On to Samburu

Chris wanted an early start as he was concerned that we might not be comfortable in the heat of the day, so breakfast was at 6.30 – the earliest possible- with images of sunrise over the waterhole taken between courses. One of the delights of Sweetwaters Ol Pejeta has been wondering what we might see at the waterhole and it hasn’t disappointed with warthogs, water buck, impala, zebra and rhino spotted at different times in addition to the resident maribou stork and the flock of sacred ibis.

Three hours driving up the main road through various different settlements often with the Muslim community on the left and the Christian on the right, lots of vegetable markets setting up for the start of the day, little girls setting off in their pretty, colourful, Sunday best dresses, possibly going to church or maybe to visit family with their parents. This is the richest part of Kenya agriculturally – the White Highlands where many British settlers lived in Colonial times.

Just a couple of stops to photograph Mount Kenya which had appeared from behind the clouds for us and another at a roadblock where our driver was challenged and made to go to the back of the queue. Turning left off the main road we made our way to a Samburu village to see the dances, the houses, the handicrafts and to have some fun with the children, some of whom, even those who were little more than toddlers, wanted high fives and a photograph taken. Two of the men who showed us around told us they were Christians and I asked how that affected their living according to local culture. The best example was that a man can take numerous wives- the chief in this village has four -but the Christian man takes just one wife.

• 

• 

• 

Visit over we raided the truck for some of the school supplies we had brought with us and saw some smiling faces as the children were given crayons before we left. 

Back on the main road we crossed back over the river ……. and were soon entering Buffalo Springs National Park. No sooner had we entered than we came across a Greve zebra, then six or seven reticulated giraffes, a number of whom were sitting under the trees while others fed off the branches.

Next was  a small group of gerenuk ( giraffe impalas). Neither of us had heard of them before but they are delicate creatures with spindly limbs and neck and pretty little heart-shaped faces.

And so we reached Elephant Bedroom Camp. What a place! As we were sitting in the ‘restaurant’ ( tables on the river bank) we watched herds of elephants walk by on the other side of the river. Later in the afternoon, when we were going out for our second game drive of the day, an elephant was in the Camp, stomping around near the first tent. And the security guards were accompanying everyone to their vans, making sure everyone got off on their evening drive safely.

Chris, our trusty driver/guide found a leopard for us but it was in a tree high up in the rocks and whoever was first to spot it must have had twenty:twenty vision plus!

We had already seen a couple of lionesses by then and found various other animals but nothing really exciting until we drove to a spot where there were about six vans stationary, with all their inhabitants standing up and pointing cameras to the right. Slowly we saw them-FIVE lionesses- all prowling through the undergrowth supporting one another as young lionesses do. Two of them came within about five feet of the car. It never crossed our minds that they could easily leap through the open windows! They didn’t and we live to tell the tale!

On then to the riverplain where I spotted a giraffe and suddenly there were six of them, playing games and fighting with their necks. After a few minutes but before I thought we’d seen all there might be to see, Chris said it was time to move.

We said ‘OK’ but a minute later were asking him to stop again: he did but after a couple of minutes said ’Right, now it’s time to go’ made sure we were safe and set off quite fast: I wondered if he was afraid of getting lost or had driven too many hours in the day, but as we rounded the next corner I realised he’d been told about something: sitting in a sheltered place between the bushes nodding off and looking completely as if he was set for the night was a male lion with a very lush mane!  A lovely end to our first day in Samburu.

As I write, we’ve come to the end of our time in Samburu. I’m sitting in a smart four poster bed surrounded by mosquito netting. We had two days of amazing animal sightings accompanied by good food, great service and some fun riverside happenings. There were no elephants to watch at lunch today, but there was one called Barack in the camp this afternoon. He was about ten yards away from our tent so we were accompanied to lunch and make again to ensure our safety.

The day began with a glorious sunrise and Chris has us down by the river to get the reflections. Then we went in search of whatever we could find and during the morning came across a group of giraffes exerting their manliness again, using their necks to gain the advantage. You could almost see them stop and think about strategy before diving into action. Their moves looked a bit like fencers parrying.

Then there was the pride of lions: the five lionesses we’d seen last night escorted by two male lions. All lounging calmly by the roadside with not a care in the world as they groomed one another. They were the same ones we’d seen yesterday.

Various vans told us there was a leopard about, but he successfully evaded every attempt to find him until our evening drive. Chris had us leave a little early and drove like a man with a mission to the place where we had seen the leopard yesterday. And there he was, hiding on top of the rocks, camouflaged by branches. He did come down briefly and posed for photos but only for a minute before retreating behind the branches again.

All in all, a pretty good day!!