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Hi All, I’ve been asked by a few posters, to give some feedback on my Kenyan & Uganda safaris, I have just arrived at oi Tukai Lodges in Amboseli NP, I just had to share the video link below, we have an uninterrupted view of Ambolesi plains, with Mount Kilimanjaro emerging from the right, I will update as I go along, over the next 3 weeks.
Amboseli NP,
Date of visit 22/08/2024.
Overcast/Sunny.
Weather – morning around 16c – 18c.
Afternoon – 23c – 26c..
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We stayed in OI TUKAI Lodges, approximately a 5 hour drive from Nairobi, for two nights,a 45 min off road trip, from the main road, a bit of a back breaker! OI TUKAI is actually in the park, so the only thing between our lodge and the wildlife is a 5 ft electric fence! With an unobstructed view of the plains, from our balcony or from the deck of the restaurant. I must say, viewing Zebra Elephants, wilder beast, Gazelle etc, close up is one of the best views I’ve ever had while dining. The meals were buffet oriented, plenty of western choices. My wife’s a fussy eater, and she always found something. Unlimited bottled water is supplied with all meals,
You pay extra for any other drink.
Prices were reasonable, a 500ml bottle of beer was 600 KES, around £3.60pWe opted for the luxury lodge, full mosquito netting around large queen sized bed, decent accommodation, standard mixer shower, two taps manual mix, sink, fair water pressure, good quality toilet tissue, 4 glass bottles of water supplied a day, soft closing toilet seat!!!!
There are monkeys all around the lodge areas, same as we’ve experienced in accommodation areas in Ubud Bali.
We were told to keep our door shut , as they will enter and steal anything, one did enter so quickly while we were on the decking, but managed to chase it out. There was an open fire to sit around in the evening, a bar area, with a wide range of alcoholic and soft beverages.Amboseli is not a big park compared to the Mara, but two days was more than enough to see everything, you certainly wouldn’t need more than that, or you would be repeating the viewing.
There are many game drive options to choose from, but we had a game drive at 4pm, a few hours after arriving at our lodge, then another one the next day after breakfast 7am, and another one at 4pm the same day.
We saw elephants, wilder beast, Gazelle, Male lion, two female lions, water hogs, Zebra, Hippopotamus out and in the water, and saw a cheetah with 4 cubs, which we were told was very rare, so we were very lucky indeed to tick everything off our list for Amboseli NP.The next day was repeated, apart from the evening drive which was later, as we wanted to see the Hyenas, that are nocturnal, and we were not disappointed, we saw two. Walking through the grass and the in front of us along the road. We also drove up to the viewing deck for a panoramic 360 degree view of the entire park, as far as the eye can see.
All the drivers have a CB radio, so if anything is spotted, it’s easier to locate for all in the park, These guys seem to have a second sense as to where each and every animal will be. Their spotting abilities are amazing. You need a good driver on your game drive, it makes it so much better.
We took US dollar notes, as they are accepted at most places, we also took credit cards, and the Currensea card.I’ve covered the basics, but, please ask any questions you may have on any of the above.
We are traveling to Lake Naivasha Sopa lodges today, 24/8/ for one night, around a 5 hour drive from Ambolesi NP, once there we are going on a boat trip plus a crescent island tour of Lake Naivasha. I will report back once this leg completed.
Sopa lodge, Lake Naivasha,
Date of visit 24/08/2024,
Weather – Overcast/Sunny,
morning around 18c – 20c, Afternoon – 20c – 24c.We traveled to Sopa lake Naivasha, from Oi Tukai Amboseli NP, by road, it took approximately 5 hours, the British moan about pot holes on our roads, but you need to travel any distance on the roads in Kenya to see what a road that has not been maintained really looks like!
We arrived at Sopa lodge, Lake Naivasha, around 3pm, we were due to go on a boat cruise on the lake, but my wife was tired, so we decided to decline that, even though we had paid in advance.
The Sopa lodge Lake Naivasha was a great property, (tripadvisor link below)there were 3 giraffes greeting us as we entered the security gates, and drove along the internal road, from the main road,
https://share.icloud.com/photos/093WcuRgr5cbZXB2wW0L10Yqw
Check in was smooth, we were handed over by our safari driver, and we all were given hot scented towels to refresh our faces, and a glass of juice.
We were shown to our room, cases were taken by two porters, (this was the case, excuse the pun, with every lodge we stayed at in Kenya)
A few dollars tip for each was well received.On the walk to our room we passed three Zebras, literally 4 feet from us, this was the case throughout the resort, 5 giraffe, 30 zebra, and many deer,
https://share.icloud.com/photos/09bfWBcXZ9ur21NCwmv1ar1VgThe room was spacious, all standard features, wooden desk drawers etc, open wooden shelves for clothes storage etc, bathroom was fairly modern, with rain shower, good water pressure and plenty of hot water. The balcony had table and two chairs with a view across the main park area, with lake Naivasha bordering the property.
We only stayed one night, but dinner and breakfast was buffet style, and the food was very good, there was also a live band playing during dinner and into early evening. Bar available through out the day.
All in all, this was a great lodge that we would absolutely return to without doubt.
I will be submitting a Masai Mara NR review shortly, together with the lodge accommodation we stayed at.
Maasai Mara NR,
Date of visit 25th & 26th August 2024.
Overcast/Sunny.
Weather – morning around 16c – 18c.
Afternoon – 23c – 26c.Note, the Amboseli park fees were challenged in parliament, and they were not increased, so remain at the same rate as 2023. But the Maasai Mara fees have increased to $200 for 2024 from $80 for peak season, a large increase! Off peak fees have hardly changed.
Also the previous 24 hours day ticket to enter the park, has now been reduced to 12 hours, everything it’s electronically checked once you purchase your park ticket, as when you leave your accommodation within the park on your last day, you are stopped on the main road outside by officials, who scan the game drivers ticket to make sure you have left the park, and not stayed within it.
There are many fines for certain things, our driver ventured off the track to allow us an amazing picture of a pride of lions eating a recent buffalo kill, this one he got away with, but later in the day, he done the same for a close up of a leopard under a tree, this time the rangers where watching from a distance, and he was followed and stopped, along with 3 other game drivers and they were fined 10k KES around $80 each, this would rise 3 fold if not paid, along with a park ban! This was paid before we entered the park on the second day day.
We arrived at the Maasai Mara Sopa lodge around 1pm, check in was quick, fruit drink and scented wet flannels were offered, and eagerly accepted after a 6 hour drive from Lake Naivasha Sopa lodge. The last 1.5 hours was a bumpy dust track off the main road, with broken crumbling ducts over small rivers to navigate over, a true back breaker! We were in a Toyota Land Cruiser, which I guess softened the blow a tad.
This particular lodge was a let down, compared to the ones in Amboseli NP and Lake Naivasha, the lodge was very basic, and a very steep incline to reach our room, plus power was turned off between 2pm & 5pm because the site was powered by a generator. Staff were pleasant and the food, breakfast, lunch and dinner was a buffet affair as at every lodge. The bar area was pleasant, with a very large open fire lit every night.There were baboons and small deer wandering around the lodge but nothing like the spectacle that we witnessed in Sopa lodge, Lake Naivasha.
We had our first game drive that evening 4pm to 6pm, we witnessed a pride of lions eating its recent kill, also saw many bush elephants, loins, Gazelle & thompson gazelle, buffalo, zebra. Meerkats, Giraffes.
You can’t appreciate how big this reserve is until you’re in it! There were signs saying “**** Lodge 80 km, this way” (still within the reserve) with an arrow pointing in the direction. The reserve is big enough that unless there is a call over the CB radio that there is a photo opportunity somewhere, you only see another vehicle in the distance, or in passing on the same internal track.
We returned to Sopa lodge to rest for the evening, we started out on our second game drive at 7am the following morning, after breakfast, the lodge packed us a lunch, there were a few options to choose from, egg, meat, vegetarian,
All with yogurt, crisps, biscuits, wraps, apple and orange, fruit drink, tissues, wet wipes.We had this lunch on a blanket in an area that was deemed safe, around 12pm under a tree that protected us from the sun, a great photo opportunity, to show that you had lunch in the Maasai Mara!
I’ve no social media accounts so the insta perfect picture was wasted on me 😂.There are 5 main entrances to the reserve, obviously, we took the nearest one to our lodge (not sure of the name of the entry gate, though)
As with every reserve or NP you get bombarded with Maasai people at the gate, selling their wares, while the driver goes to obtain the entry pass, you can opt to purchase, or if you politely say no thank you, after a few minutes, they get the hint, and move onto the next 4X4 in the line.
We found a mix of cultures, mostly Chinese, they loved their cameras, with telephoto lenses, some, well deserving of a tripod rest to support them! Also Americans, and a fair amount of British,
There are armed guards, on the hotel exit barrier, and at the park entrances, something we never saw at Amboseli NP.
We entered the park around 7:30am, we saw the same amount of and type of animals we had the good fortune to see, on the previous evenings game drive.
We also witnessed a leopard lying in a tree, and hippopotamus and crocodile in the Mara river, we also saw a female lion with 3 cubs, and three male lions resting under a tree, then moving, while roaring. A day and a half was enough to see everything in the park, we were told we were particularly lucky to witness a pride of lions eating a kill, as they normally hunt approximately once a week.
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There are of course many companies offering services for safaris in Kenya, so you just need to look at the reviews, and make an informed decision which one suits your tailored needs, and budget, all the companies are very flexible. We used the below, for a start, which is a kind of comparison site, and hugely helpful.
https://www.safaribookings.com/tours/kenya
We opted for peak season, as we wanted to witness the great migration, but unfortunately for us we were disappointed, as it had already occurred, this cannot be guaranteed, as there is a big time window, and also depends on the rains, if you do witness it, consider yourself to have hit the jackpot of experiences in Kenya.
We will be flying to Uganda, in a few days, on a second safari trip to QENP, Kalinzu Game Reserve, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park for game drive en route in Ishasha sector in search of tree climbing lions, Mountain Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable rain forest, and transfer to Lake Bunyonyi for an evening boat cruise. Once completed, we will pass through Rwanda, and take a Rwandair flight back from KGL to NBO. This saves 6 hours travelling back to our entry airport of EBB in Uganda.
I will report on the Uganda trip once completed.
Following on from Kenya, we flew to Mombasa, for a week’s rest at an AI property on Nyali beach.
We then flew into Entebbe Uganda, Via Nairobi, as there were not direct flights from MBA to EBB.Weather, warm, temperature 23to 25c sunny/ Cloudy,
We stayed overnight in a small guest house over looking lake Victoria, we were the only guests there, so the owner joined us for dinner and a chat, no air conditioning, with the windows open and a ceiling fan that was at maximum speed, there was little effect to reduce the temperature in the room, as it was around 21c overnight,
We requested a takeaway breakfast for the following morning, which was duly presented to us. as we had an early start, up at 5:30, picked up by our safari driver, James at 6:30,
We started out, via the toll road, to avoid the chaotic traffic in Kampala.
First stop was the equator at Kayabwe , for a great photo opportunity, and breakfast, this was a 2 hour drive.Continued on our way, a total drive of 10 hours in medium to heavy rain, some of the way, but it cleared 4 hours into our journey, it was overcast, but warm (23c) when we reached ( QENP) Queen Elizabeth National Park.
We saw a mating pair of male and female lions, wilder beast, Kob’s (similar to gazelle) the park was much quieter (tourist wise) than the Masai mara, and the animal density was limited also. But we saw Water buffalo. Guinea fowl, hippopotamus, Water hogs. A pride of 8 lions, two females and six cubs, with a fresh water buffalo kill.
We left QENP, at around 6:45pm as that is when the park closes at the various entry and exit points, and you don’t want to be stuck in a park with many predators, and things that go bump in the night!
We finally arrived at Mweya safari lodge looking over lake Edward, at around 7:15pm, after check in, we had a shower, dinner, and the. Tucked in for the night, as it was a very long day.
We left Mweya safari lodge the following morning, at 6am and headed to Kalinzu Game Reserve, for chimpanzee trekking, we were accompanied by a guide and a ranger, armed with a AK47! these weapons are an every day sight over here and in Kenya, for guards and security personnel. We were told the armed ranger was there to scare off any other predators that we may come into contact with in the canopy, but I think it was more to do with being close to the border of the DRC, where some ADF Militants crossed over into the QENP and killed two British tourists on their honeymoon, and their driver/Guide a year earlier. They were all tracked down and shot dead, apart from one who is now in prison in Uganda.
There are road blocks all around the area now, patrolled by security all in possession of AK47 rifles, there seems to be anticipation of another attack, but we did not feel threatened or worried in any way.
Anyway, back to the Kalinzu Game Reserve, we entered the reserve from the 4X4 on a dirt track off the main road, and started our trek, it was around 25c, and quite humid in the forest, so it was quite difficult, as the route was up and down, some areas were very over grown, so our guide had to cut a path for us with his machete, we had a few breaks on the way, and an hour into the trek, we could hear Chimpanzees calling in the distance, we were guided in to the area by communication from other guides, via radio. We arrived at the location, and witnessed several chimpanzees high up in the canopy, moving around, some coming down quite low, around 5 to 10 metres from the ground, so we had some great photos and videos of them. Throughout our trip, I thought to myself, I’ve only seen these animals on documentary programmes, like planet earth, but now we are here and seeing them for ourselves, although we have photos and videos, these are not the same as actually being there to whiteness these fantastic primates.
We spent around 2 to 3 hours in the park before our trek out.Our driver picked us up at the roadside, after we exited, via a tea plantation where the plots had signs on them, dictating when the trees were planted, one dated back to 1960! We then traveled to Mweya lodge, where we were staying for two nights, overlooking the Kazinga channel, where we had a channel cruise, we observed elephants, hippos, crocodiles, and many bird species, we had to moor on the bank for 30 minutes, as we were caught in a rare storm, which was rocking the boat, we made it back to the quayside, so all was good in the end. We retired to the lodge for the evening for some well earned rest.
The next morning we started out early on route to Bwindi impenetrable rain forest, in search of mountain Gorillas, on route we stopped in the QENP Ishasha sector in search of tree climbing loins, and we were not disappointed, it was a spectacle to witness these loins lying and climbing in the trees.
After several hours and some spectacular mountain road travel and scenery, we arrived at Haven Lodge in Buhoma, on the edge of the Bwindi forest, the views from the restaurant and our lodge room was breathtaking, the weather was warm, and we had a light shower, and you could see the mist rising, as the rain was coming into contact with the forest.
We settled in for the afternoon and evening before our trek in the morning.
We started out at 7am, to a briefing area, we were told what to expect and what was expected of us once we come into contact with the Gorillas, we were treated to a vibrant dance from the local Buhoma women, which was very well received, once this briefing was concluded we traveled for about 30 minutes to an entry point to the Bwindi forest that was classed as an easy route, not too many inclines, there are many entry points to the forest, depending on a persons stamina and capability, we opted for the easy route, as the trip was starting to take its toll on my wife, with the long drives early mornings and miles of walking. There were some elderly and disabled people that were carried in chairs by Sherpas, this incurred a cost of around $200 to $300 IIRC.We were in a group of 8, and everyone had an option of a Sherpa to carry our backpacks and help us along the way for a fee of $20, which we accepted, we only had a small rucksack which was light, these young men take it in turns to come along to earn some money, once every couple of weeks or so, depending on the volume of tourists, so we welcomed the services of one of these pleasant chaps, and he was grateful.
We trekked for about an hour before the guides bought us to a group of 11 mountain Gorillas, 2 silverbacks and 9 others, females and their young.
We had to wear face coverings once we met them, to prevent any possible spreading of disease. We could not have hoped for more, we were in amazement by how close we managed, and were allowed to get to them, I was within a few feet of a silverback that came towards me and stopped to eat, with the guide saying don’t move! As you have to keep your nerve and stay still if they come towards you, as they can charge if you move suddenly or run! there were gorillas all around us.We were allowed an hour with them, which seemed like 10 minutes, as we knew this was going to be the highlight of our trip, and oh boy it did not disappoint, we will never forget our encounter with these wonderful primates. We exited the forest, and collected our certificates one by one, to applause.
The $100 pp permits to enter the forest goes to the conservation effort, and towards the singe mums of the Buhoma village that is on the edge of the forest, money well spent in my opinion.By the time we had left Buhoma, it was lunchtime, so we stopped off for some lunch in a local picnic area, then onto our last lodge, Birdsnest at Lake Bunyonyi, we were supposed to have a cruise around the lake, but we declined this and just stayed at the lodge for the evening instead, also giving our guide some rest as he was driving very long distances. We always tipped the guides and drivers $20 which we were told was the going rate, also a few dollars to the staff at the lodges.
The next morning, we traveled across the border to Kigali airport in Rwanda so we could fly back to Nairobi, we returned back to the Hyatt Regency Westlands for a couple of nights, then flew home, this was a night flight, as opposed to the day flight out, so we were glad we had a CS, there were so many things to see and do, that I’ve probably forgotten a few things, but I think I’ve added the main trip elements.
Me and my wife loved every minute of this trip, even though it was not a relaxing holiday, but we knew this would be the case, we are glad we accomplished it now, before we get to old and miss out on what has been a spectacular trip.
I would definitely recommend anyone to try a safari of some kind. You will not regret it. I will add a few of my favourite pictures/Videos below.https://share.icloud.com/photos/006IpVnJziv-Z_pcYX3hMiaug
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How strenuous was the hike to the gorillas?
How strenuous was the hike to the gorillas?
We are in our late 50’s so we took the easy route, about an hour trek to reach the Gorillas, there are medium and harder routes depending on your stamina, it’s your choice! But for us it was ok, as you are not on the go all the time, you stop a few times along the way, to rest, just need water, camera/Phone, and hiking boots, some inclines and some descents, not steep though, well worth the effort.
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