From lake Baringo, we headed south and east, crossing the equator four times. The last night of the birding and wildlife safari, brought me to the Mt. Kenya Lodge, located at 7200 feet on the slopes of Mt. Kenya, the second highest peak in Africa with a summit at 17,300 feet. I learned on the trip that at one time both Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya were in Kenya, but in the 1880's, Queen Victoria "gave" Mt. Kilimanjaro to her cousin, the German Kaiser, as a birthday present! Then Tanzania was called German East Africa.
The Mt. Kenya Lodge is built around a water hole and salt lick (actually its clay with minerals so it looks like the animals come to eat dirt), that forrest wildlife have used for 100's of years. Every room in the lodge looks down on the water hole so you can watch wildlife from every room. It is sort of like a slow parade: first a half dozen Bush Buck came into the clearing, then 4 African Buffalo, after they left 8 elephants came and went, then more bush buck, etc. All the animals move pretty slowly and cautiously, I imagine they are a bit exposed. Predators such as hyena and leopard occasionally show up, but I didn't see them. At dark the lodge turns on several large lights so one can stay up all night watching if you want (I put in a request to be awakened if a leopard showed up). After dark mash and striped mongppse as well as a Genet (a cat like mongoose) showed up, as well as to hawk-owls.
In the morning we looked for canopy birds from the roof observation deck. I saw a number of new birds and had great looks at an African Emerald Cuckoo, which as it name implies is a spectacular, almost metallic emerald green above with a brilliant yellow underneath. It was one of the most enjoyable lodges.
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