Day six we wake up in Amboseli and make our way to Lake Naivasha where we will be staying in Elsamere Lodge. This lodge is where Joy and George Adamson once lived (the couple in the Born Free and Slowly the elephant movies). I’m not feeling to great and just hope I can make these long van rides through the reserves. It’s a long drive which will take about 7 hours so with John driving and us trying to have a laugh in the passenger seats. We pass zebras that are in the middle of the roads, I guess they just needed a new view from the parks. They don’t know of the dangers and just wander out of the parks and graze in the middle of the streets.
During our long drive we stopped at Lake Nakuru to see hippos. We took a Hippo boat ride on the lake and we met Jimmy who was our guide along the river. Getting into the boat I was looking out and saw a lot of big boulders in the water but as we got closer we saw they were hippos. Some were sleeping, and some were not happy to see us. We had to be careful because there were many under the water and could easily flip our little boat if it bothered them. They were so adorable ���� As we moved away from where they were resting Jimmy stopped at a man that was collecting fish. He bought 2 and was joking with us about stopping and frying them up. To be honest I was a bit horrified as I certainly wasn’t going to eat them. We stopped the boat after passing the resort that was used in filming “Out of Africa” and we went for a short walk and was right close to Buffalo, Wildebeest, Zebras and Waterbuck. It was so awesome being that close to these beautiful animals. When we got back on the boat we went over to an area that 2 fish Eagles were (and this is where I clocked onto why Jimmy bought the fish) He stopped the boat and waved the fish about so the eagle got the scent and when he threw it the eagle came in a swooped it up out of the water. Amazing!!
We made our way to the next lodge which is Elsamere Lodge to find this beautiful get away that is now a wonderful foundation that still helps save wildlife. This is where Elsa’s Legacy was raised.(Elsa was the lion in Born Free) It’s a beautiful story and worth watching if you have a couple of spare hours. We booked into our room and just outside our door were zebras grazing and giraffes walking about. We walked around but you still have to be aware there are wild animals and to keep aware of your surroundings. Snakes and crocodiles are very near by and they sometimes get hippos walking through. Most rangers are most afraid of the hippos as they are the most unpredictable animal in the wild and the most dangerous.
I was already feeling ill at this point so I went to bed straight after dinner. The drive wasn’t easy for me and I did a lot of sleeping in the van.
David sat outside on the steps and waited for the Hippos to walk through the gardens – we had been told they went through most nights at about 9.30 – sadly none came through tonight, however he was surrounded by Zebras, David says they piss and fart a lot!