And so ends an absolutely amazing trip to Kenya.  Forever in my memories will be the children at Mercy Care Centre, the safaris, the game drives, the wonderful new people I met, and most of all my host, Patrick. 

You can enlarge any photo by clicking on it.

More people at home.  Joseph, a frequent visitor,  in his new shirt from Canada.  Lydia is the househelp, and Rose who is visiting from Western Province.

At home with (left to right) Lisa from Sweden, Patrick's wife, Pamela and Doreen who is a relative and part of the household.

They are laughing at me and my great happiness at being here.  After all, never did I think I would see this sight when studying about it in grade seven or eight.

After viewing from above, the drive through the floor of this fertile valley was an historic moment for me.

Both coming and going one is in awe as the Great Rift Valley appears.  I am no photographer, as you know by now, so these photos do no justice to what is simply amazing.

After a 6:00 a.m. game drive it is wonderful to come back to a delicious breakfast.

Patrick and Elly at the lookout over the lake.

The Africa Cup is still on and some men even prefer soccer to dinner!

..or two or three...can't remember how many there were, but they walked right up to the vehicle and it was amazing.

Finally, a rhino!

My cottage at the lodge.

More baboons and they are so cute to watch as long as they stay on their side of the vehicle.

That orange is the cookie box.  He is already eating from the package.

There were so many baboons that we almost missed this one until he jumped from his perch on the tree to our vehicle rooftop (which was open) and gave us a good scare.  Elly was fast enough to think of throwing out a box of cookies for him. He quickly jumped down to tear open the box.

Earlier in the month, Nick, one of the Australian volunteers was scratched by a baboon in this very park.  Poor Nick had to undergo that nasty series of rabies shots.

I was so thankful to Elly for the cookie caper.

Storks - there were many coming and going, but only got this shot.

An excellent lodge with stunning views over the lake.

Now it is time for safari #3 to Nakuru.  The lake is famous for its flamingoes, but I don't know what happened to the photos.  It was here in Nakuru that we saw several rhinos.  Of the big five we have now seen four - the leopard we did not see.  Other guests at our lodge saw the leopard and had great photos (which I wanted to import and call my own, but did not) and we just missed it.  Elly said that it was a good reason to return to Kenya.

All in all, we saw so many different animals and birds, but I have only uploaded the famous ones.  I have no idea where the pix of the hippos went!

I forget the name of this bird, but it is so attractive that I just had to include it.  If anyone knows the name, please comment.

My friend Samm has just emailed me that this is the crowned crane.  It is also the national bird of Uganda.  Thanks Samm.

A handsome male.

Henry, my favourite waiter.

A beautiful young Maasai man.  

He kept circling around me and finally an hour or so later I asked him if he wanted me to take his picture and to my surprise he said yes.  Usually the Maasai want to be paid if one takes a photo.

There were many Maasai in the most colourful clothes on the road to the park, but taking photos is not OK.  You will just have to make the trip yourself and see.  By the way, don't do a fly in trip or you will miss the beauty of the drive.

There are very few zebras in the Mara.  Why? They left to get away from the lions.  Lions kill zebras.  The zebras can live without fear outside the park.  The lions don't leave the park because the Maasai will kill them before they kill the Maasai cattle.  Maasai don't touch the zebras.

Cape buffalo herd

The cape buffalo, said to be the most dangerous of the animals.

Friends forever

This little guy had been suckling when suddenly mom gave him a little bite and he took off.  I suppose he was not gentle enough???

There were so many lions.

A stunning sunset on the Masai Mara.

How beautiful and graceful the giraffe is.

Why did the Cheetah cross the street?

To get a drink.

We follow it as it comes closer and crosses the track right in front of us.

Elly spots a Cheetah!

Mother with a couple of teenagers!!

Animals always have the right of way.

This is the Topi.

These are the tracks one drives on in the Mara.  There is no signage and it would be very easy to get lost without a proper guide.  This is not a DIY drive.

The whole family came for lunch.

I think I'll have a little snack.

In front of my tent on the Talek River where the hippos are.  There are also many monkeys in the trees.

Karibu/Welcome to Fig Tree Camp, Masai Mara, Kenya

A dream come true!  This is Elly my driver/guide and my own private vehicle.  Patrick is waiting patiently.  After twelve years of taking people (volunteers and mission teams) to the Mara he may have been just a little bit bored. 

To enlarge pictures, just click.

Cell phones everywhere.  Patrick and Betty trying to find out where our driver was.

Back to Nairobi by taxi.  After a few hours sleep it was off to the famous Stanley Hotel for breakfast and the start of safari #2 to the Masai Mara.

The TV room where the Africa Cup soccer games were enjoyed by those who could not abstain.

The beach bar

There were only two hotels in the area and neither could be seen from the other so the beach was quiet save for the few hotel guests, fishermen, and the odd cow.

This was the magnificent view from my terrace for five delightful days.

The entrance to the resort.

Safari is Swahili for trip and we had three safaris outside Nairobi.  Safari #1 was to the coast. From Nairobi it was the overnight train to Mombasa.  We didn't quite make it to Mombasa because there was an accident and the train was to be held up for a few hours so we hailed a taxi from the many who had gathered there.  The taxi took us right up to Kilifi and the resort. My room was oceanfront and the view was spectacular.

The two blue containers are also classrooms.

The community centre