A Relaxing Day at Roberts Camp

Monday, 17 January 2011

I’ve moved from our terrace at Rhino Watch to the Bush Bar, where we are enjoying some adult beverages with Alan and Margie, who also stayed here this afternoon. My Captain and Coke even has lime slices and ICE (made from bottled water – no worries!!)  We have an assortment of appetizers on the rock-topped table in front of our cushy corner couch, and there’s a fire roaring in the fireplace next to us.  It rained much of the afternoon, and the mountain chill is coming, now that the sun is down.  So much for my evening today – let’s go back to Roberts Camp last Thursday and try to catch up!

Remember that rumbly tummy I woke up with at the Ostrich Farm?  Well, today was a bit worse, so I decided to stay at the house instead of hopping on a small boat for a three hour tour…  Turned out that I would have been fine, but you never know!  At any rate, I was up at 5:30, showered and dressed in time to watch the sunrise and see everyone off for their boat trip on Lake Baringo.  I spent the morning on the lanai (still don’t know the Swahili word!) blogging and culling photos, watching birds and boats and animals, and taking photos here and there.  Frank kept me company, as he worked on his computer, and David was busy in the kitchen preparing breakfast for us.  The rest of the crew rolled in a little before ten, and they had enjoyed themselves so much that we decided to go back again tomorrow morning, so I’m excited!  I’ll tell you all about the boat rides in my next post!  David had a huge spread ready for us, complete with avocado juice, mango juice, peach yogurt, cereal, tropical fruits, homemade bread, and eggs cooked to order.  We had a bit of time to ourselves after breakfast, and then Chris gave us an hour-long basic photography overview, which was excellent.  Now we were prepared for the afternoon’s activities!

Jess, Margie, Pat, Rex, and I were going with John back to Lake Bogoria to photograph the flamingos from land, and the rest were either recovering from tummy troubles or resting or going to a nearby snake park.  It took us about an hour to drive to Lake Borgoria, but it was so worth it!  I didn’t feel like I got many great shots from the plane, so I was glad to have another shot at the flamingos!  I started out with the 400 mm lens, Pat used her 500, and Margie was using the 600 on a tripod.  We each trekked along the lakeshore trying to find a good spot for photos, but it was hot again (of course, it was midday!) and we soon got smart and hopped back into the car and started shooting from there!  It was SO much easier and cooler!  Even then, Pat and I both had a little sinking spell, and that was after we had scarfed down our box lunches (as if we hadn’t pigged out on brekky!)  We all took turns using the 600 mm lens as we searched for that technically and aesthetically perfect shot.  Three hours and 650+ photos later (that’s just counting my photos!), we were headed back to Roberts  Camp, and we rolled in about 6:30 after stopping for an ostrich family, a beautiful rainbow, and a herd of camels!  And that’s what I love about Kenya – you never know what is waiting for you just ahead!

Back at home, we were in time to see a Marabou crane in the yard and a heron in the water, and we got to watch David barbeque some meat on the grill.  Dinner was delicious once again, and we even had ice cream for dessert!  Another fantastic day in the bag!

Still seeing pink,

Jan