Day Four of our East African Safari --Amboseli National Park; Pit Stop at Oltukai Lodge and Pictures with Maasai Warrior; Lunch at Kibo Safari Camp; Long Van-Ride to Nairobi; Dinner at Carnivore Restaurant.

Monday, July 14, 2025:

Day Four of our East African Safari

Amboseli National Park; Pit Stop at Oltukai Lodge and Pictures with Maasai Warrior; Lunch at Kibo Safari Camp; Long Van-Ride to Nairobi; Dinner at Carnivore Restaurant.

Breakfast at Kibo Tented Camp:

For all its modesty. the Kibo Tented Camp offered us the most sumptuous banquets. Arriving first, as usual, to partake of breakfast, after what had been a very peaceful and restful night for us, Llew and I chose our seats and ordered our meal. As usual, Llew went for Eggs while I chose to do something different and ordered freshly-made crepes. Douzed with Chocolate and Butterscotch sauces, I have to admit that it was a bit like eating dessert first thing in the morning. But hey, I was on vacation and was quite happy to throw convention to the winds of the Mara. To wash it down, I chose watermelon juice and was quite happy with my much lighter breakfast. A saving grace for the day was that we did not need worry about those dreaded ‘packed’ lunches as our itinerary informed us that we would return to this same camp for a hot buffet lunch. And if breakfast offerings were anything to go by, I could be sure I’d be lunching well, for a change.

A Second Exploration of Amboseli National Park:

Breakfast consumed and our baggage placed in our vans (as we’d be staying in yet another place tonight), we set off. This morning, Mount Kilimanjaro was completely invisible and the Mara was covered with a fine mist. As we inched out of the gates of the park, we saw our first herd of zebras—they made for lovely hazy pictures in the softness of fog. Further on, we saw a small family of elephants, walking sluggishly towards us. Steve, our driver, informed us that their daily pattern is to wake early and make their leisurely way to a nearby swamp where they wallow in the waters, have a mud bath, give themselves showers and then slowly, at twilight, make their way back to where they came from—all the while they are tearing the Savannah grass off its roots and grazing for they eat at least half of their body weight daily.

Heading Towards the Swamp and Oltukai Lodge:

After about an hour, during which time we saw the usual suspects: loads of gazelles, impalas, wart hogs, zebras and a great deal of birds (Guinea fowl, eagles, black and white magpie-like birds, cranes and storks of various kinds, as well as Egyptian geese that were everywhere), we arrived at the watery reaches of a swamp. Steve pointed out a series of buildings to us in the distance and informed us that they were an intended resort whose construction was abandoned because litigation had commenced, for some reason. Finding this a safe haven, many animals, including baboons, had made the deserted, half-completed buildings, their home. He was sure that if he went closer, we’d get to see many of them.

Also, close to this series of building was another rather beautiful property called Oltukai Lodge where our tour group had permission to use the facilities. I fell in love with this place as soon as I entered its precincts. We walked to the main lobby along a wooden walkway called the Bird Walk over a very shallow pond. It was cozy but classy. I loved the décor which was decidedly African Bush, of course, but with a designer twist. Lovely solid teak furniture in the lobby was sprinkled over with staggering art work: a mural of embossed elephants on one wall, a series of Maasai shields on another, gorgeous paintings of local wild life by local artists on a third. Decorative items like lamps, vases and occasional stool were in a uniformly appealing aesthetic that I found hugely appealing. Yes, we did use the rest rooms here and some members of our group ordered coffee-to-go from the beautiful bar that overlooked a wide patio.

Posing for Photographs with a Maasai Warrior:

It was while wandering on to the patio to take in the interesting architectural elements of this space that I noticed a Maasai warrior, in full regimental garb, loitering around. I asked him if he would kindly pose with us for pictures (as we were unable to do so with the performing Maasai troupe at our hotel last night). He agreed (for nominal payment, of course). So while Llew was busying himself with trying to get free hotel wifi, I beckoned him over to the patio to enable us to get some pictures. By the way, American greenbacks are a parallel currency all over Tanzania and Kenya. One need not even bother about exchanging money for Tanzanian or Kenyan shillings—everyone, including the casual Maasai vendors and the salesmen in the hotel shops, take dollars.

For the next ten minutes, we posed with the Maasai warrior—I asked him his name but am afraid I found it unpronounceable. As Llew and I were in the process of finding the perfect backdrops for our pictures, our friend Frances came along and said she wanted pictures with him too. He made it clear that he would expect more payment! Of course, she was willing to pay and after we’d had our fill of pictures (much to his protests that we were taking too many!), we each parted with a dollar and left him to find more tourists in whose photo albums he could immortalize his presence.

On our return to our van, we found that a few cheeky, black-faced monkey had taken them over. They were all over the roofs (thankfully all closed up) but provided us with perfect photo ops and much entertainment. There were also large families of baboons but those we avoided as they were much less tame.

Skirting a Swamp in Search of Flamingos:

On our way out of the hotel, Steve told us that we would spend the next hour continuing to look for wildlife (mainly birds) as the swamp area breeds a whole lot of colorful birds. We were pleased to do so but we also kept out eyes peeled for hippos, a few of which we wallowing lazily in the waters.

The weather, I have to say, was always pleasant. It was warm enough for us to wear shorts but never oppressive or humid or uncomfortable. Winter is indeed a really perfect time to explore Africa. It is considered high tourist season and though the prices are higher, they are worth the extra bucks.

It was at this point, that we spotted pink flamingos. This was an unexpected sighting as most of them have flown out of Africa by the end of the monsoon season. These few stragglers had stayed on and were enjoying the pond. They allowed us to get some really good pictures of their strikingly pink wings, legs and necks while, in the distance, a single elephant, went on with the joys of his daily toilette as he showered and sprayed himself with swamp waters.

A little further on, following the course of the swamp, Steve brought us to a narrow channel of the swamp in which elephants were all lined up waiting for a wallow. It was indeed a charming sight, to see only a few inches of their back and the tops of their heads as they lay hidden in the cooling waters. Birds such as white egrets, fluttered about their backs seeking sustenance in the insects that they had picked up from the swamp’s waters. There were also many grey herons and storks near these waters. We took more pictures and moved on.

As it was nearing mid-day, Steve told us that we’d be driving back to our Kibo Tented Camp for lunch—as we’d need to fortify ourselves for our long and dreary ride to Nairobi (which would take anything between 5-6 hours). When we reached our hotel lobby, and before we dispersed for lunch or disappeared into the gift shop seeking goodies to take home for friends, Amani informed us that the traffic in Nairobi was crazy. He suggested we go directly to our dinner venue—the famous Carnivore Restaurant which is on every tourist’s agenda. We groaned as we knew we’d want a bit of a rest in our next hotel before showering and dressing for dinner. But Amani explained that if he went this route, we’d finish dinner and return to our hotels after 11.00 am—not a good idea as we’d have an early start tomorrow. Eventually, the consensus was that we’d go directly for dinner. As Llew and I were the only two folks wearing shorts and as we had at least two hours at the Kibo Resort before the long drive to Nairobi, I decided to pull out a better set of clothes from my baggage that would be more suitable to diner in a fancy restaurant. These (a silk shirt and a silk scarf and a pair of trousers), I stuffed into my bag with the idea of changing in the restaurant’s rest room when we arrived there.

Drinks and Lunch at Kibo Tented Camp:

With time on our hands, we finally had the chance to enjoy the beautiful environs of the Kibo Tented Resort. The Lobby and the Bar (in a separate tent) were just stunning with their log-cabin type of décor. The fireplace in the Bar tent was simply arresting with its large elephant head centerpiece flanked by life size logs. As it was a warm afternoon, most of us opted for a chilled glass of white wine as we loitered around the property, waiting for the buffet lunch service to begin, or posing for pictures with groups of our new friends. We missed our friends John and Doreen who were still in Nairobi having had to spend the night there while John received medical treatment. Reportedly, they were enjoying themselves in the city and looked forward to their reunion with us in the evening at Carnivore Restaurant.

The wine was cold and delicious. We sat and shot the breeze and talked about the most memorable parts of our safari experiences thus far until the buffet was opened and we trooped into the Dining Tent. There we began with Butternut Squash Soup that was just wonderful, a lovely selection of salads, including fresh avocado which was very popular, pasta with a selection of sauces, an Indian section offering eggplant bharta, dal, pullao, and a whole Continental section with perfectly steamed vegetables, a beef steak carving section, fried chicken plus pizza. Around the large tree that grew right in the center of the tent was the Desserts Section where many of us virtuously went for the fresh fruit although we could not resist the creamy custards and selection of cakes.

Off to Nairobi:

And then, stuffed to the gills with our delicious meal, we trooped back into our vans to begin the long ride to Kenya’s capital, Nairobi. There is not much to comment on about the journey. For a good part of it, we were in the Rift Valley, our van swooping down into the dips and then climbing on to the sloping road snaking ahead of us. Roasted corn was available to passing motorists as we passed miles of corn fields filled with ripened grain. Business ingenuity had led casual street vendors to set up roasting spits by the side of the road and for 50 cents (500 Kenyan shillings), one could partake of an impromptu snack. We also passed by a number of rural village schools, all sporting Christian names, and the occasional tiny church which clearly served the spiritual needs of the community. Every two hours, we stopped at wayside washrooms which included the mandatory handicrafts shops. By this time, we had become wise to the fact that highway robbery was literally committed at these shops and we avoided them like a plague. The vendors were particularly aggressive and atrocious at this stop, one of them clearly having alcohol on his breath as he tried to interest me in Maasai carvings. However, a nicer salesman stepped in and with some astute haggling, I managed to procure (at a price that pleased me) a Maasai couple in ebony with horn embellishments that I thought would make a lovely souvenir of our travels in East Africa. These were duly wrapped up and carried to our van.

Our journey to Nairobi continued until, about four hours later, we had clearly arrived on the outskirts of a big city. Long rustic dusty pathways made way for tarmacked roads and the bumps of our rural rides were history. Now, clear signs pointed the way to the various exits in and out of Kenya’s most important commercial city. We recognized signs for KFC and Art Caffe, the chain of upscale coffee shops that is Kenya’s answer to Starbucks (which does not exist in this country).

We drove around the city’s periphery for about an hour, fully embroiled in its notorious traffic before we took a diversion to make our way to the restaurant. We were more than ready, by this point, to attack a horse, and it was with great anticipation that we hopped out of our vans after we entered the wide and impressive gates of Carnivore Restaurant.

Dining at Carnivore Restaurant:

Carnivore Restaurant is one of those places in Africa that offers a taste of its distinctive cuisine mingled with a cultural show. It reminded us of the Boma Dinner we’d enjoyed on our South African Safari exactly ten years ago. Please see: https://rochellesroost.blogspot.com/search?q=boma+dinner for more details.

This dining experience was distinctly different. While our Boma Dinner was another buffet affair featuring all of the exotic meats of Africa including Cape Buffalo steaks, Kudu Stew and Antelope culets, this was a complete and identical reproduction of the Brazilian churrascaria meal with which all of us were familiar. We were seated at a very long table and left to order drinks. An African man, dressed in traditional long robes and fez-like cap, came around with a drinks tray around his neck. He called himself the Dawa Man or Medicine Man and he dispensed a particular house cocktail called Dawa. I ordered one and found it to be very similar to a Gimlet—a gin and lime cocktail but with added lemon juice and simple syrup. It was delicious and refreshing enough and was certainly very popular among the diners.

From this point on, after warmed metal plates were placed in front of us, we were treated to a steady stream of food brought it by waiters who plonked the offerings on our plates. It began with a carousel of tiered stands each bearing a variety of relishes and sauces placed before us and continued with a number of salads (chickpeas, corn, gren salads) and snacks (chicken meatballs, veggie spring rolls) and other nibbles. Then came the stars of the show: the grilled meats—and there were so many of them I forget what we were offered. Suffice it to say that there were ostrich meatballs that were quite good indeed (not made from wild ostrich but from the farmed kind) and beef sausages, fried chicken, grilled lamb, pork spare ribs, beef sirloin and tenderloin, leg of lamb, rump steak, leg of pork, turkey, chicken yakitori, filleted fish (no shell fish was offered, much to Llew’s disappointment). These were brought on roasting, skewers and carved at our table. Indeed, we were so inundated with every meat and game bird imaginable that by the time it came to the crowning dish—fried crocodile tail—we were simply too stuffed. However, determined to partake of the local food, I did opt to taste it. Not only did I find it very delicious but it tasted like…you guessed it…why, chicken, of course! It’s always so funny to me that all unfamiliar, exotic meat always tastes like chicken.

While we were in the middle of our meal, John and Doreen arrived We gave them a rousing welcome as we had missed their presence (especially in our van as they were part of our particular Sexy Six-some). John looked none the worse for his medical crisis and Doreen told us how impressed and satisfied they had been with the kind of medical attention they had received in a really fine, well-run and impeccably clean facility, the Aga Khan Hospital, in Nairobi. They had used their free day to explore the city on their own and have bravely used Uber cars to ferry them from one venue to the next, including the beautiful Botanical Gardens where they had lingered for a bit before moving to the Malls and checking out the merchandise.

Finally, dessert was offered: cheesecake. vanilla crème brule, chocolate brownies with chocolate ice-cream (the only time we ate ice-cream on this trip as, for some confounded reason, none of the hotel buffet dessert counters offer ice-cream). Well, we were simply too full to do justice to our dessert or really enjoy it, but it was wonderful.

Checking into the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Westlands:

With this memorable meal behind us, we piled back into our vans and were driven by Steve to the Nairobi Westlands Hyatt Regency Hotel, our abode for the night. This was the only modern hotel at which we stayed—it was your typical high-rise, five-star hotel, complete with sprawling lobby, huge Reception area and very classy décor. Amani and our drivers dealt with the onerous task of getting the right baggage to the right rooms after we’d identified it and, as we made our way to our rooms, just drooping with fatgue (for the long drive had truly tired us out), we were ready to have quick showers and sink into our beds.

Our rooms turned out to be really lovely—this place had the largest TV set I’d seen (the rural lodges did not have TV sets) as well as all mod cons. To our delight, we actually found decaff coffee sachets in the tea/coffee station in our room and eagerly seized on a cuppa—as both and Llew and I are habitual decaff coffee drinkers. This gave me the brainwave of using our Whatsapp group mode to request those members of our group not using their decaff sachets to save them for us. I was overwhelmed by the instant response. People immediately agreed to hand them over to us and for the rest of our trip, we had warming cups of decaff to enjoy upon our return to our rooms.

And with these occurrences today, our day came to a quiet but very exhausted end. We hoped to sleep soundly and awake refreshed on the morrow, ready to tackle the sight-seeing associated with a busy next day in Africa.

tomorrow, Hakuna Matata (No Troubles, No Worries)