Amboseli - Day 1

After a hearty breakfast and goodbyes to our hosts in Nairobi, we were on our way to the Eselenkei Conservancy in the Amboseli region. One of the first memorable events was driving through a local marketplace where all the merchandise was spread about on the ground for display. The marketplace is a relatively new concept for the Maasai whose traditional diet consists of mostly milk, blood and meat from their cattle. Severe drought in this region since 2009 has forced the Maasai to engage in trade and income generating activities.

As we entered the conservancy, our first stop was at a MASSIVE harvester termite mound that likely took about 50 years to build. It towered over our vehicle and that was only what we could see! We learned that the mound continued another 7 meters below ground. The queen termite produces 50,000 eggs per day!

We arrived at the camp, greeted by our Maasai guide Jonah, who was our guide last year. He brought bracelets made by his wife as gifts for Terri and Danielle. It was a most joyous reunion. After a tasty lunch, we hopped in our land cruiser and were off to the Maasai village. On our way, we saw our first “real critter” – duma, Swahili for the elusive cheetah.