Sabbath and Lake Magadi

We attended the Seventh Day Adventist Sabbath service this morning and then had lunch. Soon after we hopped in the van and headed for Lake Magadi with Bob. It was a fascinating drive through Masai country.

The ladies carry incredible amounts on their backs and heads for very long distances!

Maasai man tending his cows...
his cows...

Maasai village...

a gathering of local villagers...

a Geranok, our first animal sighting!

A goshawk, our first large bird sighting.

A very dry and fairly barren landscape with the factory and lake in the background.

Magadi is the Lake that is farthest South in Kenya's Rift Valley. The guidebook says "Magadi is one of the world's most inhospitable lakes,, a shimmering pink-coloured hellscape of overpowering heat and smell with temperatures well over 100 degrees F." The factory on it's shores that produces soda ash and sodium chloride for export to the Far East and Southeast Asia.
They fill shallow pond areas with lake water and let the sun evaporate off most of the water leaving the salt. They then process the salt. This was at the edge of one of the ponds. We drove on around the lake to where the birds were and of course John was in heaven!

The big lens got a workout here!
Lots of Yellow-billed Storks...
Greater and Lesser Flamingos...
Cape Teals....
Marabou Storks...

hundred's of Flamingos and African White Pelicans.

and of course lots of Maasai women with jewelry to sell and pictures to take for a small fee.

We stayed until just after sunset.

By the time we got back, after a stop for gas as we were running on fumes, Joy had a wonderful dinner together for us. Another really great day!