Four out of the 11 of us chose to do a hot air balloon ride. I have been in a hot air balloon in both Turkey and Egypt. It’s really a unique experience. The cost of the ride in Kenya as far as I was concerned was outrageous. Another interesting thing was how they loaded people up. In Egypt and Turkey, the basket was upright, and you climbed into it. In Kenya, the basket is lying on his side and you crawl in and as the balloon fills with air, the basket rights itself. Also, the landing is with the basket coming down on its side. I much prefer the Egypt and Turkey way. It was interesting to view the animals from above. You certainly get an understanding of the vastness of the area. The balloon really was never more than about 50 feet up in the air. The first set of pictures are getting the balloon ready and off the ground. 

Here are the pictures that I took once the balloon was in the air.

Once we had landed, we were treated to a champagne and buffet breakfast. They even had little outhouses set up for us. Going to the bathroom was a real treat because you looked out onto the Savannah.

After breakfast, we joined the rest of our group and spend the next few hours riding around, looking at all the wonderful animals. We did break for lunch and went out for another Safari in the late afternoon. The pictures are from both adventures. In this post, I’m going to try to give more information about the animals.

The first set of animals are the lions. They are truly majestic and we were able to get so close to them. We even saw them with kills. A male lion lives for about 12 years and the female from 15 to 20 years. The female has her first cubs at 3 to 4 years of age and a normal litter from 2 to 4 cubs. They spend 16 to 20 hours a day resting.

Hippopotamus comes from ancient Greek for river horse. They are actually related to whales. It is common to see birds getting a free ride on their backs.

Next are giraffes. They are truly an elegant animal. The species of giraffe that we saw was the Maasai. They have a lifespan of 20 to 28 years. The males can be up to 18 feet and the female 16 feet in height. Gestation last for 14 to 15 months.

The African Elephant lifespan is 60 to 80 years. The males weigh as much as 13,000 pounds and the female over 7000 pounds. Gestation last 22 months. The calf is 250 pounds at birth and nurses for up to four years. The male children are driven out of the herd at 12 to 15 years of age. Females first conceive at 10 to 12 years and reproduce every 4 to 5 years.

This was our day to see crocodiles.

Here are more animal pictures.

Landscape pictures

We came upon a Landcruiser that lost one of its wheels. What a place to break down in.

At dinner, somebody had a birthday so we got treated to a Maasai celebration and dance.