hell’s gate. 20 June 2009
Posted by emlsewhere in Uncategorized.trackback
To start where I left off…Here’s some more about last month’s vacationing!
The day after climbing Mount Longonot, we went to nearby Hell’s Gate National Park, where visitors are permitted to walk or bike through the park (instead of needing the usual safari vehicle). The park is home to many animals- including some predators! We pedaled our way through the stunning landscape of red rock cliffs and open grasslands, dotted with zebras, baboons, buffaloes, ostriches, hartebeasts, and warthogs.
At the far end of the park, we took a break from biking in order to hike through an impressive gorge with sculpture-like walls. Along the way, we found hot springs and scattered chunks of glassy black obsidian.
The highlight came when, after setting out again on our bikes, we encountered a beautiful family of giraffes.
We made a “predator plan” after passing several animal carcasses and seeing a suspiciously cat-like set of footprints in one isolated corner of the park. However, we never met any cheetahs or leopards. Instead, we amused ourselves with the fascinating habits of dung bettles: (video to come, once I get a decent connection!)
Erin, did you get close enough to the warthogs to see if they really stink like they say in “Lion King”?!?!
exactly what i was curious about — what was your predator plan, while on bicycles??
I don’t think that the ‘hogs smelled any worse than any other wildlife around. But maybe I wasn’t standing downwind…
As for the predator plan, I don’t think it would’ve helped us in case of a cheetah, but it had something to do with going downhill. Ha.
glad i am hearing about the predator plan after the fact! xoxoxo
Thanks for sharing – those are neat rocks, e! That gorge bears a close resemblance to many of the slot canyons in the SW U.S. Probably due to flash floods once or twice a year. Then again, what with the obsidian nearby, could have been something else altogether, like a lava tube. It’s hard to tell from here!
Happy to hear that you’re having a blast traveling the region.
Take care,
-S
s, there’s tons of obsidian, hot springs, and a geothermal power plant, so i think that means there must be lots going on just below the surface! though the little canyons we hiked through were definitely carved out by water, i think bigger cliffs and such came about from rift valley earth movements. you’d know better than i do!