Meru, Samburu, Lake Nakuru, Kenya — October, 2014

[Tom Kellie]

An old baobab is showing,

Recently sprouted leaves and shoots.

The grand old tree is still growing,

From its lofty crown to its roots.

Leafless Tangle

Voluminous Trunk

Baobab in Meru

[Tom Kellie]

In the distance tall peaks in blue.

Rather pale atmospheric haze,

Suggests their height and distance, too.

For eons they've seen many days.

Mountains of Meru

Not far from the Murera Gate

Former Park Entrance

[Tom Kellie]

[Tom Kellie]

Situated in a cool glade,

The camp provides the calm we need.

Strolling in arboreal shade,

This surely is pleasure indeed.

Shaded Camp at Midday, Anthony Resting

Canopy

The Path Through the Camp

Protected from Direct Sun

[Tom Kellie]

Lunch al fresco under the trees,

Pleases the palate and the eyes.

There's no doubt what Anthony sees,

Tasty dishes, of ample size.

Table for Two

Refreshing

Flavorful

Chilled

[optig]

@@Tom Kellie I remember very well the entrance of Meru National Park. When I was there a bus carrying a group of Kenyan kids on a school excursion. I'm sure that they were delighted to go to the park for the day.

[Tom Kellie]

Earth tones in brown, red, beige and tan,

Fit the setting, enhance the mood.

With this decor I'm sure I can,

Have a nap to sleep off the food.

Tent Interior

Pillows and Camera

Tent Decor

[Tom Kellie]

Safaris are a hot affair,

With sizzling bright sunlight the norm.

To retreat from afternoon glare,

A cool hammock nap is good form.

Shaded Retreat

Red Ceramic Vase

Path to My Tent

Fallen Foliage Beside the Path

Shut-eyes

Blurry Outtake

Cool Water in Turquoise

[Tom Kellie]

The architectural features,

In a still African forest,

Provide safe homes for small creatures,

Whose lives by such plant growth are blest.

Palm Fronds

Natural Venetian Blinds

Birdies

Nest in an Acacia

Frond Patterns

Sashaying Floral Stars

Waiting to Bloom

Ridged Fruit

Green Sunlight

[Tom Kellie]

Rustling foliage just overhead,

Causes one's gaze to turn upward.

An active Sykes’ Monkey's loud tread,

Revealed it was looking earthward.

Sykes’ Monkey at Murera Springs Eco Lodge

 

[Tom Kellie]

The evening game drive started out,

With a European migrant.

The small bee-eater flew about,

Its bright plumage display constant.

European Bee-eater

Ornamental Percher

Compact, Energetic, Lovely

Long-distance Migrant

Winging Away

Merops apiaster in Flight

On the Loftier Branch

[optig]

@@Tom Kellie I just love your photos of the European bee eater. I also appreciate your photos of the syke's monkey.

[Tom Kellie]

Lizard Buzzard's a rhyming name,

For a bird keen-eyed and stealthy.

Our game drive encounter became,

A sign that Meru is healthy.

Kaupifalco monogrammicus

Lizard Buzzard

Enlarged Comparison

 

[Tom Kellie]

The late afternoon's golden light,

Gilds Meru's landscape with soft hues,

Which will fade away by twilight,

Returning with moist morning dews.

Zebra and Buffalo with Distant Peaks

Doum Palms at Day's End

Classic Meru Landscape

Meru in Golden Light

[Tom Kellie]

It's a life without any ease,

Being in a guineafowl flock.

Though going wherever they please,

Every day is wind, sand and rock.

Wind-shaped Grass Stalks

Cautious Helmeted Guineafowl

Numida meleagris in Sunset Light

[Tom Kellie]

Long, straight horns, golden and sunlit,

Natural selection has done,

Artful design that's truly fit,

For living in this land of sun.

Oryx Grazing

Zebra and Oryx

Unhurried Pace

Oryx Apprenticeship

Not Only in Samburu

Oryx Followed by Calf

[Tom Kellie]

What about Meru seems serene,

Engaging ones senses and heart?

Perhaps the calm, pastoral scene,

Savored in soft light, plays a part.

The Look of Meru

Doum Palms and Grazing Buffalo

Buffalo, Zebra, and Waterbuck

Nature's Pasture

Large Acacia and Doum Palm

Meru Buffalo Grazing Landscape

[Tom Kellie]

Plangent afternoon sunlight shows,

Subtle gradations in each curve.

To the eye a gazelle horn glows,

With beauty it has in reserve.

Solitary Male Grant's Gazelle

Gazelle Limned in Sunlight

[Tom Kellie]

An ear's flick betrays awareness,

That there's a beating heart within.

The kongoni stands motionless,

To take its life would be a sin.

One Ear Turned Back

Sunset Hartebeest

[Tom Kellie]

Might guineafowl be found on Mars,

Running through red dust as on Earth?

Couldn't they venture to the stars,

To show what a guineafowl's worth?

Respite

Tree Sculpture

Helmeted Guineafowl on Mars

Crossing a Red Dust Track

[amybatt]

Boy, in the cases of the oryx and the sunset hartebeest, it really was a "blink and you might miss" moment. How well they just blended into the landscape!

 

You do well with the guinea fowl, they are usually much too fast for me to capture clearly!

[Tom Kellie]

Blue through green, surrounded by brown,

Makes Meru verdant, not dry sand.

Nature's benevolence flows down,

Resulting in an emerald strand.

Capillary

Possible Conga Line

Early Evening Stroll

Thirsty Spurfowl

Essential Flow

Sky Tones in Water

Zigging and Zagging

[Tom Kellie]

Here's a bird which I seldom see,

Out in the open seeking prey.

This white-browed coucal may just be,

Getting its last meal of the day.

White-browed Coucal at Work

Investigating Every Cranny

Predator on a Stream Bank

Centropus superciliosus

[Ben mosquito]

Tom, sitting at your side from Nairobi to Murera gate was a pleasure. You bring so many souvenirs back to me. There is one photo I've not seen, super speedy pick-up overloaded with Khat packages. Meru NP is an unrevealed gem of Kenya, big surprises are always where you're not expecting them.

Edited January 5, 2017 by Ben mosquito

[deano]

After a long absence from Safaitalk it is good to return and catch up with the "current" trip reports and @@Tom Kellie's is one that caught my eye because of the unique approach; local people and the places they call home are very interesting to me and as much as I enjoy African wildlife (I really liked the oryx in post #216) I am considering making an offer on the house in 3rd picture of post #91 - the view from there would never get old and if Tom's photos of either side of it are anything to go by then the journey to and from would be its own adventure every day.

 

Thank you.

 

kind regards

 

deano.