A full day in Amboseli National Park - what a treat! Even before we set off we had the views of Kilimanjaro from our base at Kibo Camp just outside the gate. Very fleeting, as the cloud came and went during breakfast, but we could make out the top from a vantage point by the pool.
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| Kilimanjaro from Kibo Camp |
As soon as we were ready, we went back into the park and soon found another big herd of elephants.
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| Elephant family - all ages! |
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| Three youngsters sticking together... |
We came across some birds showing off their finery
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| Punky Black-headed Heron |
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| Hadada Ibises showing off their iridescent feathers |
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| The Secretary Bird was showing off its crest too |
...and a lovely young Thomson's Gazelle
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| Baby Tommy |
The clouds cleared enough to let us see the snow on Kilimanjaro, which got me wondering how much there would be on Mount Kenya...
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| Snow on Kilimanjaro |
There are several large clumps of palm trees
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| Zebra herd and palm trees |
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| Little Bee-eater |
Then we came in sight of Observation Hill, otherwise known as Noomotio, and Lake Amboseli:
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| Approaching Lake Amboseli with Noomotio in the background |
Lots of bird around the lake, of course...
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| Red-capped Lark |
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| Spoonbills and Egyptian Geese |
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| Glossy Ibis |
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| Black-winged Stilt |
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| Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse family - mum, baby and dad, all with different camouflage! |
...and some animals too
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| Hippos out of the water for once! |
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| Spotted Hyena |
We walked up Noomotio to the viewpoint at the top - ou can see a long, long way from up there...
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| Jesper and Jonathan at the viewpoint |
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| Even elephants look tiny in this landscape |
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| The path back down to the car |
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| This dragonfly has black squares on the end of its wings - they seem to spin round when it flies |
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Next we headed back towards the gate, past the aerodrome...
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| Ostrich and Kori Bustard |
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| Silver-backed Jackal with Gnus |
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| Silver-backed Jackal resting |
Jonathan said, "Look, there's a hippo"
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| Hippo? What hippo? |
...and there it was, but far from obvious - it seemed to have a sore back, lots of small cracks all over it
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| Hippo hiding in the swamp |
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| Crowned Cranes with chick |
Back at Kobi Camp
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| My tent |
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| My verandah |
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| Brown-faced Mongoose just across the path from my tent |
At the end of the afternoon, we went for a walk - just a leg-stretch, and came across some Marabou Storks. They're not exactly pretty, but their blue back feathers are very smart
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| Nice feathers... |
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| ...shame about the baggy bit |
Jesper got really excited bout this old truck - a truly ancient Toyota, but it still goes
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| Tough old truck! |
Whereas I was much more interested in this little chap
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| d'Arnaud's Barbet |
I hadn't been able to see it properly because of the bright sun, so it was a great surprise to see the photo had come out so well.
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