A trip to Amboseli

Last week I visited the Amboseli national park, in the southern part of Kenya. This is the land famed by elephant herds, the majestic Mt Kilimanjaro and most recently the flamingos have become a good addition to the over 400 bird species that call this place home. The landscape is mostly flat land, and its stunningly beautiful. This also makes it great for photography. An additional surprise to many travelers is Lake Amboseli, and it happens to be in the middle of the park. The lake attracts many animals and birds. There are many swamps as well. The water flows from the Kilimanjaro into these swamps and lake, and in some places the water is crystal clear. 

All covid safety protocols are adhered to. Hotel staff, park rangers and guests are all wearing masks and sanitizing. Maintaining social distancing has become a new norm. At the park gates there are hand washing stations as well. You will find this in place in the camps and lodges too. 

The Amboseli was virtually empty, I could hardly see any cars on game drive. However, this did not take anything away from the magic that's always in store when on safari in Africa. I enjoy my game drives, even if I don't see any of the big five. I am a birding enthusiast as well so I can be easily distracted by birds. On this particular drive I entered the park through the Kimana gate which is on the eastern side of the park. Tim, the charming bull elephant and famous big tusker died close to Kimana gate. 

After driving for about 10 minutes looking around for animals, I heard a bird like call and I immediately stopped to check around on what it was. The call was constant as I scanned around the plains searching for what it was. Then from the corner of my eyes I caught some movement in the distance. I stop the vehicle and looked, a slender spotted cat in the distance. I obviously could recognize the bird like call and I knew what animal it was. I was thrilled to bits to see a cheetah. It was far to get any good pictures but I still savored the moment. Cheetahs are fast declining into extinction with only about 7,000 individuals left in the wild across the globe. This was a mother cheetah, and I suspect she was calling out to her cubs. I could not see any cub and after about 10 minutes I lost sight of the cheetah as she walked into the tickets. That brought to an end my short appointment with the spotted cat. I love photographing cheetahs, they are more active compared to lions and leopards. They have slender bodies that are built for speed and they are very photogenic. Moving away from the cheetah sighting, I had incredible elephant sightings, an Amboseli trademark. There were lots of other animals that are always interesting to observe and photograph like zebras, giraffes, wildebeests, buffaloes, flamingos and pelicans.

Here are some of the pictures from that drive. I still am in Amboseli and I will share with you more pictures and stories... Until next time, be safe!

A cheetah in the distance

Zebras and Mt Kilimanjaro