minimunchkin: Amboseli

We were back at Amboseli this morning, which translates to “salty dust” in Maasai. Amboseli is home to around 1,600 elephants, the most number of African elephants in a National Park anywhere in Africa. It is also home to lions, leopards, cheetahs, zebras, hyenas, giraffes, buffalos, impalas, gazelles and many more animals, plus its 600 different species of birds. Leaving our camp, we were all full of anticipation but we kept telling the kids that this isn’t a zoo, it’s the wilderness and we are going into the animals’ home. So we just have to keep our fingers crossed and our eyes peeled.

Just outside the boundaries of the park, a Maasai warrior taking his herd out to graze, leaving his village after sunrise and returning just before dusk.

Our first elephant of the day. The elephants here look very different from the Sri Lankan elephants that we are used to. These ones are much bigger, with squarer bodies and larger ears (their ears are the shape of Africa, as Mia keeps saying!). And almost all have beautiful tusks.

Pumba! This is how warthogs feed, two front legs kneeling as they graze to help balance them and prevent them from falling over as they have giant heads. And when they run, their little tails go upright acting as antennas. It was so fascinating to watch them.

A grazing wildebeest. These guys are best friends with the zebras. Any time you see wildebeests there will always be zebras nearby.

Our first encounter with hippos. From far away they looked like giant boulders. It was only until we drove closer that we could see they were hippos.

They look harmless but hippos kill the most humans out of all the animals in the wild.

Mum and her cubs resting in the shade after a kill. They must have only just killed their prey, they were still panting very heavily when we saw them.

The lions’ half eaten meal not far from them.

Our Safari Mobile. Comfortable and spacious on the inside but modified on the outside to withstand the tough terrains.

A panoramic view from the top of Observation Hill

One of the very few spots we could get out of the vehicle. Awesome views while having lunch at the top of the mountain. It’s hard to see from the photo but the little dots all over are actually zebras, wildebeests, hippos, warthogs.

A spotted hyaena, nature’s famed scavenger.

At one of the few lakes in the park, all kinds of different species of birds were congregated there. This pair of African fish eagles stood there for a long time, scouting the area looking for their next feed.