Wednesday, Oct 26. This is the pre-extension tour, with only 5 adventurers. A flight was required to reach the Reserve. Nairobi has a separate airport for domestic travel. Dozens and dozens of aircraft, far beyond what a country the size of Kenya should need. Safaris clearly begin in the air. Our plane was the largest by far, a four engine prop. It delivered people to four different safari destinations, ours being the last before its return to Nairobi. Its two right-side engines were never switched off.

Our tour guide, “Ben”, was dressed in traditional tribal garb. The driver, “Justin” was in greens. We departed on an initial 3 hour game-viewing drive on the way to the lodge. It became clear quickly that this was a viewing drive much different than the one I took in 2020. Long-distance viewing. I attached my telephoto lens, which has been largely collecting dust since I bought it. Now it became essential. We saw many different animals and birds, but all from a considerable distance. Ben related that off-road driving is frowned upon by the (armed) authorities. We violated this once to get a better view of sunbathing lions. Stopped once for coffee/tea and really good sweet bread.

Eventually we drove through a primitive community and arrived at our lodge. Nice place, with a pool. Lunch was fine. We had a 4 hour siesta before our afternoon drive. Much better experience, though we were still usually far from the animals. I added more lens power and got some okay shots, though not my desired sharp resolution. It was fun to notice that to find exotic animals, one must be on the lookout for a herd of trucks (mostly Toyotas).

Dinner was okay. The server spilled an entire fruity drink on me, which caused a more rapid return to my room for the night.