Amboseli National Park is positioned against the backdrop of ice-capped Mount Kilimanjaro offering one of the most iconic images of Africa. This park is just 392 square km located in Kajiado County, in south east Kenya. The park is part of the greater Greater Amboseli ecosystem which includes the Amboseli, Tsavo and Kilimanjaro ecosystems stretching from Mount Kilimanjaro down to the Chyulu Hills in Tsavo.

“To wander over the wildness of Africa is a privilege sought. To sense its spirit is inspirational. To watch its ways brings insight, understanding and acceptance.” – Mike Haworth

Mount Kilimanjaro towers over the park and has a direct influence on its weather and water resources. For photographers the majestic blue mountain back drop with a white snow cap is iconic. The eastern section of the park encompasses part of a large dry lake basin which is usually dry except during the long rains, when in some years it fills with shallow, alkaline water attracting a pink flush of flamingoes. 

Amboseli has an ample supply of underground water which is filtered through thousands of metres of volcanic rock from Kilimanjaro’s ice cap into two clear water springs in the heart of the park.

The salt marshes in the eastern section of the park, with their intense verdant green, stand out in contrast in the arid and dusty plain of the eastern part of the Park. The Enkongo Narok, Ol Tukai, and Olokeya marshes are the three largest.

The beauty of Amboseli lies in the these iconic scenes of elephants in the foreground and Kili in the background. Scenes that can be viewed from many locations because of the size of Kili and the size of Amboseli.

The elephant population in Amboseli National Park is estimated at around 1600 and this population is one of the few that has been able to live a relatively undisturbed existence in natural conditions. This rare situation is considered to be primarily due to two factors – the presence of researchers and tourists in the park, and the support of the local Maasai people.

The Amboseli Elephant Research Project is the longest-running study of wild elephants ever undertaken (five decades), and is led by Dr Cynthia Moss and her team. While large scale poaching of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s reduced elephant numbers by a third across the continent, Amboseli mostly escaped the devastation thanks to the dedicated work of research and anti-poaching teams and support from the local Maasai communities.

“Elephants form deep bonds with each other, which last for decades. Elephant survival is strongly affected by access to the social and ecological knowledge which older elephants hold; where to go, what to eat, how to avoid danger.” according to Dr. Cynthia Moss.

We saw many family herds of elephants most of which had youngsters. A sign of a healthy elephant ecology, and the youngster looked carefree which was a good sign.

“We live in an astounding world full of life, movement, patterns and colour. You have a choice embrace it or ignore it!” ~ Mike Haworth

Amboseli and Tsavo’s elephant populations are some of the last genetic repositories of Africa’s great tuskers. The likelihood of seeing some of these great tuskers is good. The tourist guides recommend that from April to June, during the long rains, is not the best time to visit the park. That was not my experience in April 2021. The rains are carried by thunderstorms. The rains can be torrential but are usually over reasonably quickly – the African way!! As the thunderstorms are building, photographers are treated to some of the most wonderfully dramatic deep blue, water laden, cumulonimbus cloud formations which provide a perfect backdrop to the shafts of light and rainbows over the swamps where the elephants are feeding and wallowing.

To see a great tusker is an indescribable experience. Firstly, there are estimated to be only 20 left (thanks mostly to poaching for Asian demand) and secondly they are huge. A “great tusker” is a massive bull elephant with tusks that reach close to the ground. Up until around the age of 20, both male and female African elephants grow at a similar pace. At around 20 the females stop growing, while males continue to grow until around the age of 40, which explains why male great tuskers can be about 80cm taller and two times heavier than fully grown females. An average East African big tusker bull stands at about 3.2m in height at the shoulder and weighs around 6 tonnes. Their tusks can weigh over 50 kg each. The biggest elephant bull ever shot in Africa, which happened in Angola, was around 4 metres tall and weighed about 11 tonnes. Elephant tusks are actually enlarged incisor teeth which first appear when elephants are around two years old and they continue growing throughout their lives. The next images show an elephant bull in musth with his temporal gland streaming and his urine streaming which often colours his hind legs.

Not all leaders of herds are males. In an elephant herd the matriarch is leader. She is usually the oldest and largest female elephant in the herd. Adult male elephants are solitary in nature but may associate with other bulls in small, unstable groups. Males will leave the family unit between 12 and 15 years of age. The adult bulls wander from herd to herd looking for receptive females. While they mix up the gene pool in the process they disturb the family herd dynamics. Some the of herd matriarchs are also particularly large and highly protective so it is not a one way exercise for the bull.

Elephants possess huge emotional intelligence and, across Africa, there are examples of communities and elephant populations living side by side in relationships based on mutual respect. Elephant conservation isn’t purely about monitoring and protecting elephants from poachers, it is about developing new and respectful relationships between humans and elephants.

“Memories and intelligence are portable, something elephants seem to understand very well. Family members are remembered with reverence and gentleness. Survival knowledge is passed on from one generation to the next with generosity of spirit. The oldest are often the wisest and most knowledgeable because they have the greatest sense of context.” ~ Mike Haworth

Elephants are among the most intelligent, socially intricate and emotionally complex non-human species according to legend and research. This intelligence is demonstrated in their remarkable memory, empathy and ability to work as a team. They live a long time and accumulate and retain social and ecological knowledge. They remember the scents and voices of other individuals and migratory routes, special places and retain learned skills for decades.

Explore, seek to understand marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

Apart from the vastness and diverse ecosystems in Amboseli this is one aspect that cannot be ignored, the giant looking down from just across the border in Tanzania, the snow capped Mount Kilimanjaro. It is quite incongruent to be sitting in a game vehicle in the warm equatorial sun in the swamps and grasslands of Amboseli National Park in south east Kenya looking up at the snow capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro – the sight is breath-taking!

“Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So… get on your way!” ~Dr. Seuss

No one knows the origin of the name Kilimanjaro. It may mean “mountain of caravans” (kilima – mountain; jaro caravans), a landmark for caravans seen everywhere from afar.

“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.” ~Edward Abbey

This mountain is massive and is positioned in south east Tanzania about 205 miles from the equator, along the Tanzanian/Kenyan border.

Africa’s eastern side is scarred by the Great Rift, a fracture zone running from north to south. Along the fault lines lie volcanoes of all sizes, but in Tanzania the biggest dwarfs them all – Mount Kilimanjaro (Kili). It is one of the ‘Seven Summits‘ which comprise the highest mountains on each of the seven continents of the Earth: Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Mount Vinson and Carstensz Pyramid. Kilimanjaro is not only Africa’s tallest peak, but also the world’s tallest free standing mountain. The summit, named Uhuru Point, is 5,895 meters (19,341 feet) above sea level.

Kili is a dormant volanco, in fact one of three volancoes. Kili is classified as a dormant stratovolcano which is composed of three distinct volcanic cones: Kibo, the highest at 5895metres (19 340 ft), Mawenzi at 5,149 metres (16,893 ft); and Shira, the lowest at 4,005 metres (13,140 ft). Mawenzi and Shira are extinct, while Kibo is considered to be dormant and could erupt again. Uhuru Peak is the highest summit on Kibo’s crater rim and the word Uhuru is Swahili for “Freedom”. This mountain was so named in 1961 when Tanganyika gained its independence from Britain. Tanganyika later joined with the islands of Zanzibar to form Tanzania.

Seeing “Kili” clearly at any time of the day from Amboseli is a chance affair. The weather around Kilimanjaro is influenced by the height of the mountain, which allows the concentrates to influence the equatorial trade winds and the high altitude. Kilimanjaro has daily upslope and nightly downslope winds, a regimen stronger on the southern than the northern side of the mountain. The flatter southern flanks are more extended and affect the atmosphere more strongly. The northern slopes receive much less rainfall than the southern ones.

Kilimanjaro is 40 miles wide, covering an area 50 times the size of Manhattan. Being so big, Kilimanjaro creates its own weather system. The south-east trade winds carry moisture from the Indian ocean and eventually hit “Kili” forcing them upwards. As the air rises it cools and condenses, forming clouds and precipitation. So mid-March through to the end of May is the wet season on Mount Kilimanjaro and its surrounds. 

The rain from Kilimanjaro together with the melting snow waters are vital to the mountain’s varied plant life and the mountain’s immediate surrounds.

“How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!” ~John Muir

There are two dominant influences on the climate in Kenya: the onshore monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean, and its altitude. The winds determine the onset of Kenya’s two rainy seasons, with the hot anti-trade winds or northeast monsoon or kaskazi blowing dry air in from the Persian Gulf from November to March/April and the warm, moist kusi monsoon blowing in from the southeast from April/May to October.

Mount Kilimanjaro was estimated to have developed about 3 million years ago during the formation of the Great Rift Valley. During that period many volcanoes erupted in the Kilimanjaro region. Three distinct volcanoes formed Shira, Mwanzi and Kibo. Shira was the first to become extinct, eventually collapsing and was later covered by debris from the other two volcanoes. Shira was thought to have been 16 000 ft high before its collapsed. Mawenzi followed and a massive explosion broke its eastern rim creating a spectacular gorge. Kibo continued to grow after Mawenzi’s collapse and later the magma pulled back from the central vent and was covered by a cone of ash around the rim. Today, Kibo is considered dormant but not extinct like the other two. “Kili’s” last major eruption was dated at 360 000 years ago with the most recent activity around 200 000 years ago.

The changing size of Kili’s snow cap has been the source of much speculation around the effects of climate change. Some call it “the poster child of global climate change”. Kili’s icecap has shrunk 82% since 1912 and some scientists estimate the glaciers may be completely gone in 50 years. There is much debate about the cause of the reduced snowcap but its is thought to be due to deforestation rather than global warming.

At the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro in southern Kenya, the melting snow off the mountain’s permanent snowcap feeds south into a large wetland called Kimana in Amboseli National Park. Kimana wetland area is approximately 10 square kilometres with other small wetlands along the rivers and the whole area acts as a vital water stop for wildlife migrating between Amboseli and Tsavo National Parks.

The landscape of Amboseli is made up of swamps, grasslands and acacia bushveld and even fever tree forests, but the heart of the park is certainly the swamps which draw in herds of elephant and buffalo, giraffe and zebra, to the water and lush grass in the dry season.

The park is dependent on the water fed by Kili and is critical to the high productivity of the swamps sustaining a vast array of wildlife and contributing to the biodiversity of the ecosystem.

Amboseli like the Tsavo West National Park supports large concentrations of wildlife despite the relatively arid terraines thanks to the nearby volcanic structures. Wildlife is sustained throughout prolonged dry seasons by underground water fed through porous rocks of the volcanic uplands. Swamps on the Amboseli Plains rely on groundwater from the Kilimanjaro massif. Tsavo West is fed by the Mzima Springs with water derived from the Chyulu Hills.

Life is abundant in the grasslands and swamps below Mount Kilimanjaro. The view of this “island in the sky” is breath-taking. I had seen it briefly, somewhat shrouded in clouds, the last time I was in Amboseli in 2018, but this trip we were fortunate to get several opportunities to see this mountain in all its majesty in bright sunshine. Once you wander around the Amboseli National Park you realise how important the melt waters from “Kili’s” snow cap and its weather influences are to the abundance and diversity of wildlife in this wonderful park.

“Dark clouds become heaven’s flowers when kissed by light.” ~ Rabindranath Tagore

There are many wonderful game parks with a range of hills in the background, Mana Pools in Zimbabwe with its high escarpment in the background springs to mind but nothing on the scale of “Kili”.

“No matter how sophisticated you may be, a large granite mountain cannot be denied – it speaks in silence to the very core of your being” ~Ansel Adams

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

I had the privilege of visiting Amboseli National Park in south-east Kenya in mid-April this year. This trip was postponed by a year due to the pandemic travel restrictions. Thankfully with the requisite tests and paperwork and guidance from photographic safari operator, Wild Eye, I was able to return to this amazing national park. I first travelled to Amboseli with Wild Eye in 2018 with Andrew Beck and was so impressed, that I wanted to return. The team at Wild Eye were amazing to get all the paperwork sorted out and made the trip as stress free as possible – and a big thank you to Judy van Zyl for that. Our guide was Mike Laubscher who was knowledgeable and fun and a big thank you to him for looking after us and pushing us to try new things photographically.

“Wildness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit.” ~ Edward Abbey

There are two dominant influences on the climate in Kenya: the onshore monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean, and the altitude. The winds determine the onset of Kenya’s two rainy seasons, with the hot northeast monsoon or kaskazi blowing dry air in from the Persian Gulf from November to March/April and the warm, moist kusi monsoon blowing in from the southeast from April/May to October. Despite Covid, April is not considered the high season because of the long rains. Well that might be so for general tourists but not for wildlife photographers. The heavy skies associated with the long rains bring vernal green grasslands and deep dark blue skies as dramatic backgrounds – perfect!!

“Not all who wander are lost.” – JRR Tolkien

Amboseli National Park, was formerly known as the Maasai Amboseli Game Reserve. It is a national park in Kajiado South Constituency in Kajiado County, in south east Kenya. The park is 39,206 hectares (392 km²) in size at the core of an ecosystem that spreads across the Kenya-Tanzania border. It is located just inside the Kenyan side of the Kenya/Tanzania border at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. The park protects two of the five main swamps in what is a flat open area with several distinct ecosystems. The National Park embodies five main wildlife habitats (open plains, acacia woodland, rocky thorn bush country, swamps and marshland) and covers part of an ancient lake basin, which is dry for most of the year.

There had been a lot of rain before we arrived. The swamps had filled and there were large pans of shallow water which attracted Greater and Lesser Flamingoes by the thousands. With so much water around the flamingoes were spread out and not confined to a few large pans. In the mornings the surface of the pans were dead still reflecting the cloud laden skies.

Adjacent to the swamps were huge tracts of open grasslands which attracted the elephants. Where there were elephants, the Cattle egrets followed. Invariably there were family groups with a few females and several calves foraging on the low bush and grasses. The skies at this time of the year are filled with cumulus clouds providing a dramatic background especially in the afternoons when the cumulonimbus clouds formed creating deep dark blue backgrounds with towers of heavy rain clouds.

With so many elephants on the open grasslands so too were there many Cattle egrets. The elephants disturb the insects in the grass as they are foraging, and the egrets stay close by to take advantage of the insects which have been disturbed.

The grey of the elephants in the verdant green grasslands with deep dark blue skies were beautifully punctuated with splashes of white.

Where there are rain clouds so too were rainbows which added the extra colour and spectacle to a wonderfully peaceful scene.

Mount Kilimanjaro in the background just peeking through the clouds. It is the highest mountain in Africa standing at 5,895 metres above sea level and is snow capped all year round. It is quite incongruent to be sitting sweltering in a game vehicle while looking up to “Kili’s” snow capped peak.

The cloud formations in the “long rains” made a dramatic and colourful background for our wildlife landscapes in Amboseli. This is a place of big open spaces and even bigger dramatic skies which makes the pachyderms look minute in the context.

With all the drama in the skies, the scene in the foreground was tranquil with Greater flamingoes filter feeding before sunset.

I have been wanting to go back to Amboseli since my first trip with Andrew Beck of Wild Eye in 2017. The last trip was in June when it was dry. This trip cast an entirely different complexion on the park.

There is an openness in the park which is to be found in the Kenyan game parks. The long rains created a verdant landscape with dramatic cloud filled skies. There is an abundance of wildlife in Amboseli which of course is more dispersed in the rains because of the abundance of water, but it is full of life.

“The sky above me the earth beneath me and the fire within me.” – Unknown

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

Simon, Jocelin and I had five wonderful days in Amboseli during our photographic safari with Andrew and Sammy from Wild-Eye. Amboseli is the most amazing place to visit as a photographer because of the incredible diversity of habitat, wildlife and birdlife. This is the last post from Amboseli and hopefully shows some of that diversity.

“Africa – You can see a sunset and believe you have witnessed the Hand of God. You watch the slope lope of a lioness and forget to breathe. You marvel at the tripod of a giraffe bent to water. In Africa, there are iridescent blues on the wings of birds that you do not see anywhere else in nature. In Africa, in the midday heart, you can see blisters in the atmosphere. When you are in Africa, you feel primordial, rocked in the cradle of the world.”

~ Jodi Picoult

Around 6h30 we left the Serena Lodge nestled in an acacia forest in the south of the park. Travelling north up to the acacia forest in the Oltukai area we found a troop of Olive baboons and this Yellow-throated Spurfowl. It was early in the morning so the sun was not out yet but this character stood and posed for us. It must have been a female as it did not have a pronounced spur on the back of its legs. The males need the spurs to fight for dominance and territory. I have found that you can try over and over again to photograph a species with little luck then out of the blue one character poses beautifully. This was one of those occasions.

This female spurfowl was quite relaxed standing on top of a berm on a drainage line. Spurfowl are generally cryptic in colouring but always have   definitive colouring around their head.

On into the acacia forest where the Oltukai lodge is nestled. Baboons seem to love this area perhaps because it offers protection and food. On the side of the road a male Olive baboon and his female sat close together. Within the hairy tangle emerged this very young baboon.

This youngster was cradled within his mother’s thigh and seemed to be sucking his thumb – genetic cognisance!

The male was an impressive character who looked like he was up for any sort of territorial tangle.

On our travels around the Olokenya swamp we found this lone Serval wandering parallel to the road about 20 metres into the grass. The Serval is characterised by a small head, large ears, a golden-yellow to buff coat spotted and striped with black, and a short, black-tipped tail. The Serval has the longest legs of any cat relative to its body size. This character looked to be out hunting. It came to a drainage ditch and instead of walking around, it jumped straight over the water filled ditch. Servals have very strong back legs and are known for their ability to jump high into the air to catch doves and guineafowl.

“One cannot resist the lure of Africa.”

~ Rudyard Kipling

In true cat style, this character was confident and walked through the long grass ever alert with those big ears moving backwards and forwards like radar scanners.

This Serval knew where it was going and stopped to take in different smells. As an observer you get the impression that all the smells help form a picture of who passes by and the state they are/were in.

Once out of the grass, the Serval’s colouring was very distinctive. It stopped to scratch its ear with its back leg. These creatures are so lithe.

Further on this African Hoopoe was foraging on the ground and hopped onto a log to get a better view of the goings on around it. They are beautiful birds with a distinctive onomatopoeic trisyllabic “oop-oop-oop” call.

Past the Oltukai forest we travelled west towards the Amboseli lake. It is dry for most of the time. On the edge of the dry lake bed we stopped to photograph some trees and this small herd of wildebeest wandering through the grass fringe.

“The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders.”

~Edward Abbey

The Amboseli lake lies on the west side of the park. The lake bed is huge and desolate.

As it got hotter, the heat waves began to form a mirage and the legs of the zebra began to shimmer.

Plenty of game cross this lake bed including zebra, wildebeest, ostriches and elephants.

The lake bed is dry and the fine alluvial mud forms interesting patterns when it dries. Naturally forming mud cracks start as wet, muddy sediment and desiccates, causing contraction. The top layer shrinks faster than the underneath layer causing the crack.

A sign of a large pachyderm having passed this way!

This elephant must have crossed the dry lake bed to get to the long grass and swamps on the south east side.

We found this bull who we had watched walk around the side of the lake. The bulls are impressive in Amboseli. They are big and some of the older “boys” have huge tusks.

“In Africa you have space…there is a profound sense of space here, space and sky.”

~ Thabo Mbeki

Having looked around the dry lake bed we travelled east. It was fun watching a long line of wildebeest cross this pool of water. They could have walked around but they chose to wade through the water. They must have some primal instinct that tells them to speed up when they walk through water, perhaps because of the danger lurking under the water.

As soon as the water got deep, the wildebeest would try and jump out of the water.

“The truth is: the natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it.”

~David Attenborough

A little further east we found a hyaena den. This old female seemed to have be ostracised from the clan and had only one or two clan members who were prepared to tolerate her. It certainly looks as if life has been tough on her.

We then headed south toward a fever tree forest near the Enkongo Narok swamp. An old dead tree stump looked to be a favourite lookout and congregating point for this troop of Olive baboons. A place for earnest discussion!

All the youngsters were looking very mature on top of the tree stump conferring with each other.

That was until the boss came along, then the game was deference.

“Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.”

~Gary Snyder

The baboons were looking onto a fever tree forest. This forest was fenced off to protect it from the elephants and looked to be a preferred place for the giraffe. Research shows that giraffe in different regions of sub-Saharan Africa have different coat patterns. The pelage of these giraffe and the location made me think they were Masai Giraffe, one of nine distinct species in Africa.

Amazingly, the long white acacia thorns seemed to be no deterrent for these voracious vegetarians. 

These fever trees have a beautiful green-yellow bark which seems to ooze a dark brown resin, probably because of some close attention from a number of large animals in the past.

The giraffe were not the only ones to enjoy this fever tree forest. Some elephant found their way through gaps in the fence.

The fence seemed to help protect the forest from the elephants, though a few canny individuals managed to find a way in and looked to be thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Beyond the fever tree forest, we moved down at a small dam along the Kioko road. Next to the road by the dam, we found this hive of African bees in an acacia tree.

It was interesting to see that the natural form of this hive was a cone shape. From the small dam we drove down to the lake and swamp below Observation Hill. The bird life was superb along this stretch of water. There were quite a few Collared Pratincoles in this area. One found a blue dragonfly and was  trying to  subdue it in order to swallow it.

″A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.”

~ Moslih Eddin Saadi

After some considerable maneuvering it finally got the blue dragonfly into a position it could swallow it.

It does not appear that these birds taste what they are eating although I am sure some birds can taste their food. I know that birds do not like the taste of Monarch butterflies and I am not sure whether sunbirds can taste their nectar or whether they just recognise the flowers which produce it.

There were also many Spur-winged Lapwings. This pair were ensuring the continuation of the species. It always intrigues me that the female never seems to buckle under the weight of the male.

Now this is something I had never seen before, Black-winged Stilt chicks. They must have been days old and looked just like Jacana chicks but for their lack of long toes.

The Black-winged Stilt mother was very busy fending off all other birds near her chicks.

The stilt chicks would tuck under their mother’s wing just like Jacanas do their father’s. The Black winged Stilt mother had to get down onto her knees so her chicks could nestle under her wings. The Jacana mother is usually no where to be seen as their father is their guardian. Both Jacana and Stilt chicks look to be precocial.

“You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”

~ Mark Twain

This little bundle of fluff seemed to be quite independent when its parent was away.

The Spur-winged Lapwings were also highly protective and territorial. This character had to nosedive to get out of the way of a stooping opponent.

In contrast to the dry Amboslei lake bed earlier in the day, along the lower reaches of the swamp we watched this contented pod of hippos enjoying the warmth under the cloudy sky.

“Amboseli” comes from a Masai word meaning “salty dust”, and it is one of the best places in Africa to view large herds of elephants up close. There are five different habitats to explore ranging from the dried-up bed of Lake Amboseli, wetlands with sulphur springs, grassland plains, savannah and acacia and fever tree woodlands. There is a vast array of mammals and a much bigger variety of bird life than I ever expected. We had a wonderful and interesting five days exploring Amboseli. Five days is not nearly enough so I will be coming back. From Amboseli Andrew and Sammy took us on to Tsavo West further down in the south east of Kenya to explore another interesting game park.

“Live out of your imagination, not your history”.

~Stephen Covey

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

At the southern part of the park is the Oliotokitok road which extends from the Oltukai acacia forest passed the OloKenya swamp down to the Olkelunyiet gate in the south-east corner of the park.

“The continent is too large to describe. It is a veritable ocean, a separate planet, a varied, immensely rich cosmos. Only with the greatest simplification, for the sake of convenience, can we say ‘Africa’. In reality, except as a geographical appellation, Africa does not exist.”
― Ryszard Kapuściński

Down at the southern most point of the OloKenya swamp there are three hippo pools. Sure enough in one of the pools there was a hippo and it was keeping an eye on a Fish Eagle on the bank preparing its recently caught barbel meal.

 Grey Crowned Cranes were frequently seen on the periphery of the swamp. This pair was flying in to feed on the bounty around the swamp.

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware”

~Martin Buber

I was jesting with Simon Beevers and Andrew Beck that the Mount Kilimanjaro was a figment of their imagination. For the first three days of our time in Amboseli the mountain was shrouded in thick cloud cover. At last on the fourth morning, they were redeemed as the sun prevailed and pushed the clouds away for a short while. Mount Kilimanjaro looked like a pudding with icing on top. It was quite incongruent to see dusty dry grasslands in the foreground and a snow-capped mountain in the background.

Along the Oliotokitok road driving towards the Olkelunyiet gate there was grassland on the left hand side and acacia woodlands on the right. I liked the unlikely combination of a huge Martial Eagle sitting in a large acacia tree in front of this massive snow-capped mountain in the middle of hot dusty Africa. Just another example of the amazing contrasts which can be found in Africa.

It was  reasonably early so the sun was still relatively low resulting in rim lighting around some of the animals on the left hand side of the road. This was a lone male Olive baboon wandering through the low grass.

He stopped to sit and look at us and show us how boring he thought we were!! He got our attention with those canines.

A little further along the road on at the top of one of the tall acacia trees was an African Hawk Eagle. It had a wonderful vantage point from which too look for prey and competitors. African Hawk Eagles are particularly aggressive raptors.

The Impala favoured the transition zone along the acacia woodland. This calf enjoyed its mother’s offering.

“There is language going on out there, the language of the wild. Roars, snorts, trumpets, squeals, whoops, and chirps all have meaning derived over eons of expression… We have yet to become fluent in the language – music of the wild.”
~ Boyd Norton

On the way back from getting some paperwork sorted out at the gate we found two lionesses emerging from the elephant grass. They looked to be on a mission with intent in their eyes. I am always impressed by the power exuded from their  forelegs and shoulders.

Although it looks flat there are many gullies and drainage lines which enable the lions to get close to the quarry without being seen.

“People don’t take trips.

Trips take people.”

~John Steinbeck

This lioness spotted some zebra in the distance on the other side of the swamp. There is a look a lion gets when it locks onto its intended quarry.

It took about twenty minutes for this lioness to get into position by using the cover of a drainage line. The wind must have been in her favour as she got close without the zebra being aware that the  death squad was closing in.

Something must have happened, perhaps the wind changed direction but in an instant the hunt was thwarted because the zebra picked up her position. You could see the lioness’s irritation by the overt flick of the tail, she was probably growling too. Not long after being compromised she shrunk down into the grass again so the zebras could not see her. They decided to move on and another group started wandering past but they must have seen their predecessors and gave the lioness a wide berth.

Further along the road we found wildebeests dusting themselves. They seem to really enjoy rubbing their backs and flanks in the dust.

Also along the Oliotokitok road we found a female Cheetah and her adolescent cub wandering along the acacia tree line. Her slightly arched back indicated that she was uncomfortable about something and was getting out of the way.

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful,  we must carry it with us or we find it not.”

~Henry David Thoreau

Having crossed the road onto the woodland side she seemed to settle down into a much more relaxed gait. Although relaxed she was continually looking a round.

Looking south west toward Mount Kilimanjaro, this female Cheetah has seen some Thompson’s Gazelle grazing in the open grassland in the middle distance.

“We live in a wonderful world full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventure we can have if we only seek them with our eyes open.”

~Jawaharial Nehru

This Cheetah mother and her cub were very wary in the woodland surroundings because their surroundings possibly concealed aggressive, competitive predators, such as lions, hyaenas and leopards.

Cheetahs have the speed but they also have to be wary of other predators seeking up behind them.

I took this landscape image to show how big the land  and sky is around here.

This Cheetah mother was ever vigilant. Interestingly, she and her adolescent cub never walked together, probably so they never got caught together by predators.

This Cheetah cub must have been the last remaining survivor of the litter. The others were probably lost to predators or hunger. This youngster was very wary, understandably.

The acacia woodland showed a very different face of Amboseli. Despite the human population around the park, the dead wood inside the park did not seem to have been touched.

A White-headed Buffalo Weaver looked to be cutting stems of grass for its nest.

“Long before the stars died the birds began to sing – cool rippling doves, loud cheery starlings, the long lilting trills of warblers and thrushes.”
~ Mike Bond

Lilac-breasted Rollers love eating insects. This one seemed to have got an insect lodged in its throat and was trying to regurgitate it – without much success.

I hope this post showed yet another side to the amazing diversity of habitat and wildlife that you are likely to find in your travels through Amboseli.

“Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and I remember more than I have seen”

~Benjamin Disraeli

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

Amboseli is synonymous with elephants.  The Amboseli Elephant Research Project is world’s longest study of elephants and forms an unparalleled body of knowledge on the life-history and behavior of African elephants.

“Elephants are living treasures. Nature’s gardeners. Nature’s great teachers. Tragically some people don’t give a damn. They prefer the dead treasure to the living one. The ivory. We must challenge this so-called ‘trade’ with all our might and shame on those who would condone it.”
~Virginia McKenna

According to Elephantvoices.org, the project was started in 1972. Amboseli has some 1,200 elephants (2011 figure, down from 1,600 in 2008 due to severe drought and poaching) which includes 58 families and close to 300 independent adult males. Each individual has been named, numbered, or coded and can be recognised individually. This degree of recognition makes the Amboseli elephants the best-known free-ranging population in the world.

“May the flowers fill your heart with beauty, May hope forever wipe away your tears, And, above all, may silence make you strong.”

~ Chief Dan George

We had just left the lodge at around 6h30 and were travelling south west towards the swamp.  About half a kilometre from the lodge we came across this elephant mother and her two youngsters fast asleep in the early morning light. In general, elephants will sleep a maximum of four hours per day/night. They do not sleep for an extended period only for about 30 minutes and then get up and feed and will then have a short sleep again. But each time they sleep on a different side. They repeat this cycle until they get their required (roughly) four hours of sleep.

The youngsters were “out for the count”. It was cool in the dawn light as the sun had not yet risen, that in between time when the nocturnal animals and birds seek a place to rest and the diurnal wildlife is awakening. I have never seen so many elephants sleeping on their sides as I did in Amboseli. It must be testament to them feeling safe there. 

We were very quiet so as not to disturb this family slumber. After some time, the female awoke and slowly began to rise. She raised herself onto her knees before she stood up on her front legs and then hind legs. It was fascinating to watch her. She was still very sleepy and clearly did not want to get out of bed. Now standing she just stood in a sleepy daze for quite a while before the youngsters began to stir. We did not hear anything that would have woken them up so it must have been some infra-sound from their mother which caused them to stir.

Our time in Amboseli was characterised by heavy cloud. It often looked like it was going to rain heavily but never did. Away from the swamps the grasslands were open and dry. This can provide a wonderful opportunity to photograph elephants approaching from the horizon with clean backgrounds.

“If elephants didn’t exist, you couldn’t invent one. They belong to a small group of living things so unlikely they challenge credulity and common sense.”
― Lyall Watson

This small family had walked across a large open tract of grassland and were on their way to feed  on the luxuriant grasses in the swamps.

Sometimes the family would stretch out when they were walking towards us and then for no apparent reason (to us) they suddenly gathered together and stopped to assess a sound or smell that they had just come across.

One of those times when the family stretches out.

There were many calves at this time of the year and the calves remained between the adults for protection.

The bull elephants in Amboseli are impressive. This was a huge bull with large tusks in perfect condition. Looking at this massive creature, I concur with the quote that the only being that needs the tusks are the elephant. He was looking somewhat dusty having just showered himself with a huge amount of dirt a few minutes before.

“My weapon is the written word, and my battlefield is the page, and every time I connect with one of my readers the call of the wild travels just a little bit further. And I would walk a hundred miles and write ten thousand words if I could just bring back that one dead elephant bull that now haunts me. He haunts me, and yet at the same time he compels me to push on through the darkness, wherever it may take me. Anyone that has spent time amongst Africa’s wild things will understand; the pure poetry of nature, the awe and the longing to be close to something so much greater than what we are.”

~Jamie Joseph, Founder of savingthewild.com

Off in the distance we saw a big herd of elephants approaching, on their way to the swamp. What made this herd more interesting is it was accompanied by three huge bulls.

As the elephants approached our vehicle they gathered to protect the youngsters.

This herd of elephants approached us without a sound. When they got reasonably close they stopped seemed to have made an assessment about what we were doing and decided it was safe to pass.

Another larger herd followed the first. Andrew and Jimmy has assessed where to position the vehicle perfectly as we did not seem to disturb the elephants but they passed close by us.

“We admire elephants in part because they demonstrate what we consider the finest human traits: empathy, self-awareness, and social intelligence. But the way we treat them puts on display the very worst of human behavior.”
~ Graydon Carter

In this herd was a bull, the biggest elephant I have ever seen in my life. He was in musth but seemed to be very relaxed.

One of the other bulls in the herd gave use a wider berth. In the background was Observation hill.

I cannot show you elephant images without showing you some of the wonderful colours and textures of their skin. Part of an ear against its shoulder.

It is usually difficult to see the elephant’s brown eyes but you can be sure that the elephant sees you with those small brown intelligent eyes.

“But perhaps the most important lesson I learned is that there are no walls between humans and the elephants except those we put up ourselves, and that until we allow not only elephants, but all living creatures their place in the sun, we can never be whole ourselves.”
~ Lawrence Anthony, The Elephant Whisperer

Tusk and trunk, very different textures and colours.  Elephants’ tusks never stop growing so some bulls if they manage to grow old have huge tusks. According to elieaid.com, elephants’ tusks are actually elongated incisors and are essentially no different from other teeth. One third of the tusk is actually hidden from view, embedded deep in the elephant’s head. This part of the tusk is a pulp cavity made up of tissue, blood and nerves. The visible, ivory part of the tusk is made of dentine with an outer layer of enamel. 

Down at the swamp, the elephants are constantly accompanied by Cattle Egrets. The elephants disturb insects when they walk and feed in the grass which the egrets are quick to take advantage of. Many egrets happily catch a ride with the elephant as it is walking along.

This big bull was wandering from herd to herd looking for females with which to mate. He had a long walk and was approaching two bulls behind us. All of a sudden for no obvious reason as he walked behind us suddenly charged one of the other bulls. Large bull elephants are ungainly when they run at speed. Ungainly or not you do not want to get in the way of that momentum. Needless to say the offender quickly got out of the charging bull’s way.

Another family herd emerging from the bottom of OloKenya swamp.

The herd comprised females and youngsters, with the small ones in the middle, as usual.

Their legs were wet from having been grazing on the grasses in the swamp.

The herd was on its way to browse in the acacia woodland. In between there was plenty of space to enjoy numerous dust baths. The elephants make a distinct track in the dry earth.

This image is at the end of the post, but was taken early in the morning a short while after sunrise. Again it was that in between time in the bush when everything is very quiet and serene. The sun started to peer through the thick morning cloud. Moments like these in the bush are sublime.

“Man must be made conscious of his origin as a child of Nature. Brought into right relationship with the wilderness he would see that he was not a separate entity endowed with a divine right to subdue his fellow creatures and destroy the common heritage, but rather an integral part of a harmonious whole. He would see that his appropriation of earth’s resources beyond his personal needs would only bring imbalance and beget ultimate loss and poverty for all.” 
~ John Muir

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

Amboseli is a park with remarkable diversity of not only for wildlife but for scenery too. The previous post showed some of the diversity of bird and animal life along the Oltukai swamp drive. This post will take you to a wild palm grove.

“Nothing but breathing the air of Africa, and actually walking through it, can communicate the indescribable sensations.”

~ William Burchell

Amboseli owes its panoply of wildlife to a tapestry of habitats. To the south, Kilimanjaro towers over the plains of Amboseli. To the east is the youthful 500 year old volcanic range of the Chyulus which reaches into Tsavo West National Park. To the north rise a series of ever darker and more distant hills stretching to the Kenya highlands.

Each morning we left the lodge at 6h30, just before the sunrise – brimming with anticipation. Andrew Beck, our photographic guide and Jimmy the driver and Kenyan wildlife guide from Wild-Eye took us to different parts of the park each day. On this occasion, we drove up to the wild palm grove. When we arrived the palm grove was shrouded in mist, which we were told was unusual. The mist was so thick that we could only see about 100 metres into the grove. The mist provided a wonderfully moody background with shafts of sunlight beaming onto the foreground.

The mist seemed to be caught in the palms because the surrounding area was being illuminated from time to time by shafts of  sunshine piercing through the cloud cover. Two white bearded Wildebeest were sparring in one of the pockets of early morning light.

On the opposite side of the of the road to the palm grove, was open grassland. A male Lion and his lioness were lying in the open in the cool early morning light. They certainly had the zebras attention who could not take their eyes off the cats.

“Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of men, instead, seek what they sought.”

~ Matsuo Basho

The light was extraordinary this particular early morning. It was generally overcast and quite dark and misty and then all of a sudden, shafts of light would beam through a break in the clouds. This small family of zebra were illuminated by one of those shafts of light.

The mist started to lift after about fifteen minutes as the ambient temperature warmed up. As the mist lifted we could see deeper into the palm grove, and Andrew was the first to see a huge bull elephant in a gap between the palms – a big tusker!

This bull was wandering around the palm grove looking for females. He back tracked into one of the open areas to go and test a group of  females.

“…few can sojourn long within the unspoilt wilderness of a game sanctuary, surrounded on all sides by its confiding animals, without absorbing its atmosphere; the Spirit of the Wild is quick to assert supremacy, and no man of any sensibility can resist her.”

~ James Stevenson-Hamilton

This was one of Amboseli’s big boys and he was in musth as evidenced by his wet hind leg. Bull elephants have musth cycles. During musth, the bull’s testosterone levels can be as much as 60 times greater than their normal levels. It is not known whether this hormonal surge is the cause of musth, or merely a contributing factor. Obviously trying to test a bull elephant in this condition is tricky and dangerous. Bulls in musth are primed to mate, and will fight other bull elephants for that right. Musth bulls produce a distinctive low-frequency vocalisation, known as the the musth rumble, and have thick secretions from their temporal glands and continuously dribble urine.

Andrew rightly decided to drive ahead along the road that followed the edge of the grove to the entrance to the elephant research centre. Sure enough after an anxious few minutes, this massive bull walked through the palms towards us.

He had been feeding on something the palms had to offer and at times just pushed over a massive palm tree to get at it. The Vervet monkey sitting close by in the grass was impressed.

“Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.”

~ Frank Herbert

The palm trees in the background with the elephant in the front of the palms gave the scene a “David Livingstone” feel.

The bird life was active on the edge of the palms. This African Hoopoe must have decided it was too early to forage on the ground and just sat watching the passing parade from a palm frond.

There were plenty of Little Bee-eaters hawking insects from the palm fronds at the edge of the grove.

The grazing looked to be good in the area surrounding the palm grove and kept this herd of (mainly female) Impala occupied.

The palm fronds themselves made interesting subjects providing different shapes and textures. 

There must have been plenty of insect life in the grasses below the palms because it attracted a few White-browed Coucals.

“The further one goes, the less one knows.”

~ Lao-Tzu

This Rufous Chatterer was  having a wonderful time foraging through the base of new and old palm trees.

We only saw Little Bee-eaters which must be endemic to the area. I thought we might see White-fronted Bee-eaters, but no luck.

Lying in the grass on the periphery of the palm grove was this hyaena. It must have been a scout. It lifted its head as we passed by, otherwise we would never have seen it lying flat in the grass.

The palm grove was fascinating and not what you would expect when you enter the dry outer rim of the park. This very different flora region of the park provided hours of interest and intrigue.

“…… Africa is mystic; it is wild; it is a sweltering inferno; it is a photographer’s paradise, a hunter’s Valhalla, an escapist’s Utopia. It is what you will, and it withstands all interpretations. It is the last vestige of a dead world or the cradle of a shiny new one. To a lot of people, as to myself, it is just home.”

~ Beryl Markham

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

One of  the first things Andrew Beck of Wild-Eye asked me was what did I want out of the Amboseli-Tsavo trip?  Apart from wanting to go to a new destination and all its associated excitement, I wanted to learn new ways to re-frame the way I look at my subject and scene. I wanted to learn to see the world in a different way. Andrew, you did that for me in a number of ways – for which I thank you. The first was you took us to an amazing place. Amboseli was a revelation,and its diversity and abundance were spellbinding.

For the purposes of these posts, I have divided our Amboseli trip into a number of regions and drives, because each offered us very different scenery, wildlife and photographic opportunities. In this second post on our Amboseli trip I have focused on Oltukai which is the central zone in the park. This area starts just west of the Ol Tukai Lodge which is nestled in an acacia forest and includes a long swamp area surrounded by dry low grass plains and stretches west towards Observation Hill to a small dam about a kilometre past it. From a distance, we saw a huge flock of flamingoes in shallow pan water on the left hand side of the swamp area and tried to get closer to watch and photograph them.

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”

~Jawaharlal Nehru
I had preconceived ideas about Amboseli and it was so much more than its famous elephants and much more than just a national park in an arid area of Kenya. The swamps and the birdlife were a big surprise. At the edge of the swamps we saw numerous Grey Crowned Cranes.

Our time in Amboseli was characterised by extensive cloud so we got lots of practice working in relatively low light. Not only did the clouds softened the contrast but we were able to slow the shutter speeds giving us opportunities to try some panning. This was the start of trying something new. I still need much practice but this was a new technique which will enable me to keep shooting creatively in low light.

Another aspect that Andrew emphasised repeatedly was creating context. Backgrounds are as important as the subject and in some instances more so. It usually helps to give the viewer a sense of the environment in which you found your subject. This Greenshank (identified by its slightly upturned bill) was foraging in the reeds in the midst of a large swamp. This scene reflected the peace and solitude. To convey a sense of this peace and solitude I included more of the reeds.

On the road leading west through the swamp towards the airstrip we found a very productive area for photographing birds. This occurred by happenchance as we were trying to get close to the large flock of flamingoes. Close to the right hand side of the elevated dirt road through the Oltukai swamp we found an amazing variety of birdlife. This Purple Heron was hunting in the long swamp grass but keeping an eye on us all the while.

It was intriguing to see so many Long-toed Lapwings in the swamp area, as the only other place I have seen them is along the Chobe river in Botswana.

We saw this huge flock of Lesser Flamingoes and as if to emphasise the abundance of the scene this male Saddle-billed Stork flew past.

While we were watching the flamingoes there was action all around us. This Black-winged Stilt chased a Red-billed Teal out of its patch of water. Perhaps this Stilt had chicks because I have never seen stilts chasing teal before.

Although the sun was not shining through the clouds it was bright. I liked the sepia coloured reflection of this Wood Sandpiper in the dead still water on an open patch of the swamp.

As a keen birder this patch proved to be highly productive. Minutes after the stilt-teal chase this female Painted Snipe flew in to forage right in front of us. Unusually in the bird world, the female is the colourful one of the Painted Snipe pair.

Once away from the attention of a maternal Black- winged Stilt, this Red Billed Teal settled down. This particular character had just finished bathing and was flapping its wings to shake off the water.

In the middle distance beyond where we were watching the Red-billed Teal, there was a mixed congregation of Lesser and Greater Flamingoes.

Even with these beautiful flamingoes further out I could not take my eyes off the female Painted Snipe. This painted lady was stunningly beautiful – nature can put on a show.

“I’m an adventurer, looking for treasure”
~ Paulo Coelho

I don’t know how much time passed but it was time to move on out of the swamp into the drier part beyond. On our way, I took this image because of the surprising colour variations in the fore and middle ground. This is part of the unexpected spell that Amboseli casts on its visitors.

Further on beyond Observation Hill at the junction of three roads, a small dam was bustling with life. We watched this juvenile Goliath Heron hunting, without success.

Just downstream of the small dam wall, the water course turned into a swamp. The swamp was a narrow ribbon of water and emerald green vegetation flowing through an otherwise dry area with zebra and wildebeest grazing on the far side. In the foreground was  a Bohor’s Reedbuck foraging in the swamp. This is another example of the astounding variation in the scenery of this park.

Perched on a long stem of grass next to this swamp was this Malachite Kingfisher – a little jewel in this incredible variety.

Close to the Malachite Kingfisher was what I think was this juvenile Stout Cisticola.

Without moving, we watched this family group of  elephants walking up along the side of the swamp. The contrast in the light was muted by the cloud and the blue foothills of Mount “Kili” provided a perfect background.

“Live as if you were going to die tomorrow,

Learn as if you were going to live forever.”

~Mahatma Ghandi

The elephant seem to love feeding in the swamp. Not only do they keep cool but there is plenty to eat.

Some of the youngsters got deep into their food with a Cattle Egret keeping watch.

The ground next to the swamp was dry and dusty. Once the elephants had finished feeding in the swamp they proceeded to dust themselves. This family’s dusting session was interrupted by the attentions of a roaming bull.

Often we came across young elephants lying down on the ground among the family. I have never seen this before in the middle of the day. Perhaps this is a sign that they feel comfortable enough to rest like this, and the adults were very relaxed.

The bull was trying his luck, but the females were too preoccupied with their youngsters.

“The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.”
~ Oprah Winfrey

Away from the groves and forests, the dry areas in Amboseli offer ‘big skies’.

There were lots of youngsters in the park. 

On our way back from the dam we found a place to stop and again watch the flamingoes.  This was part of a large group of Lesser Flamingoes who seemed to be congregating and bathing rather than feeding.   

Andrew told us that the year before there had been no water in this part of the swamp and no flamingoes. The amount of water in the swamps had partly to do with the rains the previous summer but more to do with the melting snow from Mount Kilimanjaro in the background to the west. 

A Bohor Reedbuck wandering through a shallow part of the swamp. I really liked the colour graduations.

“Let me, O let me bathe my soul in colours; let me swallow the sunset and drink the rainbow.”
~ Kahlil Gibran

A lone wildebeest disturbed the flock of Lesser Flamingoes. When this number of flamingoes takes to the sky it is a blaze of colour. 

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.”
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Not only is this a spectacle of movement and colour but these flamingoes could be heard from far off.

Every now and then something (often a Fish Eagle) would disturb the flock which would take to the air. The flock would fly in anti-clockwise circles above the open water of the pan, not quite a murmuration, but they all circled together.

Back along the elevated dirt road through the swamp towards the Ol Tukai Lodge we found this adult Goliath Heron hunting in the swamp grasses alongside the road.

A small group of Fluvous Whistling Ducks rest in the shallow of waters of a pan in the swamp.

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
~ Terry Pratchett

There were also small flocks of White-faced Whistling Ducks.

Red-billed Teal relaxing away from the attentions of a protective Black-winged Stilt.

The male Saddle-billed Stork we saw flying by as we started our swamp drive was having some success in the waterlogged swamp grasses.

On our way back to the Serena Lodge, probably 300 metres from the lodge entrance we stopped to watch this huge bull walk out of the acacia savanna, with cloud shrouded Mount Kilimanjaro in the background.

“The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun.”
~ Christopher McCandless

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness, and let it be

Have fun,

Mike

I recently visited Amboseli for the first time with Wild-Eye, a photographic safari company. This trip was a revelation in a number of ways. The first was that Amboseli was easily accessible from Nairobi by road. I will regale you with stories about the return trip to Nairobi many posts from now. Prior to the trip, I spent some time trawling the “net” for images and information about the area. Despite my best efforts,  I was unprepared for the diversity, the moodiness of the place in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, and the amount of game and birds we were about to experience.

“We need the tonic of wildness…At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.”
~ Henry David Thoreau

The second surprise was how overcast the weather was in late June. I have long since learnt that clouds can be a photographer’s friend, especially in the high contrast African sunlight. The clouds softened the contrast, added mood and provided some interesting backgrounds.

A noticeable feature of Amboslei was the number of elephants and the number of bulls with decent sized tusks among those elephant groups. This is a tribute to the longevity of the elephant but also the huge conservation effort which goes into protecting these magnificent, intelligent mammals. The bull in the next image was showing us that we were too close. A shake of the head caused those large ears to make a slapping sound against his body which was a clear message.

We stayed at the Serena Lodge in Amboseli, which was secluded in a grove of acacia trees. From the lodge’s veranda you could look through the acacia and fever trees onto a grassland plain. Among the fever trees close to the entrance of the lodge we regularly saw this Grey-headed Kingfisher, as this must have been its territory.

Away from the acacia forest around the lodge, the bush changed into thick grassland where we found his Kori Bustard stalking through the brush but keeping one eye on us as he did so.

West of the lodge  beyond an open area of grassland we drove along a road which took us adjacent to a Wild Date palm grove. This palm has edible fruit and is found throughout Africa and tends to grow in areas where groundwater is present.  The Wild Date palm grove attracts abundant birdlife. The road  circled the grove and along the route we found numerous Little Bee-eaters hawking insects from the palm fronds.

“Tell me, what is it that you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”

~ Mary Oliver

Adjacent to this Wild Date palm grove we watched two bulls approach each other with purpose. It was with great anticipation that we watched these two converge. Almost like the start of a gentleman’s fight they shook each other’s trunk.

Then the tussle between these two adult bull elephants started. In a friendly way, the bigger of the two laid his trunk on the other smaller bull’s forehead.

The smaller of the two decided it was time to push back and ten tonnes of fun started. The two adult bull elephants began to push each other around in a play fight.

For the most part the pushing which playful but at times it looked like the game had the potential to turn serious. It was impressive watching two massive animals pushing each other head on!

The two bulls moved to a more open area to continue their play fight. This was perfect as it gave us better perspective and backgrounds.

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”

~ Martin Buber 

The bigger bull started to restrain his opponent’s right front leg giving him the advantage in the push. I have seen similar behaviour before where an elephant bull hooked the tip of his trunk around a young female’s back leg to restrain her in the one-sided courtship.

The younger of the two bulls was not a “push over” but he did not seem to have the same aggression as the larger bull.

The larger of the two kept hooking his trunk around the smaller bull’s right front leg. This made me wonder just how strong their trunk muscle are? To restrain the movement of a middle-aged bull elephant’s front leg, the trunk muscles must be very powerful!

Once the two tusslers moved closer to us we could see how big they were.

Eventually the larger bull prevailed and pushed the other bull into submission.

The tussle between the bulls was great fun and exciting to watch. The play fight was just that and neither body nor ego appeared two have been hurt, though the larger bull was the clear winner. After this exciting sighting we drove further to the Olokenya Swamp. Looking west we watched a family group of elephants dusting themselves with Mount Kilimanjaro shrouded in cloud in the background.

Amboseli’s emerald-green swamps are fed by the melting snows of Kilimanjaro. These are the only sources of water in this otherwise starkly beautiful but arid park. The resulting swamps attract huge numbers of wallowing elephants, hippos, buffaloes and plains game.

Cattle Egrets were attracted by the elephants disturbing the insects in the grass. The white egrets punctuated the moody late afternoon scene.

The elephant family groups were scattered across the Olokenya swamp leaving clear foot paths marking their entrance.

“… there’s a silent voice in the wilderness that we hear only when no one else is around. When you go far, far beyond, out across the netherlands of the Known, the din of human static slowly fades away…..”
~ Rob Schultheis

The elephant groups were remarkably peaceful with only the odd youngster making a noise. The peace and serenity of the scene was soul soothing.

These white Cattle Egrets worked with the elephants. The elephants disturbed insects in the grass they were foraging on, which the egrets eagerly snapped up. The egrets were also happy to just park or catch a run on an elephant’s back.

On the opposite side of the road to the swamp, the area was dry with acacia trees in the middle ground. The heavy cloud cover created by Mount “Kili” added to the moodiness of the scene.

This looked to me to be a juvenile Two-banded Courser. On our first day, I began to get a sense of the prolific bird life in Amboseli.

On our journey around the fringe of the swamp we saw many zebra, Thompson’s Gazelle and wildebeest. It was quite dry and dusty, perfect for a roll and dust bath.

All the activity on the edge of the swamp did not go unnoticed. This hyaena scout was watching and waiting for an opportunity. I have seen them do this in the Serengeti, they hide in tufts of red oat grass. When an opportunity for food comes their way they start whooping and calling for reinforcements.

“In my perception, the world wasn’t a graph or formula or an equation. It was a story.”
~ Cheryl Strayed

It was early evening by the time we reached the swampy waters on the west side of the fever  and acacia tree forest around the Amboseli and Oltukai Lodges. This bull was big, alone, and looked to be really enjoying the peace and abundant food.

It was getting dark but I just liked the early evening reflection of this “big boy”.

“The darkest thing about Africa has always been our ignorance of it.”

~ George Kimble 

In the late afternoon, the cloud cover was thick and it was getting quite dark when suddenly the sun peered through as if a part of the curtain had been pulled aside. It is times like these when I am so grateful to be in the bush and be able to witness such dramatic beauty.

“Every creature was designed to serve a purpose. Learn from animals for they are there to teach you the way of life. There is a wealth of knowledge that is openly accessible in nature. Our ancestors knew this and embraced the natural cures found in the bosoms of the earth. Their classroom was nature. They studied the lessons to be learned from animals. Much of human behavior can be explained by watching the wild beasts around us. They are constantly teaching us things about ourselves and the way of the universe, but most people are too blind to watch and listen.”
~ Suzy Kassem

To Andrew and Jimmy thank you for a wondrous journey!

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be!

Have fun,

Mike