The morning started out with coffee and biscuits delivered to our room before we headed out for the game drive. As we are driving along the road headed to where we spotted the lions last night, we were greeted by a bull elephant walking alongside the road. It was a beautiful site as the sun was rising behind it and the view of Mount Kenya behind us. Bull elephants are usually solitary or paired. We also saw a group of hyenas near where the lion kill was in the meadow – there was no longer any sign of a zebra having been there the night before. Mike explained to us that they have the strongest jaws amongst the animals in the Savannah and are able to bite through bone. After some time, their droppings turn white due to the calcium in the bones they eat. 

We noticed that once there has been something spotted, the guides usually radio to each other to let them know where the specific animal is. Mike heard some of the lions from the night before were still in the same general area so we headed that direction. At Lewa Conservancy, they restricted it to only three vehicles at a time near the animals as not to stress them out so we had to wait for a few minutes before we could get close enough to see the lions. We were able to catch a male and female lying down as well as a female climb up up a tree. They are very agile and can climb quick! We really had to zoom in with our cameras to catch a glimpse of her in the tree. 

Mike then drove us out to an open area where we could enjoy a “bush breakfast” before heading to Lewa Conservancy HQ to learn more about their operations. The conservancy was started as a way to protect black rhinos in the area from poaching. Now they have broadened their knowledge about conservation and protecting the wildlife to the communities who have started their own conservations. It was impressive to learn about how many people are out on the property counting the rhinos and protecting the borders. They also created tunnels for the elephants and other animals (besides the rhinos) to move around and reduce human wildlife conflict. They track several different groups of elephants with GPS collars and the worker showed us a couple that were over in Uganda. They’ve even made a channel the elephants can use to migrate up to Mt. Kenya during certain times of the year without getting in the way of the neighboring communities. Grant made a suggestion to check out their trackers on our survey (even in Africa always talking about SpaceX…) 

After our HQ talk, it was back to the camp for lunch and quick rest break before we headed out for our afternoon activity. We decided to do a camel ride because honestly when’s the next time we would be riding a camel on safari (and after the ride probably never again…). We had to drive over to Lewa Wilderness Camp which was owned by one of the Craig brothers. (The Craig’s are the ones who used their ranch to start the conservancy). The place was beautiful and very green. Mike pointed out the vehicle that Prince Charles used while he visited the place back in the 60s. And of course Grant had to point out how much I follow along to the Royal Family (but I mean what American female doesn’t). The workers had already tied the camels up thinking they were done for the day so we had to drive down to their stalls. Getting on the camel was very interesting. The first part was like mounting a horse but then you had to hold on tight and lean back as the camel rocked forward and back to stand up. Thankfully the ride was maybe 30 minutes, but my hands were so sweaty from holding on tight trying not to fall (though I don’t think we actually would have). The guides told us that camels are very easy to train and don’t get spooked easily. They also told us that they don’t spit which was nice to know as I was worried Grant’s would since he came right up to me when we stopped a couple times.  The ride was definitely bumpy and I was glad when we got to the top of the hill so we could hop off. It was a very neat experience and something to say we had done, but one is probably plenty enough for me. 

On the drive back to the camp, Mike was told there was a lion spotted earlier in the day so we tried to find it. We were unlucky in our search but did get really close to a mother white rhino with her baby. I was a little worried because she stared at us for a little bit before turning to continue grazing. Those horns could do a lot of damage to the truck! We also got to see some amazing views en route as he took us up a mountainside that overlooked all the animals on the plains below.

We returned another great 3 course meal and prepared for our last full day in Lewa.