Day 5 - Aberdare National Park

We are excited about our new clothes in the morning that we warmed under the blanket at night. The rest of the clothes have become slightly damp and cold in the tent... Today we start at 8:00 am, so let's have a quick breakfast. An American just takes our 4 ordered pancakes... How audacious 😠 We'll get new ones.🙂

In Aberdare (a state-owned national park today) the roads are supposed to be bad due to the rain 🌧

Although it rains only a little from above, there is moist mist everywhere💧. The Kenyans call this 'diu' (rain from below, dew).

The national park is 765 km² in size 😳

From 2000m to about 3200m above sea level we will ascend today. In between we have rainforest climate, then bamboo and finally moorland. At the gate we are immediately greeted by a brush-tailed squirrel and a bushbuck. At the Treetops sign there is a short history lesson by Albright about the English Queen👑, who also vacationed here in the national park. 1952 😅 She had to cut her trip short to become Queen.

A mongoose (similar to a meerkat) crosses our path. We now have to switch to all-wheel drive 😅 At an intersection we see a large group of baboons.

The vegetation here is lush and green, providing many hiding places for the animals. A buffalo on the side of the road takes advantage of this directly - as there are no lions here, they generally feel safe. A African hawk-eagle sits on a tree 🦅 Shortly after, another one in flight.

Ollie drifts up the slippery mountain roads.

We see large forest pigs (not wild boars😅) and baboons, as well as Jacksonfrankolins 🐦

Further up, the vegetation changes. There are native trees whose leaves can be used as soap 🌿🧼. Bamboo is now more common here. Albright identifies plants for us with his plant app 😅 The elephants here also use the roads (unfortunately we haven't seen any today) - we see salty rocks that are popular with elephants.

We see white-throated monkeys 🐒 They even pose for us on the third tree 😊 so cute.

It's so bumpy that the roof closes by itself. Luckily not on our heads 🤣 Coffee break ☕ We find a plant that looks like lavender and smells like mint🌱 Ollie plays a prank on Albright by throwing a stone into the forest behind him 😅 He gets a big scare 🤣

We are getting higher into the moorland and startle a buffalo🐃. We drive directly into the fog (Albright is now driving). A black-necked heron is flying next to us.

We arrive at the Chania Waterfall. From a distance we see a buzzard. The waterfall has crystal clear cold water. We estimate about 40m of drop. Ollie falls into the water with both feet while posing for photos 🙈

We continue driving through fog and have a lunch break shortly after 12 at another waterfall with a cave. There is mint and clover growing - we look for four-leaf clovers 🍀😅 but don't find any - instead, red ants 🐜 be aware of her bite !!!

We eat rice with zucchini and minced meat sauce, Melly has lentil soup. Ollie makes fresh coffee ☕😊 Albright plays his favorite music 🎶 Melly and Benny dance Rumba 💃🕺

We continue to hope for forest elephants🐘. In front of us hops a 'ducker' (a small antelope). The visibility is sometimes only a few meters (are we in the clouds? ☁️).

We return to the bamboo zone. Our path runs along a deep steep gorge - no problem for elephants, buffaloes, and leopards, Albright tells us.

A flock of bulbuls (similar to sparrows) fly around us. After seeing a brush-tailed squirrel, we briefly spot a hyena for the first time, followed by a large warthog (with only one tusk) 🐗. A large snake eagle sits on the road and quickly flies away. Just before the end of the park, about 20 baboons make loud noise and argue 😅

We are considering accepting Ollie's offer to go to another park with him tomorrow (We believe he is thinking/worried because we saw fewer animals today🙈). We would then skip the Trout Tree (baobab tree with a restaurant) and the coffee plantation. Albright will check with the office 🙂 The park is called Samburu. Let's do it! Since we are already here. (The massage for tomorrow will be canceled 😅). We have to leave at 7:00. Let's go!

We are back at the Rhino Lodge around 15:30 and relax for a while. Melly writes her blog and we play cards (now we finally have some😅)

For dinner we have tuna and beef steak 😊 At the neighboring table is a family from Frankfurt, with whom we talk a bit. There is a lot of talk about horses (Helena, 8 years old, also rides 😅) and about the rest of the journey.

Meanwhile, we found the 'strong Wi-Fi' 😅 Added photos from Day 2 (Giraffe Walk).

Stay tuned 🦏 Another safari tomorrow 💪