A day trip to Kakamega Forest, a "superb small slab of virgin tropical rainforest, home to a huge variety of
birds and animals" as described by Lonely Planet. It also has 40% of Kenya's butterfly population, about 330 species . Although we didn't experience the richness of birdlife due to being there mid day, we saw much diversity in butterflies and enjoyed the flora through the forest trails. The video gives an insight into the typical torrential downpours that occur regularly in the Kakamega rainforest. Luckily we were indoors! Technical details: Olympus ZD 12-60mm and Minolta 70-210mm f4 lenses; all unedited and straight from the camera.
2 Comments
From about 30 feet away, Shivani pointed out a blue chameleon poking his nose out from behind a high garden wall. I rushed out with the camera, climbed on a nearby tree stump and waited for about 5-10 minutes... And was rewarded with quite a view of unexpected activity (for a few seconds)! Later, I was also amazed by how flies were settling communally on a single Frangipani plant.
Technical details: Olympus ZD 70-300mm lens; all unedited and straight from the camera. Approximately 3 hours from Kisumu, involving some skilful off-road driving by my father-in-law, took us to the beautiful island of Rusinga. The Rusinga Island Lodge is a beautifully-set hotel and from there our guide Semekia took us on a (thrilling roller coaster-like) speed-boat ride to nearby smaller islands. We alighted at Takawiri, more specifically at an abandoned hotel known as Takawiri Island Lodge. The small island alone is home to more than 300 species of different birds, and the abundance of feathered diversity was indeed something special. There is certainly still a magical paradisiacal charm about the place, perhaps more so in its human desertedness. The return journey included a ferry trip from Mbita from which we were lucky to witness a nature's wonder of a flock of bright pink flamingos flying to and fro at dusk. Unfortunately I wasn't keen on taking out the big camera, but have uploaded a small shaky video, which does not do justice but hopefully gives an insight into the stunning event. As usual, photos have brief captions - click the photos to enlarge and read them. Technical details: Olympus ZD 12-60mm and 70-300mm lenses; all unedited and straight from the camera, except the chasing kits an tree pitpit photos which have been cropped. Crescent Island is a fantastic sanctuary whereby you can freely roam with the wildlife. It is actually a peninsular on Lake Naivasha, and we enjoyed seeing the animals and birds up close before getting drenched in a thunderstorm, about half an hour away from the car park! Our guide helped us find (a little!) shelter under the acacia trees but the rain didn't damped our spirits, instead making our trip more memorable!
The highlight of our morning game drive in Lake Nakuru National Park was seeing an African rock python emerging from the water, surrounded by large birds (pelicans, maribou storks (the ugly ones!) and yellow-billed storks). The most surprising thing was that the birds, although weary, continued to taunt the huge snake and didn't just fly away. Perhaps they felt their safety in numbers, but our guide said that these birds are common prey for a python. Photos have brief captions - click the photos to enlarge and read them. Technical details: Olympus ZD 70-300mm lens; all unedited and straight from the camera. Photos taken during visits to the Giraffe Centre and the Maasai Market (the Maasai are a large, nomadic East-African tribe) on the roof of the Westgate mall.
Technical details: Olympus ZD 70-300mm lens; all unedited and straight from the camera. Must admit that I've back-dated this post considerably... (almost a month later) but the trip is still fresh in our memories! Sun, sea, sand, stunning sunrises, great company and a cheeky monkey!
Technical details: Olympus ZD 12-60mm and 70-300mm lenses; all unedited and straight from the camera, except a little brightening of the night-time crabs. An eye-opening lake tour of Kisumu's surroundings. Tom, our knowledgeable guide, took us through the backwaters of the lake's tributaries and we disembarked for a walking tour of a local village. It was amazing to see how hospitable and friendly the local people were! Click on the photos - some have more detailed captions. My favourite is the girls looking through the railed window - the grainniness accentuating the gritty reality.
Technical details: Olympus ZD 70-300mm lens; all unedited and straight from the camera except the hippo photo which was brightened. |
Vote for your favourite 2013 photos here!
Archives
July 2014
Categories
All
|