Last night I dreamt I was in Africa. I dreamt of the Masai Mara and its vast sweeping plains that cover over 585 square miles of southwest Kenya. I dreamt of the deep, swollen, crocodile infested waters of the snaking Mara River, and of the hundreds and thousands of wildebeest that will be crossing it now in their epic migration from the Serengeti in Tanzania. I dreamt of the lions hunting in the Musiara Marsh and the elephants that came into our camp at night. I dreamt of the chilly dawns and the glowing sunsets and in my dream I was many miles away from Jakarta
Lottie Nevin - The Red House Diaries 
I love all the photographs of one of the most beautiful place on this planet; famous for astonishing wild- life and sanctuaries. Your post has just made me more interested in planning a trip to Africa.
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Thanks Clarissa for your lovely comment! Kenya is where my heart is. I’ve loved it since the minute that I first travelled there 30 years ago (that makes me feel ancient!) There is just something about the place which is magic. Do try and get there if you can – if you can spare the time and you have the money do a safari and then beach. Head to the coast, either to Malindi or Lamu. White sands, crystal clear blue waters….Have fun! Lottie 🙂
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Yes, I’ll try to plan the trip accordingly. Thanks for your great suggestions as you know the place as its best.
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Ahhhhmazing photos! When were you in Africa? Or do you have a special technology for photographing your dreams???
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Wouldn’t that be amazing! technology for photographing dreams. We were there exactly 2 years ago and stayed at Governors Camp in the Masai Mara. It’s expensive but worth every penny. Truly the stuff that dreams are made of and we had 4 heavenly days there.
Here’s the link for anyone interested
http://www.governorscamp.com/property-descriptions/governors-camps-masai-mara/governors-camp
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Beautiful photos Lottie! One of the many places I would love to travel to in my lifetime that I am always afraid I won’t get to….sigh…..
Aaron
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Aaron, have you heard of treasure maps? I’ll send you an email about them. Trust me, they work!
I did a bit of travelling before I had my children and then there was a long period in my life when I hardly travelled at all. It’s so expensive when you have kids. It’s really only in the last few years that I’ve had these opportunities. I really hope you get a chance to go to Kenya. It is my favourite place and if I ever win the lottery I’ll be back there like a shot.
Read ‘Out of Africa’ and don’t give up on your travel dreams 🙂
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I have read Out of Africa its a wonderful book! Please make sure you send me the message Lottie….do you have my email? I think you do…
Aaron
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Send it to me again…bettydharma@gmail.com
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Lottie, what a poetic post and beautiful photos. The wild and exotic have always appealed to me, and I hope I make it to Africa one day. I do feel sorry for the annual wildebeest run, as so many of them become food for hungry crocs. I watched a documentary on it one year…very disturbing, but nature isn’t always sugar candy, is it?
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It sure isn’t! It was agony watching the crossings – it’s not just the crocs, it’s the slippery steep banks and rocks that cause problems. Many of them break their necks or legs trying to scramble up the other side and the babies can get parted from their mothers – it’s heartbreaking hearing them call to each other. The noise that 1,000’s of wildebeest crossing a river make is extraordinary. It has to be seen and heard to be believed.
Amberr, here’s hoping that you get a chance to go to Africa too, and thanks for your lovely comment 🙂
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Wow. Wow. WOW!! Leopards and lions and elephants, oh my! Fabulous photos as always, Lottie. And what a lovely paragraph you wrote by way of introduction.
I think my fav image is “leopardrockbehind”…I can imagine he (she?) is surveying her domain…or looking out for her next meal. And “ele6!” is wonderful! Elephant’s faces are incredible. I also love “stretchcheetah,” nearly looks just like you could reach out and give her (him?) a scratch behind the ears. But I suppose that would be a mistake!
How close were you actually to the animals? It must have been an amazing experience, I can see why your heart is in Kenya. xoxo
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We hired a huge lense, so huge that it was almost obscene. Don’t ask me what size it was i really havent a clue but it weighed a ton and I hated it. For most of the time we got up pretty close and personal with the wildlife which was great so didn’t need to use it.
The scariest moment was when we were with our driver and one other couple. There was a pride of lions eating, sleeping and playing just feet from the open-sided landrover. I was using the Hasselblad which as you know makes quite a noise when you wind on the film. Suddenly this lioness took an keen interest in what I was doing and moved to within almost touching distance. She stared me right in the eye and I froze. The driver cool as cucumber opened the box between the two front seats and felt for his gun…mercifully after a few moments she walked away.
The other excitement was the mother and baby elephant outside our tent on our last night. All night long she beat her trunk on our tent, removed every bit of vegetation around us and uplifted the entire section of fence between us and the steep drop down to the river. We didnt get a wink of sleep because everytime we dropped of, she did the loudest farts which then woke us up again. I ended up lying on the floor with my head peeping out of the tent and watching her and her baby just feet away. It was the most perfect end to a perfect 4 days.
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Oh my, Lottie, your lioness encounter sounds heart-stopping!! It must have been incredible being so close to her, though. Love the story of the elephants, too…except for the not-getting-any-sleep part! xoxo
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Lottie, the photos are fantastic and I love the imagery you created with words as well!
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Thank you Steph 🙂 I’ve been thinking of ways that I could use the photos on this blog and my dream became the perfect excuse!
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Stunning photos, Lottie. And such tales of derring-do. Wide angle close ups of a lioness are not for me. We concentrated on birds but I wish I had leopard pictures like yours.
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We were so lucky with the leopard – she came just close enough that I could take these shots – such a beautiful creature. I have a wonderful one of her leaping off a rock BUT dammit there was a plant just in the way so although the rest of the shot is great, it looks like she has a huge piece of green snot coming out of her nose…such is photography eh?!
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