Island Life, Game Drive #5 – Kenya 2026, Blog post #10

This wasn’t actually what you would call a game drive. It was more a “boat ride to a game walk”. But it was cool walking out among the animals.

We started with the boat ride on Lake Naivasha. 

When I was first on that lake in 2019, the water level was much lower, so the island we rode to wasn’t there at the time. It was more of a peninsula where the animals could come and go. 

Since a flood in 2020, Crescent Island has been an island more than a peninsula, averaging around 180 acres of mostly dry land. Which doesn't bother the hippos at all. 

The rest of the animals seem to have adapted.  

And as much as I enjoyed walking around the island, there was one thing that blew me out of the water. This is where my friend Phyllis needs to stop reading and stop scrolling through the pictures. And Phylis, if you don’t heed my warning, well, I warned you.

I wanted to see the leopard and the rhino on this trip, but I never expected to see this guy.

He had recently captured and killed a small antelope, swallowed it whole and then crawled into his hole to digest it, which will take a couple of weeks. And it will be another two months before he needs to eat again, so at least everyone should feel safe on the island for a while.  

He (or maybe, she) is an African Rock Python. Hard to get a decent picture because he is hunkered down in his burrow, but I thought it was still so fascinating to see him. Like I said, something totally unexpected, I've not even seen him on any safari brochures. I was so thankful that our guide walked us over to where he was resting, even if all we saw was his patch of skin.

And that’s about it from the island.