One day trip wasn't enough! I was very glad that we had a chance to revisit the Kakamega rain forest, especially as last time we had missed out on the bird watching (one of the main attractions) as we had been in the forest during the afternoon last time. Fortunately this time, we managed to climb Liranda hill on our first day, and completed the short trek (about 4 hours) down to the Yala River from our serene abode, Rondo Retreat. As mentioned in the earlier post, Kakamega is home to an astounding variety of butterflies. and although difficult to capture (why do they they rarely sit still for a second or longer?!) it was amazing to be walking miles in the company of so many different beatiful butterflies. I hope the photos do some justice. My favourite, however, is the dragonfly - a creature I have seldom managed to photograph in the wild.
Highlights of the trip included seeing a menacing forest python seconds after it made a kill, and watching it slowly escape us (disturbing its dinner time) climbing vertically up a tree stump with only its tail supporting it. We also saw a goliath beetle in flight (the largest insect in the world by weight, and about 4 inches long!) but it was too fast to capture on (digital) film. I have also included a short video clip trying to relay the wonderful atmosphere atop Liranda hill - surrounded by lush, dense rainforest with the breeze swimming through the long grass. Some of the photos have captions - click to view. Unfortunately I have not managed to identify many of the insects. Technical details: Olympus ZD 70-300mm and Sony 18-55mm lenses; all unedited and straight from the camera.
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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. 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. A beautiful walk in the Chilterns with Dan on a (somewhat rare!) gorgeous, warm summer's day. The route started out at Tring station, taking the Ridgeway up to the Ivanhoe Beacon (the second highest peak in the Chilterns) for some lovely panaromic views, and returning via the Bridgewater monument. Further details can be found here.
I hope the photos capture the variety of natural beauty experienced when walking along the paths. Technical details: Sigma 24mm f1.8 lens; all unedited and straight from the camera except bee photo slightly cropped. Photos taken during a walk in the aquadrome. Seemed to be mating season for the little red insects!
Technical details: Olympus ZD 70-300mm lens; all unedited and straight from the camera except insect photos which are cropped. Photos taken on a school trip to London Zoo... Tried to find the animal / species names - click on the photo to see more.
Technical details: Olympus ZD 70-300mm lens; all unedited and straight from the camera. |
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