AN OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFE TIME ; VISITING KENYA ON SAFARI

I finally managed to visit Kenya in the 3rd week of August 2018 . Although I was planning this for a few years, it did not materialize for different reasons but I was lucky to contact Ncar travels and was offered to go alone and join a group in Kenya through their ground agent and got a very attractive and competitive price.  Though there were a couple of glitches as always, those did not have any impact on the program of the tour which included 3 nights in the renowned Masai Mara and one night in Lake Nakuru. I was Able to see all big 5 in Mara and though did not exactly see the wilder beast migration for which you need some luck , I had the privilege of seeing a big population of WILDER BEAST  lining up and moving in unison towards the river in the  plains. As usual I was able to see quite a few white Rhinos and the domiciled Lesser  Flamingos in Nakuru.
The bottom line  was being able to get some decent photos  in one of the most sort after  wild life destinations in the world thus ticking off one in my bucket list.

The Masai Mara National Reserve is each year visited by thousands of tourists, who come here to watch the many different wildlife and bird life species in the reserve. The reserve is especially famous for the high amount of predators, such as lions and cheetah, and the 1.5 million wildebeest which migrate through the Mara and cross the crocodile infested Mara river.

The Masai Mara National Reserve as it appears today was established in 1961, and covers 1,510 sq km (583 sq miles.

When visiting the Masai Mara you are likely to see the famous Big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo. Especially lions are common here, and have grown relatively accustomed to their two-legged visitors, which makes them easier to spot. The Mara Plains are teeming with wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, impala and Thomson's gazelle. Also cheetahs, hyenas and jackals are seen regularly in the reserve. In the Mara River large amounts of hippos and crocodiles are enjoying their lives - the crocodiles are especially happy in July and November when thousands of wildebeest migrate across the river causing a sumptuous feast for the hungry crocodiles. Bird life in Masai Mara are abundant and diverse. Species such as eagles, ostriches, storks and vultures are among the more than 50 different birds of prey.

This is the Mara entrance we used called Oloolaimutia





Lions were in abundance in Mara

Majestic,,...

Female Sooty  Chat

A Common Male Ostrich

Masai Giraffe

Saddled Billed Stork

Gathering of Wilder Beast

 Wilder Beast Migration on land moving towards the river......

The Great Rift Valley

A Thompsons Gazelle

A male GREATER kUDU

Impala

Topi


Kob


Bohar Reedbuck



Grant's Gazelle






Hadada Ibis

The Great Rift Valley

Elephants were scarce....

Velvet Monkey

A family of Hippapotamous

A Juvenile Nile Crocodile

African Helmeted Guinea Fowl




Southern Grosbeak Canary

wild Buffaloes

Rock Agma Lizard

Bare Faced Go away

Egyptian Goose

Crowned Lapwing

The Secretary Bird

Woodland Kingfisher

warthog

A Cheeta just after a kill

Lapet Faced Vulturs

White Backed Vulture

Ruepplells Griffon Vultures

An Albino ZEEBRA with  the  common






Superb Starling

Marabou Stork

Sunrise in Mara

Very Rare Serval Cat

Black Backed Jakal





Red Billed Ox pecker

Olive Baboons

Seeing a Leopard in Mara is very rare. and a big achievement ...

A black Rhino in Mara

Lake Nakuru is one of the Rift Valley soda lakes at an elevation of 1,754 m (5,755 ft) above sea level. It lies to the south of Nakuru, in the rift valley of Kenya and is protected by Lake Nakuru National Park.

The lake's abundance of algae used to attract a vast quantity of flamingos that famously lined the shore. Other birds also flourish in the area, as do warthogs, baboons and other large mammals. Eastern black rhinos and southern white rhinos have also been introduced.

The lake's level dropped dramatically in the early 1990s but has since largely recovered. In 2013, the lake received an alarming increase in the water levels that led to the migration of flamingos to Lake Bogoria in search for food supply. .^[2]

Nakuru means "Dust or Dusty Place" in the Maasai language. Lake Nakuru National Park, close to Nakuru town, was established in 1961. It started off small, only encompassing the famous lake and the surrounding mountainous vicinity, but has since been extended to include a large part of the savannahs

Speckled Pigeon






Little Weaver





Mantled  Colobus Monkey


Lake Nakuru


Rothchild's Giraffe in Lake Nakuru









Lake Nakuru

Lesser Flamingos in Lake Nakuru

Hamerkop

White Rhinos in Lake Nakuru

Cross Tailed  Drongo

Augur Buzzard

Male Sooty Chat

Laughing Dove

Pied Kingfisher

 African Wattled Lapwing


Yellow Billed Stork