Instagram is still the most confusing of the three.

So let’s get down to the obligatory stats for 2015, in descending order:

Miles Flown
32086 (wow, lower than I expected but I guess Central America is closer than Asia)

Number of Nights Spent in Hotels/Lodges
33

Number of Flight Legs
26

Number of Missed Work Days
25 (I had a lot of comp time…I took maybe half of these days off work)

Number of Nights Dog Spent in Kennel
18 (sorry Toasty…we’ll do better in 2016)

Airlines Flown
6 (American, British Airways, United, Jet Blue, SafariLink, TACA)

Number of Days Pup Enjoyed with Dogsitter Extraordinaire
5

States Visited (> 2 Days)
5 (Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Florida)

Countries Visited
4 (Costa Rica, Jamaica, Kenya, Peru)

Number of Legs in Business Class
4

Number of Loyalty Statuses Held
3 (by year end: United, Marriott, Starwood)

Number of Times I Traveled Without DH
2

Number of Flight Delays > 1hr
2 (at DCA)

Number of Free Hotel or Flight Upgrades
1 (Hotel)

Number of Barf Bags Used
0 (This, for me, is shocking)

Number of Forced Bag Checks
0

Here’s to an exciting 2016! I’m going back (hopefully) to more routine posting after the holiday season is over. And let’s leave 2015 with some of my favorite memories (not favorite photos–choosing those is way too hard).

Parrots were always the exception. Penguins are pretty cool too. But all the other bajillion species? Meh.

But then something embarrassing happened on my first safari to Tanzania…I call the Lilac Breasted Roller my gateway bird, because that’s exactly what it was. It was the bird that was pretty enough to make me interested in other birds that didn’t start with a p (parrots and penguins). It was the bird that convinced me that birds deserved another chance. It was the bird that made me stop in the bird section in my Wildlife of East Africa book, and actual look at the photos instead of skipping the pages entirely.

I guess I like birds now? After so many years it’s hard to write. I like birds.

So in an ode to the animals I now find interesting, I decided to post some of my very favorite bird pictures from Kenya. Because these birds are interesting, incredible, intricate, and exciting.  They are all the reasons why I gave birds another chance.

The Crested Crane (Grey Crowned Crane)

We saw so many of these birds in Kenya. They also happen to be the national bird of Uganda. They are almost always found in pairs.

The Egyptian Goose

Regal, and always look much cleaner than the ducks I had when I was growing up.

The African Fish Eagle

One of multiple eagles we were fortunate enough to see–looks quite similar to a bald eagle. And equally large.

The Superb Starling

Superbly common, but no less pretty. This bird evaded any flying picture that dear husband was trying to capture the entire trip. Pretty impressive, for a bird.

The Lilac Breasted Roller

I’d tweet at this bird like Tweety Bird…it’s a pweettyy little bird. Ok, so not funny. But LOOK at this bird!! No wonder it was my gateway bird.

This is but just a part of all the different species; we also spotted a Pygmy Kingfisher, the infamously large Secretary Bird, a vulture (and a dead vulture), an African Darter, a Sacred Ibis, a Black-Winged Kite, and many more. In fact, I may need to do Kenya birds, part 2. Who ever thought I’d be doing multiple blog posts on birds. I certainly would have laughed.

But I still hate binoculars. They make me dizzy. So you can’t call me a birdwatcher just yet….

And when I was making our photo book of Kenya, I had to sort through like 800 lion mating photos. Mostly my husbands. You can draw your own conclusions–maybe he was just so excited during his first safari? Yea, I think so.

We saw two different pairs of lions on two different days mating in the Masai Mara. Lions have extremely peculiar mating patterns. Apparently leopards have similar patterns (but who ever is lucky enough to see mating leopards?!). Lions mate about every 15 minutes (range is between 5-20 minutes typically) for 3-5 days. You can do the math, but this means that lions can mate easily between 300-500 times, depending on how long the male can last. We were told that the males don’t eat while mating, so they become extremely fatigued and eventually have to find something to chow on. Lion mating isn’t always successful (typically 1 in 5 female estrus cycles results in a live cub)–and scientists are still working to better understand the reasons why.

Waiting…

Only 200 Times to Go?

Check Out that Tooth

You Know, I’m Still Hungry

Relaxing…Momentarily

The second pair we saw was definitely interesting–while it is not uncommon for females to mate with more than one male, in this case, there was a young male who was tailing the older male and “his” female. The female was obviously more interested in the younger male, and in addition to mating, the older male was wasting a ton of energy trying to herd off the younger male and control the female. The female wasn’t having much of it, and the older male was getting pretty frustrated. The younger male was staying just close enough to be annoying and be an opportunist, and just far enough to not make the older male lion too mad. We didn’t see her mate with the younger male, but given how tired the older male seemed, I’m guessing that it happened relatively soon. Usually there is no fighting–when one male gets exhausted, he will leave to eat/hunt and the other male swoops in to pick up where the other left off.

The Distinguished (err OLD) Lion

So Amazing

The Young One Keeping an Eye on Things

I Am Tired of Herding You! Can We Go to the Shade??

Though I’ve been to Africa and on safari a number of times, animal behavior just fascinates me and I had never seen mating lions. And this, to me, is one of the most wonderful things about a safari: no matter how many times you’ve been, you always see something fascinating and new. It’s when I fantasize secretly–oh, who am I kidding, I totally fantasize out loud–about moving to Africa and studying animal behavior. Or just going on safari once a month.

Except this year. When it didn’t. Because of the rains, the animals hadn’t felt the need to move yet and we could see them through binoculars (herds of them) on the other side of the Kenyan border, making their way from the Tanzanian Serengeti into the Masai Mara. We were just days off.

There is both an upside and a downside to these events. On the upside, the Mara is simply beautiful when empty. Vast, expansive, and incredible. There aren’t herds of vehicles as well as animals (though there are definitely some). And we saw lots of amazing Hartebeest and Topi (and babies), both of which I love. On the downside, it is truly empty. And it’s enormous. With more drivers in the Mara, companies will communicate about where to find things, like rhinos and such, but without more communication, it’s possible to drive forever and not see much.

Expansive Plains & Topi!

Because it’s the Mara, when you don’t see the migration, I think you get the advantage of enjoying the flora, the fauna, and a lot of other things that you’d probably just drive by quickly to see if you could see a river crossing during the high season. For example, we saw lions mating (totally bizarre and curious mating patterns that I didn’t know about), my husband tried literally for an hour to get a picture of superb starling that buzzed near his head and taunted his photographic skills, watched lots of Agama lizards, and I could stare at baby Hartebeest all day long. Who knew antelope could be so adorable?!

I Think Lion Mating Rituals Might Deserve Their Own Post…

Tell Me These Little Ones Aren’t Just Perfect

The Male Agama Lizard Strikes a Pose

It’s not as if you can control when the migration happens, and travel plans set months in advance aren’t flexible to last minute change (a downside of being a part-time traveler, I’d guess). I would definitely go back and spend some time in a mobile Mara camp (Leleshwa, where we stayed, has a mobile camp during the migration that I’d love to return to!). But that’s not to say the Mara wasn’t incredible anyway. It was. And I don’t regret going to the Mara when we did, at all.

But we received some good reviews about the Center while we were at Leleshwa, and decided to give it a shot.

I actually thought it was a good experience, and yes, I enjoyed petting/feeding a giraffe. They have a single family of giraffes there. They are all Rothschild giraffes, which I had never seen before. Masai giraffes are much more common in the savannas–Rothschild are in Northern Kenya and I think significantly more endangered.

The Center is run by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, and there isn’t much there besides, well, the giraffes. The giraffes are there to raise awareness and offer educational opportunities about the species. Entry is about $10 US dollars. It’s a non-profit and also has a pretty good gift shop if you are still looking for something to take home from Kenya!

They are funny creatures. Allowed to roam freely, one giraffe would come over for the human feeding and then get tired of the noise and frenzied children, and saunter away. Pretty soon a different giraffe would wander over for a bit of feeding time, as he pleased. They certainly were in no hurry, and clearly came for the food not for the pets. None of them particularly liked the human attention, but those alfalfa pellets were quite attractive.

The tongue of a giraffe is long, like a dog, and scratchy, sort of like a cat but much more glamorous (cats/cat tongues are just weird in general…giraffes are much cooler). It’s also a weird blue/black and very prehensile. Good for eating Acacia trees and avoiding the spikes…also good for enveloping small, unwitting human hands and ensuring they consume the full handful of alfalfa pellets rather than just one at a time! Their fur was much softer than I expected–sort of like an Airedale? It was fun just to watch their mannerisms and annoyance with humans who wanted affection.

If you are on the fence but have some free time, the Giraffe Center is a good cause and all the giraffes seem happy as clams with freedom to roam/eat acacia as they please. I probably won’t ever see a giraffe that closely again, and it is incredible to see the lanky, curious creatures at arms length.

We were warned upon arrival in Nairobi not to let your credit card out of your sight. They were serious. My mom used her card only one time, at this restaurant, to pay. It never left her wallet the entire trip except for that single time, so we know it happened here. And guess what? In the 5 minutes they had the card, they scammed the number.

Lesson learned.

But let’s get to the good part–the food!

While the food was definitely delicious throughout our trip, it was nice to be able to order from a menu again, as most safari camps have a set menu (though they always avoid any strong aversions and allergies).

I had a pot full of seafood. Crab, lobster, shrimp, and some fish. It was delicious, in a very light broth with some butter, garlic, and a touch of lemongrass and other spices. On top of that, I had a calamari salad. The seafood was tender, not at all fishy.

I did at one point think to myself…I have 24 hours of flying ahead of me…if this goes bad, it will go REALLY bad. Fortunately besides that liver fluke I got, I had no problems on the trip home. KIDDING, obviously. The food was spot-on.

DH had a steak and potatoes (steak was a little tough for my liking, but I’m a hard to please steak-eater). My mom had a delicious squash blend soup that I wanted to steal, as well as some fish. The food was piping hot and just generally very good.

We then got three tasty bites + drizzled chocolate sauce (no charge) for dessert, which was nice as we were all too full to order an actual desert. The writings on the plates were sort of ironic, at best, after my mom found out her credit card number was stolen (one says “honesty is the best policy”…I guess only if it applies to the person eating the chocolate? Idk.)

Plus, DH finally got to try a different beer–Pilsner. Tusker is way, way better. Plus we were served in Tusker glasses. (I want Tusker glasses!)

The courtyard at Tamarind & Tamambo is very cute and it was pleasant to eat outside. Beware of the mozzies, though…they were the only mozzies I had issues with the entire trip!

And be prepared to pay city prices. While not as expensive as DC, Tamarind is expensive. Tamambo is their lunch restaurant (you can order from either menu), and has some reasonably priced sandwiches, burgers, and the like.

All in all, a great choice to finish off a great safari. Just hold that credit card.

Leleshwa is what I think of when I think of a quintessential safari camp. Small, luxurious, and welcoming.

Of course it didn’t hurt that we were the only guests there at the time. Even though it was the cusp of their high season, bookings remain way, way down. Travel advisories shmavel advisories. I think in every travel advisory, the government (all of ’em) should be required to put a map which shows the distance between “problem areas” and everywhere else.

Since people obviously can’t be bothered to look at a map themselves.

Or maybe they just have a crazy low risk tolerance. Considering we’ve had 3 shootings within five blocks of our house (yes, crime is up) in the last 2 weeks, we decided to take our chances in Kenya. You know, because we are just SO careless (rolling eyes).

Anyway, Leleshwa. The food at Leleshwa–made by a wonderful Masai chef that decided he liked to cook after being a staff member at the camp many, many, years ago–was SO good. And so much fun. Take…the hedgehog mango! Or the pineapple romanoff. Whattt??? In the bush??!!! So delicious and worthy of much excess punctuaction. I’ve never, ever, had anything like that pineapple before and it was seriously just incredible.

And I totally bet you’ve never seen an impala napkin, have you? It’s already been widely demonstrated that I’m a total sucker for towel art, but napkin art? Oh, our wonderful waiter had me with the impala. Adorable. And in a different animal every night.

Our tent–of which we certainly got the ridiculously large one with a separate lounging area–was beautiful. The bathroom was enormous. The bed was comfortable. While we were out most of the time doing game drives and such, I almost wished I had more time to laze in our tent reading a book.

Leleshwa is in a conservancy owned by the surrounding communities. There is plenty of wildlife on the conservancy, which is about an hour from the gate to the Masai Mara. We were also able to do a walk on the conservancy, which was actually really fun. We got to see an impala going nutty for a natural salt-lick on the riverbank, as well as tortoises, wildebeest, zebras, impalas, and more.

It was a lot of fun to have the company of the manager and our guide at lunch and dinner as well, they had some fantastic stories which we really enjoyed. There was always SO much food, as well as plenty of Tusker to go around (and a little Amarula, of course)!

While Leleshwa is a bit of a hike from the airstrip, and from the main gate of the Mara, being farther away also yields privacy and the opportunity to do things not allowed in the National Park (walks, and night drives). The camp is absolutely stunning, and I’m really glad we decided to stay there. Plus, to have the best of both worlds, they actually do have a mobile camp in the Masai Mara during high migration season so that you can spend a few days in both places. If we go back, I mean WHEN we go back, that is definitely an option we’d consider.

Thanks, Leleshwa.

Amboseli spoiled us a bit, as we were not expecting to see as much as we did. Including some dik-diks, which were totally unexpected but very much appreciated!

Interestingly, Tortilis Camp does have an electric fence surrounding it. It’s the first time I’ve seen a fenced camp in Africa–usually you are escorted back to your tent after dark with a guard. I’m not one of those people who is scared that something is going to crawl into my tent…unless that something is a black mamba, in which case, the fence doesn’t do any good anyway! In large part I think this fence is also for their garden, as they grow much of their produce on site. I don’t imagine that keeping African animals (or any animals for that matter) out of a large garden is an easy task.

One of the benefits of the fencing is the population of dik-diks, which tend to stick around the camps knowing they are safer!  Ever shy and elusive, dik-iks aren’t spotted super frequently in the wild, and rarely long enough to get more than a glimpse. They are the most adorable little animals, and ever since our first trip to Tanzania, I wanted to see more dik-diks. Well, these little creatures were everywhere. They liked to go under our tent, actually, and dear husband got some very adorable pictures of them.

Look at Those Giant Eyes and Huge Ears! My Favorite Deer

Obviously any trip to Africa would not be complete without giraffes. I had forgotten that giraffes do not have vocal cords! Yet another animal that is so much fun to watch stride, in huge steps, along the African savanna.

I don’t know why I try to describe these animals sometimes, pictures are much, much better than words.

Now, I will readily admit that sundowners happen to be one of–or maybe my most–favored activity on safari. Actually, probably in life. I mean, I love Tusker (or other local beer for that matter). I love watching animals. And I’ve even learned after 30 years to enjoy watching the sunset (only in Africa, though. I’m not THAT old yet). Could you ever get tired of this view?

DH Was Too Sick to Make Fun of My Cactus Hat

Mom (AKA The Enabler), Me, and DH Enjoying Sundowners.

And Tortilis camp is great at sundowners, as most camps are. Some appetizers, enough Tusker for all, and chairs for the view. Unfortunately, dear husband also got sick that day, so he had to stick to Fanta, no food, and obviously was not quite enjoying himself! If you know Jeff, you know any day he passes on food and beer is not a good day. I’m happy to say he had plenty of sundowners at Leleshwa, the next camp, to make up for it.

All in all, Amboseli was an excellent choice (and there is always Tsavo for the next trip!) and Tortilis was a great starting point for our trip to Kenya. It’s a solid selection for accommodation, with decent food (much grown there and fresh made pasta), a great staff, clean and upkept tents, and a fantastic location. Definitely plenty of luxury, and there are villas with private plunge pools if that’s your style (no, we didn’t stay in those).

Amboseli,  while small, certainly packed a large punch of wildlife and was most definitely worth the 3-night stay.

Cheetahs and lions, in particular.

It is SO much fun just to sit and watch the cats interact. And we did a lot of it. We were fortunate enough to see some large cubs playing with a dead bird, as well as small cheetah cubs following mom’s every instruction, while also sneaking up and tussling with one another.

I Get the Stick, You Get the Feather

But That’s MY Feather

Sharing Stalking Responsibilities

One Day I Will Use These Gigantic Hind Paws

It’s hard to explain to someone who hasn’t been to Africa what it’s like to see the animals in their natural environment, acting, essentially, like you aren’t there. It’s one of my favorite experiences, pretty much ever. I can’t really ever see it getting old. It often makes me wish I had decided to do field research on mammals of some sort–though I realize that when you try to make play into work, it isn’t always as fun as you think!

In addition to cats, I really enjoyed watching the bird-life, particularly the crested or crowned cranes. They are simply stunning and just a bit odd looking. And of course the lilac breasted-roller. I like to call this a gateway bird, as for me, it was the first bird the perked my interest in watching birds. For the first time, we saw a pygmy kingfisher, though those little birds are often too quick to get a good shot of unless you are ready and waiting! They are bright and darling.

Beautiful!

Everyone Needs a Gateway Bird. This Was Mine.

SO many elephants, including really tiny babies. We watched babies playing with one another–including one little one causing trouble, and then running quickly behind his mother to avoid any payback! We also enjoyed watching two elephants have a stand-off for nearly 45 minutes. While you see elephants more frequently than the cats, watching them doesn’t get boring either!

Our home base in Amboseli was Tortilis Camp, which is set just a 10-15 minute drive from Amboseli and about a 30 min drive from the airstrip. Tortilis is small, but not tiny–it’s in between one of the massive lodges and the much more intimate tented camps. The tents are permanent, but still canvas. Nicely sized, plenty of hot water, with a great porch. The lodge area is quite large, with plenty of room to spread out and enjoy the view of the water hole. In addition, while it was too chilly for us, Tortilis does have a nice pool (with a bar!) that would be inviting during the summer months for sure.

Our guide at Tortilis, LeParis (like the city, he says), was extremely knowledgeable about all things African wildlife. No matter how many times we go on safari, there is always something new to learn. He was also excellent at spotting things way off in the distance, positioned the vehicle so we had the best view, and was just very accommodating. While we didn’t pay extra for exclusive use of the vehicle/guide, that was a big perk of not being there during high season–we had Paris, and the vehicle, to ourselves.

Certainly our first few days in Kenya were memorable–more on Amboseli and Tortilis in Part 2, coming soon!

What we did buy in Kenya (besides a scarf…that I’m wearing frequently so I think that’s just fine and of course a Tusker t-shirt for dear husband that has already rendered numerous compliments in DC), is a painting!

When we went to Tamarind/Tamambo (part of the Karen Blixen estate) to eat, there was a young gentleman painting. He had amazing paintings, and was working on a giraffe in their courtyard.

Uh….oh….

While my dear husband was marching toward the table as if there was an angry cape buffalo staring him down, discouraging him from even glancing at the paintings as if that would be akin to betrayal, I obviously stopped.

And stared. And stared. And wandered around the paintings.

Until dear husband returned, like an angry cape buffalo, and herded me to the table. With plenty of sideways glances and snorts.

He was not impressed with the thought of bringing home a painting. We live in a 2 bedroom condo, and let’s be honest, most of the wall space is well–already claimed. And I am a neat freak who doesn’t want to look like I live in a condo from hoarders. DH (very incorrectly so) even suggested I would consider removing our wedding photos for a new painting from Kenya!!

I would not. I swear. I’m offended he would think that. Though I do appreciate that he understands how deep my love for African wildlife goes…

My mother, always a bit of an enabler when it comes to acquiring things on vacation, kindly replied “oh, I bet they are reasonably priced Heather” when I was musing over how much they may cost.

It’s one of the few times I’ve seen dear husband grumble at my mother. In good humor, I think. I hope. Because needless to say, said painting was reasonably priced, and now we have a beautiful, large painting of giraffes waiting to be framed.

It’s one of my favorite vacation acquisitions, and I can’t wait to hang it up.

And I hope every time we both look at it, it reminds us of Kenya.