SAMBURU, KENYA SEP 23-25, 2012

SARUNI SAMBURU SEP 23-25, 2012

SUNDAY SEP 23, 2012

SAFARI LINK PLANE FROM NAIROBI

MAASAI GUIDES FROM SARUNI SAMBURU LODGE
MEET TERRY & NEIL

Arriving at Wilson domestic airport Nairobi after our flight from Amboseli, our bags were taken off the Safarilink Caravan plane along with us and we were told to stand at the side to wait to be told which plane and when to board for our flight to the Kalama airstrip in Samburu.  Saruni Samburu is located in the 95000 hectare Kalama Conservancy (part of the Lewa Trust) next to the Samburu National Park.  We saw our bags disappear and be placed next to a plane then we were taken to a different plane but we did manage ultimately to load both the bags and us onto the same Safarilink Caravan plane flight.  

We arrived at the Kalama airstrip around 50 minutes later and were thrilled to see the Saruni safari jeep waiting for us along with our Samburu guides Sambara and his tracker Simon (who's Samburu name was Basele).  They both gave us a very warm welcome and after a few photos we were on our way in the 7 seater open sided land rover with seats covered in the traditional red tartan blankets.  The Samburu love to decorate themselves and they are literally covered in brightly covered beads from head to toe: head dress,many necklaces, multiple bracelets, belts, chin chains, anklets - you name it they wear them and look great in them!  They make such colourful photos and no matter where we were in the parks all the clients wanted photos of our guides!  We think it is so special to fly into Samburu and be the only vehicle with driver and guide all dressed in their traditional costumes.  Everyone else is so jealous!

It took about 1 hour to reach the entrance road to Saruni stopping along the way to see the wildlife along the way. The Samburu community live here as well so we saw a mix of goats, cows, sheep, camels and the very young boys who look after all the animals during the day.  They take the animals out early in the morning to where they can find food for them and then take them back to the village at night to be protected within the thorn bush circular fence of their village.  We saw two young boys who ask for water which we gave them, the boys are sent out each day without any food or water from their parents.  On our return two days later we saw the same two boys and gave them water again - very shy but very sweet children with a huge responsibility each day for all the animals which represent the entire wealth of the village.

THE RARE GRAVEY ZEBRA 

Wildlife on the way included the black capped social weaver birds, the long gerenuk which stands on its' hind legs to eat the leaves from higher up in the trees and bushes, the tiny dik dik (they are everywhere in the Conservancy), the vulterine guinea fowl which are a type of Guinea fowl found only in Samburu with bright blue chests along with the spotted black and white feathers.  Then there were the 8 black and white goaway birds - as they call to each other it sounds like "go away go away!"

Soon we could see the huge rocks and the cottages built on top which are Saruni Samburu - an amazing location overlooking the Samburu savannah and hills for miles in all directions.  The spot on this rock was granted to the Italian owners of Saruni by the Samburu after an extensive search for an appropriate location.  It is actually a sacred spot for the local community (and does have a cave with very old rock paintings).  The entrance is as stimulating as ever and was a great surprise for Neil and Jackie - the land cruiser has to climb up the side of the massive boulders to the top - no trail or track here!  Waiting at the top was the Camp Manager, Darrell, along with his staff to welcome us with cold drinks and ice cold wet face cloths scented with eucalyptus. Then we walked into the main dining and living area where the breath taking views stretched out before us in all their glory - the scenery stops you dead in your tracks and all you can do is gaze around in awe!  The almost Morraccan architecture of Saruni is blended with the scenery and open air - there are as few walls as possible so that the views continue uninterrupted wherever possible - this includes the rooms where there is no front wall, and at night should you wish the canvas can be dropped or the mesh, or you can leave everything open with just the mosquito netting around the beds - this is what we prefer!

VIEW FROM OUR ROOM - SIDE WALL OPEN ALL NIGHT

Our spotter guide was Joseph, now a fully fledged guide versus two years ago when we met him when he was still a trainee.  Our driver was Boniface, a delightful Samburu who we really enjoyed - both of them were so open and easy to talk with and had a good sense of humour. Both young men had long hair that is dyed red with ochre and they keep it tied back in hairnets most of the time.   Our room was a new room since we were last there in 2010 - #1 A and B - this is a huge room with two bedrooms, 2 massive bathrooms and dressing rooms, two living rooms - yes - it was very large and the views spectacular!  Each room stepped slightly down the rock and every room totally private with no wall at all looking out over the drop to the valley floor below.  The pathway from the reception and general areas to the room is uphill and very hot and you certainly know that you are not at sea level!  We were very glad of the porters who carried our bags to the room.  After checking in we had lunch before heading out for the afternoon game drive at 330pm with Joseph and Boniface in the open air land cruiser - but the roof on the land cruiser protected us from the heat of the afternoon sun since it gets very hot in Samburu, in the high 30's while we were there.

After driving down the rocks, always an adventure!, we saw Gunther's Dik Dik who live on the rocks, and then the Kirk Dik Dik down on the plains in the bush - and there are huge numbers of Dik Dik in Samburu!   We crossed the dry Kwenea river bed  which runs with water, a flash flood, for about 20 minutes in the rainy seasons - April/May and Nov/Dec, before the water drains into the sands and disappears again!  The bush looks grey and dead, but actually it is alive and well and Joseph assured us that as soon as there is any rain the leaves all pop out on the bushes and trees.  For birds we saw sane sand grouse, Somali bee eaters, chanting goshawk, white headed buffalo weaver and for wild life: hare, ground squirrel, Beissa Oryx with a baby, Impala, Grants gazelle, reticulated giraffe (not the Rothschild giraffe that we saw in Nairobi, or the Maasai giraffe that we saw in Amboseli), and elephants who eat 250kg of grass and leaves each day and 200 litres of water!.  We made it to the Uaso Nyiro River that runs through Samburu National Park and had  a leisurely and interesting game drive.   

We passed the spot called Leopard Rock (guess why it's called that?!) where the staff from Samburu Intrepids were setting up on top of the 25 foot high rock for Sundowners for their guests.  Boniface drove slowly back and spotted a very shy cheetah with her cub!  We saw her lying down behind a bush but she raced off as soon as she realised we had spotted her.  Then along came the Kenya Wildlife Service heading out for the night to protect the animals in the Park from any poachers - they stopped to talk to us (we took their photo and gave them some candies) and they told us to get a move on since we were supposed to be out of the Park by 630pm and it was already later than that!  A few miles up the track Boniface stopped and he and Simon served us Sundowners.  Clearly they did not care about cheetahs or park rangers!  Sundowners are always a special time of day and another time to chat with our so-knowledgable guides.

CUTE LITTLE ROCK HYRAX - VISITING OUR ROOM

Back at Saruni we enjoyed a G&T sitting around the camp fire on top of the rocks and then a lovely dinner where our surprise was to have Jake Grieves-Cook sitting with us for dinner (one od the owners of Gamewatchers).  Jake was spending one night at Saruni and did not realise we would be there at the same time.  It was a lively and enjoyable evening and we learned that Jake had lived in Kenya since the 1970's and he had actually built the hippo pond and deck at Keekorok in Mara back around 1979 - he had lots of interesting stories!  All too soon it was off to our wonderful bed with the amazing views and night sounds!

MONDAY SEP 24, 2012

The alarm was all too early at 5am and after our hot chocolate and cookies delivered to our room, we left Saruni in the cool morning at 6am with the sun almost ready to break into the new day.  Joseph and Boniface were busy looking at the tracks from last night in the dry sandy trails, and soon spotted both Caracol (cat), and hyena prints - we'd heard the hyena on and off all night long.  We saw 3 rock hyrax - the cute small furry animal who's closest relative is the elephant, understand that if you can!  Lots more Kirk's Dik Dik, lesser Kudu, impala, ellies, gerenuk (the long necked antelope who stand on his hind legs to eat the leaves from the taller branches), baboons - troops of them all heading as a family unit along the rocks where they spend the night for safety, towards the Uaso Nyiro River where they spend the day.  We travelled very slowly along the rocks and Joseph and Boniface eventually spotted what they were looking for - a leopard!  We sat quietly and watched him through our binoculars - then he moved on top of a huge rock and we could see just his face and tail as it flipped lazily up and down, then he jumped down from the rock and walked around the area peeing on the bushes to mark his territory.  It was great to watch him but eventually we lost him and so moved down to the river where most of the wildlife hangs out during the daytime.

ELEPHANTS (MOM AND CALF)
ALONG THE UASO NYIRO RIVER

This river does flood some years during the rainy season and in fact in 2010 when we were booked to stay at the Samburu Intrepids located on the river, the river flooded in the middle of the night in May and the Serena was badly  damaged, they had people  clinging to tree tops as the river rose until they were rescued.   Intrepids was not sure when they would have the lodge refurbished ready for occupancy and so we went to Saruni Samburu instead in 2010 and loved it.  The Serena Samburu was also flooded and is still not refurbished and open for business, and Serena has not yet decided whether they will indeed reopen in their current location right next to the river.  This year we visited the Samburu Intrepids and although they suffered yet another flood, not so bad, in 2011 the Intrepids Camp is fully functional this year and a great location.

BUSH BREAKFAST

The bird life is always amazing and we spotted Lappet Faced vultures, tawny eagle, yellow billed hornbill, and yellow beaked stork.  As we drove the track along the side of the river we also, very unexpectedly, came across a huge rock python!  It was probably 15 feet long and was just lying in the sun with impala close by.  When we stopped it started to move, not particularly fast, back into the bush where it could hide.  It slid over a large tree trunk laying on the ground and the movie I took shows it seeming to take forever to disappear - an indication of how long it was and it was also very fat!

By now it was getting very warm and so Boniface found a somewhat open space by the side of the river and we parked and got out for our bush breakfast of hard boiled eggs, sausage, bacon, beans, cheese and breads with fresh fruits and coffee - a perfect bush breakfast watching all the wildlife coming to drink at the river on the opposite bank (and keeping our eyes open for lions and pythons!) This is the same river that runs over the Thomson Falls and flows from the Aberdares - so when it rains in the Aberdare Hills the resulting water flow is what can flood when it reaches the sandy plains in Samburu. 

SAMBURU VILLAGERS

We also sat (in the Land Cruiser!) for a long time watching a huge Nile crocodile slide into the river and, against the flow of the river. move very slowly upstream towards a group of impala drinking at the rivers' edge.  They were very jumpy and kept sipping the water and jumping back - as we got closer we saw a smaller croc very close to them so they were being very observant!

When we visited Samburu Intrepids Camp and were given a tour by the Manager, we saw 2 baby ostrich - very tiny and fluffy!  Apparently the mother had been killed by a lion, so a Samburu warrior had gathered up the babies and walked 8km to take them to Samburu Intrepids and asked them to look after them.

We arrived back at Saruni for a late lunch overlooking the watering hole several hundred feet below where a leopard had walked through that morning while we were on the game drive.  The meals are served by the Samburu so each dish is brought to your side and you help yourself to what dishes you would enjoy - never a shortage of food!  We had a lovey salad (feta, mint leaves, watermelon), snow peas and pine nuts, potato, onion and cheese pie, followed by lemon and fruit sorbet accompanied by ice cold wine.

Back at our tent room 1A we indulged in a shower - and these are outside overlooking the watering hole and savannah below - simply a fabulous experience! A short rest and look in the new store which opened just two days prior, and then off for our 4pm game drive.  The store has some very interesting pieces including jewellery made by ladies in the Kibera slums in Nairobi using recycled metals and bone - expensive but very different and stylish.  The store also carries beaded jewellery and other items made by the Samburu ladies in the local villages, and there were books by the owner of Saruni, Riccardo?.  He used to be a BBC reporter and has a couple of very interesting books for sale.  He was the last reporter to interview IdI Amin (Uganda PRESIDENT 1971-79).

SAMBURU MOTHER

By now the temperature was over 35 degrees Celcius and very hot - the breeze as we drove along was very welcome!  We saw Dik Dik, warthog mom with 3 very young babies, and Eastern chanting goshawk - plus much more as we drove to a Samburu Village that we were going to visit that afternoon.  We were welcomed by the ladies at the LOLNGERDED village, and Jackie and I were given beaded necklaces to wear and asked to participate in the dancing with the ladies - you mostly keep your body quite still and move your head and shoulders - which makes all the multicoloured rings of beads bounce up and down in a very spectacular way.  Some of the ladies wear many rings of only red beads and others wear huge numbers of brightly coloured beads which look fabulous.  I was really surprised to learn that these beads are sewn together behind the ladies' necks and are never taken off - I would hate that!  We had several chuckles with the ladies even though we laughed together but didn't really know what we were laughing at!  Then we went and sat in one hut and were told how life in the village worked, by our own guide Joseph who actually lives there.  There were no Samburu men in the village  they were all away looking after the livestock.  This village cost us just $10 USD each which we gave to the designated lady, and there was no vendor market afterwards where they tried to sell their goods - this is done via Saruni at the store in the camp.  This was a very poor village and since the drought, when all their cattle died, they don't even have cow dung to pack the wooden twigs and branches of their houses so everything is covered (or not) with any plastic or covering that they can find.

Then it was time to return to Saruni, so off we went and as the sun set, stopped for a sundowner.  And as it got darker we were so lucky around 710pm to see an African Wild Cat.  We stopped on the track, then imagine - Terry heard this meow and there was this tiny tiny kitten , so small it could not see and it was crying for Mom.  Mom had hidden behind some bush and could not reach the kitten who was right next to our Land Cruiser - so we just headed away knowing Mom would come right out to rescue the kitten - so adorable. We also saw 2 bat eared fox but the best surprise was still to come!

BUSH DINNER WITH MAASAI WARRIORS DANCING

It was pitch black by now (well, there was a practically a full moon but it was very dark) and as we neared the camp the Land Cruiser pulled down towards the dry river bed and it was lit up with a big bonfire and candles all around the perimeter, it was a surprise Bush Dinner (we had requested a bush dinner for Jackie and Neil prior to arriving at Saruni) - it was awesome!  There was a full bar lit by candles, chairs around the camp fire, and a table set with table cloth, china and crystal!

Dinner was awesome, and when we heard the spine tingling deep throated sounds of the Samburu warriors stamping their way from the darkness into the firelight it was just perfect.  They sang and circled us several times, along with 3 young girls in Samburu dress and necklaces, they did their jumping challenges, each trying to jump higher than the others - it was wonderful, and there was Boniface and Joseph participating and loving every moment.  The young unmarried Samburu get together each evening from around 9pm until 1am and this is what they do every night for themselves as their own way of entertainment and they love it - dressing, singing and dancing for each other - along with the very long red ochre died locks of the men.

It was a very special night never to be forgotten!  We were driven back to Saruni Camp around 10pm and fell into bed - still hearing and feeling the wonderful sounds and sights of the Samburu.

INCREDIBLE VIEWS FROM ON TOP OF THE ROCKS

TUESDAY SEP 25, 2012

I woke up sometime in the middle of the night and looked straight outside to the almost full moon looking at me - it was huge and bright - a few clouds glancing across the middle , and then it slowly sank behind the mountains - I knew I should have sprung out of bed and taken a photo of this incredible scene but I was so at peace just watching from inside the mosquito netting around the bed.

MORNING COFFEE FROM OUR LODGE ROOM

The alarm starting beeping at 6am and I turned it off quickly before it started getting louder and irritating me even more!  We had a perfect start to our day - a shower in our outside shower overlooking the valley and the sun came up while we were there!  The amenities are beautiful using rosemary as a base so we smelled fresh and natural to start the day.  Peter delivered our hot chocolate and we sat on the deck for a peaceful few moments before heading up to the restaurant for a cooked breakfast before we departed.  Yes - leaving is always hard, Saruni Samburu is such a special place and after 48 hours relationships have been rekindled and new friends made.

Credit card charges were  processed - we had to walk to the top of the cliff to the spot where we could see the cell data tower on the next range of hills and after 3 tries the transactions worked!  This also happens to be the spot with a big H on the cliff where it was somewhat level for a very small area - this is the helicopter landing pad for clients arriving by helicopter $2000/hour for one hour which could bring 4 clients from the Laikipia airport which is near where we are heading today to spend one night at the Sweetwaters game reserve and the Ol Pejeta Conservancy.  We waved good bye to everyone - the construction crew busy finishing the new room #6A and 6B, and the new swimming pool - both right on the very top of the cliffs - the views will be amazing overlooking the sacred Ololokwe Mountain and the Mackenzie Range.  Yes - we will be back!

Our last ride down the sheer rock face at 745am and off to meet our Gamewatchers Safari Jeep at the entrance gates to Samburu National Park. Kwaheri Saruni - we will be back and Boniface and Joseph, the junior warriors,  have promised to invite us to their weddings when they find a wife!