10-9 Amazing Amboseli
- chirp54
- Oct 16, 2023
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 17, 2023
Up for an early breakfast, we walked outside of the dining room and there in the distance was Mt. Kilimanjaro. The clouds usually cover the mountain, so getting the opportunity to see it was wondrous. It doesn’t, however, bear much of a resemblance to the mountain in the photos. There is just the tiniest bit of snow. Hemingway wouldn’t recognize it. Off we went at 7:30 with Evans for an all-day game drive at Amboseli. We feared that it would be a tour for 4, but MJ and Matthew had their own driver. The park is about 45 minutes’ drive from the hotel but we finally made it. No Masai women. What?! Instead someone hocking books about the Amboseli Nat’l park. We were so accustomed to saying “no thanks” that we didn’t even look at them. In retrospect, I wish we'd said yes, since they're filled with photos and information. Amboselli is affiliated with the IFAW and is a Unesco World Heritage? Site. As we ventured into the park, the vegetation was still pretty brown, but we could see green on the horizon. That was the Amboseli swamp.
We wanted to get off on the right foot with Evans, so I told him that I knew that a lot of tourists were just interested in ticking off the boxes of what they’ve seen but while we, of course, loved seeing lions, we really enjoyed all the animals and we loved being in their presence. He said, “And birds?” I said, “Yes, we’re very interested in the birds.” That’s all he had to hear. What followed was an extraordinary day of sightings and learning! Evans has been a guide for 15 years, his brother is a guide, and his father was a guide, so it’s kind of in his blood. As we drove farther into the park we reached the swamp. It’s a shallow body of water covered by floating vegetation, and filled with animals. So many animals! We watched countless elephants and hippos munching on vegetation, surrounded by birds.
They hang around the large animals so they can scoop up all the bugs and things that are stirred up by them. Often they’ll ride on the animals’ backs then swoop down and start eating. The swamp covers part of the park, part fresh water and part salt water. and there are large stretches of dry land populated by zebra, wildebeests, cape buffalos, impalas, water bucks, gazelles along with elephants. There were countless species of birds and Evans taught us so much about them. Please see the photographs at the bottom of the page.
At the far side of Amboseli there is an overlook that gives a great view of the park. Of course, you have to walk up a seemingly endless set of stairs to get there,
From there we headed to a little hut set up in the park by the Sopa Lodge
where they had a full buffet lunch set up. It was quite an opulent set up in the middle of the park. We had a nice lunch then set out for the afternoon drive. I took the opportunity to get a photo with Evans, our wonderful guide.
We were watching the hippos and learned that the hippos males are easily threatened by other male hippos, because only the alpha male can breed. If a hippo gives birth to a male hippo, the alpha will immediately kill it in order to eliminate a possible threat. A pregnant hippo can tell if she is carrying a male or a female. If it’s a male, she will leave the rest of the herd and stay away until the baby is able to walk and then it will be safe until it reaches maturity, when it will be forced out of the family group. He’ll then go live with a bunch of other bachelors. One of that group will eventually try to dethrone the reigning male.
Another fascinating thing we learned was that the usual elephant gestation period is 22 months, but an elephant can give birth up to three months early or three months late, if the conditions require it. For example, if there is ample food, but the drought is coming, she'll give birth so that the baby can have enough to eat before scarcity sets in. Likewise, if food is scarce, she can postpone giving birth until resources are better.
At the end of the day, the animals leave the swamp and the open parkland to head back to their resting places for the evening. We sat there watching the exodus.
Impalas going home to rest (The direction depends upon the viewpoint , in front or in back.) Elephants crossing the road Impalas crossing the road
As we started back, a lone bull elephant was crossing the road. Evans said he was an old elephant who had been deposed from his position as the dominant male allowed to mate. I don't know why, but it made me very emotional. I felt like he was an old soul, past his prime, headed home and I felt much the same. An old soul past my prime, leaving the park, leaving Kenya. As I watched this magnificent animal walk away I was filled with a sense of wonder and gratitude for all the experiences I'd had over the last two weeks. This was meant to be a once-in-a-lifetime trip, but how could I not return?
We arrived back at the lodge at about 5:00pm, so no shower yet! Instead we made the trek to the far side of the property to Hemingway’s bar.
As we arrived at the approach to the entrance we spotted a chubby little furry creature we’d never seen before. Then a second one popped up out of the rocks. A gentleman came around the corner and said, “Do you know what those are? They’re rock hyraxes. They live in the rocks with the mongoose. We looked over and the rocks were swarming with mongoose. He welcomed us in and introduced himself as “Papa” He was an older Kenyan gentleman who said that before we ordered our drinks, he had a short orientation to give us. I guess we must have looked a bit wilted because he changed his mind and said, “Come, come to the bar. We will get your drinks and then give you the orientation.” He tried to push the special which looked very sweet to me, so I said, no, let me think for a minute.” He said, Come behind the bar and look around.” I found a south African gin called “Six Dogs”, which was a lovely lilac color so he poured me a gin and tonic. Two people came in while he was making it and ordered that, too. Then it was orientation time.
This building was once Ernest Hemingway’s house. He came to Kenya in the 1930s to research the area around Mt. Kilimanjaro for a book he wanted to write which, of course, turned out to be The Snows of Kilimanjaro. He stayed just a few days. At the time there were no lodges, so the guide he had hired took him to a local village. There he met a man who became his local guide, our host Papa’s uncle. Hemingway did the usual 1930s thing of killing beautiful animals, then went home. He returned 30 years later and brought with him a small entourage consisting mostly of builders. He was reunited with the local guide he had met in the 30s who took him all over the area so he could slaughter more animals. For 3 months in 1960 they worked on this house which was built in the shape of Africa. The labor was done by his entourage and all the local villagers. One day he arranged for a big barbecue for all the natives of the village, while he and his guide went out and shot a cape buffalo. Once dismembered, he had the skull mounted on the wall of the bar (of course Hemingway had a bar).
Anyway, the house was built on the top of a hill that had a view of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Hemingway wanted an unobstructed view of the mountain and of all the game he loved (to slaughter) so he ordered that all the trees surrounding the house be cut down. This yielded an added benefit in that the wood from those trees was given to the villagers as payment for their labor. Papa then led us around the corner to an area he said had been Hemingway’s bedroom. On either end of the bed were windows, so that he could see the sunrise and the sunset. The original circular fireplace is in the center of the room, with carved panels done by a man from the north of Kenya who was known for his carving skills. They feature carvings of animals and are intact. Papa showed us movie posters and photos of Hemingway and was clearly so proud of his uncle, who only recently died at the age of 102.
After the tour, we sat with the other couple, Susan and RJ from Ottawa, Canada. Lovely people. At last it was time to head to the room for the shower. About that shower. It’s in the dark corner of a dark bathroom. And the promised hot water? Just this side of cold. But honestly, it was so hot in Kenya that no hot (or warm) water wasn’t really a problem. After cleaning up we headed to the little boutique so I could be an American and buy a T-shirt. I decided that I wanted to look for a beaded placemat, a Masai specialty, so we went to a Masai Women’s collective market next to the boutique. I brought this on on myself, I realize, but upon entering the market area, I was immediately accosted by 9 or 10 Masai ladies. I found what I wanted, fought off the rest of the ladies and escaped with my life. Whew. Off to the restaurant. We weren’t there 5 minutes when the lights were lowered and a group of waiters and waitresses came out singing what has become the ultimate earworm, Mambo Bwana, the song used to celebrate birthdays, etc. at all the lodges. This was followed by a performance by some Masai men and the aforementioned Masai ladies collective. Not nearly as good as the ones done at the Maisha Mara lodge, but a good effort.
After dinner we were escorted to our room by a different Masai warrior, distinguishable by the long stick and long knife they carry. Strangely, at this lodge, in lieu of those typical items, some of the warriors carried machine guns. Hmmm. Anyway, I repacked us in preparation for our flight back to the UK the next day and we went to sleep.
Wildebeests with dust devils in the background. These things are everywhere. In fact, the name Amboseli means "the place of salty dust."
Reed buck
Sacred Ibis
Sacred ibis and hadada iris
Male ostrich. Can you see how his neck is pink? This is what happens to male ostriches during the mating season.
Red billed ducks
Black winged stilt (note the fabulous red legs!
Egyptian geese
Elephant and baby
Nursing
Tawny eagle
Napping hyena
Roseate spoonbill
Pied avocet - note how his bill curves up
Elephants bonding
Elephant eating
Little egret - note the yellow legs and feet
Hyena
Flamingos
Buffalo, impala and wildebeest
Hyena
When pelicans fish, they all put their heads in the water at the same time. That way, if one pelican misses the fish, there are a whole gang of beaks ready to scoop it up. It's a bit like a ballet.
Elephant in the swamp (For a brief moment you'll hear the first notes of "The Circle of Life" which was Evans' ring tone. Made me laugh every time.)
Definitely in your blood now. You’ll be back xxxxxxxx