16Jun 2026 by safarisense No Comments
An Evening with Africa’s Largest Land Mammal

An Evening with Africa’s Largest Land Mammal

Camping, Conservation, Game drive, Maasai Mara, Wildlife Safari
Image | Ernest Nyamasyo The rain had stopped barely two hours earlier. The vast plains of the Masai Mara shimmered beneath the evening sun, every blade of grass gilded in gold. Our Toyota Land Cruiser rolled slowly along a muddy track as herds of Thomson's gazelles and Grant's gazelles grazed across the savannah. Nearby, impalas browsed cautiously while a line of African buffalo moved toward a distant marsh. Helmeted Guinea fowls scurried through the wet grass, and iridescent Superb Starlings flashed electric blues and greens whenever they caught the light. Then our driver-guide pointed ahead. Image | Ernest Nyamasyo Image | Ernest Nyamasyo Emerging from a grove of balanites trees was a herd of African elephants. "Ernest, how big are they really?" Yuri asked in Russian as he raised his…
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28May 2026 by safarisense No Comments
Birdnificent© Something About The Saddle-billed Stork…

Birdnificent© Something About The Saddle-billed Stork…

Camping, Conservation, Game drive, Maasai Mara, Wildlife Safari
Image | Ernest Nyamasyo There are some birds in the Maasai Mara National Reserve that quietly blend into the background — and then there’s the Saddle-billed Stork, a bird so outrageously elegant it looks as though nature designed it during a particularly extravagant mood. The first time most guests see one, the reaction is always the same. “What is that?” And honestly, it’s a fair question. Standing nearly 145 centimeters tall, the Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) strides through the wetlands of the Mara like an aristocrat inspecting royal property. Its body is a striking black-and-white masterpiece, but the true showstopper is the bill — impossibly long and painted in dramatic colours: crimson red, jet black, and topped with a bright yellow “saddle,” as though someone delicately placed a tiny golden…
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25May 2026 by safarisense No Comments
The Little Whistler of the Mara

The Little Whistler of the Mara

Camping, Conservation, Game drive, Maasai Mara, Wildlife Safari
Image | Ernest Nyamasyo The first rule of spotting a Kirk’s Dikdik in the vast plains of the Maasai Mara National Reserve is simple — stop looking for big animals.Most safari guests arrive in the Mara with dreams of thunderous wildebeest crossings, lions draped across termite mounds, or elephants moving through the golden grass like ancient caravans. Few imagine that one of the reserve’s most captivating residents stands barely knee-high, weighs less than a suitcase, and can disappear into a thorn bush faster than a whispered secret.Yet the Kirk’s Dikdik has a way of stealing the show.I usually notice them before my guests do. Years in the bush teach you to read tiny movements — the twitch of a leaf beneath an acacia, the flicker of oversized ears in tangled…
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18May 2026 by safarisense No Comments
Explore: Ngorongoro Crater

Explore: Ngorongoro Crater

Camping, Conservation, Game drive, Maasai Mara, Wildlife Safari
Image | Ernest Nyamasyo By the time we reached the Ngorongoro Crater rim, the Russian couple seated behind me had already fallen silent. That always happens here. No matter how many safaris people have done — whether it is their first journey into Africa or, like these two seasoned travelers from Moscow, a second return to East Africa — Ngorongoro has a way of stealing language itself. Our Land Cruiser rolled to the viewpoint just as dawn light spilled over the crater walls. Below us lay the vast caldera floor, 20 kilometers wide and nearly 600 meters beneath the rim, glowing gold beneath drifting morning mist. From above, the crater looked less like a wildlife reserve and more like a lost world sealed inside an ancient volcanic bowl. “This cannot…
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05Nov 2025 by safarisense 5 Comments
The Rock Star of the Mara: Meet the Mwanza Flat-headed Agama


The Rock Star of the Mara: Meet the Mwanza Flat-headed Agama


Conservation, Nairobi Area, Wildlife Safari
Image | Ernest Nyamasyo The sun is high over the Masai Mara, baking the golden grass and sending heat ripples across the plains. My guests are scanning the horizon for lions when I quietly raise a finger and point—not to the distance, but to a sunlit rock just a few meters away. There he is. A flash of color so vivid it almost doesn’t seem real—a reptilian superhero basking in full glory. “Everyone,” I whisper, grinning, “meet the Mwanza Flat-headed Agama—the Masai Mara’s very own Spider-Man lizard.” Named Agama mwanzae in scientific circles, the Swahili call him Balababa, but I like to call him the show-off of the savanna. He’s not large—barely 32 centimeters from snout to tail—but what he lacks in size, he makes up for in swagger. With…
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26Mar 2018 by safarisense
Ahoy Matey! The Thrills of Big Game Fishing – Kenya

Ahoy Matey! The Thrills of Big Game Fishing – Kenya

Excursion, Fishing, Mombasa, Wildlife Safari
Watamu. The small dhow bounces on the waves during the early morning one-minute ride to the fishing boat, its sails full of wind; the sailor deftly adjusting the ropes. The twin-engine 25-foot craft we are headed to is designed for a crew of two and specially designed for 2 more passengers. As we climb aboard, I feel the excitement building for the task ahead. This is my first time on a professional fishing boat, and I’m impressed. I also pray to the gods of the sea to keep my stomach steady, especially after the earlier full English breakfast.On the boat, I’m introduced to Captain Majid and his assistant Abdul, who casually asks me if I had taken seasickness tablets. I reply in the affirmative, and then we head into Indian…
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29Apr 2017 by safarisense
Birdnificent©: Ngong Forest

Birdnificent©: Ngong Forest

Bird_watching, City Tour, Excursion, Hiking, Nairobi Area, Wildlife Safari
When? All year round Just 10 km from the Kenyan capital, adjacent to Nairobi Racecourse, Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary – the isolated remnant of a once vast upland forest elsewhere almost wholly supplanted by suburbia – still boasts a surprisingly rich avifauna. Activities Where to go...​ Look out for...​ Activities Discover birds in the wild while exploring the forest trails Take a break with a picnic and immerse yourself in nature. Where to go...​ A network of tracks crisscrosses what is left of the indigenous Ngong Forest, between broad avenues used by local equestrians. There is an active African Crowned Eagle nest, to which a forest guide should be able to escort you. Pairs of Narina Trogon and Hartlaub’s Turaco can usually be found within patches of dense woodland, and after rain…
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06Feb 2017 by safarisense
Hiking Up Kirinyaga! [Jan – Feb]

Hiking Up Kirinyaga! [Jan – Feb]

Bird_watching, Camping, Extreme, Hiking, Mountain_climbing, Wildlife Safari
Mount Kenya, with its snow‑capped peaks 5,199 m. high, is Kenya’s highest mountain and certainly one of the most beautiful mountains anywhere. Its slopes are covered with rich deciduous and bamboo forests and open high altitude moorland just below the glaciers and snowfields. Wildlife resident within the forest includes elephant, buffalo and even lion, with several species of antelope and other smaller animals. Mount Kenya rises to the twin snow-covered peaks of Batian (5199 meters or 17058 feet) and Nelion (5188 meters or 17022 feet), the second and third highest peaks in Africa (topped only by Kilimanjaro's Uhuru peak in Tanzania, which rises to 5895 meters or 19340 feet). Both of Mount Kenya's peaks are named after Maasai laibon (ritual leaders) of the nineteenth century. According to legends of the…
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07Oct 2016 by safarisense
Off the Beaten Path: Camping at Thomson’s Falls [Sep – Dec]

Off the Beaten Path: Camping at Thomson’s Falls [Sep – Dec]

Bird_watching, Camping, Excursion, Game drive, Hiking, Wildlife Safari
Camping, birding, nature trails... Thomson’s Falls, named after Joseph Thomson, a Scottish geologist and naturalist who was the first European to see the falls in 1883, is a 73-meter sheer drop of the Ewaso Narok River over a ledge of volcanic rock. Thomson's Lodge was built in the 1930s by settlers as a private residence, and became a hotel in the 1960s. The nearby Lake Ol Bollosat is the source of River Ewaso Narok that is a key tributary to the Ewaso Nyiro River and has been designated as an IBA (Important Bird Area) since 2007. What To Do What To See Where To Sleep What To Do Reconnect with nature in a beautiful and serene setting while birdwatching. Spend a night at the campsite and visit Lake Ol Bollosat…
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19Sep 2016 by safarisense
Birdnificent©: Manguo Pond, Limuru

Birdnificent©: Manguo Pond, Limuru

Bird_watching, City Tour, Excursion, Hiking, Wildlife Safari
When? September - June A shallow, seasonal basin close to a major intersection, Manguo Pond can be viewed from roads on two sides. The water level fluctuates, but there is usually water enough to attract freshwater and marshland birds – sometimes in astonishing numbers. Activities Birdnificent© Activities Enjoy birdwatching at one of the most diverse ecosystems right outside Nairobi city. While at it, explore the ponds on an educational guided nature walk and test your knowledge on while having fun.  Birdnificent© Look out for…Maccoa Duck, White-backed Duck, Lesser Moorhen (in wet months), Madagascar Pond Heron, palearctic migrantsGuaranteed sightings…Of the many and varied ducks that visit Manguo Pond, Maccoa Duck is the rarest – and most interesting. Breeding pairs of White-backed Duck are often seen amid the floating vegetation. Migrant ducks are…
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