Monduli Traffic Jam

 

Here in Monduli, our traffic jams are usually goats.  At least this one is cute!

Fleebo

We have two school dogs at Alpha Omega.  They help the guards by patrolling at night and chasing off stray dogs, snakes, or any other critters that wander onto campus.  Fleebo has been here since before the school began, when there was just the clinic.  Unfortunately, she's getting pretty old now and really suffering from arthritis.  Beth gave her some attention and tried to get a better look at her stiff front paw to give a report to Dr Smelser, who is her owner, and try to decide how best to help her. 

One of Fleebo's favorite people on campus is the dorm dad (called the patron here).  They've bonded over the last year that he's been here, and he's one of the few people she trusts to touch her now that she's often in pain.  

 (Later edit: Fleebo died about three weeks later.) 

Hedgehog!

Tammy has a special talent that many of you probably don't know about. 

She is an amazing hedgehog-finder. I have lived here for a year and a half and I've never once seen a hedgehog outside.  Then again, I don't tend to be out after dark much.  But she finds them all the time.  She loves them and often tries to make a pet of them, but that has historically not worked out well because they either escape and run away or well, they had dogs. 

She found one on her way back to my house tonight; Deborah and I agreed she could keep it for an hour.  It was really cute, and it seemed more resigned to being photographed and adored than particularly scared. 

Lake Nakuru

The always-complicated process of getting tickets at the gate.  It's a different price if you are a tourist, a resident, or a citizen, and you have to show identification to show which you are, so it takes a bit of shuffling around.

On the Saturday of the Intermission Retreat, we got to go out and have a little fun.  We piled into safari vans before it was even light, clutching our packed breakfasts and lunches.  It took twelve vans to carry all of us, so we were quite a caravan!  It was about an hour and a half drive from the retreat center out to Lake Nakuru National Park, but it was an enjoyable trip.  I had purposely chosen to be in a van with people I didn't know or didn't know well, so we had a good time sharing stories and getting to know each other. 

The safari trucks and vans that are used here have a roof that lifts up so that you can stand inside and take photos without having to go through a window.  We headed into the park, which surrounds a large lake, in a long line.  

It was a beautiful day, if a little hazy.  Out in the open field on the hill above the lake, we saw a few buffalo, antelope, warthogs and zebra grazing, mostly at a bit of a distance.  We saw quite a lot a variety as we got down into the wooded areas that ring the lake.  The pictures I'm posting here are out of order, but it's rather a pain to rearrange them, so I'm leaving them as is.  I hope you'll enjoy them anyhow. 

We stopped for a break to stretch our legs on the lakeshore.  In national parks, there are designated areas that you are allowed to get out of your vehicle.  These are areas where the more dangerous animals tend not to go; you don't want to risk stepping on a lion's tail! 

The young boys quickly invented a game to play. 

Me on the shore of Lake Nakuru

Hello, friends!

There was a bit of a traffic jam trying to get photos of some sleeping lions.  They were so well camouflaged that it took a while for most people to see them.

It was a great day for giraffe spotting!  They are my second favorites (after rhinos, which are unfortunately rare at Lake Nakuru), and so photogenic. 

A dusty drive through the Kenyan landscape

Coming down the hill with a view of Lake Nakuru

Tiny baby zebra!

A family of warthogs in the foreground, with a buffalo herd in the shade in the background.

A closer shot of some Cape Buffalo.  They may look like overgrown cows, but they can be very aggressive and dangerous if angered.  

Antelope feeding along the shore.  It was also a great place for birds!

Zebras are so photogenic.  It's hard to take a bad picture of them.

I think Colobus monkeys are my favorite type of monkey.  They are so striking, and they have those great fluffy tails!

Look at this majestic bird!

Zebras in the shade, and flamingos in the water 

This big bushbuck was standing right next to the road, watching us.

He was so still and close that I got some great closeup shots of him!  What a beautiful bushbuck!

Flamingoes, Maribou storks, and other water birds on the lake, with the town of Nakuru on the hill behind.

When we stopped on the shore, we saw zebras fighting.  Carladean was the one who braved going to closest, so I got a shot of her taking a shot of them. 

Where are those lions?

The sleeping lions we waited around to seel

Mother and daughter

Impala crossing!

I loved the sight of the giraffes with the backdrop of the deep woods behind. 

It was such a great day for giraffes!

Okay, last giraffe, I promise!  But isn't he beautiful?

We headed home in the late afternoon tired and rather stiff from the jolting ride, but happy and with tons of pictures and memories. 

The view from the highway on the way home.