Lewa1

Tuesday

Today started with a alarm going off at 5:45.  We had to leave for Wilson Airport at 6:45 to catch an 8:30 flight to Lena.  Wilson Airport is a small airport servicing the small domestic flights within Kenya.  It is about the size of Westchester Airport back in the 1980’s.  The reason we had to leave so early for an airport that has virtually no waiting times for security lines is because Nairobi traffic is horrific.  Our flight on the 18 seat dual prop aircraft was quite smooth.

Upon our arrival at the airport, we were met by Joseph our guide/driver for our safaris over the next three days during our stay at Lewa House in the Lewa Conservancy.  The trip to the lodge was amazing!!  We saw lions, Grevy zebra, plains zebra, Cape buffalo, impala, elephants, reticulated giraffe, and 23 new species of birds.  Not bad for a trip from the airport.  The Lewa House lodge is magnificent.  The architecture of the buildings is a cross between Hobbiton and Tatoonie.  The food is excellent and the managers, a husband and wife team, are very pleasant and fun.  

We went on another game drive in the late afternoon. We saw many of the same animals, plus warthogs, white rhinoceroses, fringe eared oryx and Somali ostrich. One of the great things about Lewa is that it represents the southern end of range for northern species like the oryx, and the northern end of range for southern species. One fun experience was with a large herd of Cape buffalo.  Joseph stopped our vehicle so that we could observe the herd.  Soon we found ourselves virtually surrounded by the buffalo, large and small plus all sizes in between.  One of the buffalo had a flock of yellow billed oxpeckers riding on its back.  Another great experience was having a lioness walk right by our vehicle.  A great first day in Kenya.