Crescent Island, Hell's Gate & Mount Longonot...

During our family Christmas holiday, we visited three favourite spots around Lake Naivasha: Crescent Island, Hell's Gate National Park and Mount Longonot. It seems we're making the rounds of our favourite Kenyan spots so we can enjoy them one last time, especially in the company of our wonderful kids!

On safari in Samburu...

We were so excited to take the girls and Jon to Samburu this Christmas, and we had a wonderful time at Elephant Bedroom tented camp. The animals were plentiful and the scenery was beautiful; the company was even better.

Cats, cats, cats...

While on safari with the whole family at Christmas, we were treated to sightings of many cats in Samburu. In fact, we saw a leopard on every game drive, which is incredibly rare. We were even lucky enough to see a mama cheetah with 2 adolescent cubs with a fresh kill (gerenuk). The gerenuk made a hearty lunch for all three cheetahs.

Menengai Crater... almost...

On Friday, school was closed for Kenya's Independence Day holiday. Brian and I decided we'd drive up to the Menengai Crater and do a 2-3 hour hike into the crater (which is technically a caldera) and then drive back to Nairobi. The drive there and back was plagued with busier-than-normal levels of traffic because of the holiday (and crazier driving conditions, if that is possible), so it took us 3 hours and 15 minutes to arrive at Menengai. Upon arrival, we were greeted with a gorgeous view of the caldera, carpeted in lush green foliage with a steep descent to the caldera basin. We clambered out of the truck, hiking shoes laced up and itching for a good workout... only to discover... all trails are currently closed because of a land dispute with local farmers! We could see cattle way down below, and apparently the trails have been "tampered with" by the farmers so visitors cannot use them. We admired the view while we drank some lovely Kenyan tea, and then climbed back in the truck for the long journey back to Nairobi. It was definitely a long way to drive for a spot of tea!