Safari : My Kenyan Adventure

Travelogue By Areen Pal Chaudhuri

Day 1 of Kenya Trip, Going to Nairobi

The evening started as my family and myself leaving at 11:30 PM for the airport (Terminal 2). We rushed by giving our luggage and doing security checking and immigration. After doing everything we had dinner at this really good restaurant. I ate pasta while my parents ate burgers. We ate dinner and went to our flight which going non-stop to Abu Dhabi, for a layover. After the long and boring flight we reached Abu Dhabi and my mom bought new shoes from “Adidas”. We went to our flight gate for our flight from Abu Dhabi to Nairobi. At Nairobi we met my aunt and cousin and one of our family friends. We took our cab to the Hilton Hotel and met another family friend.

We had a snack where I ate BBQ chicken wings and everyone else ate burgers and pasta. We went to our rooms and from there directly went to the pool. The water was soothing and we had fun! We went to our rooms and took one rest and then we went to a convenience store from there bought pizza and at the time we just played video games and ate some tasty pizza.

DAY 2 Of Kenya Trip, Going To Amboseli

The day started with me and my parents waking up at 6 am and going down to have breakfast. We had breakfast and waited to be picked up. Then we met the 2 guides and drivers whose names were uncle Sammy and uncle Douglas. After everyone came we went into the Land Cruiser which we were going to use for the whole trip. Land cruisers are basically safari vans which is an 8–7 seater and the roof opens up, so during a safari or game drive you can stand up to see better and also in fact in Africa instead of safari they call it game drive because the animals come so close to you that it’s like a game.

We started the trip from Nairobi to Amboseli. We stopped at a petrol station and in the van, we talked and slept and then after say 3 hours we stopped at a place to have some drinks and then we started the journey again but suddenly we saw giraffes, elephants, zebras and gazelles and I got super surprised because I never saw giraffes, zebras or gazelles and to be honest the African elephants are way bigger than Indian elephants so even that made me surprised too.

After that we almost reached the camp and the road was pretty bumpy but it was worth it because the camp was in a very remote area and we had a perfect view of the Kilimanjaro Mountain. We finally reached our camp which was called “The Tulia Camp” and

the rooms were not any ordinary rooms because they were basically tents but more luxurious and way bigger and on the front porch there was a small jacuzzi but right when we went into the room, we had to get ready fast because we were going to a game drive.

 

The national park which was basically a jungle and when we first got in we saw many zebras and gazelles in big groups and we even saw a male lion sleeping from afar and there was a herd of elephants walking alongside the lion and it looked really amazing and everyone stayed and it is the reason it made me feel really amazed because I have never ever seen a lion in my life and that view was really beautiful. Next, we saw wildebeest in the backdrop of sunset and a really big group of zebras running in a curved line and it was really cool and the last thing we saw was a humongous herd of elephants walking on the grass which was mind blowing! When we came back, we had an amazing dinner and I can’t wait for the next day.

Day 3 Of Kenya, In Amboseli

It started out by waking up and the craziest thing happened which was seeing zebras literally in-front of the fence and the fence wasn’t that big so we could see what’s outside quite clearly. After the insanely good view we got ready and went to have breakfast and then we took our land cruisers for the game drive and when we reached the national park we saw many zebras dancing and playing together and we even saw a bunch of wildebeests. After that uncle Sammy took us to a road where we saw a huge herd of elephants crossing the road and it was so cool and mind blowing. After that we crossed a water hole and we saw a lion and lioness mating behind some tall bushes but unfortunately, we couldn’t get some good pictures because the lion and lioness were actually sleeping on the grass.

After that went to an empty grassland area under a huge tree and we ate some packed lunch which I would rate a 7 out of 10. After that we were still going to see some animals and we mainly saw birds like a crowned crane bird which literally has a bunch of hair on its head that looked like a crown and we even saw elephants in a swamp area and also saw many other birds like Kenya’s national bird, Lilac- breasted Roller which was very colourful.

After that we went to a resort and had some drinks and then we went to the Masai village where tribal people live. They first sang a Kenyan song and the men had a jumping contest because in their culture the man who can jump the highest can impress the most girls and then they showed how they can make fire with only two sticks and a bit of dust and some donkey dunk which smelled weird and gross but they still made the fire which was pretty cool. After that they took us to the chief of the village who had 10 wives and 45 children! His son who was the guide of the village tour and also the soon to be chief told us that he had 2 wives and 8 children! They said that they made their house with cow dung and I wondered why they use so much dung.

The houses were very small and had 2 rooms, one for the kids and one for the parents and they have a small kitchen with minimum utensils and a small stove for fire. We saw that there was a school right next to the village and it was totally free! After all that they took us to a small shop where many villagers sell their stuff to tourists to earn money and I bought a bracelet while my mom bought some sculptures. With that the visit was over and we went back to the resort and me and my cousins played UNO and ate an amazing dinner with a performance and our last day in Amboseli came to an end.

Day 4 Of Kenya Trip Going To Nakuru

The day began by me and my parents waking up at 8 am and we went and ate breakfast and then we began our journey in the land cruiser to Nakuru. The whole journey was pretty boring and me and my cousins were mainly playing games or sleeping. We first stopped at a gift shop where my mom bought a lot of souvenirs and fast forward to lunch where we sat in-front of restaurant and the seats were pretty comfy and the food was okay enough and then we started the journey again and the big difference between Amboseli and Nakuru is that Nakuru is way colder than Amboseli and Nakuru feels like a hill station and our lodge was inside the national park and before we went inside we had some tea and coffee and right when we went inside we saw some baboons on a small wooden log and we even saw hippo and there were a lot of pelicans flying in-front of Lake Nakuru. When we were close to reaching our lodge, we saw 2 hyenas jogging on the grass. We then checked into the lodge and we agreed that the next day early morning some of us would go for a game drive. That night we had an amazing and incredible dinner and I can’t wait for the next day.

Day 5 Of Kenya Trip Going To Masai Mara

The early morning began by me and one of my cousins going to a game drive. We woke up at like 5:30 am and after that we had breakfast and left for the game drive. The craziest thing happened right after we left our lodge. We were in our land cruiser and saw a lioness right next to our cruiser and it was staring at us in such a way that it made me feel so scared and the scarier part is that a hyena came and that made me very scared because the lioness was looking at it but the thing is that lions don’t like the hyena’s meat but the leftover meat of other animals that lions eat the hyenas come like a scavenger and eat like the vultures come and eat the leftover meat and small insects so that’s the amazing life cycle of jungle.

We drove for some more time until we saw some rhinos and then we saw super tall giraffes. There were giraffes which were standing right in front of our land cruiser and there was a group of giraffes crossing the road and that was insanely awesome. When we were coming back, we saw like 6 flamingos and we even saw a ton of wild buffalos crossing the road.

Later we met the rest of the group and then we started the journey from Nakuru to Masai Mara and to be honest the trip was going to be long and boring, so we made the most of it by having fun and playing video games. On the way we stopped at a gift shop and bought some fridge magnates and then we started the journey again. We drove for like another 3 to 4 hours until we took a pause for having lunch under a shed and we had another packed lunch. We had to drive for another few hours and then we reached Masai mara and we first entered the gate and then we drove for some more time when we reached the Mara Triangle and then when we entered the actual savanna jungle.

We were going to our resort and on the way, we saw 2 lionesses and the second lioness was literally walking while the sunset at the backdrop which made the view so majestic. We even saw an antelope putting one of its legs on a rock and it was like an action scene. Next, we saw a huge herd of elephants walking and that was pretty much the amazing experience. When we reached the Mara Serena

resort, we had the best view that a resort could offer and we were basically at the top of a hill in the middle of a jungle like kings and queens watching all of the animals and that night when I slept, I had an amazing dream of what would happen next in this Mara trip.

Day 6 Of Kenya Trip In Masai Mara

The day started by waking up at like 7:30 am and we quickly had breakfast so we could go to our safari and right when we left the resort, we saw 2 lionesses standing next to a ranger’s van and the reason the rangers wanted to be next to the lion was because the rangers didn’t want any of the tourists to make noise. After that we saw 3 cheetahs. In the beginning, they were playing around and then our guide anticipated to go much further because he thought that the cheetahs would come closer and he was right. After we saw the cheetahs, we saw a big herd of elephants and suddenly a small baby elephant came out and it looked super cute from afar.

We next headed to the no man’s land which is basically between the borders of Kenya and Tanzania. There were stone pillars saying Kenya on the Kenya facing side and Tanzania on Tanzania facing side. We took many pictures there. Most interesting thing is that humans cannot cross the borders but animals of course can because we saw ostrich crossing the borders from Kenya to Tanzania. When we were going back to the resort, we saw a male lion sleeping in his small cozy bush and we even saw a really big group of wildebeests and zebras crossing the road because they were migrating.

When we reached the resort, we all went swimming and then we had lunch. After lunch we took some rest in our rooms and then at 4 pm we again went for a game drive. Our first stop was at the banks of Mara River where we saw crocodiles and hippos. After that we went to the hippo pool where we saw many hippos and it was really amazing because I never saw hippo closely and so it was insane. We also crossed the homes of the viper snakes and when we were going back, we saw the Kenyan national bird which is called the Lilac- breasted Roller and it was very colorful and pretty. When we reached the resort, it was time to eat dinner and go to sleep and I just can’t wait for next and final day.

Day 7 Of Kenya Trip In Masai Mara

That day we all woke up at 5 am for the game drive. We did it early because mostly animals roam around and have fun in the early mornings for the nice weather. We first we saw a giraffe sleeping while standing because giraffes can’t sit or lie down and next we saw the impossible, which was a pride of lions and it was just incredible and there were like at least 14 lions. I hadn’t seen a pride of lion in my life. All the young cubs were playing around, while, for some reason, one of the cubs tore a bit of the cloth from the cover of the stepney of another cruiser but luckily no one got hurt. Next, we saw a lion and lioness mating in the deep bushes and then we saw zebras and wildebeests eating their breakfast. After that we saw a male lion walking on a hill top while a lioness and cubs were playing on the top and the male lion reminded me of Mufasa from lion king. We had to turn the cruiser around but we couldn’t get a better view but with binoculars we could get a decent view. We next saw some jackals being a scavenger and eating the leftovers of another dead animal and at the end we saw some huge vultures on a huge tree.

When we reached the resort, we went swimming and played UNO. We ate lunch and took some rest in our rooms and in the evening, we again went for a game drive. This time we barely saw any animals and the only thing we saw were antelopes, wildebeests and different birds but when we were going back, we saw a lioness and a huge group of zebras and if we would have waited there for longer, we could have seen a possible kill, but it was about to rain and we had to leave. When we’re going back everyone had a sad mood because the trip was literally over but I guess the jungle wanted to say bye to us because a jackal was running next to our cruiser and it started raining heavily. This trip was actually a once in a life time memory and I can’t wait for what adventures the world brings to me next.

Day 8 Of Kenya Trip Going Back Home

We woke up and we had to leave at 5 am and at that time being alone at the jungle wasn’t allowed so a ranger came with us just in case an accident happened. When we came outside the national reserve the ranger left and we to drive for 5 hours all the way back to Nairobi. We stopped at a café to eat breakfast and then we started the journey again. The whole drive we all slept and the drive felt like only 5 mins. When we reached the airport, we all went our different sides and we did the security check and waited for our flight and in the plane, there was a super annoying baby who literally cried for 5 whole hours !!!!! the food was incredible and when we stopped in Abu Dhabi for our layover my cousin who lived there left and we said bye and meanwhile we booked suite in the ‘Pearl Lounge’ which was pretty good because it had like a billion food items in the buffet and I just watched YouTube the whole time. Our flight was a good and we got sandwiches and drinks and when we reached home sweet home Bangalore I couldn’t wait for the next trip like this one.

FAQ’s for the travelogue “Safari: My Kenyan Adventure” by Areen Pal Chaudhuri

What is “Safari: My Kenyan Adventure” about?
It is a first-hand travelogue written by a young traveler describing an unforgettable family safari across Kenya, covering Nairobi, Amboseli, Lake Nakuru, and Masai Mara.

Which national parks are described in the travelogue?
The travelogue features Amboseli National Park, Lake Nakuru National Park, and the Masai Mara National Reserve.

What animals are commonly spotted during the safari?
Lions, elephants, giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, cheetahs, rhinos, hippos, hyenas, jackals, flamingos, crowned cranes, and the lilac-breasted roller are seen during the trip.

What is special about Amboseli National Park in the story?
Amboseli offers stunning views of Mount Kilimanjaro and large herds of African elephants seen up close during game drives.

What cultural experience is included in the journey?
A visit to a Maasai village where the travelers learn about Maasai traditions, homes, fire-making techniques, and community life.

Why is the term “game drive” used instead of safari?
In Africa, safaris are often called game drives because visitors drive through wildlife habitats where animals roam freely and can be seen up close.

What makes Masai Mara a highlight of the trip?
Sightings of a lion pride, cheetahs, migrating wildebeests and zebras, Mara River hippos and crocodiles, and the Kenya–Tanzania border make it unforgettable.

Is this travelogue suitable for children and students?
Yes, it is written from a child’s perspective, making it relatable, educational, and inspiring for young readers.

What learning value does this travel experience offer?
Readers learn about wildlife behavior, ecosystems, conservation, African geography, and cultural diversity through real experiences.

Who should read this travelogue?
Children, parents, educators, and anyone interested in wildlife, travel, and student travel writing will enjoy this adventure story.

Where can you buy books?
You can buy books at Bookosmia.

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Cloud 9 On The Himalayas I Children’s Adventure Travelogue 8+

 

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Photo Credit – AI generated images from Chat GPT and Magic Media from Canva .

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My Unforgettable Kenyan Safari | Blog By Ananya, 7, Mumbai