Kenya - The Safari and Beach

Long overdue, I know.

Anyways, one of the many perks of attending the Wedding was the opportunity to go off to Masai Mara for a night. The (Super) Bride arranged it all for us amidst planning her own wedding and sure enough we were off at 8am on a flight from Nairobi Wilson airport to the Masai Mara National Park.

The plane we got on was rather small, too small to fly above the clouds so we had to settle for flying just below them. You know, the height at which turbulence is at its worst and the plane just dips and dives constantly, giving an awful lurchy feeling in the pit of the stomach. I suppose my epic pig out at breakfast (eight pancakes with fruit and whipped cream and syrup thank you very much) didn't help. Somehow we landed and we got out of the plane with rather shaky feet to be greeted by our guide Francis. The four of us paid the Park entrance fee and piled into the jeep to be driven off to our lodge.

On the way we spotted a kill right by the roadside and the tawny hide of the lioness was beautifully camouflaged against the brown of the savannah grass. Spot the lioness anyone?Later she came out for a walk. It was my very first lioness sighting so I was understandably excited and trigger happy with my camera.
We then went on to our lodge. It was fantastic! These were our rooms.
This was the view from our window. At night the animals (mostly zebra) came right up close.
After lunch we went out for another drive. We spotted another gang of lions and a few random elephants in the distance. The first zebra sighting was cool as we were zebra noobs.
But then the novelty quickly wore off.
I quite like birdwatching so it was very cool to see birds like this scarlet horn-bill calmly walking along the road in front of us.Towards evening the sunset was breathtakingly beautiful. The sky had a hazy look to it, the sort of look that just makes you sigh and feel rather peaceful inside. I just can't explain it any better than that.As the sun dipped down lower, the colours became more intense. This silhouette of an acacia tree against the sky is one of my favourite pictures from this holiday.
The next morning we were up early for the next venture into the park. The sun was already up and the sky was a lovely blue. I cannot believe this is supposed to be winter in Africa. Lucky bastards! The picture below is another favourite, I just love how the vast and empty landscape puts the single lone acacia tree into context.A bit later we chanced upon a kill. The lions had already fed and were sprawled on the road as they were too stuffed to move. I love how damn content this lioness looks;
The sun was too hot for them after a while so two of them walked upto our jeep and lay down by the side, utilising the shade. We obviously utilised the photo-op. Just see how close they are!
All too soon it was time to leave. We drove back to the lodge, packed, had a massive lunch and then waited at the 'airport' (shown below) to be picked up. I felt really sad about leaving.The other highlight of the trip included two nights in Mombasa. It was nice to get away from all the wedding stuff for a bit (don't get me wrong, I loved it all, but going out every single night, getting home late and then having to wake up early for yet more functions, having to dress up and so on gets a bit tiring!). So lounging about a gorgeous beach like this was most welcome.
Unlike SL beaches, the sand was white rather than golden.
(It is actually painful to go through these pictures now whilst sitting at my desk. I look outside the window and I see nothing but grey skies and the sound of rain beating against my window).

The final highlight of the Kenya trip was a visit to the Giraffe Centre (where I managed to get bitten). Here I am feeding one of the baby giraffes. She was adorable! The older giraffes had really long tongues as you can see in this picture.Phew! Apologies for the large number of photos, I tried to keep it low! This was probably the most memorable trip I've ever been on, and will be for a long time to come.