SECHELT, BRITISH COLUMBIA

SECHELT, BRITISH COLUMBIA
WINTER IS ON IT'S WAY

Sunday, October 7, 2012

MBWEHA CAMP, SOYSAMBU CONSERVANCY - NAKURU GREAT RIFT VALLEY SEP 25, 2012

WHITE RHINO WITH BABY, NAKURU NATIONAL PARK

MBWEHA CAMP, SOYSAMBU CONSERVANCY - NAKURU KENYA, GREAT RIFT VALLEY 
- Wednesday Sep 25, 2012
Mbweha means JACKAL in Swahili,  Jackal Camp.
Well it was very chilly when we woke up this morning!  If we opened the front flaps on the tent there was a very cool breeze blowing in, so we shut those up pretty quick!  I was awake by 4:30am and busy working on the diary for the blog which we managed to post before we went to breakfast at 7:15am.

We had a quick visit with GM James Odenyobefore leaving Sweetwaters Tented Camp at just before 8am - the camp is just 10 minutes from the main Rongai gate where we exited so no game drive on the way out.  SAFIRI SALAMA - Swahili for Travel Safe.

The drive was expected to take about 4 hours but ultimately we arrived at Mbweha Camp at 130pm - 5 1/2 hours, stopping along the way.  The roads were mainly good with several bumpy stretches and a couple of diversions - the best diversion being in Nyeri town (home of the current President of Kenya) where we turned down a vey narrow with a huge petroleum truck trying to turn down behind us - not sure he was going to make it.  At the opposite end we came face to face in gridlock with a Police truck - the Policeman who was driving very unhappy since he could not get the car behind him to reverse and the matatu (mini bus) in front of us refusing to depart!  Eventually all was resolved and we were all on our way.

There were several markets in the towns along  the highway (including the town of Chuka where the Chuka drummers come from who do such a great performance at the Fairmont Mt Kenya Safari Club), with all sorts of goods and produce offered for sale - the huge avocados looking very tempting!  The vegetation is healthy - including the huge euphorbia candelabra trees (they look like massive cactus) and the wild aloe vera with their red flowers.  The euphorbia are also called milk trees due to the milky white rubbery sap (latex) which they produce which is toxic.

CROSSING THE EQUATOR
We stopped for Steve to top up his National Parks smart card at the Aberdares HQ around 930, this would save us a 20 minute detour on arrival at Nakuru National Park later in the day.  The smart cards have been introduced for the Kenyan Gov't to control the cash from the substantial park admission fees averaging $80 per day per International visitor and included in the safari price by all good tour operators who then pay the fees for their clients as they enter each Park. The Aberdare Mountains  (Nyandarua Mountains in Kikuyu language).

The weather was sunny with some clouds about but pleasant for the drive.  We stopped at Point 79 (79k from Nanyuki town) on the Highway, right on the equator just after 11am and used the clean toilet facilities, shopped a little in the curio store where Benson was selling his hand made banana leaf pictures of scenes of Africa.  We also  watched the clockwise versus anti-clockwise, versus static display of the water and matchstick depending on whether we were standing dead on the equator or South or North of the equator - I always find this fascinating!  You can give the demonstrator a tip, and also buy an "EQUATOR CERTIFICATE" with your name on for $5 USD each. Every village, town and corner has the motorbike taxis, known as 'bonda bonda" the name for blacksmith who is always repairing them! 
THOMSON FALLS

We reached the town where the Thompson Falls are located - this is the Wasa Nyeri river which we had spitted wildlife along in Samburu just two days prior.  The town is no longer called Thomson Falls but is now the Kikuyu name: Nyahururu.  The admittance fee is 200 Ksh per adult (about $2.40 each) and we also had our photo taken with 3 colourfully dressed young folks at the Falls and at a cost of 200 Ksh per photo for all 3.

Just after 12noon we reached the spectacular SUBUKIA viewpoint at an altitude of 2550 metres overlooking Subukia town and the Great Rift Valley which runs 9600km from Israel to Mozambique.  This is a great place to stop and admire the view and participate in bartering with the local vendors - they actually draw and paint some fine soap stone plates here showing the complete map of Africa and showing the Great Rift valley.  We paid 1000Ksh to a young man who was busy painting the plates in his booth.

After the viewpoint you descend into the valley down a steep road and the valley is beautiful - full of tea trees looking like a solid field of green (groomed carefully short to maximise production) and coffee bushes which are all grown in straight lines with space around them, quite different than the tea trees which can grow t over 15 feet if not groomed.  We saw rows of ladies at the Berea Farm Tea Estate all bent over picking the tea - back breaking work all day long. 

We continued on our way and passed the town of Nakuru and took a side turn for the Mbweha (jackal) Camp arriving at 210pm into the most beautiful cultivated grounds and such a serene and peaceful setting!  The welcome was warm as our bags were unloaded and taken into the lounge which this awesome half circular sofa and pillows with about 40 or 50 seats - it was massive.  In the centre there was a massive fire place, a bar on the opposite end, along with gift store, bathrooms, and more smaller tables and sofa - all under a very tall thatched  grass roof.  We drank a glass of wine while we had our orientation and then after being shown to our tents we returned to the dining room for our lunch before the game drive.  The menu was hand written on a large 5 foot by 3 foot white board and there were way too may selections - we settled for avocado salad, followed by vegetarian crepe/vegetable marsala, and for dessert centred on a plate with Karibu Nyumboni written in chocolate around the edges - 'welcome home" in Swahili  - so special.

GREAT RIFT VALLEY

We left at 2:30 for our game drive in Nakuru National Park - we were staying in the SOYSAMBU Conservancy adjacent to Nakura NP but you have to go out on to the main road and back into the main gate - about 20 minute drive.  The weather was very threatening - major black clouds and there was a huge deluge while we were on the game drive but fortunately all on the other side of the park to where we were!  As we pulled into what we call the "back entrance" (not used so often) there were 20 vans pulled ut of Nakuru Lodge in front of us - traffic jam in the Park - but pretty soon evryone went there own way and we had a lot of time on our own in the Park.  By the way more than 50% of these vans (maybe as high as 80% were filled with Asian clients!).  We had a very interesting and successful game drive, at least 15 white rhinos including a 1 1/2 year old rhino and a 2 month old baby! Burchell's zebra, baboons, Grant's gazelles, Thomson gazelles, amazingly large herds of Cape Buffalo,, a black backed jackal, the very large eland,, spotted hyena and many birds: the beautiful pink flamingoes that Nakuru is know for - the lesser flamingo which is very pink, and the greater flamingo which is a much paler pink, African spoonbill (white and red), black Glossy Ibis, crested crane (National bird of Uganda), and all too soon it was time to head out of the park before the cutoff time of 630pm when everyone has to be out of the Park or the guides get fined and banned from the park (the same in all of Kenya's national Parks).

CAPE BUFFALO WITH BABY
On the short drive back to Mbweha suddenly a huge spotted  hyena jumps out of the hedge by the side of us and runs across the road in front of the Land Cruiser - it was a female, you can tell because of the size of it - the females are 20 to 25% larger than the males.  It stops on the other side of the road and turns around and looks at us - just standing still long enough for a photo in the fading light.  Jackie and Neil had really wanted to see a hyena and the hyena in the park earlier that afternoon was quite a ways off - so what a bonus!

Back at camp we sat around a huge (read HUGE) campfire under the thatched roof drinking wine and eating excellent fresh cheese and crackers before dinner - at the same time charging all our electronic devices at the central charging station at the bar.  Each room has solar power but not enough electric for charging.  They are circular stone cottages with thatched roof, large beds, spacious bathrooms with very hot showers and monsoon shower heads - decorated very nicely - the Mbweha was built in the conservancy 10 years ago.  The SOYSAMBU Conservancy is owned by Lord Delamere - third generation of the Lord Delamere's.   The white wine I chose was Gato Negro sauvignon blanc right out of the fridge and perfectly chilled - 2600 Ksh.

LALA SALAMA - GOOD NIGHT WITH VANILLA SLICE
Again the dinner menu  was presented to us by the wait staff and 4 courses were offered along with 4 choices of entree!!  We chose the tilapia fish with chips and fresh vegetables followed by brownie and whipping cream - again this was presented on a large white dinner plate with Lala Salama written around the edge of the plate in chocolate sauce "sleep well Good night" - such a special touch. We have really enjoyed this camp.  We all headed back to our own "tent" or stone cottage and had a nice early evening and a sleep interrupted only by the hyenas who were very active all night long!

Nakuru to Maasai Mara Thursday Sep 27, 2012
Well I was awake again at 4am so we were soon showered (lovely and hot!) and off to the dining room at 545am to do a little work on the trip diary before breakfast - eggs cooked to order with fresh fruit and cereals - the mango juice was excellent!  Steve (our driver) found a flat tire when he went out to wash the land cruiser so he had that fixed before we were scheduled to depart at 730am - we were all ready and even a few minutes early!  We said our farewells to the GM James Odenyo and headed out  "Safiri Salama " - Travel Safe.  (By the way they sell amazing to the floor bathrobes at Mbweha Camp made from the red checked shucru Maasai blanket with bead trim, and lined with red terry towelling $125 USD each).

PORINI MARA CAMP, KENYA SEP 27, 2012


PORINI MARA, KENYA - Thursday Sep 27-29, 2012
OL KINYEI Conservancy (next to NABOISHO Conservancy) North East of Maasai Mara National Park, Kenya

Thursday Sep 27, 2012
CURIO STORE
SO MANY HANDICRAFTS
The drive from Mbweha Camp, Nakuru to Porini Mara camp was pretty good roads through to Maai Maihu and then West to Narok, a large town of 800,000.  We crossed the Ewaso Nyiro river - the same river that runs through Samburu. but for the last hour or so through Maasai Community Lands into the Selenkay Conservancy the dirt track was unbelievably bumpy and hard!  We saw lots of maize being dried by the Maasai along the sides of the road, and we also stopped on the way at the Curio Store - we were there for about 1 1/2 hours where serious negotiating took place for a beautiful ebony carving of a Maasai Couple and oil paintings.  

After passing wildlife including Thompsons gazelles, Maasai giraffe, Bush backs, Burchells zebra, guinea fowl, wildebeest, and cox' haartebeest, Steve dropped us at Porini Mara around 2pm where we were so warmly welcomed back by the Camp Manger David - such an amazing person, we really enjoy him.  There are 6 tents (12 clients) and 3 staff (including tent assistants, guides, cooks, and security staff) in this Eco camp in the Conservancy and nearly every staff member comes from the local Maasai community.  The Ol Kinyei Conservancy is now 15,000 acres -last year the Maasai Community added 7 thousand acres.

DAVID - PORINI MARA CAMP MANAGER (LEFT)
Josephat was assigned as our Guide and spotter, with Tipa as the driver - both dressed in their beautiful red traditional robes - almost every Maasaa that we see is very wiry and strong with not an ounce of fat on them.  We ate lunch in the dining tent sitting around a very large square table that seats 1 very comfortably - everyone else was pretty much just finishing lunch but we soon caught up with them and met the other guests from Vancouver Canada (this family of 3 had just arrived before us) and 5 folks from the UK.  We shared a glass of wine and then headed out to our tents - Jackie and Neil were in tent number 1 and we were in #2.  David advised us that the resident hippo, Simon, was currently browsing on the grass between tents #1 and #2 during the night so we shouldn't be surprised by any noises!  Simon is a long time resident, he was at Porini Mara Camp last time we visited in 2011. All of the 4 Porini Camps (Amboseli, Mara and MaraLion, and Ol Pejeta) are not fenced but have guards on duty all night long.

Each tent has beds for 3 guests and is set apart from the next tent so quite private.  It was very hot in the tent but I got an hour to update my blog while Terry visited in the mess tent with David, Jackie and Neil. At 4:30 we were off on our game drive and it was awesome.  Because Porini Mara Camp is in a Conservancy (and not a National Park) there are very few vehicles allowed, only those from the Conservancy so usually just 1 or 2, and in addition you don't have to be back by 630pm at night (as i the Parks) so the game drives can last longer and incorporate a night drive where you get to see the nocturnal animals (if you're lucky) and the predators as they start their evening hunting.

PORINI MARA TENT
We saw lots of wildlife: eland (the largest antelope) which can weigh up to 900kg!! Impala, Topi, water buck (with a large round circle on their back end which looks like a toilet seat ring!) Burchell's Zebra, and so many birds: Rupell's long tailed starling, green and yellow bee eaters, red necked spur fowl, common or square tailed grango, crowned
plover.  But we also saw amazing big cats - our very own Big Cat Diary!  We saw a total of 6 cheetah during the afternoon, and 2 lioness, we also 2 bat eared fox and this was a very interesting sighting!  There was one mother cheetah with two large juvenile cheetah sons, and it was dusk and getting dark quickly (on the equator as the sun sets it becomes black night almost instantly).  The three cheetahs were looking for a safe place to spend the night (cheetahs don't hunt during the night).  Then as we were watching the cheetah,  two bat eared foxes (about 12 to 15 inches high) came out of their den in the ground and one started running in the direction where the two juvenile cheetahs were.  The one cheetah started to chase the bat eared fox, and the bat eared fox was screaming at him and flew back across the ground and dived into their den.  So that cheetah stopped next to the den - then the other cheetah started chasing the second bat eared fox - so he immediately started squealing at the cheetah and as he ran into the den he screamed even louder at the cheetah that was standing outside his den!  Josephat (our spotter) told us the cheetah's don't eat the bat eared fox but they just like to play and chase them!

CHEETAH
We stopped and enjoyed a sundowner (gin and tonic, and red wine) as the colours in the sky fadd from reds to blues to mauves to black, and then drove slowly back to the camp.  They use a red spotlight so that it doesn't bother the animals and it lets you see red eyes and movements in the dark.  This let us see lesser bush babies in the trees and then jumping from tree to tree, as well as jumping through the grasses - we thought they should be called African kangaroos - their jumping actions are so much like kangaroos that you see in Australia!  We also saw the night jar bird - they sit in the middle of the tracks when it is dark, presumably enjoying the warmth left in the dirt and sand from the sun warming it during the daytime hours.  There were several of the Dik Dik couples around (they mate for life) - the smallest antelope, maybe no more than 15 to 18 inches tall - they are unbelievably cute!

Back in camp we were taken from the land cruiser to the camp fire sitting in a circle of canvas camp chairs and offered a pre dinner drink while we relaxed and warmed up.  You do get chilly sometimes in the early morning and evenings in the open safari land cruisers, even though they always give us a shukra- the red tartan blankets that the Maasai always wear.  At all Porini camps they give you a green waterproof poncho that is lined with the red tartan shukra - so cosy!

Dinner was served to us at the large table again and we gladly went to bed afterwards, every day with the early mornings and the long bumpy game drives means that collapsing into bed after dinner is heaven.  First we arranged our wakeup call time, and what drink we would like when we were woken up - their wonderful hot chocolate with cookies of course!
HIPPO TOOTH
Friday Sep 28, 2012
We had the alarm set for 5:30 - time to get dressed before our wake up call arriving with hot chocolate for 2 at 6am.  We slept well even if we did  wake up a few times with monkeys on the roof and hyenas calling to each other outside our tent #2.  Jackie and Neil were awake half the night with Simon the local hippo eating right outside their tent #1 so I've got an idea that Terry and I were so tired we slept right through that! 

More the security and night guard was busy keeping us safe all night, and Tipa (our driver - the Maasai name means Maasai Warrior) and Josephat (spotter) were ready to go and so by 6:30am we were all off on our full morning game drive taking along with us a picnic breakfast and not planning on returning to Porini Mara until lunch time. The sun was just rising, and we had a giraffe pose for us against the sunrise with trees on the horizon - how special!

LIONESS
Early morning is the best time to look for the predators (hyenas, lions, cheetahs and leopards) before they settle down for the day so we were off at a good clip over the extremely rutted, bumpy and rocky trails to see what we (or Josephat and Tipa) could spot. We wandered along the stream and could not spot any cats, so then we crossed into Naiboisho Conservancy along the streams there (we passed a safari jeep from Kicheche Camp in the Naboisho Conservancy - there are about 6 camps in Naboisho but they are not allowed to cross into Selenkay Conservancy where Porini Mara is located) - the black faced monkeys were at the top of the trees making a hell of a noise - warning every animal in sight (including us) that there was a predator close by.  We spent a long time looking and eventually saw a leopard streaking past at the top of the hill towards the cliffs quite a way off - the cliffs were not passable for us in the Land Cruiser so that was our leopard spotting for today!  The monkeys also stopped their noisy chatter so we knew the leopard had gone.

It was a lovely morning in spite of the leopard being his normal elusive self!  We had a very large male lion with huge mane sleeping in the bushes that the flies hate - did you know that lions are active for only  4 hours each day, the rest of the time they spend sleeping and generally lying around doing nothing!  This is in comparison with elephants who spend 16 to 18 hours every day searching for leaves and grasses and eating - since they eat 250kg each day you can see why they spend so much time doing this!  Elephants live until age 60 to 65 and during their life span have 6 sets of teeth which each last around 10 years.  When they have lost their last set of teeth they can only eat soft leaves and grasses which is why they migrate to the marshy areas where the foliage is soft and easier to eat - but they are old and weak by now and quite often do not have the strength to get themselves out of the soft muddy marshes and die there.

ZEBRAS
We stopped on a hill with wonderful views of the valley and savannah around 9am for a breakfast prepared on the picnic table with stools by Josephat and Tipa - hard boiled eggs, fresh bread, pork sausage, bacon, fresh fruit (the fresh mango was to die for along with melon and passion fruit) freshly brewed coffee and tea - excellent! Then we continued on doing many miles and seeing so much.  The number of Maasai giraffe in this Selenkay Conservancy is amazing - at times we saw at least 20 together - a Journey of giraffe when they are walking, or a Tower of giraffe when they are standing still!  The name giraffe comes from "arafa" which is Arabic for "fast walker".  At the end of our morning drive we saw a very young 2 or 3 week old giraffe that still had the umbilical cord hanging under his belly - apparently this disappears by the time the giraffe is 4 weeks old.

Our wild life today included thousands of wildebeest (the hills were covered in black dots!), topi antelope including two young babies, bush back, reed back in the creek, Thomson and Grants gazelles, black faced vervet monkeys, rock hyrax (so cute), dwarf mongoose, warthogs (pumba) - the Swahili word for warthog is Ndiri, silver backed jackal, a terrapin (turtle) sitting on a rock in the stream, elephants with babies of course - all along the side of the hills eating leaves and pulling down trees, hippos (with very tiny baby) in the "hippo pool", and the birds we saw included lilac breasted roller, Abyssinian Scimitarbliss (same family as the Hoopoe), grey headed kingfisher (with beautiful blue body), yellow billed  stork (reflecting nicely in the water for a good photo), white headed buffalo weaver, the Maasai ostrich (whose legs and neck turn pink when he is ready to mate, versus the Somali ostrich who turns blue when ready to mate), the small rattling cisticole, chanting goshawk, white bellied bustard, Auger buzzard, vultures, green and yellow bee eater, black headed oriole (with bright yellow chest), Egyptian geese plus many others I didn't get the names of!

OPEN SIDED SAFARI LAND CRUISER
In the Great Migration every year there are 3 million animals that walk the many miles in a circular pattern crossing between Tanzania Serengeti and Kenya's Maasai Mara - 800,000 zebra lead the way eating the tall grass, followed by 1.5 million wildebeest eating the remaining grass down to the roots, 400,000 gazelles (Thomson and Grant's) and 20,000 eland antelope.  This makes you understand why this is called the Greatest Migration on Earth and why this area is so popular for adventure travellers at this time of the year.

Along with "The Big Five" which everyone hopes to see while on safari in Africa: 
Lions, leopards, Elephants, Buffalo and Rhino, there are  
"The Small Five": ant lion, leopard tortoise, elephant shrew, buffalo weaver, and rhinocerus beetle, and
 "The Ugly Five": Pumba warthog, wildebeest (Gnu), Maribu Stork, Vulture, and Hyena!!

RAIN STORM DURING AFTERNOON DRIVE




Back at camp we had a lovely lunch "al fresco" in the gardens under a large umbrella - all seated around one big table discussing the morning game drives.  We had 4 new folks from Napa Valley arrive (from Amboseli), along with Phil and ?  from Nottingham.  The 3 from Vancouver and 3 from UK had left this morning to head to Lion Camp Porini.  Lunch was nice and light: tuna quiche, cold ham and salami, salads: beets, tomatoes, cucumbers, baby corn and beans, followed by fresh mango mousse - awesome, especially with a glass or two of red wine!


At 4:15pm we headed out on our afternoon game drive with JOSEPHAT as our spotter, and Simon as our driver (Tipa had been called away with an emergency) - and within 10 minutes we were dropping down the plastic sides of the Land Cruiser and huddling under the ponchos to hide from the driving rain storm we encountered!  It didn't last too long - but long enough to stop us in our tracks for 20 minutes or so!  We came across the Cheetah Mom and she was intent on stalking and hunting the impala.  We  sat silently and watched for a long time as she would edge a few feet closer on her belly and then rest and watch.  Finally she shot up and raced towards the Impala, but the bypassed the adult mother and went after the young Impala - the cheetah almost got her but not quite.  Seeing both the cheetah run like the wind and make unbelievably fast turns and change of direction to chase after the impala, and the impala jump and turn, jump and flee was amazing.  Eventually with her prey escaped, the cheetah lay down to recover and breathed very heavily for quite a long time.



SUNET ON THE MAASAI MARA
That evening we saw another 3 bat eared fox (2 adults and baby), white tailed bustard, zebra with a young less than 1 year old baby, Cox's haartebeast, topi with 3 babies, Eland with a young baby - babies everywhere!  BUt the cap it all we came across 2 healthy male lions (brothers) with large furry black manes - awesome.  They were a little ways apart and one started walking up the slope where we could see the sun setting and the lion was in silhouette with the gold evening rays shining through his mane as he settled down and seemed to watch the sunset himself - it was inspiring and beautiful.  Then just before the sun disappeared over the brow of the hill, the lion who was further behind us let out his amazing roar to communicate with his brother and they roared backwards and forwards between the two of them for quite some minutes - the sounds just go right through you - exhilarating and exciting!

LIONS ROARING AT SUNSET
This was an amazing sighting, but eventually we continued on our way and came across a leopard who had climbed high up into a fig tree and we could just see his face peering out between the branches and leaves.  The leopard was hiding from the lions and after watching him for a short time we left him in peace and headed back towards camp in the dark but we had a full moon, so it was not pitch black and without any lights on at all we could see more than with the flashlight.  We continued to hear the lions roaring as we drove away - what a superb game drive!

Again we enjoyed cocktails around the warm and friendly campfire before dinner in the dining tent - everyone had experienced wonderful game drives and the conversations were busy and lively! We said our Goodbyes to the other guests since tomorrow our wakeup call was coming at 3:30am to get us up and over to the Maasai Mara National Park in time for a hot air balloon safari at sunrise with Balloon Safaris - another exciting day to look forward to!  Simon, the hippo, visited during the night to chomp on the grasses right next to our tent, along with hyenas calling and lions roaring in the distance - how lucky are we to be sleeping, or lying in bed, listening to the night sounds of the Kenyan savannahs?

SWEETWATERS TENTED CAMP- OL PEJETA CONSERVANCY, KENYA SEP 25-26, 2012


SWEETWATERS,OL PEJETA SEP 25-26, 2012

SIGNING SARUNI SAMBURU VISITOR'S LOG
After leaving Saruni Samburu at 745am we drove through the Reserve past the KALAMA airstrip to meet the Gamewatchers vehicle at the KALAMA Conservancy entrance gate by the highway.  Well we arrived and .....noone!!  So Joseph, our driver. and Boniface, our guide continued onto the highway and drove down the highway several miles, the back through several Samburu bomas to the next Samburu National Park entrance and we met up with Steve from Gamewatchers.  Steve had never been to  Saruni before and had gone to the wrong entrance!  Somehow  Joseph and Boniface had figured out that this is where Gamewatchers must be.

Needless to say every mile is interesting - before we met Steve every Samburu adult and child is smiling and waving "Sopa"  - Hello!  Most wearing their traditional Samburu dress - so colourful and masses of coloured beads.   We piled our luggage and us into Steve's new 2012 Toyota Landcruiser, only 10,000 km on the speedo, and waved a last Goodbye to Joseph and Boniface and we were off.  Neil said "It's amazing how connected we've become to these lovely Samburu people in just two days" and it's true, we left promising to come back!

By 930m we were in Isiolo and checking out with the Kenya Police checkpoint.  This is the main road to Somalia and every vehicle is checked very carefully. The highway now is a beautiful black topped 2 lane highway and a comfortable drive whereas 6 years ago this was all corrugated dirt and a really difficult drive.  We were soon gaining altitude as we got closer to Mt kenya and the scenery changes quickly - there is more water here and the vegetation is green with very healthy fields of green produce stretching for miles - very pretty.  We had let the Samburu pastoralists behind with their goats and cows, and now here were the mostly MERU tribe who are agriculturalists and very busy working in the fields.

Nanyuki, our next stop, is the home of the Air Force branch of the military  strategically located because of the closeness to Somalia and it is not unusual to see jets  flying overhead on their practise runs.  At 1030am we passed a huge John Deer combine harvester going oh so slowly up the hills and then and soon passed lots of massive greenhouses growing mostly vegetables for the export market in Europe - cow peas, green peas and baby corn.  Soon we see Mt Kenya although the top is covered in clouds.
Batian, Nelion, Lenana the summit - are the 3 peaks on Mt Kenya which is not as high as Mt Kilimanjaro but is a technical climb for those who would like to climb it.

WEAVER BIRDS AND NESTS UNDER SOLAR LIGHTING PANELS
 It was a really enjoyable drive with Steve our driver giving us lots of information as we drove along.  We had Steve stop at Laikipia airstrip so that we could look in the store there (they have great stock), the boys could have a cold Tusker, there's a good small restaurant there as well?  It was about a 40 minute drive to SWEETWATERS Camp in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy passing some significant road construction and stopping at the Rongai Gate to pay our daily fee of $80 USD each and arrived Serena SWEETWATERS Camp at noon. 

We were surprised to see the original central buildings, constructed in the 1970's,all fenced off - they are going to be totally renovated.  So the reception, store, dining room ad lounge are now all in huge khaki coloured tents - and they are really done very well and quite elegant.  we were shown to tents 12 and 14 in the old section of tents over looking the watering hole not 50 feet in front of us, just a beautiful location. All the meals are buffet style but the selection for lunch was extensive and everyone could find more than enough to satisfy them.  Soup is served by the table waiter but we all passed on that.

OUR TENT
After lunch we checked out the store, and had Charity from the main office show us the 10 new tents including 1 family style holding up to 5 beds all in the same area and 1 with a ramp and handicapped accessible. This brings the total tents to 50 at SWEETWATERS tented camp.  They were very luxurious with large wooden framed windows overlooking the waterhole and the savannah and the surcharge is $50 USD per person over the rate for the old style tents.  Imagine my surprise when 2 tents down from us we saw a man with a heavy duty sewing machine sewing canvas - he is a canvas specialist and sitting at the tent making repairs with his machine - what an office with views of the wildlife and birds while you work!  Yesterday we were so lucky to get Terry's bag sewn back together and here we are today with Anita sewer and machine in our midst! He offered to fix the bag when I told Hume the story but I explained we already had the problem resolved.

We left at 315 for our afternoon game drive with the clouds looking very black and threatening all around us.  Steve had taken the top off the Land cruiser so that we could stand up to enjoy the drive and take photos.  Our first stop was the Chimp Sanctuary.  Chimpanzees are not native to Kenya but the Sanctuary has been built here at OL PEJETA to give a home to chimpanzees from across Africa,especially Congo and western Africa, where they have been kept as pets and mistreated, as well as losing their homes as the forest is cut down and their natural habitat destroyed.  Here they have lots of land and are fed by the Keepers every day, they are dangerous and behind electric fence but living in a total of ? Acres.  There are 2 families(25 chimps in one family and 17 chimps in the family across the river).  

POCO THE CHIMPANZEE
Each individual story was very sad and we saw Poco who was rescued from being locked into a cage that he was forced to stand in all day (chimps do not normally stand on 2 legs) And the cage was hung in the air at a gas station to encourage customers to come in and buy.  Another was a pet kept by a Belgian in a hotel and the taken to the Sanctuary when he returned to Belgian.  There are photos showing chimp hands and feet for sale to the tourists.  The stories are all very sad. Poco was sitting on the ground behind the fence with his hands over his eyes most of the time hiding from the bright sunshine - apparently he has cataracts and is soon to receive cataract surgery to improve his quality of life.  Did you know that an adult male chimp is 4 times as strong as an adult human male of the same age?

As we wandered along the outside of the compound looking in we had a close up encounter with a small baboon family - they were just 2 or 3 feet away and kept that distance but were quite happy to be feeding on the grasses and foliage with us looking on and taking photos.  Poco suddenly started making a horrendous noise- he had a stick and was running up and down the fence rattling his stick against the fence. There was a lady there from USA with a huge camera who is apparently there for s real months doing research - she said that for some reason Poco has taken a dislike to her the lat few days and runs up and down the fence each day when she is there and she is there all day.  Mmmmmm?

By now the clouds were Ming in fast and we did have a little rain as our game drive came to an end.  We passed the enclosure for the Northern White Rhino and managed to see all 4 of them just inside the fence.  We also saw black rhino at large in the Conservancy, and were really close to several water backs crossing the stream - such beautiful animals, and lovely photos of a black backed jackal who stood still long enough for us to click away.  As the sunset the sky was stormy but we did get some rays shining through as a large bull elephant browsed on the horizon. The end of another great day and now it was time for cocktails and dinner back at SWEETWATERS.

ON THE EQUATOR AT ALTITUDE 5990 FEET
We wandered slowly past the watering hole to our tent and a security guard came up to open the zips - actually it turned out that he was coming to give the bad news to Jackie and Neil - baboon attack in the afternoon!  Neil had zipped everything up when we left for the afternoon game drive but the was a slight gap between the Velcro and tent and the baboon had found it - worse yet, the baboon had found all the cough mixture and Swiss chocolates that they had bought in Zurich and all that was left to show was muddy footprints and a few empty wrappers and there had been 40 or 50 chocolates! To add insult to injury, Neil was getting changed for dinner and found that the trousers that had been returned to him the day before we're 3 sizes too big - he had been given the wrong pants!  It was time to break out the wine and G&T,s and forget the afternoon issues.  
Terry set up our computer as a hot spot and we all caught up with emails on IPads and , Iphones while Jackie posted on Facebook - meanwhile the housekeeping staff came and changed the bed linens and cleaned the muddy footprints off the carpet and the baboon tracks were gone for ever along with the Swiss chocolates!

SILVER BACKED JACKAL
We went for dinner around 830pm and what a great evening we had - clear oxtail soup broth with cheese and crackers for me, and everyone ate really lightly.  We shared a bottle of Australian  Shiraz and laughed until we cried sharing jokes and stories starting with the Baboon Attack. We were the last in the restaurant and the buffet was cleared away and then a local in safari garb came over to talk to us - he looked like a driver guide but turned out to be the General Manager of Sweetwaters Tented Camp.  He said how happy it made him to see clients so happy and enjoying themselves.  He insisted on buying us another bottle of wine - we really did turn him down 3 times first!  We made it back to the tent by 11am and even with the night noises of the animals we slept well until before 5 am next morning. One animal noise was incredibly loud at sunset and we really wondered what it could be? It turned out to be the small cute furry tree hyrax!   I was really cold when we made it back to the tent even though I was wearing a camisole, long sleeved merino wool lightweight top, a cashmere long sleeved top and a polar fleece vest, along with pants and socks, imagine the nicest surprise I had when I got into bed and there was a lovely warm hot water bottle and on top a very thick duvet and two blankets.  Heaven!! 

Friday, October 5, 2012

MARA EXPLORER CAMP - MAASAI MARA KENYA SEP 29, 2012


MARA EXPLORER  - SAT SEP 29, 2012  HOT AIR BALLOON SAFARI
Transfer from Porini Mara Camp to Mara Explorer

HEATING THE BALLOON READY FOR LIFT OFF
This was a very early start since we had booked a hot air balloon ride over the Mara with Balloon Safaris.  We were awake at 3:30, and enjoyed the hot chocolate before a prompt departure from Mara Porini at 4:30pm It was a 1 1/2 hour drive to the Balloon Safaris office at the ? gate and then another 30 to 45 minutes from there.  We had a Gamewatchers' mechanic and David, the Camp Manager with us as we left - David's younger sister had died very unexpectedly the day before and so he and the mechanic exited our Land Cruiser as we hit the main, very bumpy, dirt road at the first matatu (mini van travelling all over Kenya as private transportation, there are thousands of them) that came along to get a ride back to Nairobi.

We arrived at the lift off spot around 6:30am - the balloons were all being filled with hot air and we could see the sky colours changing through purples, blues and reds on the horizon as the sun started to come up.  The balloons were held down with ropes tied to a tractor - a very smart idea - much better than the crew all frantically holding on to the ropes like we have experienced in other years.  We all climbed into the basket ( 1 large rectangular basket divided into 4 sections with room for 4 passengers in each section an a centre section for our pilot, Mike (originally from Alaska) his  propane tanks and his controls.

16 PASSENGERS PLUS PILOT IN THE BASKET
The lift off was perfect - as gentle as a feather!  It was a simply beautiful morning - no clouds, clear skies, and a full moon!  There were about 14 hot air balloons in the air from several different companies, 3 from Balloon Safaris.  Just imagine the colorful balloons silhouetted against the magical light of the sun rise, or brightly lit colouring as the heat was applied to the air inside the balloon to make it go higher or lower or change direction in conjunction with the wind. Inside the balloon basket we were all pretty quiet - but with huge grins - as we gazed in awe around and across the 350 sq miles of Kenya's Maasai Mara (the Mara Triangle) - all the way down South to the Serengeti just 30km away, East to the Ngama Hills, and West to the Olololu range of hills. It was warm enough (we were wearing our jackets and fleece) but the grasses were very damp and every time we came down to "the deck" it was damp - for some time we floated just inches above the top of the grass!

We saw  very few animals while in the balloon, mostly due to the fact that this year the Great Migration started late and finished early - a huge surprise to everyone.  Speculation is that this is due to the controlled burning that Tanzania did in Serengeti.  Typically, the wildebeest, zebras and gazelles migrate north to Kenya's Maasai Mara when they have eaten all the grass down to the roots on the Tanzania's Serengeti, and then return to Serengeti 3 to 4 months later when they have eaten the grass down in Kenya, and Serengeti's grass has grown again.  Tanzania's forced burn followed by rains in Serengeti this last few months may have caused the wildebeest, zebra, and gazelles to stay longer since the grass grew again after the burn!

 The 60 minute balloon ride came to an end much too fast!  The landing was as gentle as the lift - we landed standing up in the basket!  The chase crew were in place ready to help us out of the basket and we had a short 100 foot ride to the breakfast - already set out.  The never ending champagne was poured as we arrived - and refilled at the table every time the level went down.  There was lots of breakfast: quiche, sausage, bacon, pastries & croissants, hard boiled eggs, fresh fruit, juice, coffee, tea and hot chocolate.  While we ate breakfast Mike madeCD's for sale - $30USD each - containing several photos of us that he had taken in the basket during the ride, as well as some stock photos of wild life in the Mara.

We had a few laughs with Mike before joining our driver, James,  who still had all our luggage in his Land cruiser.  You can take game drive back to your Camp after the balloon ride but we decided to have James just drive us straight to Explorer so we could check in and unload baggage.  needless to say being 1 hour early we were unexpected, but we were soon checked in to tents 1 and 10 (there are only 10 tents - adults only).

We met our new Guide, Saruni - his names "someone who helps others" and he took us over to the Intrepids Camp (basically next door) to take a look at the store!  We also managed a glass of wine while we enjoyed Intrepid's Bar overlooking the T? River.  Saruni turned out to be an amazing Guide - currently bronze level with KWS and soon to be Silver (Gold is highest category and there are very few in Kenya at Gold level).  Saruni is Maasai and married to Naserian (peaceful) with 2 young boys: Leshan 7 years old  (born during rainy season) and Ledama 3 years old (born during the day) who live about 100km from Narok.  Saruni hasn't been home for over 1 1/2 months - it is typical for the Guides to work non stop during the busy season.

We asked Saruni about the marriage process - Maasai warriors are allowed multiple wives but I think without fail all the Maasai we have spoken to have only 1 wife and plan to keep it that way.  The dowry to be accepted as a future husband and provider is substantial - Saruni had to "pay" for Naserian's dowry: 2 donkeys, 10 cattle @ 20,000 Ksh each, 15 goats (each worth 3,000Ksh), along with honey for the Elders (to make a local brew), and  shucra's (the red checkered blankets that all Maasai wear) for the women.  The total dowry would have cost more than 60,000Ksh (approximately $720 USD). 

OLIVE THE LEOPARD
We were picked up at 3:15pm for our game drive - and what am awesome game drive it was.  Giraffe - 2 males "necking" which is how they fight, swinging their long powerful necks against each other, the white waste paper flowers everywhere (they look like scraps of paper littered across the savannah), wildebeest, impala, baboons, cape buffalo, topi antelope, Burchells zebra with a young baby, Rupell's vulture which soar to 37,000 feet above the ground and follow the wildebeest as they migrate back to Tanzania.  We saw elephants with their young - until they are 1 year old they can walk under their Mom's tummy, by the time they are 3 years old they are starting to grow their tusks.  We were thrilled to see olive, the resident leopard who is just a beauty - wandering through the brush and then out through the savannah as she eyed up the gazelles, thinking of her supper no doubt.

Mara means "dotted" which is exactly the appearance you see with the wildebeest dotted everywhere, as well as the lone  desert date trees (balanites) all over the Mara but miles apart.  Maasai means  (community", and Serengeti is a Maasai word for "open plains" which is exactly what the Serengeti is - 10 times as large a the Maasai Mara which is 1510 sq km (700sq miles).  The Maasai don't eat fish (they consider them to be snakes, and they don't eat birds eating turkey - this came up when discussing Canadain Thanksgiving and how we eat turkey!

The game drive had been awesome but it was not over yet - imagine how excited we were when we came cross the cheetah named Malaika - she is known for jumping on top of safari vehicles and using the perch to give her an advantage to find out where her next dinner is coming from.  We sat for a long time watching her in the long grass, it was awhile before we realized that she also had her 7 month old cub with her!  She did have two cubs but one was killed a few months ago by a lion and Saruni told us she was very distraught walking up and down looking for her lost cub.

For birds we saw Lappett faced vultures (the largest vulture there is), black bellied bustard and many others.  We had a rain storm not long after heading out on the game drive -and that evening we had a BBQ (Nyama Choma ) back at camp.  It was supposed to have been a Bush Dinner in the wild (what can be more wild than being in a camp with no fences?) but due to the rain it was held back at Explorer Camp.  We also ran into Vincent at dinner - the very tall Maasai (maybe 7 feet?) Guide that we had in 2010 after we had climbed Mt Kilimanjaro - it was great to catch up again with each other.  Before dinner we sat around the log fire in the fire pit on the deck overlooking the Talek River, discussing our amazing day while sipping on our glass of wine!  By the time we fell into our beds (complete with hot water bottle) we had enjoyed an amazing day and were ready to crash!

 MARA EXPLORER - SUNDAY SEP 30, 2012 - THE GREAT MIGRATION, MARA RIVER CROSSING
........ our last day - we are so bummed out about leaving tomorrow - we could stay for ever.there is so much to see and do.  It was a wonderful last day we saw so much.  The day started with a luke warm shower and as Terry said - towels like sandpaper (he exaggerates) when I explained that the tools were a little hard because of being dried in the sun and not a clothes dryer, he said "that's right" he threw the towel on the floor in a bundle and said "see - no Bounce!" We did laugh! 

HONEYMOONING LIONS
After our very hot hot chocolate delivered to the tent by Samuel, we walked to the pickup area for the game drive. and Daniel the Night Security Guard was telling of the night's activities with both and elephant and a lion walking through the camp!  Explorer Camp has no fences so it is open to all animals wandering trough - this could explain the spears in the sand at the entrance!   Neil and Jackie were busy taking photos from their deck at tent #1 of hippos in the Telak River and on the banks.  We got away shortly after 630am after taking photos of our guide Saruni, and also Vincent, who was our guide in 2010.

It was the most amazing game drive - we had requested  a long game drive taking breakfast with us so that we could go to the Mara River and hope to catch a crossing of the Great Migration - one if the 7 wonders of the world. Our drive started with a spotted hyena crunching bones, and then a second hyena walking away with her own skull to feed on - these were both large females who are 25% larger than the males.  Great early morning views with the sun shining on them - nothing but clear blue skies up ahead.  There was word from the Mara river that there might be a possible crossing  of the river so Saruni said let's head straight there - which we did although stopping long enough to take photos of a black rhino who was browsing on some shrubs.  The black rhino feeds on shrubs and the white rhino feds on grass.  The black rhino horn grows much longer than that of the white rhino. There used to be up to 2000 rhinos in the Mara and now there are only 40 left due to poaching - how sad.  Today Kenya Wildlife Service spends lots of time and money to protect the few rhinos that are left.

MARA RIVER CROSSING DURING THE GREAT MIGRATION
Before we reached the Mara River we had more amazing sightings - the Paradise Pride of lions!  First Saruni found one large male with a wonderful large mane fast asleep under a rock.  He roused long enough to give us some wonderful shots, then we saw the lioness just 30 feet away - also sleeping.  They have been mating for the last 4 or 5 weeks so have stayed in this area while they mate to 200 to 300 times during that time frame.  We then drove a few hundred yards away to a male and lioness lying together like a perfect honeymoon couple.  We watched quietly for over an hour and were rewarded when they mated which lasts just seconds!  Another couple of hundred yards and we found the lioness with her two small 3 month old cubs hiding behind her under a bush - sleepy and relaxing in the cool of the morning which was heating up very quickly.  Many land cruisers had come and gone while we were watching but few had the patience we did and we were rewarded over and over again.  At one point the first male lion stood up and started to track a large female buffalo and calf as it wandered by - the mother turned around and glared at the lion (who immediately sat down) as if to say "come and get me or my baby if you dare!"

LEOPARD KILLING A WILDEBEEST
Then we wandered slowly over to the Mara River and saw lots of hippos and a small herd of elephants with a baby drinking from the Mara River after climbing down the bank.  We sat and ate our large boxed lunch: juice, water, apple, banana, passion fruit yoghurt, bread, pastries, hard boiled egg, sausage, bacon, and chips under the shade of a tree and sat and watched and waited.  The large herd of wildebeest and zebra, around 2,000, didn't seem to be moving so we took a drive along the Mara river.  

There were a tremendous number of hippos, each surfacing and breathing at alternate times - they can stay underwater for 5 to 6 minutes before they surface for air.  The babies can stay under for only 2 to 3 minutes so we were fortunate enough to see a tiny baby and its' Mom lying on the bank and sunning before walking into the water.  We also saw  a very badly scarred hippo - obviously a loser in whichever battles he had been fighting. There were lots of Nile crocodiles from small to massive - they have been feeding for the last couple of months on the wildebeest as they cross the Mara River to access the grass on the other side, and some are so fat you could hardly believe they are still capable of moving!  Most are basking in the sun on the banks.

We moved back away from the Mara River to behind the large herd of wildebeest and zebras to park and wait and see if the herd would move - Saruni felt that they were looking a little more active. We sat back and baked in the sun along with another 10 or so Land Cruisers from the local camps - everyone being patient and respectful, not racing down to the Mara River until, hopefully, the wildebeest andZebra had the space and time to go down at their own pace.  We fixed up the shucra (red tartan blankets ) over the open roof so that we got some shade.
Eventually the wildebeest started to move - very slowly.  We could only tell that they were moving as we took a fixed point ( a tree) and could see the wildebeest front line getting closer, then reaching, and finally passing the tress.  There are several crossing points that the wildebeest use each year on the Mara River - but two main crossings, and it appeared that the wildebeest were about to use the second main crossing.  When the last of the thousands of wildebeest disappeared around the corner, another land cruiser drove up to Saruni and said "what do you think?".... Saruni said "let's go for it" and we were off!  Saruni started the Land Rover and the race was on - all 10 of us charged off to try to get to the river hoping that the wildebeest would cross.

We rounded the bush where we had seen the last wildebeest disappear, and low and behold - there was a kill in progress - a leopard with his teeth anchored on to the underneath neck of a wildebeest, and the wildebeest trying, unsuccessfully, to get away! with lots of his wildebeest family looking on, so distraught.  Within only 2 or 3 minutes the leopard pulled the wildebeest into the bush and disappeared!  We drove the last few feet to the Mara River and parked overlooking the wide dusty area that the wildebeest would surely use. 

WATER BUCK
Within minutes the wildebeest came to the opening and they trotted to the water's edge of the Mara River frantically mooing - they wanted to cross but would they?  We have been at this point before where their front paws are in the river, then they turn around and move back to the plains and wait until another day to cross!  We were in luck - within 15 minutes the wildebeest were ready - the first wildebeest jumped into the river and started across and the rest of the gang followed.  It is too hard to explain all the emotions that you go through -excitement actually seeing part of the 7 Wonders of the World, fear and trepidation as you watch the many crocodiles, some of them so massive, lining up for dinner as the zebra and wildebeest start to cross, the mooing and distress calls of all the animals, especially the young 7 month old wildebeest and giraffe, the steep banks of the river at this point and the horror as the animals try to climb over each other to climb over the almost impossibly steep bans, the exhilaration when one tired, exhausted, lonely wildebeest finally manages to climb on to the top of the bank!  The tears from us all at both the successes and failures of the individual animals - it is amazing and dreadful and awful all at the same time.  We saw thousands cross successfully, we saw several dead bodies flow down the swift current of the Mara river,  we saw the crocs take at least 4 animals, we saw  a group of confused young wildebeest come back to the bank time and again after they had successfully crossed trying to decide whether they should cross back to where they had come from.  We watched for a very long time and as difficult as it was it was an amazing spectacle, repeated every year as Mother Nature tells these animals what they must do.
We had headed out at 6:30 expecting to be back at Explorer at 11:30 - we finally arrived back at 3:00pm for lunch.

Godfrey, our waiter, was so happy for us that we had seen an amazing crossing.  He offered us a huge menu - 2 or 3 selections of salad and appetizer, along with 4 main entrees and 3 desserts - wonderful!  While eating we were doing a quick charge on the batteries for camera and IPad, and then afterwards  at 3:30 we were back to our game drive again!    Saruni took us on a peaceful drive along the Talek River - we saw lots of birds and enjoyed the tranquility: crowned plover, lilac breasted roller, white throated bee eater, long crested snake eagle, white browed cuckoo, Rupell's long tailed starling, hoopoe, speckled mouse bird, hooded vulture, white backed vulture, foxtailed drongo,.  We even came across a pack of banded mongoose - they move so fast, and imagine when we saw them take on a rat and devour it and shred it as they rolled and fought in a ball in the dust - the rat was dissected and gone in minutes!  

To complete the afternoon Saruni took us to a hill top to watch the sunset on a glorious afternoon - no rain and just a little cloud to get great sunset colours - but as if that wasn't enough - there was Notch - the 15 year King of the Mara with a glorious mane basking in the rays of the setting sun, just golden as they shone through his mane.  Notch would roll over on his back and stretch and rub his tummy - just priceless!

Back at the EXPLORER, we didn't have long before dinner - Saruni managed to stretch every one of our game drives, but I was determined to enjoy  a hot bath in the bath tub on the deck of our tent overlooking the Talek River and the hippos!  I lit the candle, sank into the bubbles and loved every moment.  After cocktails around the log fire on the deck, we had Greek Salad and PIRI PIRI prawns (very spicy!).  By 10pm it was lights out for all of us!


MONDAY OCTOBER 1, 2012 - HYENAS, LIONS AND CHEETAHS.
Not the best sleep last night but it was fascinating listening to all the noises in the night while I was awake!  Daniel told us later no lions last night but we did have a buffalo in the camp!  I certainly lay awake listening to the huge hippos (as adults they way up to 3000 pounds!) come back to their daily habitat - the Talek river outside our tents - after feeding on the grasses traveling up to 10k each night, they return at sunrise and are very noisy about letting everyone know that they are back!

Duncan delivered our hot chocolate at 5:45 and by 6:30am we were in the Land Rover and off for our last game drive of our trip! After watching the Dik Dik's walk past us (the smallest antelope).  Saruni made it very special  our first stop was in the savannah next to the airstrip where a small family of elephants was busy munching on their leaves.  Next was two hyenas, the first carrying the head of a wildebeest that she ran into the bush to feed on - just listen to those crunching bones, while the other hyena obviously had her breakfast as well since she had her head down crunching a short distance away!  Continuing on Saruni made a turn into a very bushy area - it was a narrow track and the branches were hitting the sides of the Land Rover and depositing leaves.  Saruni drove into a tiny dead end and there were 4 lionesses and a cub - part of the Ridge Pride of Lions (consists of 3 adult females, 3 sub adult females, 2 small cubs, 3 older cubs, and 1 juvenile male - 12 in all)!  They were all very sleepy, comfortable for the day in the shade and ready for a very slow relaxing day.

We had lots of bird life this morning: yellow billed stork, helmeted guinea fowl, black headed oriole, pied kingfisher, bee eater, hadada Ibis, white browed cuckoo - all along theTalek River bank with several old large Sycamore fig trees.  Then imagine - one last surprise for the morning on our last game drive: 2 cheetah brothers, about 4 years old.  They were sitting on the plains in the shade of a tree - when they were lying down we would have driven right past them if Saruni hadn't taken us right to them!  They were resting for the day!

It was time to head back for breakfast and to pick up our bags and to the Ol Kiombo airstrip for our flight back to Nairobi - but not without one last stop!  The vultures were all circling and on the plain by the Explorer Camp -so Saruni took us over and it was a frantic sparring fight by all the vultures over the remains of  a wildebeest kill: hooded vultures, white backed vultures, Ruppells vultures, and the largest of all -  the Lappett faced vultures (all these vultures together is called a benu of vultures).  There were more arriving all the time.

After a very fast breakfast of fesh Kenyan plunger cffee, fresh fruits, eggs benedict on smoked salmon sitting on a pancake (no ordinary English Muffin here!) Saruni came and picked us up - we had last photos with Daniel our Security man and Saruni then off to the OL KIOMBO air strip.  As we arrived we received a text from Stephen (African Horizons, our old friend from 2007 when we first went to Ndandini Village).  Stephen had driven over from Ashnil Mara Camp about 45 minutes away and texted us that he was waiting for a quick visit at the air strip!  We all had so much to say and about 10 minutes to say it in, so we all spoke very fast to cover as much as we could - we sent along our best wishes for Penina (wife),and son Mark and daughter Ruth the youngest, then we had to wave our Goodbye's to Edwin, Saruni and Stephen and climb aboard our last Safarilink flight which had arrived and dropped off passengers while we were chatting.

LION CUB
We were soon on board, no boarding pass, just Saruni checking that our names were on the passenger list - all very informal but still under control.  Ezekiel was the flight attendant - the same friendly chap who also acts as ground crew and gives us a warm welcome every year.  At 11:10am after 10 minutes we landed at Mara North (60 miles South of the Equator) to drop off and pick up passengers ( a large group from APT).  By 11:17 we were taxiing again - no long stops on these Safarilink flights!  This was the largest plane we have flown on for a safari -a Canadian built Dash 8 (36 passenger - there are even overhead luggage bins!)  It was very sad to be leaving our friends in the Maasai Mara and about to leave Kenya - this has been such a wonderful trip and we always hate when our safari and game drives come to an end.  There is no way to explain how quickly you become so close and attached to the wonderful friendly Kenyans that we meet on safari. 

We landed at 12 noon, just a 60 minute flight including the touch down at Mara North airstrip - the Dash8 flies faster than the smaller Safarilink planes - Ray from Gamewatchers was there to meet us and we were soon back at the TRIBE hotel where we had day rooms - wonderful for showering and repacking and getting ready for our long flights home.  The afternoon flew by - Jackie and Neil left at 2:45pm with Ray (Gamewatchers) for their flights via Addis Ababa Ethiopia, Rome  and Toronto.  We went to the Village Market next door and picked up tea and Kazuri beads for friends at home, then checked with Safaricom for a "hot spot" device to take back for Mark to use in his Safari trip to Kenya coming very shortly.  Safaricom didn't have a hot spot in the store but we did get one that evening at JKI airport before we left Nairobi.  In addition we registered our mobile phone numbers with Safaricom - this is a procedure Safaricom is following to keep your phone active even if you haven't used it for more than 6 months - Kenya, like everywhere in the world, has problems with drugs and drug dealers and this registration process also helps with the issue of drug dealers forever buying new sim cards (and phone numbers) and throwing away the old phone numbers never to be used again.

(There are Maasai Market every day in Nairobi which we didn't get to this time: Monday - Karen  Nakumatt Junction, Tuesday - downtown, Wednesday - Muthaiga, Thursday - Capitol Centre (Mombasa Rd from airport), Friday - Village Market, Saturday & Sunday - downtown). Vehicle License Plates: Red - Diplomatic, Blue - Government Parastatal, White on front and yellow on back - everyone else (special number sequence for other Government departments).

At Joseph Kenyatta International Ray dropped us off at 7:30pm after our 60 minute ride from the TRIBE hotel  on the new bypass (a longer route but less traffic) and we were quickly through customs and spent a couple of sweaty hours waiting for our flight with KLM to Amsterdam (the checkin process is always slow and somewhat uncontrolled for some reason!).  We took off a little late at 11pm - very tired and sorry to be leaving Kenya, but we managed to get a couple of hours sleep.  It's always emotional to leave and we always promise ourselves to go back to make the farewell a little easier to handle.  

It had been an exceptionally tough day for us - I had started the day with "wobbly vision" the sign of a migraine so had been taking pills all day, then to cap it all off in the worst way possible, when we were back at the TRIBE hotel at 2pm I realised I had left my LUMIX camera on the Safarilink flight from Maasai Mara to Nairobi - I made many phone calls and Steve at Safarilink tried his best, but the two plane cleaners in Nairobi said they found nothing on the plane before it was cleaned and he even tracked the plane to Diani in Mombasa, and Ezekiel the flight steward confirmed it was not on the plane.  Gamewatchers also followed up with phone calls but no luck.

We were devastated and for the last 3 days we had not down loaded the photos to our computer - the one thing we promised ourselves several years ago that we would always do since we had lost a camera once before at the end of a trip and so had lost all our photos. The last 3 days had been amazing at Mara Explorer - we had seen lions, cheetahs, leopards, and a crossing of the Mara River during the Great Migration - one of the Seven Wonders of the World - I had taken thousands of photos and movies - this was going to take a long time to get over.  The worst part yet?  All I needed was the card with the photos on - I don't care who took the camera - they are welcome to it!  The camera has been to Africa many times and suffered the dust of so many rough rides and game drives - the last couple of days the zoom and other switches had been very sticky, stiff and awkward so we had already decided to buy another camera when we got home, oh but what we would give to have the SD card back!

Arriving at Amsterdam Schipol airport at 6am we trundled off to the YOTEL (you can rent a cubicle with bed, TV, shower, and WIFI for a minimum of 4 hours.  It is inside the terminal inside security so you don't have to go through passport control or security at all.  5 hours later we were mostly up todate with all our emails and felt better for a shower, even though this time we didn't get any sleep at all (although we usually do!).  We were boarded and ready to depart at 1pm as scheduled - the last leg back to Vancouver - about 9 1/2 hours.  We were flying a Boeing 777-200, seating configuration 3-3-3.  

We arrived on time in Vancouver in glorious sunshine - and we even flew over our own house and could see the Skookumchuck rapids and the Trail Bay Islands below us.  It was the end of another amazing safari to MAGICAL KENYA -- and now we're starting to think about next year!