Safari Day 2: Lake Nakuru & Hell's Gate

We woke at 6:00 am today in order to see the morning animals, in case they were different from the ones we saw yesterday. Matt says we were checking to see if the leopards changed their spots. But, we didn't see any leopards, so we'll never know.

We did see several new animals, including jackals, warthogs, and gazelles. Also, Matt spotted two hippos that were out snorkeling. It was exciting to see the hippos, even though we only saw the top of them out of the water. Our goal has been to see the "Big 5" safari animals, which are lion, rhino, buffalo, leopard, and elephant. We've seen the first three on the list, and we're lobbying to add giraffe, flamingo, and hippos. Actually I don't care about any birds, but Matt made me add it to the list.

Swasti says to include the maribou storks, because they look like creepy old men in trench coats, so they are interesting.

After our morning safari we had breakfast and packed up to drive to our next location, which is Hell's Gate Park. The guide explained that the park got its name because many years ago, the volcanic area looked like steam coming through the ground above Hell. The steam is still there, but now it's from the power plant they built to harness the steam. I was excited about this particular park, because it's one of the only ones (if not THE only one) that allows visitors to walk around outside of the vehicle. So, we did that in the part of the park with big animals. We tried to get close enough to a herd of zebras for some close-up shots, but there were three babies in the herd, and the adult zebras were very protective, constantly shooing them away. Still, it was a great experience to just walk freely in a valley full of zebras, impala, water buffalo, etc.

Next, we drove a short distance to see an amazing natural gorge that was created by the volcanic earthquakes. The gorge was truly beautiful (and deep!), and we were able to walk around inside with the help of a guide. There was a fairly heavy drizzle going on, and signs posted everywhere to beware of flash floods. We had to climb around, through hot springs and waterfalls. It seriously felt like a movie or a video game, and about two minutes after I mentioned that to Swasti and Jamii, the local guide explained that this is the gorge which (1) inspired the scenery for Lion King and (2) was the on-set location for the filming of "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider." We got to go inside the opening of the "tomb" from the movie.

Now we're hanging out in the campsite while George makes dinner. So far his food has been great, so we're looking forward to a good evening. Tonight we really are camping: we're sleeping in small tents, we have no electricity, etc. It was another fabulous day! Earlier today we all chatted about how fortunate we are to be here, and how grateful we are to Paul & Vivian McCorkle for making this trip possible.