Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi

On August 19, 2021August 19, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Africa, Kenya1 Comment

One might have thought that we had seen enough elephants during our safari considering that we saw hundreds of them, but we were actually excited to visit the elephant orphanage in Nairobi. The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is dedicated to rescuing orphaned elephants and rhinos, raising them and possibly rehabilitating them, and then returning them to the wild. The baby elephants come from all of the various national parks and animal reserves where, unfortunately, poaching still sometimes occur leaving the elephants orphaned or sometimes they become orphaned for other reasons. Pretty much every baby animal is cute and adorable, but baby elephants are especially cute and precocious.

Just Like a Kid Pushing a Friend into the Pool

During the time of our visit, it was very important to make your reservations in advance as the orphanage is only open for a single hour with a limited number of guests able to visit. Although the orphanage did have a single baby rhinoceros at the time, they did not bring him out as it would be too overwhelming for him and they were concerned of how he might react. The baby elephants on the other hand didn’t mind the people at all and some went over to get petted and a particularly curious elephant kept leaving the roped off area to mingle amongst the people.

Elephants at Play

The young elephants certainly seemed happy as they played and wrestled with each other. The handlers, who were all men, did a wonderful job of explaining their mission, the process for getting the elephants ready for release, and even took questions at the end. Once an elephant is ready to go back into the wild, they are taken to a camp at Tsavo National Park where they are slowly introduced to other wild elephants. They come back to the camp until one day the elephant simply stays with the wild animals and they are now fully reintroduced.

Allowing visitors to the orphanage is just one way that money is raised to support the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, but anyone can go to their site and adopt and elephant as a way for them to raise money. During our safari, we enjoyed seeing so many different animals, including the elephants, and preserving all of these species is important for everyone, not just those who visit Africa. Ever since the 1950’s, there has been a concerted effort to protect the abundance of wildlife that is unique to Africa, which we benefited from during our time traveling through Tanzania and Kenya. Regardless of whether you are visiting Nairobi to go on a safari or visiting for some other reason, we’d highly recommend taking time to visit the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and Elephant Orphanage.

Ending Our Safari at Lake Nakuru in Kenya

On August 16, 2021August 16, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Africa, Kenya3 Comments

Our last two days on safari while we were in Africa were spent visiting Lake Naivasha and Lake Nakuru in Kenya before heading to Nairobi. The only rainy day that we had during our time in Africa was actually the day that we arrived in Lake Naivasha. We were scheduled to do a boat ride out on the lake, but considering it was cold and rainy, we chose not to go on the boat ride. It really turned out to be a relaxing day and the only day on safari that we didn’t spend our time driving around in search of wildlife. The following morning we continued on from Lake Naivasha to Lake Nakuru, which turned out to be a spectacular way to end our safari. The two highlights of visiting Lake Nakuru are seeing the flamingos as well as both the white and black rhinos.

We Saw Many Wonderful Giraffes in Lake Nakuru

Before going on our game drive at Lake Nakuru, we checked into our lodge and were immediately greeted with the sight of baboons and gazelles in the field behind our room. We also had a wonderful view of the lake itself which we would spend the next day and a half driving around. We did see a family of black rhinos wandering through the trees on our first afternoon, but the real treat was getting up close to white rhinos the following day. White rhinos are not actually white, but they are larger than black rhinos and have a flatter mouth. Having all of the close encounters to the various wildlife was an experience that we’ll never forget.

In addition to the rhinos, we saw hundreds of flamingos who were enjoying the shallow waters of the lake along with pelicans, ducks, and other water fowl. There are two types of flamingos, the greater flamingo, which are more white than pink, and the lesser flamingo, which is the pink flamingo that most people think of. As with all of the national parks, in Lake Nakuru we saw many varieties of animals all mingling together. We saw many water buffaloes, including some baby buffaloes, as well as giraffes, zebras, and warthogs. We also saw a waterfall during our time in the park, which was wonderful to see as well.

Although Lake Nakuru National Park is not always on everyone’s safari agenda, we were certainly glad that it was part of ours. It was definitely a wonderful way to conclude our safari and was as interesting as our time in the Serengeti and Maasai Mara. Having the opportunities to see the rhinos with their strange heads was an experience that we will never forget. And even though we saw flamingos throughout our time in Kenya and Tanzania, the number of flamingos at Lake Nakuru was definitely a treat to see. We can definitely say that by the time we made it to Nairobi, we were completely satisfied with our safari experiences and felt that we had seen everything that we’d hoped to see.

Getting Close to the Wildlife in Maasai Mara National Reserve

On August 10, 2021August 10, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Africa, KenyaLeave a comment

We had some amazing animal encounters during our time in the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. It started on the first night when we arrived in the reserve when we saw our first cheetahs. We had already seen the big five in Africa, the elephants, water buffaloes, lions, leopards, and rhinos, but seeing the cheetahs was amazing and was the last of the big cats that we were hoping to see. Obviously our animal encounters didn’t end there as we drove throughout the reserve observing many different animals. We also went to the Mara River, but since we were a couple of days ahead of the great migration, we did not see the wildebeests charging across the river. We did, however, see the crocodiles that were patiently waiting for the migration to arrive.

Aptly Named Yellow-Billed Oxpeckers on the Back of a Water Buffalo

Once again, we saw many different lions as we drove through the park. At one point we came across a pride of lions who were eating their prey. This was third time where we saw animals that were eating as we had previously seen a leopard in a tree with a gazelle as well as a hyena and vultures fighting over the remains of an antelope. In addition to the pride of lions we also came across a large male lion that was sitting on a small hill, which we nicknamed the “King of the Hill”. He was definitely quite majestic as he sat gazing at the grasslands around him. Our close encounter with the cheetah that leapt on the hood of our Land Cruiser was certainly a highlight of our entire safari.

It was also our first time seeing topis, a type of antelope, as well as an eland, which is the world’s largest antelope. Another interesting thing that we saw as we drove through the park was large areas of ground that had been purposely burnt in order to refresh the growth of the area and to kill the bugs. The dark ground was quite a contrast to the rest of the grasslands that we saw throughout the reserve. In addition to the crocodiles at the Mara River, we also saw many hippos lounging there as well, but we understand that they would end up moving when the great migration arrived. The hippos and crocodiles basically ignored one another as they are both very dangerous animals.

In addition to the typical safari experiences that we had during our time in the Maasai Mara National Reserve we also had an amazing balloon ride and on the morning that we left to head to Lake Naivasha we visited a traditional Maasai village. By the time we reached the Maasai Mara, we had already been on safari for seven days, so we were quite settled into our safari routine of early mornings and full days driving around to see the animals. Since our camp was located in the reserve, animal encounters could occur within the grounds of the lodge, so you had to use caution when walking after dark.

Looking Close – Giraffe and Zebras from Our Tent

The Animals Were as Curious About Us as We Were with Them

Warrior Dance at the Camp

The Maasai warriors, armed with bows and arrows, were there to protect the few visitors that were at the camp, although a large water buffalo camped himself outside of our tent and they had difficulty getting him to move. Also, just after we went to our tent, a leopard wandered right through the restaurant, much to the surprise of the only couple still in the restaurant at the time. To make our evening complete, the Maasai warriors also entertained us by singing traditional tribal songs and dancing amongst our dinner tables. All in all, our time in Maasai Mara was truly fascinating and enjoyable.