Flat Stanley Goes to Kenya (10): Nairobi National Park

Nairobi is well known as "safari central," the place in Africa where most safaris go from, but what many people don't realize is just how much safari-like pleasure can be found close at hand. There will be further descriptions later of two of the near-by highlights (the Giraffe Center and the Elephant Orphanage, both of which captured Stanley's interest from the time we got out of the car), but the most satisfying site truly has to be the Nairobi National Park.

Just think about it: a huge park, full of wildlife, right at the city's borders. Indeed, as you see here, an early morning game drive can produce not only an amazing variety of wildlife - especially the big cats as they are wrapping up their night's chase and feeding, getting ready for lazing about in the sun - but the view in the distance is pretty amazing as well. It's Nairobi's cityscape, and as you are driven about in the park, it's just hard to believe. Sort of like having Yosemite National Park or some such between my neighborhood in Manhattan and the Hudson River.

Like all game drives, a visit to the Nairobi National Park starts early, with your driver calling for you between 6.00 and 6.30 am, to get you to the park gate when it opens at 7.00 am. Unlike the rest of us, Stanley had no trouble at all getting up, as the animals he had seen in other parks and game reserves had him excited to get to the Nairobi National Park. He knew he wouldn't be able to see any elephants (the park, at 117-sq-km - or 45-sq-miles - is too small for elephants) but he also had learned that just about anything else can be seen there, especially lions, rhinos, zebras, giraffes, and just about every member of the antelope family.

Stanley was not disappointed, and the rest of the group wasn't disappointed either. While I had had several visits to the park during the time I lived in Nairobi, with my most exciting visit (which you can read about here) in early June, nothing that's come before could compare with what we saw on this visit to the park. Within five minutes, it seemed, of coming through the gates, Mr. Charles (not only our driver but our animal spotter extraordinaire!) slowed the van down almost to a stop, turned off the engine, and whispered, "Lions." And there they were, Mr. and Mrs. Lion just strolling along the pavement of the park road, paying no attention to any vehicles anywhere, and just relaxing as they began their day. What a sight! Here are a couple of the pictures, and there are a few more at the Flat Stanley in Kenya album (and there will be more photos later).

Not to be outdone, no sooner had we (reluctantly) left Mr. and Mrs. Lion than we came upon Mr. and Mrs. Rhino, the first of several we would see during the game drive through the Nairobi National Park. As one of the country's most successful areas in terms of rhinos breeding, many of the black rhinos found in the park have been relocated from other areas. We were specially taken with this pair, though, since they seemed to willing to mosey about, not at all frightened by us, and not frightening to us either.

Nairobi National Park - Yet Another Historical Sighting

The wonders of this journey continue to amaze me, and seem to just keep coming on and on.

Having had such a lovely "final" day with my best friends last Sunday, planned as a sort of farewell until I return to Kenya in August, we expected our safari-ing to be over for a while. Or at least limited to our happy memories.

But then it turns out 1st June is a national holiday in Kenya, National Self-Governance Day (or something like that - I'm a little unclear about the translation of the Swahili word for the holiday: Madaraka Day).

So are my friends and I going to let a day off go to waste? No way.

And if we're going to do something, we'll do it right. We didn't really want to travel, so we decided on Nairobi National Park, well known as the only game park in the world that is right next to a major city (literally). And to do it right, we decided to get there early, as we've learned the best time to see the animals.

So Charles arrived at my house at 6.00 am and we were well rewarded. As can be seen from Mr. Guy's Nairobi Nat'l Park Album (1), we were treated to an amazing spectacle - probably historical, comparing to our first "historical" sighting at Masai Mara.

But first (not so "historical") we had hardly arrived in the park before we saw in the road ahead of us that wonderful old Secretary Bird I've written about before. Fun to see her and re-new my acquaintance with her (one of the first species of wildlife I met when I came to Kenya).

Then we experienced something I had not seen before, the huge African buffalo carrying the big white birds. I don't remember the name of the bird (although both Charles and Nerisa and even Justin tried to teach me - I just couldn't get it!) but apparently this is a pretty normal occurrence when the grass is high. The birds apparently just think of the great bulk of the African buffalo as a sort of moving dining table, eating up the ticks that are already on the buffalo's hide and grabbing all the other insects that are stirred up as the buffalo moves - like a great ship - through the grass. Amazing! Why I had not seen this before is a mystery to me, but it was pretty neat to learn about.

Then we came to the truly historical part of our morning. There by the side of the road, not five feet from the edge of the track, we found a huge lioness, well into the process of scraping the last flesh off a zebra remains (we could hear the gnawing, scraping sounds). We had missed the kill, which was too bad (although I understand it can be a pretty gory experience) and the main breakfast-ing experience, since she did not seem to be very anxiously devouring - you might say - the flesh from the bone. But it had been a big meal, for off to the right was the big male lion, having his after-breakfast rest, and then Charles looked along about 12.00 and saw a whole group of lions, so these folks had obviously had a nice big meal to start their day.

We were impressed, and of course we turned the engine off and just watched. The lioness, so close, was not the slightest bit intimidated by us, and in fact seemed to be eying us with considerable interest. Charles, who had left the drivers seat and quietly climbed into the back of the van to watch with us, noticed her looking at us and quickly calculating that with one big lunge she could leap into the van, made the smart decision to lower the roof to just a couple of inches. It meant that we had to sort of squeeze ourselves a little to see (and photograph) all we wanted to see, but it was a very smart move. Thank you, Charles.

Mama Lioness, totally unconcerned, turned her look away from us and went back to her gnawing, making sure she got all she wanted before she went away and left the bones to the hyenas (who, when they come, will eat everything that's left, including the bones).

We could see, from the blood on the grass (all flattened now, clearly showing that there had obviously been a big struggle) that this was more than just one or two lions, and Charles - our resident counter - looked up to where the other members of the pride seemed to be resting and started counting. Some were down in the grass, but as they began to move about a little, wow! Eight of these guys, with only a couple of cubs.

Obviously we were fascinated, and we just sat and sat, watching as long as the lions were willing to provide us with a show. Eventually, though Mama Lioness got up and began to stroll away to join the others and after a while, so did Mr. Daddy. We watched the pride for a while longer and then went on, to see what else we might see.

Masai Mara (10): Lions

According to the people who study these things, there are about 250-300 lions who have territories in the Masai Mara Game Reserve, and the general consensus is that – if the weather is not a problem (which it seldom is) – travelers are practically guaranteed a lion sighting. 

And having just seen a film a few days earlier describing the game reserve as “The Lion’s Battlefield,” I was pretty well geared up to enjoy some lion sightings.

I was not disappointed.

In fact, as I worked with organizing my photographs - Mr. Guy’s Masai Mara (10) Album - I realized that I had actually had four sightings, and each was a little different and a little special.

With the first, it was just one of “those” moments people talk about. Driving along, quietly observing the landscape, with Tomas watching carefully to see what we could see, Charles decided to leave the train we were on and move across some tall grass to another trail he had spotted at the top of a hill. We got there, and noted that the trail then curved around, going a little out of sight. It was a rough spot, so we slowed down almost to a stop, and as we inched along and rounded the curve, there she was. Probably one of the most regal lionesses I’ve ever seen, and not the least perturbed that we were nearby. She didn’t know she was stretched out across the road, I suppose, and she really didn’t pay any attention to us, just lay there, looking around.

But Tomas, so smart, and so experienced, whispered, “Watch her.”

She looked around at us and with the most beautiful grace, simply stood up, languidly, and strolled off into the grass. She wasn’t bothered by us and didn’t expect us to be bothered by her. It was just the way she was spending the day.

We next saw a group of lions (just three or four – not really big enough to be a “pride” I suppose) just ambling along through the grass, apparently looking for some shade for a quiet rest.

Then the sleeping lion. Oh, so beautiful and peaceful, just having the nicest time, not bothered by anyone and not bothering anyone. A few feet away, under a tree, another lion, this one a lioness with her babies, and we got to see them waking up, planning where they would plan next, I suppose.

And then the real joy: Mr. and Mrs. Lion, so elegant, so quiet, just relaxed and watching the world go by. What a sight!

Hemingway: Hunting His Hyena and Hunting His Lion

What’s going on here? I had hardly sent over my last blog post – describing some of my thoughts about the hyenas and the lioness we saw on the Lake Nakuru Safari – than I picked up my Kindle to continue with Hemingway’s Green Hills of Africa and found myself at the section where he’s just ended the conversation with the German about hunting kudu. Then came the next day’s hunt and all the talk about the fisi and how M’Cola laughs at him as a hunter or bird shooting or even the religions that get talked about. And the fisi – the hyena brings the biggest laughs, not from the hyena but from M’Cola, who just can’t stop laughing at him.

And all about the hyena being a dirty joke and the bird shooting a clean joke but it’s all a joke to M’Cola. 

And then how is this for a veritable Hemingway first line (for a section not a book): “The evening we killed the first lion it was dark when we came in sight of the camp.” Heart-stopping, of course. Breath-catching. And then you go on and read about the lion shoot and how late it is in the day and how sun is too low and if the lion gets to cover and you shoot him “it would be too dark to do anything about it without a mess.” 

Suddenly my little pictures of my hyenas and my lioness seem sort of skimpy, I fear!  

Bless you Mr. Hemingway for writing so beautifully (and to think we share the same birthday!).