Kenyan Adventure – Day 4 and 5

Today will be our last day in Samburu. We are out at 6:15 am as usual ready for another day of animal sightings.

Almost immediately we find two cheetahs. They are almost certainly the same two that we saw yesterday. Today, however, they have successfully made a kill and are in the process of eating it when we find them. We can’t tell for sure but it looks like it may have been a dik dik. Not much of a meal for two cheetahs. Eventually they finish their breakfast and we get some good photos.

We next come upon a group of male impala. Such a group of young males is known as “the losers club” since they have not been successful in having their own harem of females. We watch as a couple of the males joust with each other. They are beautiful animals. We then note that the impala have come to alert, suggesting the presence of some other predator.

After a bit of hunting we find a lioness nearby. However, she seem much more interested in finding a nice shady resting spot than anything else. It is amazing how unaffected the lions are by the presence of our Range Rovers.

As we begin our afternoon game drive we almost immediately come upon a large troop of baboons. We know that the baboons were around because we can hear them howling at night near our camp. We stopped and observed the troop. Several of the animals were busy grooming each other. We also saw multiple mothers toting their babies.
As we moved on we came across one large male baboon sitting on a rock by the roadside. He was perfectly content to let us take all of the photos of him we wanted. A handsome devil he was.
We also saw a number of colorful birds that afternoon. The first was the “Little Bee Eater”. They are only about 6 inches long but have extremely colorful plumage. The other bird that we saw was the “Eurasian Roller”. The Roller is also a small bird but quite common in the acacia woodlands of Samburu.

Another unique animal that we observed was the gerenuk, also know as the giraffe antelope. According to Wikipedia:

“Gerenuks eat food from higher places than most other gazelles and antelopes. They do this by standing up on their hind legs, and stretching out their long necks to get food off of tall bushes or small trees. Most of their diet is made up of leaves and shoots of shrubs and trees, but also includes buds, flowers, fruit, and herbaceous plants . Gerenuks do not appear to drink water; they get enough water from the plants they eat. Because of this, they can survive in very dry habitats.”

Day 5 arrived and it was time to depart Samburu and head south to the Lewa Conservancy. As we departed Samburu we passed through the community of Archers Post. This is where the reality of economic life in Kenya became obvious to us. The community was composed of a variety of small Samburu huts, buildings and shacks. This was my first real experience in seeing a 3rd world country close up. The contrast with our luxury camp at the Samburu Intrepids was obvious.

gerenuk

Archers Post

The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy (also known as Lewa Downs) was formed in 1995. It is a wildlife sanctuary incorporating the Ngare Ndare Forest and covering over 62,000 acres. The Conservancy is home to a wide variety of wildlife including the rare and endangered black rhino, Grevy’s zebra and sitatunga. It also includes the big five (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and African buffalo). Lewa holds over 12% of Kenya’s black rhino population and the largest single population of Grevy’s zebras in the world (approximately 350 individuals).

As we arrived in Lewa we immediately observed some new fauna and flora. We saw our first yellow bark acacia trees. Unlike the acacias that we observed in Samburu the yellow bark acacias had a characteristic, almost luminous, lime green to greenish-yellow bark. We also observed bird specimens of the sacred ibis and crowned crane.

After arriving and settling in we headed out for our first game drive of the afternoon. We almost immediately came across some elephants, helmeted guinea fowl as well as black headed heron. However, our target for the afternoon was to find rhinoceros. Lewa is well know for having both white and the rare black rhinoceros. And it wasn’t long before we found them. We came across a trio of whites composed of a large male and a mother with a young rhinoceros. The male was huge. The white rhino is normally docile and is a grazing animal. We observed them for quite some time. However, the male became agitated at one point and charged one of our Range Rovers. It came within 5-10 ft before Henry could get them out of there!

White Rhino

We then spotted a black rhino and followed it for a bit. The black rhino is smaller and is a browser, eating tree branches and shoots primarily. The names black and white have nothing to do with the animal’s color. According to Wikipedia:

Black Rhino

“These common names are misleading, as those two species are not really distinguishable by color. The word white in the name "White Rhinoceros" is a mistranslation of the Dutch word wijd for wide, referring to its square upper lip, as opposed to the pointed or hooked lip of the Black Rhinoceros. These species are now sometimes referred to as the Square-lipped (for White) or Hook-lipped (for Black) Rhinoceros.”

Come back tomorrow for more explorations of Lewa.

In Praise of Local Guides

Since 2007, Cathy and I have taken 4 major photo treks sponsored by professional photographers or photographic organizations. We have enjoyed all of them immensely. When we first started out, we saw these trips as a way to combine learning our craft from a professional photographer as well as experiencing some incredible parts of the world. Without question, we have learned a lot about wildlife and landscape photography. However, we have come to realize something even more important – the value to experienced, local guides.

In each of our major photo treks our drivers/guides were hired locally. The advantage of this is that they know the terrain, the wildlife, animal behaviors, best view points, animal gathering points, etc. While it may be possible to learn some of this from guide books and through internet research, there is no substitute for local expertise. For example, most fishermen who are going to a new area for the first time will hire a local fishing guide for a day to two to learn where the hot spots are. The same is true for photographers. If you are not familiar with the area you will be much more successful if you have a local guide to assist you.

For our Kenya trip we had some of the best guides around. All of the guides from Origins Safaris hold a certificate from National Museum of Kenya & Nature Kenya Fundamentals of Ornithology, have completed a course with the US based National Association of Interpreters in Interpretive Guiding, and are full members of the Kenya Professional Safari Guides Association (KPSGA) and hold Bronze or Silver level qualifications. Their knowledge of the wildlife, geography and culture was astonishing.

Peter Liech Adede, Henry Miwani and Felix Wambugu

Felix Wambugu was the spiritual, if not the actual head, of our four guides. Felix worked for a time for a French astronomer and then as a park ranger. He has many interesting stories from those days, including his experiences with poachers. He eventually moved into the tourism industry and obtained specialized training. He is an excellent guide with good people skills, a sense of humor and a deep knowledge of the bush, the wildlife, the culture and the different eco-systems.

Joshua Sonkoyo is from the Maasai tribe. His upbringing and education give him unique insights into the wildlife and animal behaviors in the area. He routinely anticipated the animals intent and put us in the right place at the right time. He also tells great stories. If you ever meet Joshua, ask about the baboon story.

Henry Miwani was our third guide. A nicer, friendlier man has never existed. Henry is an elder in his Maasai tribe and still goes home, when not acting as a guide, to farm. Henry arranged for us to come visit his village on our last day in Masai Mara. We had a wonderful time learning about the Maasai culture from him.

Our fourth guide was Peter Liech Adede. Peter was the youngest of the guides but his intelligence and experience made up for the fewer number of years. In addition to his work as a guide he spends large amounts of time working with the Kenya Self-Help Project / Nyashep Education Trust. More than half of all children in Kendu Bay fail to complete a primary education due to extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS-related parental deaths. The dropout rate is highest among girls; more than 70% do not finish grade eight. Peter is working to improve this situation.

It is because of the efforts of people like Felix, Joshua, Henry and Peter that our photo treks have been so successful. Cathy and I highly encourage you to consider one of the may photo treks that are available that use talented local guides to introduce you to their world.

And finally, I can’t leave you without a photo for the day. One of the more unique animals that we saw was the bat-eared fox. They are cute as all get out.

Until tomorrow, enjoy…

Kenyan Adventure – Day 2 and 3

We arose early on the morning of January 14th to catch our East African Air Charter flight to Samburu Game Reserve. We flew in a 13 passenger Cessna Caravan. The game reserve is 217 miles north of Nairobi in the very center of Kenya and covers 64 square miles. Along the way we would fly past Mount Kenya, the second highest peak in Africa at 17,000 ft. The reserve was established in 1985 as part of Kenya’s ongoing attempt to protect it’s natural wildlife resources. It is also one of the two areas in which conservationists George and Joy Adamson raised Elsa the Lioness made famous in the best selling book and award winning movie Born Free.

We landed on a small gravel airstrip south of the reserve. Unfortunately, recent rains had washed out the bridge across the Ewaso Ng'iro river turning what is normally a short drive to our camp into a 2 hour trek. Fortunately we saw lots of wildlife along the way.

We finally arrived at the Samburu Intrepids camp. The Intrepids company operate a series of luxury camps in Africa and ours was no exception. We would spend the next 3 nights in our beautiful tent cabins. The camp sported all the comforts one could ask for. The only drawback was that the water was not potable. All drinking water, including that used for brushing your teeth needed to come from bottled water.

At 4 pm that afternoon we had our first game drive. Our group of 13 people had 4 Range Rovers with drivers. This provided us with lots of room for our photography gear and to move around.

The roads in Samburu are little more than deeply rutted tracks. Whenever you were moving you were constantly tossed about. It was a very tiring and bruising experience. Fortunately the discomfort was offset by the magnificent wildlife. An magnificent barely begins to describe what we saw.

One the drive from the airstrip to the camp we had seen gazelle, impala, zebra, giraffe, crocodile, gerenuk, Egyptian geese and more. Inside the reserve was more of the same. What really surprised us was the incredible bird life. We saw birds that I had never even heard of before.

Martial Eagle

The highlight of our first day was the sighting of two cheetahs. Cheetahs were number one on my list of animals I wanted to see and here I was getting to see them on our first outing! They are the most beautiful animals, although these two looked like they could have used a good meal. None the less it was quite a thrill to see them up close in the wild.
Our schedule for the rest of our time in Kenya would be roughly the same. Every morning at 5:15 am we would get our wake up call. Porters brought freshly brewed coffee and cookies to our tent. By 6:15 we were out for our first game drive of the day. And our second day would be among the most spectacular. The list of animals for this, our first full day, included: Impala, Elephants, Martial Eagle, Giraffe, Lions, a Kori Bustard (the heaviest bird in the world still capable of flight), Ostrich, Vervet monkeys and an Easter Pale Chanting Goshawk. At one point we found ourselves in a herd of over 25 elephants. For the most part the animals ignored our Range Rover. However, one small elephant seemed determined to show us who was boss.

The highlight of the day was watching two Ostriches mate. The male and female tracked each other across a huge field, their intent obvious. The male puffed out his neck and called to the female. Upon coming together the male performed his mating dance and consummated the act. Awesome.



The lions we saw were pretty laid back. But we would see many more later in the trip.

Kori Bustard

Vervet Monkey

Eastern Pale Chanting Goshawk

Kenyan Adventure

It’s Friday morning, January 13th. Still recovering from jet lag Cathy and I wake up in Nairobi ready to begin our African adventure. We arrived in Nairobi last night, via London, and were met at the airport by a representative from Origins Safari’s and taken to the Fairmont Norfolk where we met up with professional photographer Daniel Cox and his wife Tanya. We joined the rest of the group in the bar for a nightcap before turning in.

This first day was pretty laid back to allow everyone a chance to recover from the long flights. After an excellent breakfast we headed out to the Giraffe Center in Nairobi. The following is from the Giraffe Center website:

The African Fund for Endangered Wildlife Kenya (A.F.E.W Kenya Ltd) also known as the Giraffe Centre is a non profit making organisation, which was founded by the late Betty and Jock Lesilie Melville in 1979. The late Betty, Jock's American born wife, had earlier discovered the sad plight of the Rothschild giraffe and there were only 120 left on an 18,000 acre ranch in Western Kenya that was scheduled for sub-division and settlement.

We got to meet the giraffes, up close and personal! Then one of the associates talked to us about the status of giraffes in Africa and the mission of the center. It was very intriguing.

From the Giraffe Center we headed to the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage. Some of you may have heard of this place as it was featured in the September 2011 issue of National Geographic magazine. Located just outside Kenya’s Nairobi National Park the Nairobi nursery of the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is the world's most successful orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation center. The nursery takes in orphan elephants from all over Kenya, many victims of poaching or human-wildlife conflict, and raises them until they are no longer milk dependent. Once healed and stabilized at the nursery, they are moved more than a hundred miles southeast to two holding centers in Tsavo National Park. There, at their own pace, which can be up to eight to ten years, they gradually make the transition back into the wild. We watched as the trainers fed and exercised the elephants. The dedication and concern shown by the trainers was obvious. They even sleep with the elephants at night!

After eating, the elephants cavorted in mud holes and generally had a great time, as did we. But then it was time to head back to the hotel.

Nairobi is a bustling city. Traffic is like nothing I had ever experienced before. It is bumper to bumper traffic most of the day. Unemployment is 40 to 50%. It is not the place for inexperienced tourists to explore on their own. Car doors are locked and windows rolled up no matter what the weather. And yet every Kenyan that we met on our trip was most pleasant.

Tomorrow begins the adventure for real. We fly to Samburu Game Reserve to begin photographing the wildlife of Kenya. Stay tuned…

For more information:
http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/09/orphan-elephants/siebert-text
http://www.giraffecenter.org/
http://www.originsafaris.info/
http://www.naturalexposures.com/