It was with great excitement that we welcomed the visit of Deborah's friend (of 26 years), Niki, aka 'Pretty Aunty Niki'!
Being the director of a London PR firm it was hard to separate Niki from her Blackberry - and it was fun to try and find places to plug it in as we went exploring in Naivasha.
This is a great place to get a boat across to Crescent Island - a paradise where you can walk amongst the giraffe and other animals. They are very friendly, have lovely gardens and the best price I have found (and plugged in the Blackberry!).
This chap wasn't interested in the Blackberry but he was interested in our picnic lunch!
The lake is at its highest for many years as you can see by the submerged trees. A fun playground for the Great White Pelicans.
Born for this safari life!
A fish eagle and a cormorant pass the time of day
Meryl Streep eat your heart out (parts of Out of Africa were filmed on this island)!
Waterbuck
Wildebeest
Zebra and Thompson's Gazelle
And our fave!
We were just metres away
But we stayed clear of her powerful back legs - however gentle she looks
And a baby one - so cute!
We even found a baby hippo hiding in the water hyacinth
But it was these guys that gave us the biggest surprise...
...when they ALL got out of the water, enticed by some fresh hay offered on land
then it was back to the monkeys and a cup of tea in the lovely gardens
Before heading over to Carnelly's - another beautiful lakeside spot where we were going to spend the next couple of nights.
It's hard to choose where to sit in the restaurant - so many enticing corners!
Here's our little banda - a bit tucked away and with plenty of charm
Of course these two bookworms took time to chill out on the veranda between adventures
A group of lovebirds in a nearby tree
The sunniest morning pot of coffee Niki's had in a while. It should set her up nicely for our excursion into Hell's Gate...
First you have to get past Fischer's Tower...
...with its fearsome (not really) rock hyraxes...
She breezed through that one
And got past the giant lizards
They say that there are no lions in this area - let's hope that's true!
There were plenty of warthog
Zebra
and giraffe
We then took a stroll through Hell's Gate Gorge - a walk I'd assured Niki that was suitable even for grandmothers...
...maybe not just any grandmothers! I wasn't taking into account an aversion to heights..
...but with a little help from her Masaai friend, this gutsy lady triumphed
And it is a spectacular trail!
In the evening sun we even found some more energy to go look for flamingoes
Hard to photograph but beautiful to see, a small pink cloud on the lake
And Niki even has the right blouse on!
We enjoyed a well-earned meal that night
I love this Superb Starling strutting his stuff...
...and this one! Hard to say goodbye to this beautiful oasis and head back into the smoke of Nairobi but we had a wonderful few days.
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