June/July- Visit to Meru National Park with Vera and Team FFW

July 13, 2017

June/July- Visit to Meru National Park with Vera and Team FFW

After saying goodbye to the delegates , Headed northward with Vera, Nathanael & consultant to the Incomparable Meru National Park. This is one of the most iconic parks , resplendent in Natural beauty. This is a park that is dissected by 12 Rivers (only 4 currently flow) groves of doum palms , dams , swamps and a Rhino Sanctuary!! What a joy to be back in Meru after such a long time. We met with the AD & Park Warden ..had phenomenal game drives and stayed at Elsas Kopje’s an amazing camp built on the hill that Was Elsas hill!

Safari

August 21, 2016

Goodbye Kalama Conservancy hello Mara North Conservancy

Patricia Awori

Before the sunrise we were up and out to see what we could find in the cool air and what a morning hyena sniffing the air suspiciously as jackals scrambled to finish their meal before hyanae caught up with them and eventually one ran away with lungs firmly clamped in his jaws. And then the majestic lions walking through the bush to rest during the heat of the day..one young one needed a play mate and no one seemed willing…and then finally the illusion one the leopard strutting across the plains until the whiff of lion had here scampering away and into the safety of a tree. We checked on our cheetah who were dozing and grooming in the shade…what a morning.

Safari

August 20, 2016

Day 3 Saturday in Saruni Camp in Kalama Conservancy & Samburu Game Reserve

Patricia Awori

After getting sleep last night finally i was a happy camper this morning and ready to roll and what a magnificent sunrise was on show. Soon after arriving in the reserve we encountered lion footprints and decided to track them …after about 40 minutes of following lion footprints we managed to find lions resting among the salvadora and the toothbrush trees…ahh the exhilaration of tracking and being successful!! Much to my joy there were many elephants out and about and one group came to greet us showing us the young ones as the young males playfully fought. The mother cheetah was looking out furtively for prey to feed herself and her young but the prey seemed determined to elude her so she and her young eventually left in search of greener pastures and then there they were….6 female Kudus…i was soo excited to see them…they seem to be making a come back and both Greater and lesser and being seen periodically. Samburu offered up a wide array of birds from raptors, to ducks, waders to vulture . The waterdogs ran around tails held high whiskers blowing in the wind. A visit to Larsens Camp to use the facilities and breakfast on the banks of the Uaso Nyiro watching elephants drinking water, do their ablutions and generally have a good time heightened our enjoyment of the morning and in no time it was 1pm time to trudge back to the Lodge..our last day in this eco system has been memorable.

in talking to the staff who are almost all from the local community how they felt about the advent of conservancies…they were all positive about the changes it has helped to make for them “jobs,schools and bursaries” The skill of the guides and trackers is amazing and once the worrying problem of overstocking of goats can be brought under control and better animal husbandry these areas should thrive.

Safari

August 19, 2016

Day 2 on Samburu Game Reserve and Kalama Game Reserve

Patricia Awori

After an endless night where sleep proved elusive rose to a cup of hot water and after ablution made my way with the help of trusty samburu guard to the public areas . ..we had agreed to meet and depart at 0600 with a picnic breakfast in order to head to the reserve to see what we could see . The beautiful Somali Ostrich strutted about as the sun rose . This magnificent ecosystem is home to the special five …the reticulated giraffe, the grevy zebra, the beisa oryx , the somali ostrich and the gerenuk…..Well the morning spent in the reserve yielded sightings of all of these in addition to the Patriarch of lions in the ecosystem who looked to be in very good shape and a mother Cheetah with her three “teenagers” who looked to be in search of a good meal but the prey wasn’t co-operating. Breakfasting on the banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River was quite special as giraffe and elephant drank water a short distance away. We finally arrived back tired, well roasted by the sun and ready to enjoy a Saruni Lunch and well needed siesta!!
Tonights discussion:”conservation in african countries and the role of large NGO’s in this effort.

Safari

August 18, 2016

Day 1 in Samburu’s Kalama Conservancy

Patricia Awori

Journey began with a Safarilink flight from Wilson to Samburu Oryx airstrip , a scenic journey lasting about 50 mins. Chris and Emmanuel were a welcome sight ready to scoop up luggage and do a short game drive enroute to Saruni Camp which they said was approximately an hour away!! Well just over an hour later in the most extraordinary and rocky landscape the landcover began to bounce up rocks until finally the sight of welcoming warriors and hot towels heralded arrival at Saruni!!My goodness Ricardo had managed to find a location among the rocks to set up a beautiful camp. My knees were wobbling as i contemplated the many walks to rooms and the looooooong journey down a steep path to the pool….pity will have to give that a miss. Accommodation comprised of interesting stone structures with canvas windows and ornate iron bed frames in which in my case were actually two separate beds that proved to be a nightmare in trying to sleep!!! Breathtaking scenery lay before me and surely it was humbling to be in front of this ruggedly beautiful scenery!! Went in the late afternoon to see what was happening at the waterhole and found soo many guinea fowl waiting and watching and drinking and digging!! All in all an amazing day…glad to be out of the city and enjoying fresh air!!

Safari

July 30, 2016

GFC Expedition in Sweetwaters in Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Patricia Awori

On a very sunny morning we said goodbye to Shaba Samburu Ecosystem and made our way up the mountain to Nanyuki .With this wonderful paved road it took us only 3 hours to get here and another 40 minutes to get to Sweetwaters and then the good weather changed and got cooler and the heavens opened and it poured with rain, accompanied by lots of thunder!!!! We listened to a wonderful briefing from Sam the Ol Pejeta Conservancy Manager who was truly impressive to listen to and then we went out to search for Black Rhino!! We were certainly successful! I had seen two in the distance from my tent in the rain and while we were out we encountered a huge rhino covered in mud and later two who were busy scratching themselves on trees. White rhinos were in the intensive protection zone and we were able to see a mother and her calf and a big male!! All in all another great day and now as I reflect on the past few days what a joy it has been to be in the company of these esteemed board members from Ghana who truly were interested, interesting and oh so humorous ! Collaborating and sharing with wildlife authorities across this great continent should be the way to go in order to help one another improve and value our natural capital. In the morning it will be time to pack up and head back to the big city.

Safari

July 29, 2016

day 4 of our Expedition in Samburu Shaba National Reserve – Friday 29th July, 2016

Patricia Awori

Friday 29th July, 2016
Morning dawned brightly but not too hot with some cloud cover which for this ecosystem is positively cool . Our plan today was to do a game drive in the neighbouring Samburu National Reserve. After breakfast and a grand selfie we headed off marvelling at the glorious landscape, the brazen samburu bathing in the Ewaso Nyiro river, school children boarding a bus to visit the park and in no time at all we were in Samburu NR. Jackals were feeding on what remained of a predators kill and then lo and behold a lovely group of elephants. It transpires that this group is called The Royals one of who had a radio collar and her name is Annabelle and a heavily expectant Anastasia. The unique animals of this echo system came out to greet us this morning The Beisa Oryx, The Grevy Zebra , The Reticulated Giraffe , a Female Somali Ostrich, Kirks DikDik but what was most surprising was the number of Lions we encountered..one powerfully built hunting unsuccessfully some impala, a honeymooning couple with another male a short distance away hoping to usurp the current male, and three females by the river hoping to ambush prey coming to drink water but by far the elephants made my day a group of them who came down to the river to drink water and others who showed us their young .Finally it was necessary to make a pitstop at Samburu Lodge where i met an old friend Jacob who has been naturalist there for years!!! The morning literally flew by with all the excitement of these wonderful sightings and the amazing landscape and it was 2pm by the time were got back to the Lodge in Sarova Shaba! This evening the Chief Warden of the entire ecosystem came to talk to us about managing National Reserve and his hope for private management that will help them truly implement their management plan and curb the many threats that challenge the survival of these ecosystems.
These eminent Ghanaian Gentlemen are truly wonderful Ambassadors for their country , always courteous ..remember everyones name and overtime we leave a place all the staff are sad after the joy they have left behind.
Next stop Sweetwaters in Ol Pejeta
Bye for now

Safari

July 28, 2016

Day 3 GFC Expedition

Patricia Awori

After an assisted good nights sleep i woke up to see elephants arriving…talk about being thrilled…if i could i would have done summersaults…after watching them for a while it was time to get myself together and prepare to leave the beautiful Mt Kenya and Mountain Lodge that brought back such memories of childhood visits. Amazed and impressed by development of infrastructure on our journey today and how devolution has indeed caused towns to grow with everything suddenly available. As we descended the mountain through mist and cloud the beauty of the countryside was striking. At the Equator we made a mandatory stop to see the water demonstration of water flowing clockwise and anti clockwise in the two different hemisphere’s and straight down at the Equator always a hit. The road rose up through the wheat fields increasingly being replaced by green houses until after Timau where we began our descent into Isiolo..my goodness could this really be Isiolo it has really urbanised ..no more barrier just beautifully paved road until our turn off to Shaba!! In no time at all we had arrived at Sarova Shaba where cold eucalyptus filled towels awaited us to help us cool down and a sumptuous buffet lunch!!An evening game drive in this extraordinarily beautiful park showed work has been done much to my delight ..there are more roads to do game viewing on and we were able to see the majestic grevy zebra, reticulated giraffe and a myriad of waterbuck with lots of babies. Tracks on the road were evidence of a mother lion and her cubs although sadly we didn’t get to see them. Finally we found a very thin baby gravy zebra with a vehicle of rangers alongside her , they told us that her mother died and they were prepare to catch the foal and take her to where she would be revived and taken care of !!! A lovely evening in NFD

Safari

July 27, 2016

Ghanaian Board Expedition Day 2

Patricia Awori

The day dawned brightly and it was a beautifully sunny morning that saw us start our journey northward bound through the crowded streets of westlands and parklands until we got to the Thika Highway which was a joy to be on as I reminisced on days gone by when the road was not soo big and quite congested. The Central Highlands looked good and green evidencing plenty of rainfall…Finally it was time to make a pit stop .The discussion in the car had been lively and entertaining but it was good to stop and stretch our legs and have a cup of tea!! Refreshed and renewed we made the final thrust onward into the Mt Kenya Forest Reserve/National Park which was met with excitement and arrival at Mountain Lodge for me not having been here for years felt like come home!!! Serena certainly have made it more habitable and have improved on the product and have added some amazing things. After finding our cabins we reconvened for lunch and after that we were joined by Senior Warden Simon Gitau and Assistant Director Aggrey Mumo. Their presentations were met with many questions and animated discussions as the Board Members endeavoured to consider application in their own situation….certainly it was an amazing opportunity for all of us and we concluded with inspirational final remarks. Meanwhile the bush buck, Buffalo and Birds so far are he only visitors at the waterhole!!

Safari

July 26, 2016

Day 1 Ghana GFC Expedition

Patricia Awori

After a couple of hours sleep it was off to JKIA to collect the GFC Board dawn was breaking as we left JKIA for Galleria for a spot of breakfast!!! Feeling rejuvenated it was off to KWS for a briefing by DG Mbathi and his team. A pilgrimage to the Heroes monument to those who paid the ultimate price in the conservation of wild species. Armed with a ranger we headed into Nairobi National Park where we had a wonderful gamedrive that included sighting a mother rhino and her calf. Carnivore Lunch and a Dawa with Waziri were up next after which feeling replete we made our way to the hotel feeling tired, sleepy and content.

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Category : Safari