Kenya- one of the greatest natural shows on earth

 “The eye never forgets what the heart has seen.” – African Proverb

The seemingly empty plain of the Masai Mara

My heart saw a tiny bit of Kenya and it was wonderful. I thought I would get safari-ed out, but each game drive opened new vistas for us, from little colourful birds to the big five. We saw four of the Big Five, keeping one for next time.

A large Cormorant complains that we are getting too close?

Lake Naivasha was but a curtain raiser for what was to come. A boat ride took us to an island where we saw many different types of waterbirds. 

The ubiquitious zebra, we saw this everywhere

We also saw zebras and wildebeest; little did we know then that they were plentiful everywhere and later we were wading through them to see other animals.

Lions resting on a tree. If one looks closely at the lioness on the right it seems
to have just come out of cub-hood as there are faint spots on its hindquarters.

This is where we saw lions on trees though they are poor tree climbers. Possibly one of their ancestors climbed and now all of them here go atop trees.

A veritable kaleidoscope of colour, behind these thousands of pink flamingos
there are many waterbirds, not without reason is it called the greatest bird show on earth

Lake Nakuru is said to be the greatest bird show on earth and it did not disappoint us.  The shores were filled with pink Lesser Flamingos with a few Greater ones thrown in; Great White Pelicans, Cormorants, the odd eagle and osprey and of course the ubiquitous and famous Lilac Breasted Roller. 

A perfect ambush site, this lion supervises the hunt 

... a warthog, crusty old fellow, later maybe he will make a good snack...

Very few animals reach old age, because they are prey to another animal before then. Animals of prey hunt for the very old, the infirm and very young which they try and cut out from the herd.  It is the law of the jungle which mandates survival of the fittest.

... while this lioness waits for prey

The endless plains interspersed by lone trees or greenery following water-courses seem empty, the grass varied from a close-cropped few inches to over five feet. Here were the hunters and the hunted going on in the primordial circle of life, factoring in the safari vehicles with nary an evolutionary hiccup.

This cheetah licks its lips in anticipation of the meal, which it didn't
get this time 

Many animals had off-spring, I photographed elephants and baboons with young, baby animals look so cute when they are small (anthropomorphic?) but grow up to be big animals that attack when threatened.  

A herd of matriarchs with their young of different ages and sizes...

... there were baboons everywhere and the very young took a ride on mama's 
back, slipping down to take a sip of milk or inspect something

A family of rhinos, are the three are bonding?

One afternoon we went to a Masai village, at a cost of course and one couldn't help but thinking that it was an act put on for tourists. The Masai were herdsmen and fierce warriors of the days gone by, killing a lion when they attained manhood. But now the government prohibits lion hunting and the Masai are as modern as you and I, donning traditional clothing when tourists visit their villages.

A Masai tribesman peeps into his house to see if the tourists have arrived...

 Was this what the Garden of Eden was before man trampled all over it? Probably the closest we will get to it.

“To witness that calm rhythm of life revives our worn souls and recaptures a feeling of belonging to the natural world. No one can return from the (Masai Mara) unchanged, tawny lions will forever prowl our memory and great herds throng our imagination.” – George Schaller