A Weekend at Lake Naivasha

A two-day camping adventure by land and by sea. Click on the photo to view it in a larger window. Enjoy Kenya's natural beauty!

Tim Sales, our fearless leader, guides us through the perils of Nairobi traffic. 

These chickens don't just cross the road, they ride in style. 

The B3, Old Naivasha Road, winds over the ledge of the entrance to the Rift Valley. 

Gift stands on stilts next to the Old Naivasha Road. 

Here's the view from the side of the road, the Rift Valley sprawls out to the right. 

Tim Sales: Fearless African Explorer 

A gift shop on the side of the Old Naivasha Road. 

Scenes along the road to the lake. 

The whole way to Naivasha, you drive through the lands of the Maasai People. They are  known for their livestock. 

A Maasai man with his herd.

Throughout the whole valley there's a lot of haze from the dust. 

Another shepherd. 

Scenes of rural life.

More scenes of rural life.

Mt. Longonot dominates the terrain.

A small village along the route.

We've arrived at the campsite in our trusty 4x4, "Poppy" the Pajero. 

The campsite was stunning, right on the shore of Lake Naivasha. 

Some birds just off shore. 

After the rainy season, the shore of the lake is much further up than usual. 

Day one, by land (horseback to be specific). 

Setting off in the game preserve. 

Stunning landscapes. 

The Sales say hello!

Another shot of the game preserve. 

Two little gazelles just chilling.

This adolescent giraffe was getting his back scratch on in this tree. 

Our guide with wildebeests in the background. 

Two young male gazelles trying to impress the ladies. 

Wildebeests.

We rode right through their herd. 

Right next to the lake. 

Again, the high water of the lake made for some interesting riding. 

Fording the waters in a true pioneer spirit. 

I don't know what these are, but he's kinda cute. 

A zebra checking out a bird's funky strut. 

Here's the clubhouse for the riding stables. Oh you know, just a herd of zebras chilling in our front yard. 

More wildebeests. 

More stunning landscapes. 

The biggest horse I've ever ridden. "Who wants the stallion?"  Me: "Okay, let's do this." He only tired to kill me twice. 

Off for a gallop. 

This horse had at least two, maybe three horse power. 

A three-day old baby giraffe. Awwwwwwwwwwww. 

The baby daddy. 

Day two...by sea!

Mama duck and babies. 

Notice the black and white eagle on top of the big tree on the right hand side...

Our guide whistles at him a few times and throws a fish in the water. 

He liked it. 

I didn't notice this hippo in the background until I was going through the pictures afterwards. 

A view from the lake. 

Our trusty Captain keeps an eye out for hippos. 

The lake rose a bit faster than folks expected. This cat got stuck in the rising shoreline. 

Come at me bro!

The lake was filled with absolutly beautiful birds of all shapes, sizes, and colors. 

Like this Grey Crowned Crane, an iconic bird in Africa. This bird is the official bird of neighboring Uganda, and is also known as the Unity Bird, a symbol of pan-African unity. If you kill one in Uganda, you get the death penalty. 

Here's mom and dad Grey Crowned Crane with their chick. 

Stunning natural beauty. 

A hippo? Yikes. Hippos kill more humans each year than any other animal on the planet (not counting mosquitoes). They are very territorial and very aggressive. Be careful!

Hippo's can get sun burned if exposed to too much sun, so they chill in the water all day and come ashore at night. 

We came across several large bloats of hippos (a bloat is what you call a group of them). They are usually made up of many females, a few young, and one alpha dude who runs the show. They were not very keen on us being there. 

This is the most out of the water we got to see one. And frankly, this is the most I'm comfortable seeing. 

It's winter time down here in the Southern Hemisphere, but we finally got to enjoy some sun on our Mzungu skin!

Lake Naivasha is at the highest elevation of the Kenyan Rift Valley, 6,200 feet above sea level. 

Heading home, safe from hippos. 

The beauty of the Rift Valley is amazing. The lush green near the lake gives way to cacti and desert flora on the way up Olkaria (in the background). 

Another view of Olkaria from the lake. 

A local fisherman wades through the small sound to catch Tilapia. 

There was a little less haze on the way back out of the valley. 

It was a slow day for business. 

The little cafe we stopped at for a cold Stoney (ginger beer).