Thursday's Travel Tales & Tips: My Trip to Kenya Pt. 3

It's time to link up your travel posts again.  And, look I actually remembered it was Thursday....on Thursday.  (Of course the 5 hour power outage and slower then molasses internet delayed things a bit.)  A novel idea, I know.  Last week I posted more about my Kenyan adventures (up close and person adorable animals) and there was also this great post about "why not to travel"; check it out!  I can't wait to check out your links this week!  (Don't forget to check out the rules.)

***********************************************

My Kenyan adventure continues with a safari!  I never in my life would have thought I would get to do something so very cool.  It was amazing.

We went a few hours outside of Nairobi to Lake Nakuru National Park.  (The one thing to know about Lake Nakuru is that it is a smaller game park, with less animals, and it has no elephants because of it's size.  But, because it is so small your chances of seeing everything are great and it is perfect for a 1-2 day safari.) On our way we stopped at a lookout to see over the Great Rift Valley. 

It was a beautiful view (and this poor picture does it no justice).

We stayed at the Lake Nakuru Lodge.  The rooms were very nice and our rooms overlooked the national park with cape buffalo right outside the fence line (and the occasional monkey or baboon visitor inside the fence).  The food was delicious and we ate lunch outside overlooking the park.  The Lodge was a wonderful place to stay and we enjoyed it very much.

 Driving through the National Park up to the Lodge.

Our room and the view from it out into the National Park.

Cape buffalo right outside the fence from whee we were staying.

Our driver/guide was excellent.  He drove slowly on our way into the park and we saw many animals.  Then we had a late afternoon drive after lunch, a dip in the awesome pool, tea time, and a nap.  The next morning we grabbed a quick bit to eat, did an early morning drive, came back and showered and packed, and checked out.  On the way out our guide drove slowly again so we could see more, and we stopped at the "Out of Africa" lookout to get a last view of the park.

A quick dip in the pool. 

Afternoon tea.  I loved this about Kenya! 

The whole crew in the very cool safari van.

 Giraffe crossing in front of us.

 Lions; oh my!

 Carcass.

White rhinos; they were one of my faves.

Look Daddy; I'm up at the crack of dawn smiling at lions.

Heading to water early in the morning.

The "Out of Africa" over look.

It was a short safari, but I am so glad we did it.

There are lots of places you can safari at while in Kenya.  I would also recommend Masai Mara National Reserve or Nairobi National Park (depending upon where you fly into, how long you have, what time of year it is (during rainy seasons some areas are much harder to get to), and what kind of experience you would like).

The last place I want to share with you about on our Kenyan adventure was a cultural center called The Bomas of Kenya.  The cost is 600 ksh (about $8)/adult and 300ksh (about $4).  A group of dancers do traditional dances to traditional music dressed in traditional costumes representing each of the tribes in Kenya.  It was very neat to see the similarities and differences of each tribe.  They also have replicas of different traditional tribal villages that you can tour.

Traditional dancers.

Husband's hut of one tribe.

1st Wife's hut of another tribe.

My biggest tip for a trip to Kenya: have a really good camera.  That is my one regret.

*******************************************************************