Over the weekend we hosted a dinner Come Dine With Me style (for those who do not know about this excellent binge worthy show, click here - but essentially the host prepares a 3-course meal for others and is then rated on food, theme and entertainment. Everyone takes turns to cook, and the winner wins a grand).
Anyway - our theme was ''a journey through Africa'', which made me think back to our AMAZING African safari experience in Kenya. Mum and I decided to surprise my dad for his 60th with this holiday as he'd always wanted to go on a safari, and we planned this epic vacation across 5 national parks to maximize the diversity of wildlife we'd see -
Amboseli National Park - famous for its big game and great herd of elephants. The park also offers one of the most classic and breathtaking views of Kenya - the gigantic Kilimanjaro mountain.
Aberdare Ranges - overnight floodlit game viewing from the comfort of your balcony, as animals gather by the watering hole for some much needed water. The park's topography is diverse with deep ravines that cut through the forested eastern and western slopes. Animals easily observed in the park include; the Black Rhino, leopard, baboon, black and white Colobus monkey and sykes monkey.
Samburu National Reserve - a beautiful and game abundant park, home to rarely found species such as the Beisa Oryx, Grevy's zebra, blue-necked Somali ostrich and reticulated giraffe. FUN FACT: we saw two giraffes having sex. The teenager in me was giggling nonstop and had to take a photo:
Solio Ranch - the world’s first private rhino sanctuary, Solio Game Reserve was started in 1970 when, the owner of Solio cattle ranch, fenced off a large section of land and dedicated it to conservation; since then, breeding has been so successful that rhino from Solio have stocked game reserves all over Africa. Solio Ranch is recognized as one of the most successful private rhino breeding reserves in Kenya. With a commitment to conservation, a 13,500 acre area of the ranch had already been fenced off to protect indigenous wildlife and allow them to live their natural life without interference or threat from humans.
Lake Naivasha and Crescent Island - An afternoon boat ride in Lake Naivasha plus a walking safari in Crescent Island. Crescent Island is one of the few places in the world where one can wander on foot amidst wild animals - there are no predators!
Maasai Mara Game Reserve - no trip to Kenya is complete without visiting the Mara! The spectacle of predator versus prey dominates Kenya’s greatest park. Golden-maned lion prides feast on the abundance of plain grazers. Solitary leopards haunt the acacia trees lining the Mara River, while cheetahs prowl the plains. Yet even when the migration is quiet, the Mara offers arguably the most scintillating game-viewing in Africa; great herds of buffalo, smaller groups of elephant and giraffe, and thousands of elands, buffaloes, impalas and Grant’s gazelles
The Mara was also where we had a spectacular balloon safari experience, taking off, rising as the sun rises and floating in whichever direction the winds of the morning take us. The pilot precisely controls the altitude of your balloon: sometimes flying at treetop height, sometimes lower, offering a unique perspective and great photographic opportunities of the wildlife - see below for a picture of just how close we were to a giraffe's actual height!
From time to time the pilot must put more heat into the balloon with the powerful whisper burners. In between these burns, there is silence apart from the natural sounds below. It is to be seen to be believed.
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