Just About Everything

After experiencing the truly unique Hell's Gate National Park , the next morning we set off for our last destination on this trip " Amboseli National Park".  With that came the sad feeling that our wonderful trip was coming to an end. Amboseli was in my bucket list of top National parks in Kenya, not only because of the large number of elephants that can be seen from very close quarters in this park, but also because we could get a glimpse of Mount Kilimanjaro from Amboseli since this park is close to the Tanzania border. Mount Kilimanjaro (a dormant volcano) is the highest mountain in Africa (5895 metres above sea level) and is located in Tanzania. We started early in the morning, around 7 am, from Lake Naivasha and reached Amboseli in the afternoon. We set off for the afternoon safari almost immediately (after grabbing a quick lunch) since we only had that one afternoon for the safari; we were leaving for Nairobi the next morning. We had a wonderful safari...

After the wonderful experience at Lake Naivasha , we set off for Hell's Gate National park. Located close to Lake Naivasha, Hell's Gate National Park was established in 1984 and is a smaller park compared to other national parks in Africa. However, this park is unique and provides an experience that one can’t truly get in other national parks! The unique landscape of Hell’s gate is what appealed to me the most. The name comes from a small break in the cliffs creating a gap between them that looks like an entrance or gate, and the gate brings you into a volcanic area, an area full of geothermal activities, geysers, hot springs… This is one of the national parks that allow you to cycle and walk inside. It is also a very popular place for hiking. That’s why it is so unique…you can get as close to nature as possible, see the animals in their natural habitat and not from the confines of a vehicle! I wish we had the time to experience the park by walking and cycling aroun...

Lake Naivasha, Kenya After an exhilarating time at Masai Mara , we set off for Lake Naivasha early morning on day 3. Located in Nakuru County in Naivasha, Lake Naivasha is  around 280 km from Masai Mara, it took us 5-6 hours to reach by road. Lake Naivasha is a part of the Great Rift Valley. The name comes from the local Masai name Nai'posha. Nai Posha means rough water which may arise due to the sudden storms. The best way to see the lake is to hire a boat. It was a wonderful ride...the lake is home to various birds, Hippos, and is surrounded by forest …we saw Giraffes, Zebras, Wildebeests on the shore of the Lake as well. If you are in Kenya, and should you have time, I would recommend that you spend a day at Naivasha for sure.We stayed at the Lake Naivasha Country club. Serene, green, and beautiful, with the lake right next to it, we enjoyed our stay there. One of my favourite pictures from this trip was at the Country club is below...this is what we saw when we...

Masai Mara has been one of my dream destinations for as long as I remember.... My Masai Mara travel plan took a while to materialise because I wanted my father to accompany us. He has been instrumental in getting all of us interested in wild life! I still remember one of the first books on wildlife that my dad gave me from his bookshelf was a book of snakes (although I can’t say that I developed a liking from snakes!) Going to Masai Mara without my dad was unthinkable!  Since his health has not been that good in the past few years, I wanted him to get better before recommending this trip to him! He was hesitant, but finally gave in to my persuasion:) and our team of five (my parents, my sister, niece, and I were ready for Mara!) Because our parents were travelling with us we did not want our trip to be too long or too hectic…we managed to keep it short, but it did end up being hectic considering the distances we had to travel. However, it was all worth it, every bi...