My Safari at the Nakuru National Park Continues

A big welcome and thank you to my newest follower, Maus Tratos ao Idoso Denuncie, which I understand translates to Report Abuse of the Elderly. This is indeed a worthy cause.

For those of you who have been following my travel series to Kenya, I'm happy to report that I will resume the series.  At the end of this post you will find links to the other posts in this series.  I've also started a new series on frugal living and, I will continue to post about little Kigen's progress on this blog also.

When I left off the tour in the last post on this park, we were seated in the car discussing which road to take. We decided to turn right.

Amongst the trees you will find a group of zebras. Did you know that a a group of zebras is not called a herd but a harem?  I just learned that by looking it up on line today.

A close up of the water buffalo with some kind of white bird in the foreground. I'm afraid I don't know what it is. (Graham from Namibia tells me they are egrets.  Thanks Graham!).  There are also several species of birds behind the buffalo.  You can get a better view by clicking on the photo to enlarge it.  The ones at the far back are Lesser Flamingos and Great White Pelicans.  There are so many kinds of birds that feed at this lake but the largest in  numbers are probably the flamingos.

A snapshot of the lake's beauty.

A Kenyan water buffalo grazes on the wet grass while two flamingos fly overhead. I was delighted to capture the flamingos in flight.

A Thompson gazelle grazes on the grass.

I want to get a closer look at the flamingos.  They are much farther away from the shoreline than they usually are. That is because there has been so much rain and the lake has been artificially enlarged but the flamingos remain where the lake's natural shoreline is located.

The water buffalo in the foreground and the flamingos in the background make for a pretty picture.

This is about as close up a shot as I could get on this trip. I don't have a fancy camera with the ability to zoom right in.

I believe these birds are called the Helmeted Guineafowl. My driver didn't know the name of them as he isn't a tour guide. He just kept telling me that the bird tastes very good.

Here is a close up.  We came across these birds several times during our tour of the park.  I think the spotted pattern on the feathers is so pretty.

The Great White Pelican. I love the look of their beaks.  If you click on the photo it will enlarge and you can see the beak up close.

I am not fully certain but I think this blue bird might be the Lesser blue eared Glossy starling.

I thought it was so pretty and it ran across the road several times during our trip.

Come back again soon so I can show you more of this beautiful country called Kenya.

Click here to read Part 1 in this series. It starts with my stopover in Nairobi, Kenya.

Click here to read Part 2 in this series in Kenya. It continues with my sojourn in Nairobi, Kenya.

Click here to read Part 3 in this series on Kenya where I stop to view a stunning lookout.

Click here to read Part 4 in this series on Kenya where I stop at Lake Elementeita.

Click here to read Part 5 in this series on Kenya where I talk about some hotels in Nakuru.

Click here to read Part 6 in this series on Kenya where I show you some tourist sites around Nakuru.

Click here to read Part 7 in this series on Kenya where I show you the Castle Without a Princess.

Click here to read Part 8 in this series on Kenya where I feature a collection of scenes from around Nakuru. 
Click here to read Part 9 in this series where we enter the park and begin to tour it.

Click the badge above to see more wonderful scenes from around the globe.

 Click on the badge above to join others for Blue Monday.

Scenic Sunday ~ November 14, 2010

I love this photo. I took it from my hotel balcony in downtown Vancouver. I think it almost looks like a painting.

For more Scenic Sundays, click here.

Scenic Sunday, October 17, 2010

Mount Paul in Kamloops, BC, with Sun Rivers development in the green space. You can see it is a bit of a foggy autumn day. I think the mountain looks very cool with the low lying cloud but too bad there is the railway development and commercial development in the foreground.

Click here for more beautiful Scenic Sunday.

Fall is the Perfect Time of Year: Scenic Sunday, October 3, 2010

I think Fall is the perfect time of year. I can never get enough of the Fall colours though when I see the leaves fall, I do get saddened that winter is around the corner. I was never one who loved the snow. Though I might enjoy snow for a few days, I think the childhood memories of freezing cold, freezing a few toes and winters which dragged endlessly on, are never far from me. I do love one thing about winter which I will leave for the winter season to blog about *smile.

In the meantime, let me leave you with some final snap shots of Kamloops. These are likely the last photos I will take before I depart for my home on the coast on Sunday. It is Fall now but these shots are landscape shots of the city from the vantage point of the mountain. As you can see, the city is beautifully located alongside rivers and nestled in the valley.  When you drive in at night and see all the city lights it is particularly beautiful.  (Click on any photo to enlarge).

I hope you enjoyed these photos of Kamloops. If you would like to see some of the city in it's Fall splendour, please click here. Otherwise do join others here from around the globe for more beautiful Scenic Sundays.

Downtown Kamloops: Scenic Sunday, September 19, 2010

Thank you to my newest follower, Kiprotich from Kenya.

This is a continuation of a series of photos I've been taking of the City of Kamloops while I am here on a month long stay. I snapped all of these on September 6, 2010 when I first arrived. It was very quiet downtown as it is an annual statutory holiday and very little is open downtown. You can see more photos of this city if you click here, here and here.

View towards the north wherein lies the city and beyond that, the rivers and mountains.

Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Such a pretty little brick building.

I love the balustrade.

Canadian and Provincial flags flying on hospital grounds.

A view of the city from the 6th floor.

Main street of the downtown core.

Lamp posts and fare meters for parking.

Another view of the main street.

Yet another view of the main street. Though virtually everything was closed there were actually quite a few walking downtown. Mostly young people. My guess is they were college students as the library is close by.

The Plaza Hotel  is in the background with the green roof top. This is an historic hotel and it is furnished in Victorian style.

Some lovely planters line the streets.  You can see it was rather windy.

I love the vibrant red of these petunias.

Thanks for stopping by!  You can look for more Scenic Sunday blogs here.

Scenic Sunday, September 12, 2010

 I like the effect of the photo taken through a window screen.

Join others from around the world for

Scenic Sunday & Blue Monday, Play on the Beach ~ July 24, 2010

On Saturday evening a friend from out of town and I decided to treat ourselves to a play under the auspices of Bard on the Beach, an annual Shakespearean Festival held under white tents with red flags set up on Kitsilano Beach.

Both of us like Shakespeare.  But beyond that we were enthralled with the idea of having a barbeque dinner during the intermission.  After that, coffee and dessert and the topping on the cake, a comfortable seat in the beachfront park to watch the annual fireworks competition, "Celebration of Lights". What a fabulous idea all around.

The play was lovely. I was soon stopped from taking photos of the stage but I did manage to get one.

The evening's performance on the mainstage is entitled "Much Ado About Nothing". I've copied this descriptive summary from Wikipedia for you in case you are unfamiliar with it.

Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero. Benedick and Beatrice are engaged in a "merry war"; they both talk a mile a minute and proclaim their scorn for love, marriage, and each other. In contrast, Claudio and Hero are sweet young people who are rendered practically speechless by their love for one another. By means of "noting" (which sounds the same as "nothing," and which is gossip, rumor, and overhearing), Benedick and Beatrice are tricked into confessing their love for each other, and Claudio is tricked into rejecting Hero at the altar. However, Dogberry, a Constable who is a master of malapropisms, discovers—unbeknownst to himself—the evil trickery of the villain, the bastard Don John. In the end, Don John is captured and everyone else joins in a dance celebrating the marriages of the two couples.

Unfortunately, I cannot show you any original photos of the actors but some of you may have seen the film of the same name, directed by Kenneth Branagh. In the movie,the lovestruck Claudio, sings a beautiful called "Sigh No More". I found it on youtube.com and offer it here for your listening and viewing pleasure.

My friend (and I) awaiting the start of fireworks.

Here is a scene earlier in the evening of all the boats gathering on the water to get a good position for viewing the evening fireworks.

Here is shot taken at the start of fireworks. I'm afraid that is all I have. I did manage to remember to take my digital camera however I forgot to take an empty memory card. It is a pity I am unable to share with you the finale of the show as Spain did a fantastic job of it. Simply beautiful. Wish you were there to see it.  Maybe next year?

Join in here for more Scenic Sundays. Please also join in here for Blue Monday hosted by the lovely Sally. For a delightful new recipe involving strawberries, click here.