First Weekend in Kenya - Crescent Island

On Saturday we went to Crescent Island Game Sanctuary which is about an hour and a half drive north of Nairobi near Lake Naivasha. Brian's manager, Ana, and her husband Greg, along with another TechnoServe employee visiting from D.C., Payal, invited us on this trip.

Crescent Island is not so much an island but a peninsula jutting out into Lake Naivasha. Unfortunately, due to terrible drought conditions, part of the land connected to the mainland is now visible because the water levels are so low.

Many of you may know of Crescent Island if you've seen the film, 'Out of Africa'. We were embarrassed to admit that we had not seen it and proceeded to be harassed for a good while by the rest of the group. (Don't worry - it's now on our list!) The animals were brought over specifically for the film. Because no predators were included in this process, the animals have been able to thrive without any threat. This makes it a great place for people to walk around quite safely.

In order to get to the island, you must take a short boat ride across the lake. On our way over, the driver ran us by a group of hippos enjoying the cool water in the hot sun. They caught wind of us looking at them and started to head our way. At that point, the driver had trouble starting the motor and a bit of panic ensued. He was able to get the motor started just as the hippo crew began to pick up speed to come over and check us out. Whew!

We made it over to the other side safe and sound. There was a guide to meet us and show us around the island. At first, it didn't seem as though there were many animals around but as we continued to walk across we came upon several types: wildebeests, zebras, gazelles, giraffes, water buffalo, and fish eagles.

This was our group for the day: Brian, Jalyn, Greg, Ana, Payal, and our guide Moses.