Sad! Sad! Lost photos!

All of my photos from late yesterday afternoon and today vanished from my memory card except for 4 random photos! I am so sad!!! I was uploading them to my iPad and all of a sudden they were gone! I have put the card back into my camera and looked and...yep...they are gone! I had such great photos of new and old friends from Sanctuary Olonana, Katie and Taylor, and unbelievable ones from a lion pride of 17 today in Tanzania at Sasakwa. I am heart broken!

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Hello Olonana!

So sad to leave Sirikoi!

Hello Olonana!!!

We were so sad to leave Sirikoi and our new friends! We had fabulous views of Mt. Kenya from the Barbie plane. We were very excited to see Katie and Taylor in the Mara. We arrived first and their plane arrived shortly after ours. Benson, the guide we had a few years ago met us at the airstrip and took us to Sanctuary Olonana. We love it here. So many of the same people are here that we got to know a few years ago. After settling in to our "tents" we had lunch on the deck on the Mara River enjoying the wildlife. This afternoon we had a blast watching the Marsh Pride of lions. It was my first time to see 1 month old cubs. This pride of lions is quite large and famous...they are regularly featured on a BBC show that I have never been able to find at home called The Big Cat Diaries. Barry's favorite African animal is the topi...we saw many of those today too. It is a large antelope that looks like it is wearing blue jeans! Off to dinner and early to bed. We have a 5am wakeup call
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Sirikoi

Sue's Amazing Garden at Sirikoi

Sirikoi

Straddling the Equator

Who said it was hot on the equator?
Barry has said over and over that this is the most relaxing place he has ever been. In the late mornings and early afternoons, we can sit on our porch or the deck at the lodge and watch and listen to a menagerie of sights and sounds while dozing off reading a book (Barry) or working on photos (me). Baboons, vervet monkeys, cranes, buffalo, waterbok, zebras, antelope, giraffes, ostrich, and even the elusive leopard makes appearances as you glance up over your kindle or iPad. The weather is in the mid 70's. It's not buggy here. It's not hot here. And we are right on the equator!!!! Sue (the beautifully interesting owner) gave us a quick tour of her gardens. WHAT A GARDEN!!!! It's so grand that you will just have to see the pics; I am not knowledgable enough about gardens to write about them! We are so sad to leave this refreshing place! We are packed up and fly out early inn that morning... Night y'all!


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Sirikoi

Sirikoi

Loving Lewa!!!

After a stellar morning, we are about to have lunch on the deck. We enjoyed another bush breakfast on a hill overlooking a beautiful part of Lewa. We saw 4 cowardly lions early this morning. I had a great time watching 14 rhinos....2 sets on mamas with babies. We saw leopard tracks and could hear the alarm calls, but we never saw it. I have a feeling that it was probably watching us the entire time! And we had another first! I had never even heard of this animal before.... a gerenuk!?!? It resembles a Dr. Seuss character! A cross between a giraffe and an antelope would be the best way to describe it. It was very skittish and left in a hurry. Hoping I got a least 1 pic! Last night, the owners had a lot of friends over for a cocktail party...some neighbors and friends (who are staying with neighbors) from as far away as Michigan. I am thinking that this is sort of like the Delta...they think nothing of driving a far distance for a party! I think they are all invited back for lunch....better go...don't want to miss anything!!!


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Cheetah!

More pics go the Cheetah Encounter!

Cheetah!

Cheeta on the SUV!

Cheetahs Galore!

Anyone that knows me well will smile or maybe laugh when they read that I woke up ready to go and with a smile on my face this morning! I watched the sun come up over Mt. Kenya! The highlight this morning...and truly a highlight of a lifetime happened this morning! While we were watching FIVE cheetahs all together (and I must say to see 5 at one time is remarkable!!!!), one of them decided to check us out! He jumped first on top of the hood or as they like to say in Kenya...the bonnet! Next thing I knew he was on top of our canvas top! And the entire top was not on the vehicle! I was sitting in the middle. I made Barry sit in the 3rd row with our spotter so that I could have a "table" with his seat! Ha! Barry has never moved so fast in his life! I am pretty sure that I felt his hand push me towards the back of the vehicle as he leapt over me to the front! Luckily, he was videoing until he deserted the back seat. I had my big lens on so I have great pics of the cheetah on the bonnet and his paw hanging over. Barry tossed the "wee camera" to our spotter and he got some TOTALLY AWESOME PICS!!!! it was one of the most exiting things that has ever happened to me! As soon as he jumped off of the vehicle, he went to the bathroom. I am very thankful he waited!!!! Ha!!!!
Later that morning we saw a very huffy hippo that should her disgust with us! It was fun watching her do ballerina turns in that very unballerina body! We saw a unicorn! I knew that I would see one during my lifetime! James (guide extraordinaire and driver) and Bruchar (spotter, camera guru) keep telling me that it is a one horned eland. But, I know they are wrong! A flock of crowned cranes was fun to see also. We had a lovely breakfast picnic under a fever tree in the most perfect position. We watched elephants, rhinos, and colorful birds galore while social weavers built their round nests all in the branches of the tree.

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Sirikoi