Colin and Liz: Chapter 2!

Have just returned home after our latest safari to Lake Baringo.

Island Camp from the water

A four hour drive on African  A roads, B roads and many miles of off road tracks. Thank heavens for Pete’s 4 wheel drive truck.

After lunch siesta outside our 'superior tented cottage'!

View from inside a cottage

Sunrise from the cottage verandah

The lake and accommodation are quite unique, with our superior tented cottage and its private plunge pool offering the most wonderful views.

We arranged two early morning guided boat trips to view the vast range of bird life and in the swamp areas, we were uncomfortably close to both hippos and crocs!  

Three 'men' in a boat!

Who's watching who?

Crocs...getting a little too close! 

Another fish eagle catching breakfast

Lots of dying trees due to 3 metre water rise over last 5 years

In contrast, a drop of a metre over the last year (see marking on tree trunk) 

The local boats are made of papyrus reeds: used by fishermen and souvenir traders

We had two splendid nights there and then a two hour drive to Kembu cottages staying at the childhood home of Beryl Markham which still retains its 1930s style.  She was the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1936 and additionally had quite a reputation as a society girl especially with our Royals and was eventually paid off by Queen Mary ! The farm today has over 100 racehorses and is still wonderfully colonial.

Set off from Kembu on Saturday morning and had lunch overlooking Lake Elementaita. Amazing views of the lake and a range of hills known as The Sleeping Warrior as depicted by the rock formations. Then back home in the afternoon to unwind.

Hotel fully booked  :(  so we moved on! 

Love to all back home. See you soon, 

Colin and Liz. xx

Liz and Colin: East Africa 2014

Pete and Joan have made us so welcome at their house in a lovely elevated position overlooking Lake Naivasha. The large garden is electrically fenced mainly to keep out the buffalo.

We played golf earlier in the week on the nearby course which was certainly challenging, particularly with a small herd of zebra and impala sharing the fairways! ( photos to follow in next blog post)

Squacco heron

African Jacana ( Lily-trotter for Alan's benefit!) 

The following day we had a splendid guided boat trip on the lake viewing an amazing variety of birdlife including pelicans, fish eagles, pied kingfishers, white breasted cormorants and squacco herons.

  Local fishermen with pelicans in background

Fish eagles

Intrepid explorers, straddling the equator

 We then travelled to the Aberdare mountains on some spectacular roads and stayed at the Country Club. We walked among warthog, giraffe, zebra, dik-dik and baboons; a vast area with wonderful views

Dr Livingstone, I presume!

A beer and lunch stop near the farm

 We had a very interesting, extended tour with Pete at 'his' farm of 24 acres growing mainly strawberries and raspberries which go via Amsterdam to M & S, Tesco and Sainsbury under the Vegpro label. The company also grows huge quantities of roses, also grown under polytunnels as photographed

Raspberry tunnels

Roses, roses and more roses!

Driving home after the visit (and rainstorm!) 

Tomorrow it's then 3 days away with Pete and Joan; two nights at Lake Baringo and one at Kembu cottages, childhood home of Beryl Markham, famous 1930s aviator. Will update you as and when. Hope all is well with everyone. DK/MG/Chris: did you receive our first email?!

Love from Liz and Colin xxxx

An Equatorial Christmas

Once Peter began working in Kenya, in October 2012, the planning for family visits started in earnest, so it had been a long build up to my sister Mary’s arrival in mid-December 2013.

The Mara river: the rainy season continued, in 2013, into mid-December and
ground conditions remained green and muddy, with full-flowing rivers

Peter had to work over this busy period, building up to Christmas berry sales, so Mary and I took a week's safari together, travelling first to the Masai Mara reserve, then flying to Mombasa and on to Diani on the south coast, returning on the train from Mombasa to Nairobi.

The Mara: vast plains and skies

A rare opportunity to see a hippo out of the water in the middle of the day

All the comforts of home in a safari tent

Note the fleece and knee blanket... it can be chilly on Mara mornings

The harsh reality of survival:
we witnessed this baby zebra being caught, killed and eaten...

Afternoon tea on the cool verandah of the Mombasa Club

The old town, Mombasa

Travelling back to Nairobi on the overnight train (on my birthday). The 12 hour journey took 20 hours ... but we had great views of rural Kenya

Mary and I returned to Naivasha a few days before Christmas, ready to welcome Catriona and Fritha who took the Christmas eve flight, once prices had dropped, arriving in Nairobi on the morning of the 25^th.

We did the Naivasha sights together for a few days, including horse-riding on the lake shores and a fascinating gorge walk in Hell's Gate National Park. We then split for New Year: the girls flying to the Mara, and Mary, Peter and I joining Naivasha friends for a trip north to a lovely, serene camp in Laikipia.

Kibera from the air: Nairobi's enormous 'slum' suburb

A close enconter with a Mara elephant

An amazing threesome taken by Catriona in the Mara

We met up again in Nairobi on January 1^st for Mary’s last night and then the girls, Peter and I drove through Tsavo West, then Tsavo East to reach the Indian Ocean and a short week’s diving holiday at Watamu. Frith flew back on the 11^th and Catriona, snatching a few last rays of sunshine stayed on until Jan 18^th.

Driving to Tsavo: Peter's Toyota truck was in the garage so we had borrowed his boss's Range Rover and had a puncture within a couple of hours!!

A road in the red-soiled land of Tsavo West

Tsavo's elephants:covered in red dust

Tsavo lizards

A gerenuk : a rare long-necked antelope that grazes the middle of bushes...above the level where other antelopes can reach but below where giraffes graze

Sunset at Lugard's Falls in Tsavo East

We saw many, many pairs of dik-diks in Tsavo East...

 but they were mostly elusive to photograph

 We'd chosen this riverside camp as we'd been promised close encounters with elephants ...coming to the water to drink in the early morning

What does one do after a hard morning's diving...?

Enjoy the comforts of a beautiful Swahili-architecture-inspired rented house!