A game drive and a boat cruise

Continuing on through Uganda, next on the agenda was Queen Elizabeth National Park. It's an enormous game park set between the Great Rift Valley lakes of Edward and George. We did a game drive through the park, then continued on to do a boat cruise along the Kazinga Channel. 

I can't get over how quickly the terrain changes here! While we were up near Kibale Forest, we were in lush hills where tea plantations are abundant. It was incredibly green, with dense vegitation everywhere. Not a half-bad place to camp!! 

There was even a buidling with couches and a thatched roof to take in the amazing views. 

However, by the time we were down to Queen Elizabeth, we were back into somewhat drier and more savanah-like areas. We'd gone from tropical to seeing cactus! The variation here is breathtaking. We entered the park and almost immediately were rewarded with the sight of animals. 

After a short drive around, we then got to head out on a small boat cruise through the channel. This one lone elepahnt was one of the first things we saw, but the area is plentiful in hippos, buffalo, all manner of birds, and crocodiles. 

A big hippo pod. 

Just sunning himself.... 

These were the only hippos that we saw out of the water. Contrary to popular belief, apparently hippos really aren't that dangerous at all. Both our main guide, as well as the boat guide, said that it's a complete myth that hippos kill a lot of people each year. However, if a hippo was going to be dangerous, it would be while they're on land and trying to get to the water. 

We got amazingly lucky this day. About 10 minutes after we got off the boat, the rains came. And people.... the rains here are like nothing you've ever seen!

Bring on the Chimpanzees!!!

What an incredible day!! Leaving Kenya and heading into Uganda, we drove through some amazingly beautiful land...aaaaaalthough it has been a lot of drive time!  I just can't get over how magnificent Ugnada is, and driving through to get to our next destination is definitely getting me excited to be living here soon. We also got to officially cross the equator. Not too many places on land you get to stand on two halves of the Earth!

We then drove to Kibale Forest National Park.... to go trekking chimpanzees! Kibale Forest is hoe to the highest concentration of primates in the world, with 12 different species recorded. The main attraction of course though is the chimpanzees. 

After dividing up into small groups, everyone fanned out around the park as we went in search of the chimps. We hiked into the park for only about 30 minutes before we were rewarded with some noises not too far off. Another 5 minutes of following the noise, and we came to a huge fig tree where we saw them! I really can't even tell you how incredible it was to sit and watch them. I could have stayed there the entire day and night. 

We were deep in the forest, and it seemed as though we were watching the only chimps around that area. However, twice while we were watching them, a sound started to our left, then we heard some chimps call from some other chimps in that direction. Then, suddenly, the call got louder, more chimpanzees that were clearly closer started to echo the call, then the chimps above us joined in, then suddenly from our right another group started. An immense sound filled the air all around us as the chimps- who were clearly everywhere in the forest around where we were- all relayed the call. It was truly spectacular to hear it!

AND, we got lucky enough that a small baby was spotted in the group! The guys leading the groups said he was around a year old. 

I just can't get over what an amazing experince it is to see these incredible creatures in the wild. Seeing them like this was just something that I can't even describe, but will deeply treasure for the rest of my life. 

Lake Nakuru

My first real day out on safari, we drove out of Nairobi and into Lake Nahuru National Park, first driving past the Great Rift Valley. 

So incredibly beautiful!!

Lake Nakuru used to be known for it's huge abundance of flamingos, but sadly in recent years the population has significantly thinned due to polution as well as climate change. However, we were definitely not let down by the park!

Although the park is small in size compared to some others, there is plentiful wildlife here. We were so lucky that in the first few hours of a game drive we saw so much. There were Thompsan Gazelle, Lions, Vervet Monkeys, Rhinos, Giraffe, Baboons, Blue Monkeys, African Buffalo, Zebras, and lots of various birds. 

I was lucky enough that we even got to camp in the park. It was amazing to hear all the sounds of the animals around us (We even had buffalo that came through our camp in the night). It was made all the more beautiful as it was a day off the full moon, so the camp was incredibly lit in the middle of the night!

Amazingly, we saw the lions almost right off the bat!

A small vervet Monkey balancing on a branch. 

The Rhinos (These are White Rhino) were all lounging when we came across them, but started to slowly get up and graze as we watched them. 

They're so prehistoric looking; I just love it!

The Buffalo are everywhere. 

The Blue Monkeys have this wonderful shaggy fur and tails. I was even fortunate enough to see this one here, with a baby!

This little guy is the Lilac-Breasted Roller. He's so easy to spot since he's so brightly colored. 

The Zebra were almost as plentiful as the Buffalo. 

Although less than their original numbers, you can still see the pink of the Flamingos dotting the lake everywhere. 

Sadly, the giraffe that we saw were all fairly far away from us, so this is the only shot I really got... but I was still so happy to see them in the wild running about!

A little more time in Amman

My little tour group came to an end in Madaba, and we all went our separate ways. Anne (My roomie!), John and Maria, as well as Jim and Irma were continuing on to Jerusalem... then Jim and Irma were continuing to Morocco and Spain after that...Martin and Frances were going home to England (And hopefully a brand new grandchild!)... and "Kiwi" John was off to Iran. A fond farewell to all, and with luck we will all be keeping in touch.

Since there wasn't too much going on in Madaba, I decided to come back to Amman for a few days to see what I could see, as well as put myself both in 1 location for more than a day and a half....and get some wifi going!! The rain that has continued while I've been here has caused some flash flooding (Which gave me a great excuse to stay inside, catch up on some sleep, and write this blog!), but I did get out to walk around the city and explore a little more. 

It's a bit of a crazy city, since it's situated on multiple hilltops. There are government regulations that say all of the buildings are supposed to remain painted the same color... but there is an amazing array of graffiti art all around! It reminded me in a way of Bushwick, back in Brooklyn, NY- with art popping up around unexpected corners all the time. 

A good friend of mine also had sent me an interesting link about an Egyptian woman who's a street artist, Ajjawi. She has created a feminist street arts festival called Women on Walls, inviting men and women from around the world to contribute works of art on walls that would contribute thought provoking conversations on women. 

I was intrigued as she was just coming to Jordan before I was there, so I went out in search of as much art as I coud find. I didn't get all the way out to the art gallery where she started, but I saw a lot of beautiful graffiti art!

Below was probably my favorite wall that I came across! Just loved the colors and design. 

There was also another festival that seemed to have just ended called "Art for All" that contributed art around the city. I tried to get out and find as much of it as I could!