The Plane Ride to Amboseli
The plane ride to Amboseli was not one that I would like to repeat. It was a small plane, and I learned from dad that the smaller the plane, the more bumpy it will be. And bumpy it was! The takeoff was nuts, we kept going up and down , up and down, side to side. It was all craziness till we landed. I was impressed at how smooth the landing was though. When we got out of the plane, it was blazing hot and super dusty. I saw a “dust devil” for the first time. A dust devil is something like a dusty tornado! It’s not that dangerous, but it is very dusty if you do get caught in it. We had a driver named Isaac who picked us up from the airport (the airport was more like a dust track for landing, and a box for an office). On the dive over to where we were staying, there were dead animals all over the place. I asked Isaac why, and he told me that there was too much salt in the water and ground, and that the animals were not getting enough fresh water. It was drought season for them, so it explained a lot. The flamingos loved it though!
Isaac drove us to Ol Tukai Lodge in Amboseli National Park. When we entered the main lodge, the staff offered us juice and cold towels to wipe our hands and faces because it was so hot outside. Mom checked us in and we went to our rooms. To my surprise, there were monkey’s everywhere!
Dinner at the Lodge the First Night
After settling into our rooms, we waited for dinner to start. Once it was 7:30 pm (the starting time of dinner) me and my siblings went in to grab some food. There was a big buffet, and the best chicken soup you will ever have. I loved sitting with my family and eating a full plate of food. The best part about buffets for me is that you can always go back and get some more. 🙂
Maasai Dance After Dinner
After dinner, a surprise came. I was in my room getting ready for bed when dad texted and said “Quick, get over to the campfire, there’s a dance going on!” Us kids raced to the big fire, and sure enough there were about 7 Maasai Men doing a dance. They asked first Bardez, then kb to come and dance with them. It was very funny to watch, and I’m sure they had a great time.
Swimming in the Pool With my Brother!
Before dinner, me and Bardez went to go check out the pool and see if it was warm enough to swim in. Before we jumped in, we just sat in the chairs on the side of the pool, and read our books on Kindle. Soon, it was so hot that we just had to jump in. I was scared that it would be so cold, but Bardez did it with me and we jumped together. The pool was COLD! I repeatedly got out and jumped back in, in out in out. 🙂
All the 300 Different Types of Birds and my Top 3 Favorites!
One of the things that I learned while in Amboseli is that there are about 300 different species of birds! That’s a lot of birds. My favorite was the secretary bird. It looked very silly because it had these weird feathers on the top of its head that stick up, and it eats poisonous snakes too! My second favorite was the flamingo. I loved these birds because of their color, and the way they look when they’re hunting. They look like they are backwards moonwalking with no there head in the water! My third favorite was the ostrich. This bird is simply just freeky. They have very long legs, and big fluffy butts. Ostriches can run very fast, and use their feet as their line of defense. They’re like karate birds!
My Visit to the Maasai Village
As an existing treat, mom took us to see Maasai Village. I got to experience first hand what it looked like to live like a Maasai. Three interesting facts about a Maasai village is that
- All they eat is Meat, Milk, and Blood. Yup, they drink blood, but not human blood!
- When you have fully grown teeth, you will get your two front bottom teeth knocked out so that when you are old and can’t chew anymore, they can feed you milk and blood through that gap.
- Maasai people can stretch their ears so far that they touch their shoulders, and you can hang really big and heavy earrings in them!
Me and Kb looked at their “market”. It was really just blankets on the ground with things they were wanting to sell strewn about on them. I had about 10 things I wanted to get when mom called us over and told us that we had to go. In the end I ended up with 1 thing for myself and 3 things for gifts for my friends.
While we were waiting for mom and dad to settle the prices, me, kb, and Bardez saw a baby goat, and asked if we could hold it. It was only 3 days old!! It was no bigger than my dog Watson. I told mom that I wanted a baby goat when we got home, but she said no. We also visited their school. They were only teaching their pre-k’s, but the youngest was 3 years old, and they all knew their ABC’s and 123’s fluently! I was very impressed.
We went to the village twice, and the second time, I got a necklace as a gift from one of the women. I learned that she had made it!! It was so elaborate, that I was very astonished. I would highly recommend this experience if you ever find yourself with this kind of option.
Overview of Amboseli
I would rate my stay at Ol Tukai Lodge in Amboseli National Park 5 stars. They had great service, and I loved the scenery. If you ever find yourself in this area, I would recommend a 3-4 day stay. Have fun!
