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After an extremely comfortable night in the luxury of the lodge, we awoke bright and early to head out onto Lake Naivasha. We left a little later than planned and eventually we got out in the boats. Our primary target would be the African Fish Eagles and the other birdlife that frequents this incredibly picturesque spot! In fact if you are keen on your birds then this is the place to go. Lake Naivasha and the surrounding area is home to over 350 species of bird and quite a variety of mammals too. Amazing to think, as there is also a thriving flower growing industry around the lake too! So we headed out, making our way through the acres of Water Hyacinth, and almost instantly came across some Hippo. It wasn't long before the different species of Cormorant came into view, as well as several types of Egret. We had to wait a little while for the Fish Eagles but eventually we were treated to the silent and extremely elegant sight of them plucking a fish from the water's surface. Admittedly these fish had been thrown by our helmsmen and the eagles never truly cooperated, always deciding to catch the fish facing away from us. None the less this is an amazing sighting and well worth the effort involved. This is actually the second time I have been to lake Naivasha and I am sure it is not the last time I will pay a visit.  The shallow flooded edge of Lake Naivasha  Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius)  Imm. Long-tailed Cormorant (Phalacrocorax a. africanus)  Imm. Long-tailed Cormorant (Phalacrocorax a. africanus)  Grey-headed Gull (Larus cirrocephalus poiocephalus)  Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus)  Great Egret (Ardea alba)  Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)  African Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer)  White-breasted Cormorant (Phalacrocorax lucidus)  Wild Eye Tour Participants & Gerry Van Der Walt (Homo sapiens)  Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus)  African Spoonbill (Platalea alba)  Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis)  Long-toed Plover (Vanellus crassirostris) What an amazing morning it was out on the boat, there was never a dull moment and always plenty of photographic opportunities. It really was a fantastic couple of hours, the bird photography here (as you can probably see) really is top notch and I think if we got out on the water a little earlier, we could have captured some amazing Fish Eagle photographs too. This was such a contrast to the Maasai Mara, with a very different focus, and it really was a great way to break up the journey between the two National Parks. Before we left Sopa Lodge, we had a great Colobus Monkey photography session. The Colobus Monkeys decided to pose nicely for us in the trees, right by the lodge entrance and we of course were happy to photograph them! After a short spell with some of the specatular Superb Starlings and the monkeys too, it was time to head off and make our way to the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro and Kenya's stunning Amboseli NP.  Juvenile Black and White Colobus (Colobus guereza) This might have been around the time that I had a little incident. Whilst focusing on the monkeys and not really paying all that attention to my surroundings, I might have fallen down a small drainage ditch. In the process I managed to fall over in a rather comical manner, ensuring at all times that the camera was safe and sound above my head. I did however manage to rip my toenail off and had to spend the next 10 minutes bandaging myself up. All is well now though, for any of those concerned ;)  Black and White Colobus (Colobus guereza)  Black and White Colobus (Colobus guereza)  Black and White Colobus (Colobus guereza)  Superb Starling (Lamprotornis superbus) Again, thanks must go to Wild Eye for organising another fantastic day. The photographic opportunities, as ever, were absolutely superb and our photographic tour leaders Gerry and Andrew were great. Some great driving by Joseph ensured that we made it safely to Amboseli, after an interesting drive around Nairobi and out to the East then onwards, back down towards the Tanzanian border.
I would also like to dedicate this to an old school friend, David Griffiths, who sadly passed away last week. He was planning on running the London Marathon next month. If any of you could donate a small amount of money and help him reach his total that would be amazing: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=Griff2013.
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