Yes, we made it!
I never did imagine that I will be able to travel to Africa.
It was actually on my husband's Bucket List and when we got the chance, I said, f*ck it, let's go.
And there we were getting our Yellow Fever shots and booking our tickets.
Here's how we had spent our days in the lovely African country:
Day 1:
We left Doha in the morning via Qatar Airways direct flight (and we love their Business Class hahaha).
We reached Nairobi at around 2:30 PM. It took around an hour at the Immigration.
We then headed to Amboseli.
The travel by land was a bit exhausting because of the rough roads but it is all worth it.
We reached Kibo Safari Camp at around 11 PM.
The camp was ok. The food is also ok.
As expected, there are mosquito nets and hot water is also available in the washrooms.
The camp has a pool but it was freezing so I opted to lounge at the side.
After dinner, we sat for a while near a bonfire while admiring the night sky full of stars.
We spent the whole day exploring the Amboseli National Park.
Masha'Allah.
Animals (elephants, zebras, monkeys, different species of birds) are roaming freely and us, humans, are watching and admiring the view.
We are such in awe of what we were seeing.
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| Yes, keep it at most 40 kph. |
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| A baby elly! |
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| Zebras...Zebras everywhere |
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| I don't know but I can hear "I wanna be a Super Model". |
Day 3:
We left Amboseli early in the morning to head to Lake Nakuru.
We reached Lake Nakuru like around 4PM and stayed in the Sopa Lodge that had a pretty amazing view.
It reminded me of Tagaytay in the Philippines.
We also had a balcony overlooking the lake and the mountains.
The dinner and breakfast buffet are also great - there are lots of choices.
It was near also the lodge where we had seen the first lioness!
She was, I think, had just finished feasting.
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| A great view of the lake |
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| The first lioness we saw |
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| The Fantastic Mr. Fox |
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| Hyenas feasting over the lion's kill |
We started our travel to Masai Mara at around 8AM from Lake Nakuru and as expected we reached there before 4 PM.
We stayed at Osero Camp and that was the most comfortable stay we had: food was excellent, the place is great as well, it is also inside Masai Mara itself.
We stayed there for 3 nightsand enjoyed every single meal!
Day 5 and 6:
We spent two whole days exploring Masai Mara - witnessed a part of the Great Migration wherein the animals are crossing the Masai River, saw a lot of lions, hundreds of wildebeests, tons of zebras, elephants and giraffes.
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| Talking about being in two places at the same time. This is the border of Tanzania and Kenya. |
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| Visited this place of the Hippos. You have to go with an armed guide. |
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| Hippos are huge and so are their feet! |
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| Amazing Cheetah. He actually approached the car ahead of us. |
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| I've never seen the bluest sky than Masai Mara. |
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| We had our lunch under this tree. |
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| Seeing double |
We also visited a Masai Village and got an idea on their way of life.
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| They still build their fire the traditional way - a lighter or match is not always at hand. |
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| Men are tasked to start the fire. Women build the houses. |
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| The villagers' herd - a mix of cows and sheeps. They mark their cows so they know which family owns them. |
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| They can take your photos too! |
This is the highlight of the trip: seeing lions: the alpha male, lioness, cubs!
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| We think it is the mating season - these lions are just exhausted. |
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| This lion had actually climbed on this rock while we were watching. My heart was beating so fast, I thought he is gonna roar! |
Some of the things worth noting down about this unforgettable trip:
1 - This trip is not for the faint-hearted. It got a bit bumpy before we landed because of the clouds. Also, the travel by land took long hours - not all the roads are paved and according to our guide, it is not allowed to transport tourists at night for safety reasons. Some roads are pretty tight; we have traveled a road climbing the mountain and we have mostly trucks alongside us. The steering wheel is also on the right side, so you know the confusion at first! It is also dusty so be prepared to pack your things well and be ready to cover up.
2 - The traffic in some parts are horrible, sorry to say. You may have noticed that it took almost the whole day just to travel from Amboseli to Lake Nakuru, then Lake Nakuru to Masai Mara.
3 - Packed lunch are included in the package that we got. The guide would normally take it with him before leaving the hotel in the morning. We only return back to the hotel just in time for dinner. It has a sandwich, chicken, egg, a pouch of juice, a bottle of water and some fruits. For someone like me who has a fast metabolism, make sure to bring some light snacks with you (biscuits, some chips, energy bars and extra bottles of water).
4 - Be ready to pee behind the bushes. Haha. There are stops wherein you can use clean washrooms but there are also times wherein there were none or they were too far still.
5 - Make the most of your time and savor every moment. Mobile phone signal and internet connection are not always available so it is a great time to "disconnect" for a while. We managed to survive without TV, we got one when we moved to Nairobi the day before our flight.
6 - Every trip is always a learning experience. I learned a lot about wildlife, about other cultures.
Given the chance, I would not hesitate going back.
