya (like the UK), people drive on the "best side" instead....or the middle...that is pretty common too!

Finally we arrived in Lake Nakuru, and our lodge is very nice. The view off the dining patio is spectacular, and there is a field full of baboons nearby.

On our game drives, we went out to the lake. It's a soda lake, which means that it is shallow and highly alkaline, breeding tons of algae, insect larvae, and tiny crustaceans. This has attracted millions of flamingos, and from a distance, the lake literally looks pink! The park is much more of a "park" than Masai Mara, which makes it seem a bit touristy, but it was much easier to see animals...you didn't have to go searching for them at all. We saw a ton of buffalo today, as well as a python eating an Egyptian Goose. Saw a couple more sleeping lions today too. My favorites were the Rhinos (first time to see those), the Baboons (we saw an adorable baby), the two jackels, and the fighting giraffes (they bang their necks against each other). We went searching through the jungle trying to find a Leopard again, but unfortunately it alluded us again! So far we've seen 4 of the "Big Five:" Elephant, Lion, Buffalo, Rhino (still need to see Leopard).

Right now it is raining...actually it is pouring. A couple of hours ago, it was sunny, and now it's pouring like crazy. We're off to go eat dinner!

Edited: Just got back from dinner. On the way to the dining room, we ran into a rather large frog with red spots, and we snapped a pic of him. Dinner was traditional African fare - I tried arrow root, mashed peas w/ corn, and cooked banana stew. All were pretty good!

Animals seen today:
Zebra
Dik Dik
Waterbuck
White Rhino
Thomson Gazelle
Buffalo
Baboon
Python
Eland Gazelle
Impala
Giraffe
Vervet Monkey
Lion (5 female, 1 male)
Jackel


Birds
-Flamingo
-Fish Eagle
-Yellow Billed Stork
-Pelican
-Ostrich
-Egyptian Goose
-Crested Hoope
-Superb Starling (Blue & Red)
-Hadada Ibis
-Mouse Bird
-Augur Buzzard
-Lilac Breasted Lola