We had a mini-safari and little camping weekend

This weekend we left for Lake Naivasha with Shaun, Sharon & Zach. It was 3 days full of fun.

Not too far from Nairobi, we enjoyed the greenery, lake and animals of Africa. A very special treat!

We would have to say that the animals were most awe-striking. We could have stayed and watched them for days.

Camp Carnelly is where we set up for the weekend. Thanks to Sharon's organization, we rented a couple bandas (cabins) and enjoyed the quiet surroundings, our super friends, some big rain and a large grassy area in front of the lake where we stayed.

We assumed there were hippos around but didn't see any... until the last night.
We went down to the lake front after dark and watched a big hippo graze around the boating area. We were a short electric-fence away from a multiple-tonne animal who could kill us if she felt like it, but thankfully she was more interested in eating grass. She was so neat to watch. HUGE!
We figured out why hippos come out of the water and eat at night: they don't want anyone to see their physique! Little, stumpy legs and big, bulging bodies. And the noisiest grazers you will ever hear. That was a fun event to experience together. Sorry, no pictures, we didn't have our camera with us :(.

On Saturday we headed for Crescent Island. A once-island that we drove to and, with a guide, went on a walking safari. There aren't any big cats or elephants on the island so it is relatively safe (if you use common sense).
Wayne tested the limits. He said to our guide, "After we ride the giraffe, I want to wrestle a Cape Buffalo." Bernard (our guide) quickly responded, "Oh NO, you can't! They are VERY dangerous, they will kill you!"  Wayne tried again a little later asking Bernard, "After we are done, can we swim with the hippos?" who quickly responded, "Oh NO, they kill more people than lions every year!" ... poor Bernard... he probably thought he had a winner of a group, his work cut-out for him and likely thinks Canadians are mad (meanwhile the rest of us split a gut).

It was a-MAZING to walk beside a huge giraffe... watching him eat lunch at the top of a tree, mingle with the zebras, stand a safe ways back from the cape buffalo, see all the brand new wildabeest babies run with their moms and watch all these species co-exist together... really incredible. It was a safari to remember. Asante sana tena Shaun & Sharon!