Kenya: the nature at its best
We booked two weeks Aquarius
Watamu, flights from Bologna, the choice fell on Friday, March 5 departure, the flight with Neos, both outward and return.
Aquarius we were good, we ate very well, especially fruit, mango, papaya, passion fruit, banana, coconut, pineapple, watermelon, not above the pasta and rice served in all ways, always a meat and a fish, desserts and many raw and cooked vegetables, the restaurant located in the main complex, near the reception area is large with a nice wooden floor, the buffet is arranged in a circle in the center, so all the tables are spaced , the food always covered with nets, film or lids.
The room clean and spacious, beautiful flower gardens, beautiful pools, and a white sand beach.
The main reason for our trip, however, is the safari, we contacted prior to departure Luigi Kassim, meet him at the beach on Saturday afternoon, we agree on a safari with 2 nights / 3 days Tsavo East
Amboseli, Tsavo to sleep in the VOI WILDLIFE SAFARI LODGE, Instead the
Amboseli KIBO CAMP. We paid the deposit and we arranged to meet on the morning of Monday at 6 am for the start of the much sought-after safari.
The excitement is sky high, we're leaving ... we are 2 coaches each with 6 people, after 2 hours of dirt road you come to the gate of Tsavo East, but before we go down to the Galana River to see crocodiles, photo rite, and finally enter the park.
You will receive via radio communication that there is a lion, has just killed a buffalo, and in fact we see the carcass of the buffalo under a tree, in practice, all coaches who have crowded disturbed the hearty meal of the lion, which remains in waiting nearby to finish his lunch.
It starts well! The animal harder to see us, now we have seen, we expect to see loads of other animals, and in fact shortly after the first catch sight of gazelles, antelope, jackals, zebras, elephants here are red, giraffe, guinea fowl , buffalos, baboons, mongooses, and even the serpentarium is a large bird that eats precisely of snakes!
We arrive at the Voi Wildlife Lodge a quick shower and then lunch. In the afternoon game drive off again for a new, more elephants, a giraffe, and close practically at the roadside, we delight of its stately pace, at this point a new radio communication of an interesting sighting, so we reverse and there head towards a plateau of the park, a lioness with cubs, but it is too far away, you can barely see, then the leaden sky announces a shower not long in coming, so with the rain we have to interrupt our game drive and return to Lodge, where we have dinner and go to bed soon.
We see two beautiful golden crane with their three cubs, two buffalos and even ostriches, we come to KIBO CAMP, really beautiful and characteristic, we can not wait to try sleeping in a tent, which still has all the amenities. Lunch and then we rest by the pool, with views (when you see it) on Kilimanjaro, we are on a plateau and therefore is not for anything hot, you're just fine.
During the afternoon game drive in
Amboseli, we see a truly fascinating landscape, we spot a family of lions, which are the little darlings are not very close, however, a warthog, a family of hyenas and a variety of birds, and lots of baboons , a mother and the baby on her back.
At 17 o'clock, the clouds that so far cluttering the top of Kilimanjaro, dissolve and finally here it is ... beautiful ... with its almost 6ooo meters high, is magnificent!
The sun begins to set and begin to move towards the exit of the park to return to Kibo, the distance we see a long line of elephants, which will probably come back after grazing in the bush to sleep, in fact later we cross the street, right in front the minibus, beautiful, there are children who walk under the belly of the mother, or immediately behind, and his heart beats wildly I can just picture a family with the background of Kilimanjaro, it was the scene I dreamed of capturing , the satisfaction is now shooting for the stars and the latest photos to rosy African sunset, we return to Kibo for dinner.
We must get out dall'
Amboseli and re-examined the long journey to
Watamu, but along the way, winds a strange feeling we're not completely satisfied, we still have a thirst to see, and so give birth, pass me the term, the idea of adding another day New Safari to Tsavo East, among other things we have the advantage of breaking the long journey back to
Watamu, Kassim asked Luigi, who after a short consultation on the choice of a field in which to stay, with a couple of phone calls we organize Our extra day.
We choose the Ndololo CAMP, which is located within the Tsavo East, we get you back to the gate, and after 100 meters NEAC. The van driver nails on the right side of the road, there is a lioness, and with a calm elegance and incredible we cross the street in front of the van, then goes to the longer grass and then disappears from view, only this is worth it to add a day of safari, staring arrive at the chosen field, is very characteristic, the most Spartan of Kibo, but now we feel novice explorers, who going to stop us! l We need an al fresco lunch under the trees.
We start the afternoon game drive, probably the chance to decided to favor us, we see a lion sleeping under a tree is not close, our driver just wants to settle, making an exception to the rule approaches the van, in the grass, she opens his sleepy eyes, and then resumed sleeping blissfully.
Of course everything is urgent, because we hear the radio crackle, we do not understand what he says because obviously they speak in their own language, but the tone leaves no doubt, part of the rocket and Louis van us a clue: surprise ... surprise ... I did not expect much ... but instead That's right, two cheetahs walking quietly in the grass, follow them for a while ', with his eyes and cameras, there are plenty of coaches at the roadside, in turn alerted, they walk and then, obviously miffed by so many people watching them, they start to run with the elegance that distinguishes them briefly and disappear before our eyes in the bush.
We're excited, do not trust in luck, we look into his eyes shining, and the smile on our faces express our happiness more than any words! in the meantime we continue, the landscape is truly amazing.
On Thursday morning, waiting for us the last game drive, this program rewards us your day out, we spot a cheetah yet, but looking at him right now in the picture, I think a cheetah, it seems pregnant, water in the lake walking up to the top the mound, then lies down to rest ....
The last hours no reserve other sightings of many animals, but along another part of the park, we see a very beautiful landscape, the grass is dry, yellow, here with a lion's mane so, there would be just fine, but the Fortunately now looks the other way ... be content!
We leave the Tsavo around 12 and we head to the Crocodile Camp, lunch overlooking the river, and now finally satisfied we can return to
Watamu Aquarius!
In the following days we enjoy the sea and the village, long walks on the beach, fantastic massages, interspersed by the other excursions included in our package safari, Safari 2 Blu Sardinia, the island of love, and around Malindi, excursions widely described in previous diaries, so I will not repeat myself, I stop just to say that the way to Sardinia 2 a pack of dolphins accompanied us for half an hour, with somersaults, tail-slap, fuming, in that crystal-clear sea, with a blinding sun and deadly, in fact, despite the sunscreen protection factor 50 mi penalty anyway.
Slide the Mondadori, full of photos, a site has attracted our attention: Hell's Kitchen, which is the devil's kitchen, a depression limestone, created by the rains, 38 km north of Malindi, run by a local cooperative, you pay € 2.50 each for the pleasure to visit a tip to the guide that accompanies it. It takes an hour and a half to get to
Watamu, half way is paved, half dirt, the view that we see taking is very nice, the cultivation of mango, banana plantations, villages with mud houses, women going to fetch ' water, with the tank on his head.
It 'best to go early in the morning or at dusk, because the heat is terrible, the colors are fantastic, white, yellow, ocher, pink, orange, red and then green vegetation, blue sky, white clouds, in fact a masterpiece of nature!
Africa is truly a wonderful place, where people smile, the gaze of children, but especially the spectacle of nature, never disappoint!