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Look at those incedible tusks on the Matriarch of this herd! |
We flew from the Serengeti to Arusha where we had a sumptuous lunch at Mountain Village Lodge before driving to the Tanzania/Kenya border. The drive between Arusha and Amboseli is scenic and there were many giraffes along the way, but Kilimanjaro was hidden in the clouds, so we stretched out and snoozed for most of the long ride. Since I found the official Yellow-Fever Innoculation Certificates, we breezed through customs at the border and transferred from Ranger Safaris to Kenya Wildlife Trails. We continued on to Tortilis Camp in the Amboseli.
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As soon as we crossed the dry bed of Lake Amboseli and got into some vegetation, we saw elephants. These great eating machines were everywhere.
After reading many message boards, I found that people consistently rate Tortilis Camp in the Amboseli among the best of the best. I can now attest that it deserves that recognition. The views from the open air Bar/Lounge and Dining Room are splendid with Kilimanjaro hidden in the clouds and stunning when she is uncloaked.
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This is the inside of our tent on the left. The spacious bath with double sink is just behind the wooden wall. My favorite feature is having a whole living room outdoors under the thatched canopy. I admit I fell asleep stretched out on this sofa one afternoon. I also napped by the pool and again at the lounge overlooking the camp. I began to take on the timetable of the animals being active in the early morning and evening. The remainder of the day is for resting.
Kilimanjaro was shrouded when we arrived and stayed hidden all the next day. But that did not stop us from enjoying our game drives. We came upon this very active hippo eating his way to the waters edge.
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He gave us a bit of a look, but never stopped his constant grazing. I think he may have been imitating the behavior of the elephants in the area.
As we were exploring this marshy area we came upon a small bridge. This was the only bridge across the bog for miles. As we approached, we saw that a herd of elephants was also heading toward the bridge from the other side. We decided to yield to them.
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Most of the larger elephants ate their way through the marsh. The water was pretty deep in parts and several of the elephants swam some short distances between one grassy tuft and another.
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I had never seen elephants swim and was fascinated by them. Elephants knock me out! There were some very young babies with this herd and more than one mother opted to traverse the bog via the narrow bridge.
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Note how protective this mother is. She didn't threaten us, but she left no doubt that she wouldn't stand for any nonsense from us. There were several vehicles gathering on both sides of the marsh waiting to cross the bridge. A couple of A&K vans actually got themselve in the middle of the herd. They were following what they thought was the last elephant to cross the bridge when a few stragglers came up behind them. Suddenly, a large female turned around to face them. They were trapped on the bridge with no where to turn!
It was interesting to see how the drivers handled this situation. First the vehicles on our side backed up to give the herd more space. Then the driver of the lead A&K van alternately hit the gas and brake to make the van jump up and down a bit. The challenging elephant backed up and the vans were able to safely exit the bridge. The other vehicles waited until ALL of remaining elephants were clearly on the other side of the marsh.
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We roamed the Park each morning and afternoon of our stay. We came across giraffes, wildebeests and Zebras.
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There were many babies at this time of year. We caught this young zebra nursing.
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But to me Amboseli means ELEPHANTS! Our driver knew it and we sought out the herds as they made their morning trek from the highlands to the marshes and their afternoon return to their highland resting place.
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These magnificent beasts in the natural habitat are so much more active and interesting than their counterparts in zoos. They kept us mesmerized for hours.
We had already resigned ourselves to the fact that we would NOT see Kilimanjaro on this trip, when the clouds around her summit began to part. Assuming we would only get a fleeting glimpse of her majesty, I began to snap photos like mad.
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The sun was setting, the clouds were parting, and Kilimanjaro was slowly revealing herself to us. Such DRAMA!
Most people were heading to a rise in the Amboseli where they would have Hors d'oeurves and cocktails while watching the sunset. But since we were the only two in our vehicle, we chose to remain on the lowlands where we could see more animals with Kilimanjaro in all her glory as a backdrop.
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It was a wise choice for us. While the other adventurers enjoyed seeing Kilimanjaro and the sunset, we got to photograph her with a herd of elephants. A sight the others missed from their perch on Lookout Point.
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It were as though the Mountain came out to bid us
This was the end of another most remarkable day on Safari. We were completely fulfilled.
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