We set off at 7.30 am in the truck that is to be our transport between lodges for the next 2 weeks. There are large windows on either side and it is a bit more like a bus. Mike didn’t care about the window so I grabbed seats on the left and we had a great view of the neighbourhoods of Nairobi. We noticed that people use every bit of space. I’m not sure if the roadsides are owned but they are used. In the wealthier areas we must have passed 5 or 6 different garden centres that are just a collection of plants, sometimes pots and ornaments also, just perched on the side of the road or up a bank.
We travelled west along a motorway, climbing steadily until we reached a pass where you can look down over the Rift Valley. It’s pretty spectacular. 
There are 5 couples and 2 single women in our group, with 2 Kenyan tour leaders. One couple doesn’t seem to fit so well. They are a bit older and the husband is quite arthritic but gets around very well despite that. He doesn’t say much. His wife is literally a chain smoker and doesn’t seem to enjoy the food. Hopefully she will relax.
We had numerous stops for toilet breaks and a stretch and I found the changes in scenery fascinating. The rural areas are very different. Everywhere you see groups of goats or sheep or donkeys, always with a person (usually a boy or man) watching over them. They move them along grazing the roadsides and public areas. It’s not uncommon to see goats and donkeys grazing on the ‘landscaped area’ beside a shop or petrol station.
We had morning tea at Elsamere beside Lake Naivasha. That was the home that Joy Adamson built and moved to later in life. She was the author of Born Free and, with George Adamson, was responsible for a lot of conservation projects in Kenya and worldwide. They had Elsa the lion, who was eventually returned to the wild and raised cubs but remained very friendly to the Adamsons. The house is part of the Elsamere reserve which is run by a charitable trust. It is set beside a Lake in lovely grounds. 
After coffee we set off for a boat ride on the lake. We passed these signs warning about wild animals at night. Martin said the signs mean hippos, which graze on the banks. We had 2 boats and Mike and I struck it lucky.
Our guide/pilot was Francis and he had an excellent knowledge of the local wildlife. Mike and I were at the back so we could ask questions and he stopped often to point out a variety of wonderful birds. We saw our first family of hippos and a giraffe which evidently was an orphan and prefers to hang out around humans. There were lots of fishermen on the sides of the lake fishing for carp and also several school field tips. Francis threw out 2 fish to show fish eagles fishing. I was very pleased with my iPhone photo that shows their movement when you first view it. Not sure if it will work on the blog though. 
After the boat trip watched a documentary on the Adamsons, which was really interesting, then had lunch out on the lawn. A lovely buffet lunch, though am trying to pace myself. The garden is also home to a troop of Colubus monkeys that are very cute. They feed them fruit at lunchtime, which is evidently a tradition from Joy. They also have staff with sticks to keep them from our food, but that didn’t stop one male. He spotted a couple of kids on one of the tables and was down and had their bun (stepping in a plate with rice on it) and was off up the tree before anyone could do anything. 
After lunch we set off for Lake Nakuru National Park which is in the Rift Valley. The Naivashu region is the centre of a huge commercial flower growing operation owned by Dutch interests. Evidently they grow mainly red white and yellow roses for export directly to the Netherlands. There are huge plastic greenhouses for kilometres, many with beautiful bougainvillea hedges alongside. 
It was an interesting trip through lots of different towns and villages. One of the saddest things about the trip is the enormity of the litter alongside all the roads. There are plastic bottles, bags and other rubbish just everywhere. Everyone drinks water from bottles and there are roadside filling stations for village people and those bottles just seem to be tossed out the window.
The lodge we are staying at is inside the park gates so we had our first mini game drive on the way in. We saw Elan, Impala, warthogs, a leopard tortoise, water buck and zebras. Also baboons and various monkeys. All very cool. 
The lodge is lovely and very spread out. There is a lovely pool and nice dining and bar area and our rooms are spacious, with a great view out over the valley. The park fence is only 20m away from our room and there are zebra just on the other side.
The dinner was another very yummy buffet. I have to stop eating or there will be no chance of squeezing into togs at Zanzibar. At dinner the staff brought out a cake for Dave (one of the Kiwis) who had quietly been enjoying a birthday. They did this great dance and about 4 different birthday songs and really made it feel like a celebration. Then after dinner we had a display from 3 acrobats. I’m not sure if they were staff or a local troop but they were excellent and did a series of gymnastic, balancing, juggling and fire eating feats all to music and without stop. The others had not twigged that they would expect payment/donation and I felt sorry for them as I think ours was the only offering for a show that we would happily have paid $30 or $40 for at home. 
We forgot to pull the mosquito nets around our bed but will do so tonight. No mosquitoes but evidently it’s best practice. Tomorrow we have a game drive starting at 7.30am.