Happy Thanksgiving from Kenya!
I was able to take a long weekend to visit some beautiful sites to the northwest of Nairobi and want to share some photos - sorry about the poor quality; all are from my phone's camera.
Excited to bring a real camera on subsequent trips!
A little map of the key locations for this post; all highly recommended! Total drive time between Nairobi and the top left, Crescent Island (just outside Naivasha Town) is about 3 hours.
We first took a self-guided hike around Crescent Island Game Park, a peninsula into Lake Naivasha. Only very dangerous animal here is the hippo, so we stayed away from the water’s edge. All of the other animals kept their distance.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPYnfsBE9eJrnOH6AWeBQNd8AH9SMVFmQCD-jVHqXqn5tH3GQw95f1dFCsc7k6E186kNJ2vjO7ZMomDSacOIsHttzZcZibiPeVCBH187klhyphenhyphennnzQs3IF11aPGtK2035gMpY96RBCb3geNk/s1600/20141201+Kenya.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPYnfsBE9eJrnOH6AWeBQNd8AH9SMVFmQCD-jVHqXqn5tH3GQw95f1dFCsc7k6E186kNJ2vjO7ZMomDSacOIsHttzZcZibiPeVCBH187klhyphenhyphennnzQs3IF11aPGtK2035gMpY96RBCb3geNk/s1600/20141201+Kenya.jpg)
Adventure buddies, with a giraffe neck between us in the distance.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnsGea4gkqWYj-5ERdq9RX0fLrwGpQ1LVeqMfG-A3hATBEbReF9jQ7y21aBZP3oYz5gtHTSf_Zv8y1RT2_sMTlC89lreBHQ-rGsiWC5XYNaqRAaRI4Ja7wKitukYwcu5dO5VkCA2sQb1Yj/s1600/20141201+Kenya-005.jpg)
Sometimes the animals don’t even notice you’re nearby – this was on our way out of Crescent Island from our jeep.
I love this guy.
After Crescent Island we did some camping in Hell’s Gate National Park where there are many warthogs, zebra, and some baboons.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUDqHNZpJxsZoHnJ30lyfmky8BRkWnTzFmDcL1LpUi5Fub0c3eGJGzyKYaPy7-xgzcgCW9_TaiyXO0EVh2a_dpjgvPBu-cGqGqOeeSdlP9q9ft65v3pISJPLwfr5fzJBotoz1jXYaV4gvc/s1600/20141201+Kenya-010.jpg)
The warthogs are usually found in twos and threes, and usually leaning on their front elbows rooting around for interesting things in the ground.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ee9fMBILvZTaAJBNIpPoJ_H2x_pxmWFqgXZ4iWHei9s7BlDQ6OkoVBTNFZHACS7GJdCeIdbCcu7rMQ2KlE86OPGydKcBqFFD5ocsgVFSLdQ9R0bb3rbflm4fI7u4NOnb_Nt65VSTCK3C/s1600/20141201+Kenya-011.jpg)
We did a short hike into the gorge; there are plenty of seeping rock walls with geothermally heated water coming out. Great formations!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnmtpGGO1hUhFzR_YUjBj7URNlnBJ1yAN1lgOWbe7sXeV8v_7NTuTMpw3tthKPlo18tAUFfCdGl_nkiBFSTwa_auZ-CiYHigvZbXS6SrRNyLwRY1MRemqJ3HwGA1j_xUSaKz5kRoigjdvV/s1600/20141201+Kenya-014.jpg)
Easiest, most delicious camping dinner:
Sachels of diced potato, onion, bell pepper, cheese, butter, and spices, wrapped in foil;
40 mins over a fire or in the coals.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVbLirECZpIxjgk7ugwSfxsKyDzjbilk9Sa-fbm9e2PPglndEZVsMrH6s1_4vlUV2d-uW0dbnpEU6lrVruKjV29YwCaWritS-XHwVPv2M_BHQ6zOs8Igw6b3ZLL_StqnA4qyzALb9NNeqr/s1600/20141201+Kenya-020.jpg)
Massive cliff wall, allegedly inspired portions of the Lion King movie by Disney. Great climbing available and done here.
Next day excursion to Brown’s Cheese farm – make reservations in advance. Browns makes 17 kinds of cheese, and will start exporting to the USA soon!
Taking a tour of the factory; the fresh cheeses go from cow to store shelf in 2-3 days, aged cheeses obviously take longer.
Final stop on the trip was a day hike at Mt Longonot, a volcano that was last active about 150 years ago, and steam vents dot the perimeter. The hike up, around the rim, and back down is about 13 km; about 5 hours.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBORIItZDYtSDejylwnapWJj1r7mx0GvI3VdcpM1I5QrjX2pJ7kukE_3TOfPUdhz9qBHilQm4Oa2Njz9KZqAYmZzYn2K77xPnJ_MnkDgvgUzksumnORl-4Wosg7OKJ83qKNncVbUqeMTEn/s1600/20141201+Kenya-021.jpg)
The view inside the crater, about 2 km across. Allegedly some animals live in the crater, though we could see none, only evidence (droppings) on the rim and trails outward facing.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0NeACqokhYjW8bHys3HfKVlXRDms93N94QkBEDYdiAJJHO4-ejql3YF_8_aUzzL84gVTBtQTIMdePAMPOTVSjtadayMJA1G-R5vqmRkbV8H-VSZXrC3SUGazTD0vXhnjRauOe2LNyIqLy/s1600/20141201+Kenya-018.jpg)
Much of the rim is hiked within a deep channel, usually just about a foot deep for your feet to walk in, but sometimes eroded so far that the walls are over your head! Generally very well protected/not exposed to wind, etc.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.