July 14 - 16, 2025

African Safari in Kenya, Africa

In the years approaching my 70th birthday I started contemplating what I wanted to do to celebrate the milestone. A love of wildlife and zoos, coupled with my relatively new-found hobby of photography led me to wanting to fulfill a Bucket-List trip of going on an African Safari. I started watching YouTube videos and researching how to book such an epic adventure. Then in late summer of 2024 the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines advertised a trip to Kenya in their member newsletter. I immediately sent in my interest and, as they say, the rest is history.

Twelve Des Moines area residents converged on Nairobi on July 14th and 15th, and spent nine incredible days taking in the sites and experiencing the culture of Kenya. This was my first excursion out of the United States and it turned out to be a life-changing event for me (but more of that later).

I took almost 3400 photos, along with several video clips. I am sharing approximately 440 pictures here to give you a sense of what I experienced. I hope you enjoy.

Day 1 - July 16, 2025 - The Residences at Karen

A day to recover from traveling almost 30 hours to Kenya. I didn’t plan on doing much, but then the birds showed up just off of my room’s deck.

Day 2 - July 17, 2025 - Nairobi National Park, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, African Fund for Endangered Wildlife-Giraffe Center, Karen Blixen Museum, Kobe Tough

Our first game drive followed by visits to several local attractions.

Day 3 - July 18, 2025 - Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Venturing away from Nairobi we experienced the Kenyan roads on our way to the Ol Pajeta Conservancy and the Sweetwaters Serena Camp.

Day 4 - July 19, 2025 - Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary, Ol Pejeta Rhino Sanctuary, Three Game Drives.

Exploring much of what the Ol Pejeta Conservancy has to offer. We start early in the morning and end late at night.

Day 5 - July 20, 2025 - Lake Nukuru National Park

Today’s journey included about a four-hour trip to Lake Nukuru National Park where we spent about half the day exploring the area before going to our accommodations at Lake Elmenteita Serena Camp.

Day 6 - July 21, 2025 - Lake Naivasha Boat Safari, Crescent Island Safari

From Lake Elmenteita we drove about an hour to Lake Naivasha for a boat safari with a stop a Crescent Island in between.