I'm going to add a few memories from Lewa Downs that got lost from Barbara's narrative.
Lewa Downs is right on the Equator. Yet, when we went out on a night game drive in the middle of August, we had on sweaters, jackets and still needed a heavy wool blanket covering us to keep warm. We saw some of the nocturnal animals but unfortunately were unable to get any pictures.
As Barbara said in her narrative, Wilderness Trails is an extremely nice luxury camp. There are a limited number of guest cottages and it is quite popular. When we arrived, there was another couple that was supposed to leave the next morning but wanted to extend their stay. There was no room the first night but there was space after that. So, the Craigs offered to take the couple out in the "bush" for the one night and the couple agreed. The next morning when we awoke, there were 5 camels being loaded for this excursion. There was a camel for the living tent, a camel for the kitchen tent, a three other camels for the remaining supplies for the one night stay in the bush. In addition there must have been a staff of about 4 going with the couple to take care of them.
I wanted to look for birds. So, we were assigned the "birding" guide. He was amazing. He not only could spot the birds, but he could imitate their calls. He would have the birds coming to us. I don't recall his name but he is pictured on the previous page.
In addition to the birding, we saw a lot of animals. One afternoon, we went on a special drive to see the rhinos. It was our guide, our driver, Barbara and me. Lewa Downs has a number of white rhinos and apparently they frequent specific areas. These animals are BIG and they can turn over a Land Rover if they charge and hit it head-on.
The giraffes at Wilderness Trails are a different species from the ones we saw in the Serengeti. In the Serengeti we saw the Masai giraffe (shown on the left). Here we saw the reticulated or Somali giraffe (shown on the right). Both are very large, tall animals but the skin patterns are quite different.
