Our last full day in Amboseli was a busy one. We had the morning routine down pat by this point.
Alex poured our hot chocolate and coffee each morning. It was like pulling teeth to get the kids out of bed, but the hot chocolate helped.
It was nice to see the sunrise from a safari jeep instead of a hospital building.
We were excited to see this whole scene unfold. John spotted a lioness running from two lions. She did have a lead on them. He positioned our car so that she would have to run right by it. He told us it was likely that she was from a different pride and the two males were trying to kill her. She was literally running for her life.
She crossed the road, then crossed a deep stream to keep running. The males, who were not too far behind, made it to the stream and then stopped and decided to walk around over the road instead of getting wet. John told us that lions absolutely hate getting wet. The lioness made a smart decision to cross the water to get away from the brothers.
Although the three lions were running at then past the jeep, we didn't feel unsafe. Every time we saw lions, they were always too preoccupied running, napping or eating to care that we were there.
The kitty did not want to get wet.
John re-positioned the car to get another look at the lions as they went around the water.
As we were very close to them, we could hear the brothers roaring and panting. They seamed a little out of shape compared to the lioness.
The brothers went into the field for a quick rest.
After a quick rest, the lions got back up, found the lioness' scent and started running again. I hope she got away.
You can see them picking up the scent.
Hippopotamuses
We did bring activities for the kids to do in the jeep in case they were bored.
We ran into a large family of elephants.
After the morning adventure, we went back to camp for breakfast.
I could not get over this view.
I went down to a lookout area after breakfast with my latte.
We decided to visit a Maasai village. You do pay a small fee to visit, but this is one of the ways they make an income.
The chief's son was our guide. The villagers were very kind and answered all of our questions. They are a herding people. We learned about the Maasai Shuka that they wear (the traditional red clothing). It symbolizes bravery, strength and tribal unity. It also scares away predators like lions. The Maasai people are known for their beadwork and we were excited to buy a few pieces.
When we arrived, the villagers came to do a welcome song and dance.
They pulled the kids into it!
I was able to join too!
They showed the kids how they make fire from sticks (and cattle dung)!
We saw a house in construction. They use sticks and cattle dung to make their homes. They are polygamous and each wife has her own house. They all sleep in one bed made of cow hide. The homes were very dark on the inside!
Our kids met several Maasai kiddos. The little boy holding Harper's hand was very confused by her nail polish.
When we were exploring the inside of this house, we heard a noise coming from underneath the bed in the photo. When Harper looked under the bed, there was a fresh litter of puppies! It was so cute!
On our way back to the lodge, we saw a dust devil. There were so many that day as it was the first sunny and hot day in a while!
The kids went swimming again when we got back.
Lunch! We did a lot of eating on this trip as every place we stayed was full board (all food, drinks and alcohol included).
After lunch, we went to explore the garden.
Back on the road for our last game drive in Amboseli! We finally needed our safari hats for this sunny drive.
John took us to a steep hill that you could walk up for a nice view.
Mount Kilimanjaro
I was happy to finally see the mountain.
We went to a hillside for a sundowner. This is a pop-up bar in the wilderness to pause and appreciate the sunset.
They had drinks and snacks. Harper quite enjoyed the chicken skewers. I was obsessed with the mango juice.
Alex and John
The kids made friends with the only other kid staying at our lodge. They played tag while the adults watched the sunset. We made plans with his family to meet for s'mores after dinner.
When we got back to our tent, this lovely note was waiting for us.
We had dinner then went for s'mores.
The stars were just beautiful!
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