Saturday, Feb 25th, Amboseli Reserve

Greetings!

We gained some travelmates this morning from Florida among the newbie’s, the rest reinforcing the Canadians from Vancouver and Toronto. I got some of their names, but was having so much difficulty hearing, I didn’t try very hard. Thankfully, we found a pharmacy on the way out of town, where we purchased some ear wax solution.

Sharon and Junia joined Tralee, Pat, and I with Joseph, and we were off to Amboseli National Reserve near the Tanzania border. The road was the main highway used to support traffic to Mombassa, so it was fairly well-paved. Villages front it for miles out of Nairobi, and the truck exhaust can be overwhelming. Joseph is skilled in passing them up, and will have our love forever for his care.

Amboseli Serena Wildlife Game Lodge meets the high standards we experienced at the Nairobi Serena, and in several in its chain in Egypt. Owned by the Aga Khan, they are really the best places to stay in the best places to go. From the moment you’re greeted with warm, minted towels and cold juice at the front steps to the last goodbye at checkout service, you’re treated with courtesy and respect. And the accommodations are beautiful, expansive, and filled with lots of local art and music. We’ll be looking to stay at more of them in our travels.

The Reserve was a little disappointing, however. Coming from Maasai Mara, where close encounters were the norm, the vast treeless desert-like environment made it harder to get close to the variety of animals we had experienced in the past few days. Wanting to share similar encounters with our newbies, we were limited to telephoto and binocular lens views of most of them, except elephants and zebras. They seem to walk constantly, and cross the road frequently, so getting up close is not difficult anywhere. And the babies are so cute it makes up for squinting at giraffes and lions.

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