I arrive late in Nairobi as my connection from Jo’berg was cancelled. I’ve missed the team meeting for my Kumuka overland adventure but apparently so have a few other people. I arrive at reception early and spot Triona, who looks like she might be on the Kumuka trip as well. I’ve guessed right. She too has missed the team meeting and only just arrived in Nairobi at 2 that morning. We befriend each other and she ends up being my new room mate, or to be precise my tent mate!
We meet our new companions soon after and our tour guide Mwangi, a Kenyan. There are two other Kenyans on the trip, Patrick our driver and Martin who helps out with camp. I’m travelling East Africa with a truck load of Aussies, 2 Kiwis, 2 Canadians and Triona, who is Irish. Everyone is lovely and it feels like home to be amongst so many travellers from home!
My journey begins in Kenya and we will travel to Uganda, back to Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Malawi and Zambia. Some of the travellers will continue on to Cape Town. We drive across the rift valley and I am amazed at the expanse of this place. We have our first break and I am excited to see the Masai blankets blowing in the wind as I take it all in. I have finally arrived in Kenya!
Our first campsite is in Lake Nakuru. We do a quick game drive to orient ourselves and wet our appetites for the longer drive in the morning. I am truly excited to see the flamingos around the lake, something I have dreamt of seeing for a long time. No picture can do justice to the site of hundreds of thousands of pink birds lining the waters edge but I do take some pictures the next day. During the peak season there are more than a million birds here – hard to fathom!
We get to the campsite at dusk and the rain is falling lightly. As Triona and I get ready to put up our tent for the first time we hear a bit of a commotion. Someone has spotted 2 lions! If anyone had any doubts we were in the wilds of Kenya they are shattered now. A few of my fellow campers feel a little nervous. We all want to see lions, but not within a few hundred metres of our camp! I don’t have my camera but for our luck we see them again the following morning, complete with 2 sets of 3 cubs each.
If you have ever been on safari you will know how amazing this sighting is. One set of cubs are so small, we can’t believe they are already out of the den. We juggle places at the window and try to get a few pictures of these magnificent animals through the dense undergrowth they are travelling through.
I have already seen many animals in Southern Africa but I am amazed at the sheer numbers in this park. Also unlike the other parks, this one has much open grasslands and we spot herds of giraffe, zebra, cape buffalo and many antelope.
We are also really fortunate to see both white and black rhino, so in out first day in Kenya we have already spotted 3 of the big five! 
Our last stop is at the lake and we are able to get off our vehicle and take our time snapping these colourful birds.
Their pink colour comes from the crustaceans they eat and I just cannot believe what a spectacle they make!
You'll never find peace of mind until you listen to your heart. ~George Michael
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