From the Great Rift Valley to Watching Animals in the Masai Mara—Kenya Trip (Part 1)

The hot-potting editor appears!

Recently, it was officially announced that "The Lion King" live-action movie will be released in mainland China on July 12, one week ahead of schedule in North America. Character posters have been released! Fried chicken is lovely. (Character posters will be interspersed in the text)

Let’s first take a look at the real lives of the characters in The Lion King through Kenya Animal Safari! (too many pictures warning)

The gossip is over.

Picture | Sea Breeze Vine Text | Sea Breeze Vine

Speaking of Africa, what do you think of? I think for most people, it should be the Glory Stone and "Hakuna Matata" in "The Lion King", as well as the well-known teacher Zhao Zhongxiang's "Spring is coming, everything is here. Recovery, the prairie has come to the mating season of animals again ".

There are many countries in Africa. If you want to see animals, you usually choose Kenya or Tanzania. The two countries share:

Masai Mara National Park.

Speaking of this park, most of the African parts of "Animal World" were filmed in this park. This park covers a vast area, totaling 4,000 square kilometers, of which Tanzania occupies 2,500 square kilometres, and Kenya occupies 1,500 square kilometres. The period from June to October every year is the local short rainy season, which is the peak tourist season.

Kenya and Tanzania both focus on animal world-related tourism. Kenya is more boutique than Tanzania, and the price is slightly higher. Now is the time when direct flights from Changsha to Nairobi (the capital of Kenya) are launched. The price is very beautiful (round trip 2200) . It is recommended to choose Kenya for travel.

Kenya visa:

You can sign on arrival ; you can also sign online , but some of the content to be filled in for the online visa is a bit weird, so it is recommended to find a third party to handle it. The cost is not high, but there are online visas in this country. There is a certain probability that there will be abnormalities during the sending process, so if there is no result after more than a week, you can directly call the Chinese Embassy in Kenya to apply for enquiry. Don’t worry, the person answering the phone will be a Chinese staff member, so you don’t have to worry about communication issues.

vaccine:

After you get the visa, you can go to the local import and export quarantine center to get the freeyellow fever vaccine. Of course, you can pay for it if you don’t have a visa. It takes 10 days to take effect, so be sure to plan it well. . It is valid for 10 years. After the injection, there will be a small yellow booklet, which you should take with you when going to Africa and South America.

※ Everyone is very familiar with sun protection, mosquito repellent, clothing, etc., so I won’t be verbose.

drug:

Ibuprofen (all antipyretic and analgesic products are acceptable) , montmorillonite powder (treating diarrhea) , trauma complex iodine cotton Sticks, band-aids, and very importantanti-allergic drugs (loratadine, etc.).

(Don’t think that it’s okay if you don’t have an allergy to anything in China. Even if you have food with the same name abroad, you may become allergic to it after eating it)

Filming equipment:

Telephoto lens , Huawei P30 pro may still not work... I use 200-500 F5.6mm (a cost-effective choice, for the same reason Tamron and Sigma both have 150-600 F5-6.3) , and then I connected the residual frame machine, so the equivalent is 350-750mm. In fact, it is almost the same when it reaches 300mm. Of course, rich people can also directly go to 800mm, as shown in the figure below It was the first time I saw the sign. I searched for the price and was so scared that my hands shook so much that I almost stopped holding my phone.

Aerial photography:

Prohibited , or even prohibited from entering . It is said that people will be detained after completing the CCTV procedures.

currency:

Supports the direct use of U.S. dollars. Tips are required in local service industries. Please exchange some 1 yuan U.S. dollars and put them in your pocket for easy payment at any time.

Housing:

Directly Kenya China Travel Service , no hidden costs, the hotel includes a buffet, tourists are not allowed to drive themselves in the local area, the land cruise fee for 7 seats is 350 US dollars a day, the hotel fee is extra (different scenic spots vary greatly ).

Changsha—Nairobi—Maasai Mara

Originally I thought Africa was very desolate, but when I arrived there, it was said that the climate was very good, almost the same as the Jiangnan area (not even that hot) I had heard about the Great Rift Valley in East Africa in geography textbooks, from Nairobi to Malaysia. I passed by Sai Mara on the road, and after seeing it, I realized that I needed to find an adjective to describe it. It was really lush .

You can't see the edge at a glance. The mountain on the left is one side of the rift valley, and the right side is beyond the field of view of the 14mm wide-angle lens.

The road conditions are quite average. This is the result of my country's assistance in infrastructure construction. I saw a plane flying directly to the Masai Mara. To be honest, in a foreign country, I feel quite at ease when I see large construction sites or construction machinery marked with Chinese .

After a period of turbulence, we crossed a bridge and entered Maasai Mara National Park.

▲ A very distinctive decoration at the bridgehead

I made a small list of things I wanted to read, roughly as follows:

Rhino, buffalo, Simba, Nana, Pumbaa, Timon, giraffe, elephant, cheetah, antelope, zebra, crocodile, hippo, flamingo, starry sky

※ However, it really left a regret.

During the process of going through the formalities, I saw a group of small animals from a distance. I suspected that these were the legendary Meerkats—Timon. Fortunately, I took a photo of them. This is what they were doing to me. The only time it appears in the field of vision.

▲ The live-action version of Timon in The Lion King, it’s a pity that we didn’t get it

Further along the river, you can see huge hippos. These seemingly gentle guys can be very alarming when they go berserk. There are frequent news of hippos being attacked by tourists who do not listen to advice and are provoked. The teeth of hippos usually seen in zoos are cut off, but they are actually very long and sharp and can bite a crocodile right through.

We first drove straight to the hotel in the park. The tour guide told us that animals usually come out more active in the morning, especially carnivores. We had a total of 3 days and 2 nights in the park, so we were asked not to be impatient.

The price of the hotel in the park is quite considerable. It is the most expensive in this trip. It includes buffet and everything. There is also a public swimming pool for use. The hotel also has a doctor to provide basic medical services.

Speaking of this, I have to mention that my wife drank kiwi juice, which caused wheals all over her body. We didn’t know the cause on the plane, and the crew tried to find medicine but failed (Emirates Airlines, a Japanese flight attendant took a huge detailed Fill out the form quickly) , then drank another drink at night, and got an intramuscular injection of chlorpheniramine at night. The total cost was about US$30? The sky-high price of juice~ I have such a bad memory that I never remember to bring loratadine with me.

▲ The hotel environment is quite good. After taking a short rest, I ran out to see the animals.

The following article uses a large number of pictures and a small amount of text for everyone to enjoy. At that time, the tour guide only gave one note. Without instructions, never get off the car unless you want to When delivering "takeout" .

▲ First, let’s take a picture of zebra and wildebeest

▲ There are two birds in the picture, one may be a mallard and the other may be a pelican

▲ This medium-sized one with a black line on its belly is called Springbok (Springbok)

▲ Turning Point Niuling (Topi)

▲ Everyone knows him!

▲ The live-action version of Simba in The Lion King, I’m so excited to see Simba!

▲ Lions generally don’t hunt in the afternoon, they just hang out

▲ Grassland and lone trees are everyone’s favorite themes

▲ Wildebeest (Gnu) , the tour guide will speak its Chinese name. Our tour guide can speak Swahili, English, and Japanese. We may receive more and more Chinese tourists, and we will Learn some Chinese.

▲ Everyone knows him too!

▲ African buffalo , seem to be different from Asian ones (although they are both called buffalo, they are quite distantly related)

▲ Migrating wildebeest herd under the sunset

▲ African stork (read: recording) , mainly scavenger

▲ I don’t know what it is

▲ At the airport in the evening

▲ I took a photo by the window at night. The time and location were not good.

The local sunrise and sunset are very beautiful, so we drove to the airport to watch the sunrise the next morning.

▲ This Hongyun is so flattering

▲ The sky is slowly getting brighter

▲ A hot air balloon begins to take off in the distance (don’t ask me why I didn’t do this project, I’m afraid of heights)

▲ Birds flying over

▲ Yang! Light! general! According to!

▲ Buffalo: What are these people looking at?

A very important activity in the morning, go watch lion hunting. Regarding the teamwork of lion hunting, I think everyone knows that male lions actually have to hunt, and because of their huge weight, Advantage, large animals still rely on adult male lions to take action, while female lions are responsible for holding down the battle from the side.