Kim, Damian and Nell

We started the day with a brilliant sunrise over the hillside along lake Naivasha. There was bird activity including a Pied Kingfisher and Great Cormorant. Also we surprisingly mistook an African Otter for a Hippopotamus!? This was all followed by a rapid camp disassembly and packing of the truck. Breakfast was picnic style with home fries, toast, sausage and passion fruit. We also had the pleasure of seeing Damian’s tiger tattoo (it exists). Kim made close contact with a colobus family.

We departed camp Carnelly’s at 9:30am ready for the 7-8 hour journey to Masai Mara. Fifteen minutes into the trip, we encountered 4-5 roadside Masai Giraffes feeding on flat top acacias. Amber’s whole trip was made. We continued to the town of Narok where we had a 45 minutes cultural/shopping endeavour in the town of Narok. The stop was a local mall with high security. Many of us picked up some Kenyan Java coffee. Our short walk around town was filled with welcomes and requests for purchasing items at ‘student prices’ from locals. By 1pm we headed in the HMS Tusker off for Mara Springs Safari Camp. We noticed a drastic change in topography. As well as plant life from lush dense agricultural setting to open Savannah’s with grazing livestock. Due to heavy construction we took a detour down side roads that were not well-maintained. This made us feel like we were in a HMS Tusker bounce house, leaving us both exhausted and somewhat nauseated. We look forward to paved roads and solid (flat) ground.

As we neared the Camp, there was a transition into condensed rural lifestyle. With higher prevalence of traditional Masai attire. We tumbled down the slanted valley hillside to camp. We excitedly jumped out of the HMS Tusker and could not wait to set up our tents. Sydney, Damian and Hayden went on a short excursion to catch the elusive “Skink” but came back with a Kenyan Dwarf Gecko. This his was followed by Dr. Lougheed’s affectionate expression towards their find and a lizard fashion shoot. Our night concluded with a much needed Bunduz dinner of white rice, vegetable sauce, fresh green beans/carrots, and fruit made by Eucabetha, Mia and Franco.