Africa: Kilimanjaro - Amboseli National Park, Kenya

 Zaddek and Sage had been sick through the night and were still sick when it came time to leave so Mom had to stay with them. Dad, Kaden, and I were the only ones able to go out into Amboseli a second time. Right as we entered the park there was a jeep parked on the side of the road and the passengers were all taking photos of something small in the bushes. As we passed them Dad spotted a small Serval stalking through the undergrowth. Servals are very rare and are no larger than a house cat. They have large ears, stubby tails and their legs and neck are a little longer then a normal cat. He paused at the edge of the road and looked right at us before slinking across the road and into the long grass on the other side.

According to Joe, servals are very difficult to find because they are so small and skittish and usually stay away from humans. After the little serval darted out of sight we continued forward. Not far up the road there were a ton of elephants returning from the cover of the rainforest at the base of Kilimanjaro back to the plains to graze.

 As we were watching the elephants a rainbow formed on the horizon in the morning mist. Just then we spotted a giraffe walking right below it making for an incredible photo.

Then when we were about to leave an elephant decided to follow in the giraffe's footsteps below the rainbow as well.

The rainbow was so bright but soon it faded and we headed towards the marshier areas of the park. Amboseli has a wide range of water birds including Tricoloured herons, African White Pelicans, Egyptian geese, Spoonbills, African Fish Eagles, White faced whistling ducks, and many more.

  

  

One of my favourites was the Black Heron that would spread out its wings casting a shadow that attracts fish looking for a good place to hide from the birds above before striking quickly and getting a beak full of fish.

Deeper in the marsh there was a pod of hippos wading in the water trying to escape the hot sun. And a small family of reed buck.

As we were leaving the marsh we saw a couple of black crowned cranes take flight swooping across the green and blue backdrop of mountains.

We left the marsh behind us and just up the road we spotted a lioness walking along the side of the road with her four cubs. We followed the lioness and the little cubs struggling to keep up with her long strides as they marched their way back towards the marsh.

 After a while with the cubs and the lioness we headed towards the abandoned lodge up the road. The lodge ran out of business and no one else was allowed to rebuild it inside the park. There were a ton of baboons darting around the old buildings and usually there are some lions in seek of shade but we didn't see any this time. Right past the lodge there was a lake with a natural strip of land right through it that makes for a great bridge. As we crossed we saw tons of flamingos feeding in the shallow waters.

Since they were Greater Flamingos they have a lot more white plumage than their cousins the Lesser Flamingo which ironically have a lot more colour. Crossing the bridge we also saw a yellow billed stork and a Hamerkop which are famous for building the largest nests in Africa.

Once we were almost out of the park a pride of lionesses and some older cubs crossed the road right in front of us and into the long grass on the other side.

We decided to cut around to the other side of the long grass and wait for them to make their way through. As we waited we saw two bat eared fox dart in and out of the brush with their comically large ears flapping in the wind.

We saw the lions but they had set up camp right on the edge of the bushes and fallen asleep so we made our way out of the park right on time for lunch back at Kibo.

After lunch we charged up the camera batteries and took a nice break at the camp. Zaddek and Sage were trying to sleep and recover so we all stayed quiet. When it came time for the evening drive they weren't up for it but at least their stomachs had settled. It was Dad, Kaden and I off again.

We drove around for an hour or so before we spotted a large group of trucks watching a cheetah near the side of the road. We watched it until the sun started to set and then made our way out of the park.