Lake Naivasha

July 26 - Today we left the Masai Mara and drove to Lake Naivasha.  It was a bit of a fiasco because when we got to the lodge, Lake Naivasha Simba Lodge, the guide was rushing us and gave us only about 10 minutes to eat lunch.  He said that we needed to leave for the lake at 2pm in order to make our boat tour.  Well, it turns out that there is not really a set time for the boat tours and they just take you whenever you arrive.  My Mom and I were a little unhappy at having to wolf down our lunch for no reason.

 The boat tour was pretty fun since it was just us in a panga with another guide driving us around and showing us the sights.  The lake is really pretty and has lots of hippos and many varieties of birds.  There was an eagle of some sort that must've been somewhat domesticated because the guide was able to get its attention and throw a fish in the water where the eagle swooped in and got it.  After a 30 minute tour, we were dropped off at an island to do a walking safari.

"Three hour tour..."

Scenic lake

Kingfisher

Angry hippos

Comorants hanging out

Eagle catching a fish...thrown by the guide

It didn't really seem like an authentic experience since these animals seemed pretty tame and used to humans but it was good to walk around. 

Baby giraffe

Hanging with the non-wild-ebeests

Mom and a giraffe

Yellow-billed stork

Like any tourist spot, it is “buyer beware”.  There was a vendor selling sugar cane and I asked how much.  He said 200 (Kenyan Schillings, about USD$2.25) which is ridiculous given their per capita income.  We said no and started to walk away and he said OK, how much?  I felt in my pocket and had some coins and looked at them and said “30”.  With barely any hesitation he agreed and gave me my sugar cane.  We probably still overpaid!

After the boat tour we went back to the lodge and walked around the grounds for a bit.  It was a very nice area and there were plenty of resident animals.

Animals at the lodge