Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!

The shoot was complete yesterday and I am finally caught up on the blog.  As it turns out, we had a day or two of fun before returning home.  Today was always meant to be a "safety" incase of weather or some other issue beyond our control.  Vincent, Jonathan and Derek are leaving tonight.  Mary Kate and I will be heading out tomorrow night.  

Since we got all of our shopping in, we wanted to visit some of the local sights and the Nairobi National Park was high on our list.  We left the hotel around 5:45am to make it to the park gates right when it opened at 6:15.  To give you an idea of how large the park is, it covers 117km (72 miles).  It took us 4 hours.  Yes, I said "4 hours", to cover it.

Below are some quick facts about the park:

• It's the only wildlife park in the world that is so close to the city

• Home to the black rhinoceros: which is an endangered species

• The first park to be gazetted in Kenya on December 16, 1946

• Major rhino sanctuary for breeding and restocking other parks

• Has over 400 bird species. At least 20 of which are seasonal European migrants.

• Home to over 100 mammal species, four of the Big Five (lion, buffalo, leopard and  rhino)

• Has a spectacular wildebeest and zebra migration

Finding some of the animals was like a real life game of Where's Waldo. And, I must say, we were pretty good at finding them.  I took as many pics as I could but, given that it was with my iPhone and in many cases they were far away, you're going to have to bear with me. The black rhino was particularly hard to capture but, I had to note it someplace.  I wish we'd seen one closer up but...I am thrilled that we saw everything we did.  And, yes, I did have to look up some of the animal names online.  If you knew what a Dassie Rat was then...you watch too much National Geographic.  Just sayin'.  

We got George (our favorite driver) back and he came to pick us up in a van where you could pop the top up so we could ride along like this:

It was a truly amazing experience. In an effort to address my video embedding issues, I went ahead and created a YouTube channel so I could link to some of the footage caught. I got some great covered at the entrance of the park when we happened upon a large group of baboons.   The first baboon video is innocent enough.  The second video is, shall we say "NSFW"?  Enjoy.   

We were lucky enough to see:

Baboons

Lions

More Lions

Eland

Cape Buffalo

Dassie Rat

Monkeys

Antelope

Impala

(Reticulated) Giraffe

Ostrich

Wildebeest

Gazelles

Hippos

Zebras

Marabou Storks

Crocodile

Spider Monkeys

Black Rhinoceros (Circled in Red)

Our first encounter (past the entrance) was with some female lions and their cubs and they were beautiful.  I also got videos of some eland, the one black rhino we saw from a distance (like the picture you'll have to look very hard at that one but should see him moving), impala, zebras, ostrich, and giraffes. 

At one point as we drove around, we happened upon a spot for you to park and get out - AKA the Hippo pools.  We were required to wait until the guide came to get us and walk us down the path to the river.  He pointed out several things along the way, including the type of dung we saw (and sometimes stepped in).  And we saw A LOT.  Our guide happened to be a leader in the Masaai tribe whose village backs right up to the park.  

He pointed out different plant types along the way too, including a sand paper plant - which, after researching, I found is actually called ficus exasperata and has been/is used for many things - mainly to help shape and smooth wood.  

We then got to a man made bridge which was built 3 years ago.  As you can see in the picture below, the water isn't visible but, in the rainy season, he said it goes up to the base of the walkway.  

What I found interesting was that lions and monkeys and other animals without hooves are the only ones that use the bridge.  Because it's made of metal, animals' hooves made a very loud knocking sound that they don't like so, they tend to avoid the bridge. Fascinating.

He told us more about the animals in the park, their habits, patterns, etc. The crocodile we were able to get a picture was perched on the edge of the water in a place that we wouldn't have been able to see on our own.  He looked over the edge of the drop-off to the river and pointed it out to us.  I wondered how he knew to look for it there so, I asked.  During that part of the day, the sun shines on that particular side of the water so, the crocs typically sun on that side.  When the sun moves, they migrate over to the opposite (more visable) side.  

This park was so amazing and if you make it to Nairobi, make time to see it.  Find an experienced driver, in a 4WD vehicle and go for it.  OH!  And, bring some binoculars and an adult camera if you have one.  

Once we left the park, it was back to the hotel for lunch and some R&R.  The guys had to pack up and check out.  We regrouped for our "last supper" at a nice restaurant in town called The Talisman.  Then, the guys and Flora headed to the airport and Mary Kate and I headed back to the hotel.  We check out tomorrow and have the day to spend in town before our late evening flight home to Atlanta - by way of Amsterdam and London.  

Tomorrow we plan to hit the Karen Blixen Museum and the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage where I plan to adopt a baby elephant.  I'll be sure to share pics and stories.