To get to Amboseli from Nairobi, we had to get into a small plane that constantly made big drops. The plane ride was a little scary, but the view was incredible! The flight was only 1 hour. I saw some giraffes, some elephants, and even a dead zebra! The landing was super smooth and not bumpy at all. The drive to Ol Tukai Lodge was not too long, but it was super dry. There was a lot of water, yet the land was super dry. Amboseli has marsh areas but the water has a lot of naturally occurring salt and so the water is very salty.
What surprised me most was the number of dead animals. The animals were not all killed by lions and predators, but they died from the salty water! Too much salt can kill you. The dead animals smelled super bad. One time there were four dead animals within 50 yards of each other!
The Ol Tukai Lodge was beautiful! They greeted us with a fresh juice and wet towels to clean our hands! We were led to our rooms which were little huts. The kid’s room had three twin beds, and they brought a fourth in for Zeb. The beds were super comfortable, and there were giant mosquito nets to cover the beds.
The dinner food was excellent! I accidentally ate some Gluten and paid the price. The service was also excellent, and the people were friendly. We did an early morning game drive and saw some lions, elephants, and dead things. Breakfast was also delicious, and there was always rice at every super excellent meal! They also had killer mocktails which are non-alcoholic cocktails. This was my 2nd favorite place, and I enjoyed it, and I would totally recommend it.
a sleeping baby elephantthe flamingos were fun to see in Lake Amboseli
Today we went to one of the Masai villages next to Amboseli National Park. We got a welcome dance from some of the villagers, and we also got to dance. The dancers put beautiful handmade necklaces around our necks and welcomed us happily. We were invited to dance with them, and we did. Then they prayed for us. The Masai people are Christians.
We then went into their village. There was a fence made of thorn bushes to keep unwanted animals out and their livestock in. There were also similar smaller enclosures inside to keep the cows, goats, and sheep inside the paddocks, inside the village. There were so many baby cows, goats, and sheep running around. We were led to chairs and saw how the Masai make fire. They made fire by rubbing a stick in a notch in a piece of wood to create friction and then fire. While one of the men was talking, a baby goat ran under my chair and stayed there! It was adorable, but I wanted to see what was happening, so I stopped gazing at it.
They next brought out three kinds of traditional medicine. It was all different types of wood! And there were so many uses for it all. Such as helping with headaches and stomachaches and treatment to block diseases from mosquitoes.
We got to tour one of the huts. The doorways were shorter than me! The inside was super dark because there was only one tiny window close to the fire area. There were two rooms, one for the adults and one for the kids. The walls were made of elephant dung and sticks, and the roof was made of thatch and sticks. I would not want to live in this type of home. It didn’t make me sad because these people were keeping their traditions and choosing to live this way.
After the house, we went to their market. All the ladies had beautiful stuff, but they were kind of pushy. They kept trying to put bracelets on my wrists, and one bracelet was too small, but the lady wanted to get it on me. Emmy and I did find some cool things in the end, but when it was time to pay, we discovered that everything was more expensive than we anticipated. I went from about six items to three. Emmy and I got gifts for a friend and one thing for myself.
While mom and dad were settling the prices for what they were buying, us kids got to hold a three-day-old goat! It was so tiny and so cute! We got plenty of good photos, and I wanted to keep it, but I knew I could never carry a goat around Africa.
We went to the school. The kids there were super cute! Three-year-olds knew their ABCs and 123s fluently! They all had the cutest uniforms, and I adored them all. We had to leave after school, and I was glad because I was super hot! I loved seeing the village and I wish more people knew about it. I would go again to see more and learn more.
this baby cow was very skinny due to the 2 year droughtI really loved these beautiful earringsthis woman made many beautiful necklacesthis was an older village woman who makes jewelrysaying goodbye to the village was hardmy sister, Emmy, and I holding a baby goatThe local women make beautiful jewelry to sell at their village market
Our first visit to Nairobi started at midnight in a hot, stuffy airport. Getting through customs was long and not fun. The only fun part was when I made my passport photo face at the person checking our passports.
For those of you who don’t know, when I got my last passport and when they took my photo, I smiled a sweet smile, but to my astonishment, they said I was not allowed to smile. Now my passport photo looks like I am a hiker trying to stare down a mama bear. In other words, I don’t look happy.
The outside air was not hot, thankfully. Hot outside air is the last thing anyone needs when coming off a late-night flight. It took us so long to get our sim cards, long enough for Bardez to fall asleep by mom, on the floor, outside. He was pretty cute.
When we finally got our sim cards, we got into the hotel taxi. There was nobody at the hotel except the security guard. They had to find someone to check us in. It took a while to get room keys, but it eventually happened.
The hotel was excellent. But not somewhere that I would want to go back to. The food was delicious and the staff was friendly, but it was not a stunning experience. I would rate the Double Tree Hilton four stars.
Second Stay in Nairobi
Our second stay in Nairobi after being in the Masai Mara was much better. We stayed at a different hotel called the Movenpick. The rooms were more beautiful, and the food was so much better! At breakfast, there were always gluten-free cupcakes and bread. They would also label everything saying if it was gluten-free or not. On Sunday, we went to the same church we attended the previous Sunday. After Church, we had an afternoon at the hotel.
To our delight and surprise, there was a beautiful lunch buffet and a kid’s play area with bracelet making. I made about five bracelets, one of which was completely gold, and I wore it to dinner that night. The restaurant was a revolving restaurant at the top of the hotel where we could see most of the city while we ate our dinner. I would rate this hotel five stars and add that the staff was excellent and friendly. I would also visit again and explore Nairobi more extensively.
We did a hot air balloon ride up to 2000 feet in the air. We used Hot Air Safaries to do our ariel experience. The start was super scary getting into the air. We started by watching the balloon get pumped up with regular air. Then, when it was time, we got in the basket. The basket was on its side, so we were lying down; if you’re wondering, the basket is separated into five compartments. Each one holds three people, and one is in the middle for the pilot. I think there were compartments to keep people from rocking the balloon.
The worst part was the flame-throwing fire into the balloon to heat the air. I would jump down and crouch in the bottom of the basket when the captain turned on the heat. Besides that, the view was amazing! We saw something like a cheetah or leopard, but it was neither. We went lower and higher and lower. I loved it! I would do another ride anytime, even though it was scary.
After the balloon ride, they served a champagne breakfast to you on top of a hill. It was a big breakfast. It is worth it! If you can make it a life goal to go in a balloon, you should do it.
i was so scared but the experience was still super coolThe hot air ballon was having a hard time filling upFire!Such good veiwsSo Pretty.
We spent a wonderful 4 days in the Masai Mara. My parents decided to rent a car to drive us on our own (called “self-drive” or “car hire” in Kenya). This made the trip much more interesting. It is a beautiful park full of animals and ditches where you can get your car stuck! The car we rented was nice: with a whole package deal of wobbly roof and butt bruising seats. Along with a broken speedometer and gas tank measurer. It also comes with a stick shift and broken seat belts. Enjoy!
Even though there were a lot of problems with this car, I am still super glad we got it. I liked it because it felt homey somehow. It was comforting to sit in it and fun to drive in.
I learned to drive a stick shift car. First, take off the emergency brake with your foot on the clutch and brake. Turn the car on. Next, take your foot off the brake and prepare to put it on the gas. Next, step on it! Slowly press down on the gas while slowly coming off the clutch. Also, make sure you are on gear one.
The park was very alive with many animals and only a few dead ones. We saw one dead giraffe, one dead elephant, and one zebra that we witnessed dying and being eaten.
Story of a Zebra Dying (Warning: if you don’t like death, skip this part!)
a zebra killed by hyenas and picked over by cultures
When we returned; the zebra was only the head, skin, and bones. It was astonishing! Watching the zebra die was not something I enjoyed. I wanted to help it or call a wild animal vet or something. I soon realized that the hyenas needed food, and the vets wouldn’t do anything to help. The zebra had a massive gash on its side that looked superinfected and a gash in its butt. I don’t know why the hyenas attacked there because I don’t think that would be tasty. The zebra kept sniffing its wound and tried to stand up when the hyenas were getting impatient.
They were probably wondering, “why can’t this zebra hurry up and die? I’m hungry. Hey Bill, you want to bite its butt again? Maybe that will make it die.” Bill says, “Naw, that part wasn’t tasty; I’d rather go for its head.”
My suspicions were confirmed. The zebra bottom is not tasty. The zebra got up and tried to walk around. Then it looked like it was trying to give birth, but mom said it was a boy and it was not rapidly going through pregnancy but convulsing. Which means your insides are blowing up. I asked mom if the whole zebra would explode and if all its insides would go flying because I didn’t want to be darou2nd if that happened, but she said “no.” After it was done convulsing, it had two seizures. The seizures were not as scary as watching it convulse. It was like watching a rodeo with a dying zebra. In the end, it fell, stuck its legs straight up, and died five minutes later. I won’t describe the rest because it was super gross and smelly.
Hippos Snorting in Masai Mara
The rest of the park was beautiful! In the river, there were hippos, and they communicated by snorting and what sounded like burping and farting. The hippos were also huge, like humongous water pigs. I don’t know why they are called water horses. They look nothing like horses. They look like pigs with oddly cute faces and cute little tails that wag like dogs. In other words, I loved them! Two astonishing facts about hippos. One: they are not animal-eating carnivores but are herbivores that are very territorial and will attack any animal that is in its space. Two: if a male hippo loses in a fight, it will become a lonely hippo that lives its life moping around and sulking on land. We did see a male hippo sulking, so it is true.
Zebra and Wildebeest Migration Across the Mara River
We also saw some zebras migrating across the river with a couple of wildebeest. I love how there will be a couple of wildebeest hanging out in a zebra herd like they are visiting old cousins.
I would go back to the Masai Mara and recommend it. The lodging at Talek Bush Camp is not great, but the scenery makes up for it.
The rooms were not fancy, but they were relatively kind. The food was super good. It was right next to a river, and we saw a hippo fight! The staff were excellent and helpful and even made gluten-free pasta for us! I would rate it three stars and say they could do better by patching up the rooms. I would probably want to stay at a different place next time we go.
My Favorite Part: Baby Lions!
Cute baby lion cubs!
On one of the days we came across a mommy lion and two very young baby lion cubs. They were just sitting under a bush next to a ditch crossing as we drove by. We were so surprised to see them! My dad was driving and stopped and turned off the car and we just sat there and got to observe them. We could hear the little sounds the cubs made, and at one point the mommy lion got up and walked over right next to our car! Then the cubs walked over near to us and started playing in the grass. After that, they all went back to the shade of the bush and laid back down. Eventually, my dad started up the car and drove away quietly. It was so special!
Some of my Masai Mara Photos
Some of the many photos I took while my family self-drove in Masai Mara
