A year later, and back in Nairobi to finish up some work. Flights out of Nairobi tend to be late at night, which when you’re lucky, leaves the morning with room for side quests. This time we went to Hells Gate National Park, and Crescent Island. Of the two, Crescent island was my favorite, allowing visitors to get out of the Land Rovers and walk around and explore. Hells Gate wasn’t without its charms though. At one point after a bathroom break we got back in the Land Rover and saw some little monkeys close to the car. One inched closer, which we thought was pretty chill, but in an instant he hopped up, reached into our window, and snatched someone’s breakfast.
My one disappointment in this side quest is that we did not get to stop by a Masaai village. I’m growing fond of meeting people and shooting them in my travels and that would have been nice. Maybe next time?
For this trip, Nikon was kind enough to loan me the fabulous 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. I don’t really do this type of National Geographic shooting day-to-day, so it’s not really worth it for me to keep that type of lens in my kit, so the consignment program is really useful for moments like this. The only downside is I found myself pretty much living at the 200mm end of the range. Next time I might try the 180-600mm lens which i’m familiar with from shooting the last eclipse. And the 70-200mm lens may have a home in my kit someday. There are times where as a dad I could use the extra reach, and there are some churches where they don’t let you get too close to the altar where your only options are setting up a remote camera and praying, or going telephoto. Not in a hurry though.
