KENYA
The following photos are taken in the Samburu and Shaba game reserves
"come on guys, before the lions arrive"
Vulturine Guinea Fowl
Vulture feast
Superb Starling
Strange plant "fruit" beside the pool at the Sarova Shaba Lodge
monkeys very much in evidence at the Sarova Shaba Lodge - this one is pinching food at breakfast
this one wanted to enter the room - windows had to be kept shut in day time
full time job for an employee firing pellets from a ging or catapult to frighten them away
inside the dining room - all of the Lodges served plentiful food with a very good selection of buffet style dishes
very relaxing for Lynne after a hard morning's "viewing" on the reserve...
hot, dry and dusty village
Owl, looking out for a meal
Ostriches
Oryx (first one I saw appeared to have only one horn - thought I'd spotted the fabled unicorn!)
"How much longer are your family staying did you say??"
in both the above situations it was prudent for the vehicles to back up - no great effort for an annoyed pachyderm to flip a vehicle
"hey mum, look over here....."
very elegant as they nonchalantly stroll along
Dik Dik (yes, really)
more Dik Diks
spot the cheetah
"mmm, I'll need a step ladder to get those top leaves"
Grevy's Zebra (the biggest of the three zebra species; they are more ass-like than the other two which are more horse-like)
Thompson's Falls
note the buckets of water - for a few shillings the local "physics gurus" will demonstrate the Coriolis effect (the direction water goes down the plug hole north and south of the equator (trickery of course as there is no difference. Anything for a dollar...)
hippos, Lake Niavasha (central west, Rift Valley)
African fish eagle swooping for a fish thrown by the boatman
hope they're using Listering
Lake Niavasha - waterbuck
giraffe, same place inthe Crescent Island wildlife sanctuary
Great Rift Valley Lodge
view from our room
"Naitiri"
site of the farmhouse and farm established by Lynne's parents in the early 60s. House and efficient farm now gone, replaced by shacks and small, desultory gardens supporting a subsistence existence... a metaphor for much of the activity in Kenya now
Kitale - closest town
Interesting shop - seems to stock one of nearly everything
Kitale "main"- street
tempted to enquire what a "Transmattress Supermarket" sold...?
don't forget to have your credit card with you if requiring mortuary services
good to see that all that's best from the West has found its way to Kenya - mission statements, core values, visions etc - no doubt backed up by awareness heightening sessions, working parties, focus groups...
stayed the night here - original old colonials club in its day - interesting that all the old trophies, committee members names, hunting trophies etc still remain
new colonials with tour guide Joshua. His father apparently remembered the Brits from years ago with mixed feelings
the golf course - littls has changed except the complexions
one of the original stores where Lynne's parents shopped - this is the original owner's son
potato sales by the road
view across the valley
back to the hospital - Lynne's brother and sister born in this room - looks as though little has changed over the years
Lake Nakuru National Park
White Rhino
"sure I buried a bone around here...."
Lake Nakuru National Park - Lion Hill Lodge
Impala
Impala
Grey Crowned Crane
Flamingos and Pelicans
Flamingos
Eagle
Baboons in the Lake Nakuru Nat. Park
these guys can be vicious and also steal, so no point in trying to use the picnic tables
these following photos taken in the Masai Mara Game? National park?
most of the safari vehicles are basic Nissan Urvans and Toyota Hiace and take quite a pounding over the course of the day chasing the best vantage spots to see the animals
waterbuck
family of warthogs - very timid - looked hilarious running, awkward, with their tails sticking up in the air
male warthog
vultures and their meal
Uganda Kob
rare species peering out of the top of his nest
Topi
Wildebeest
Thompson's Gazelle
in a Masai village. Very expensive to visit and we wondered where all the money went as they live basically in squalor - apparently much goes on schools and there are the usual issues with alcohol
(photo above that is a Secretary Bird -I think because they look smart and efficient))
fire lighting demo for the tourist using traditional means
cooking facilities inside the very basic unventilated hut
nine year old being mum
plenty of cow dung to walk in, also for rendering the huts (the animals live in the same compound)
pathetic effort compared to the locals
Masai dancers in the hotel
learning to be like Dad
our room in the Lodge...even included a hot water bottle delivered in the evening, altho' hardly necessary!
lion cubs playing
"they promised me a juicy loin of Zebra if I wait here"
the blokes due this for much of the day whilst the ladies check out the hunting
very hard to locate leopard - and when we did, about 50 other vehicles were there too
Impala in the Masia Mara park
rare example of primitive Neanderthal species on its way out of Africa
Grant's Gazelle above and below
Goshawk
young elephant practising to use it's trunk - they have to learn and quite amusing to watch
crowned plover
Coke's Hartebeest
one above and two below - cheetahs. The vehicle moved quickly, fearing the cheetahs would climb down via the rooftop
these three photos (above and two below) are poor quality; they were taken at dusk with a long zoom (beyond the camera's capability) but show the stalking, attack and then eating the kill. All happened very quickly
Buffalo
Black backed Jackal
Weaver birds' nests hanging down
probably a Bustard
Cheetahs
they seem largely oblivious to human activity around them - not that anyone ventured out of vehicles...
Rift Valley panorama (runs through a large area of Kenya
Nairobi - inside the Stanley Hotel...these three photos show the interior which probably hasn't changed since the Brits left in the '60s
Jane, Jim and Lynne
lunch at old Swedo house (also below)
no, it's not an abacus factory, but where they make Kazuri Beads. The whole process is interesting - the factory provides employment for young women from poor backgrounds, single mothers, widows etc
above and below - Karen Blixen's house and garden ( the film Out of Africa was based on part of her life)
towards the north of Kenya, and a high proportion of Muslems. Regarded as a dangerous area (towards the Somalian border)
hard to get a good shot, but the women in this tribe shave one side of their heads...this lady was paid one apple to show us her "hairstyle"
Mt Kenya (highest in Kenya)
street scene, Nairobi
a little piece of Hyde Park in Nairobi
the people up on the left were walking around ordering the vagrants to arise after a night's sleep in the open. Those that didn't respond were persuaded more vigorously with canes
horrendous traffic - creating one's own lane on the wrong side of the double line!
probably Kenya's biggest problem - corruption. Wouldn't be a surprise if this government dept. was also corrupt!
most vehicles have polluting exhausts from poorly maintained engines - fumes in Nairobi cause quite a problem
above and below - roadside shops; some of the names are quite humorous
fairly common form of transport
poor roades and broken down vehicles are the norm
chaotic traffic in Eldoret
Prayer Palace - there are churches of every description with strange names, but mainly Christian in the south
not sure what happens in a massage palour ...?
this shows a remarkable resemblance to examples of modern art I've seen in galleries
above and below - sometimes the road surface is so bad, it's safer to drive alongside
SOUTH AFRICA: Cape Town to Port Elizabeth; "Garden Route"
Cape Town
"Africa Restaurant", great place for a variety of food from different parts of Africa, served in a style of many small servings
above and below - Cape Town
Below - views of and from Table Mountain
humorous topiary outside a vet clinic
penguins - taken on our trip to the Cape of Good Hope
on the wharf where the dolphin viewing trips depart
Lynne buying Angle (salted) fish for lunch with the help of our Russian tour guide - a real character, not the more dour example we expect!
above and below taken in a shanty town - some are reasonable with power, water etc
precipitous roads on the way to the Cape
taken from the Cape
bit corny, but a photographic "must"
above and four below - taken in the beautiful Kirstenbosch National Botanic Gardens near Cape Town
proteas
market day in Cape town, but a little saturated, as we were also
above and below - a folly in a planning exercise many years ago...the flyover was built so far, but then someone refused to sell their property that was in the way and the road works ground to a halt. But now used for a variety of purposes: bridal photos, film scenes for dramatic car chases etc
Fantasy Safari Park, SA wine lands
above and below: Stellenbosch, a very interesting and very Afrikaaner town in the wine growing region
"oldest shop" in Stellenbosch; a mix of pold and new inside - one of everything on sale
taken in one of the four historical houses in the Stellenbosch Village Museum. The other houses represented the more austere Afrikaaner lifestyle, whilst this was an example in the "overdone" Victorian British (clutter) style of the day...
.....and don't forget the trophies, don't ya know, what...
view from Devon Valley Hotel, where we stayed, near Stellenbosch
wine tasting at Devon Valley hotel - the glass polishing took longer than the tasting...quite a showman and also doubled as waiter, porter etc
Franschhoek (wine area)
hides on sale at Franschhoek
Kleinpasie Living Open Air Museum, Worcester (Worcester ???)
Interesting place, making bread that was sold locally, eggs etc...this is a fencing style of logs used by early settlers
wildflowers
we were very lucky with the wildflowers - our meerkat tour guide said they were the best he'd seen for years (not the same diversity of WA, tho')
had to get up at 4 30am to see these little fellows climb out of their burrows for the morning sun-facing warming routine
Cango Caves near Oudtshoorn
Outeniqua Pass near George (during the course of the Garden Route we travelled through many spectacular passes)
sign above refers to the shape being similar to Africa (taken from a lookout near George)
not sure where this is, but verdant countryside and houses set amongst it
above and below - views around Knysna
kids spruiking - Knysna
Knysna tour - carriages towed up hill behind old diesel truck
Knysna coastline
nests at the Birds of Eden Bird Sanctuary near Plettenburg Bay
the entire sanctuary is netted, including the roof (er...of course) - these men are making repairs
Monkeland primate sanctuary near Plettenberg Bay
Lemurs (?)
Crop circles in South Africa...??? we are not alone...........!!
