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Taken with my Minolta with a zoom lens. This is
one of the first pictures I took in Kenya. The alpha female is
protecting her band of old, young and almost new born and is not
hesitating to scare us off. This one tree is enough shade for the
whole bunch.....just. |
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My
house in Nakuru. When I
lived here from 1988 to 1993, it was over 40 years old.
Made of mud and wattle, two large
rondovals were connected in the middle with a hallway leading
to smaller rondovals in the rear for the bathroom and loo.
The whole was covered in thatch.
The kitchen was nothing more than an added square room with
only a sink. But I couldn’t complain--the sink had running water,
an unheard of luxury. That’s Rose, my little Bichon Frise,
in the doorway. She was an intrepid traveler.
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Elephants and buffalo at Tsavo, 1987. There were still large
herds on the move then. I don't know if that is true now. |
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Turkana women making baskets. The Turkana baskets are among
the most beautiful in the world. They are quite large, sturdy and are
sold all the way from Nairobi along the main road. Turkana is in a
remote area of Kenya to the north and the people are very tall, lithe
and dark. Standing in the shade of an Acacia tree they are almost
invisible because they also wear the dark skins of goats and cattle.
Their hair is braided in a distinctive style and the women wear
strings of beads from their chins to their breast bones making for
long, graceful necks and beautiful posture. |
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These women and children are sitting outside an aui which is a
grass hut where they live, cook, and dry their goat meat. Slautering
cattle for food is only for special occasions such as weddings way out
in the bush one of which I attended and will never forget. Guests and
older, revered family members are served the best cuts of meat but
still, I couldn't chew it. Which brings me to say that the Africans
have the most beautiful, strong and white teeth I have ever seen.
They are able to (and do) open soda bottles with them. |
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This picture and the next, show flamingos on Lake Nakuru not far from where I
lived in Kenya. The "shore" was like sifting sand....all mud, so it
was difficult to get too near. You almost had to shout over the noise
of the flamingos. They ate and mated and raised their families on the
shores of the many lakes that dotted the rift valley. Taken with a
disposable camera as usual. |
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African women have the most
beautiful postures and backs from carrying large loads on their heads
since a young age. These women are carrying charcoal for cooking
which might be 15 to 20 pounds but they also carry 40 pound debe cans
for miles full of water. I have seen them carrying lighter loads and
knitting at the same time. |
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One
of the five most valued for trophy hunting, the waterbuffalo is a
ferocious beast. Traveling
in small groups which are made
up of females and juveniles, it is dominated by one large and
seasoned male. This picture was taken in the Lake Nakuru Wild
Life Refuge Park which surrounds Lake Nakuru. We used to go to
the Park like one would go to the zoo. The only difference was we didn’t get out of our cars for
environmental protection if not for our own safety. We could get out and stretch at the water falls which was a
favorite picnic ground.
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Here we are in the
Maasai Mara, the northernmost extension of the Serengeti. These
lions had just finished an entire wildebeast. The wildebeast
is an enormous animal and it no doubt took several of
the females to bring it down. |
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Just
above the heads of these gazelles, you might see the heads of the
resting lions. Satiated
with the wildebeast, the lions are not, for the moment, a threat to
the gazelles. These large packs of females are led by a single male
gazelle. A cluster of
males always stays nearby.
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This
lone tree, no doubt shredded of all its leaves by elephants, is a
perfect itching post for this giraffe. Although the giraffe is
visible now, you can be almost under their feet at times before you
see them--particularly if they are in a stand of trees.
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Clustered
under the only tree around like a group of pioneer wagons,
this small herd of elephants is dominated by a great aunt who
has detached herself from the shade and group to see what we were
all about.
Several females have also come forward in front. So we
will leave.
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Elephant
herds are led and protected by one large female.
However, they can all get in the act if aroused particularly
when protecting their babies. You can see the outlines of the baby
they are protecting lying peacefully on the ground, unaware of the
drama of the moment.
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Confident
on a full stomach, this lion lopes right towards us on his way to a
stand of bushes where he will be joined by several females in its
scant shade. Watching
them lying around and snoozing, it is difficult to think of the
drama that had just taken place in the very early hours of dawn.
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Spitty Kitty was born
in Kenya in 1990, found by Ann on the streets of Nakuru when only 5
weeks old in front of a butcher's shop, near death. Given not much
of a chance, she lived until the ripe old age of 16, lovingly cared
for by Ann and Spitty's adoptive mom and best friend (Ann's Bichon
Frise, Rose, who herself loved Kenya and traveled extensively with
Ann while on safari). Spitty died in February 2006, a seasoned
traveler in the tradition of all those who love adventure. |
