Mr. and Mrs. SafariChick's Wild (Dog) Ride

[Tom Kellie]

 

~ @SafariChick

 

Love this!

 

It's like ‘botanical batik’.

 

Thanks for posting it, as well as the numerous cool images.

 

Tom K.

[michael-ibk]

Even though you did not find them on your last drive I´m really impressed with the number - and quality - of Wild Dog sightings you had in Laikipia. Great stuff! Really like the photo of the Grevy foal.

[SafariChick]

@michael-ibk Thanks, Michael! Actually, this wasn't our last drive. It was the last morning of the last full day, so we still had the afternoon and then one more short morning drive the next morning. Will we see dogs again? Stay tuned to see!  The Grevy foal WAS super cute - I loved how it walked back but then turned to look at us for a little while. 

 

Edited to add I can see why it might seem like that was the whole day because i said we came back for breakfast and went back out but I should have clarified: it was actually only about 12:30 p.m. by the time we finished with the elephants so we actually had THREE drives or activities that day!  And a lot of meals in between them! 

Edited June 10, 2017 by SafariChick

[Atravelynn]

Great waterhole antics!

[Kitsafari]

oh those pups are so adorable and happy for you to have such close interactions with them. 

Love that quarrel between the two eagles or rather that smaller eagle (is that a tawny?) harassing the fish eagle!

in your post 18, the baby elephant on the ground looked like he had some steel wire coiled around his neck. did I see right or was it something else around it?

[SafariChick]

Thanks @Kitsafari - I am not sure what the eagles are, I'm so bad with birds, but we did see quite a few different ones! I know what you mean about it looking like there is wire around that baby elephant's neck but I am pretty sure it's not, I think it's a long, very thin branch or twig or something like that.

[SafariChick]

When we were back at the camp after our second outing of the day, Mr. SafariChick hung out with another of the Careys' dogs:

 

 

 

In the afternoon, we went out for a third outing/activity for the day! This day, Steve Carey took Mr. SafariChick and I out in a vehicle along with the Israeli couple. He tried valiantly with the telemetry equipment but the dogs were proving very elusive.  He thought they were in an area that we might be able to find by walking along and up and down some rocks.   George, another gap year fellow who was staying at LWC and volunteering, had come out with us and agreed to take the vehicle and meet us at a certain spot at the end. We walked quite a bit but try as we might, we could not find them.  Eventually we had to give up as it was getting dark and we were supposed to meet George and then meet the other guests at Baboon Rock where we would have sundowners.  However, somehow George was missing. It turned out there was a miscommunication and he had gone back to the camp, but we did make it to Baboon Rock. I was impressed with myself that I climbed ALMOST to the top of it. Of course, Mr. SafariChick did climb to the top. I was also impressed with the other guides who had carried a cooler up to the top so guests could have G&Ts at the top of the rock!   

 

A few creatures we did manage to see while not finding the dogs:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that was the end of our last full day. We'd seen no dogs the whole day. We only had a short morning drive the next morning for a last chance at them.  Would it happen? 

Edited June 11, 2017 by SafariChick

[Tulips]

Lovely photos @SafariChick.  I really enjoyed this trip report as I will be in the Laikipia area in August.

 

I am curious how you found Rwandair?  I need to book a flight between Nairobi and Kigali and the other choice is Kenya Airways.

[ld1]

Sorry for the gate crash @SafariChick enjoying the report, it's always a bit of a shock when you have a few days alone in a vehicle and then someone else joins you! 

 

@Tulips I found Rwandair perfectly fine. It was some time ago now, 2012, but they were modern planes with efficient and friendly service. We flew Kigali to Dar es Salaam with no issues. 

Edited June 11, 2017 by ld1

[SafariChick]

@Tulips Thank you! I have a little more to add.  I think Rwandair was fine, though there was the confusion that they'd changed the flight time without having told us and I think I only found out about it shortly before leaving home when we inquired whether the email e-ticket I had was sufficient to get on the plane! But other than that, it was fine.

[Marks]

Awesome dog photos. It looks like being on the ground with them was a special experience. I did enjoy that they called to mind your dog at home eating grass. I've not (yet?) had the pleasure of seeing them, but I imagine I'd be making the same comparison.
 

Also really nice capture of the fish eagle interaction. And fantastic elephant group dynamics! Despite what you said...never too many ele photos!

[SafariChick]

Thanks @Marks - It was definitely really special to be on the ground with the dogs - especially when they came up so close and looked us right in the eye!  Yes they remind me of my dog at home in so many ways with their expressions and things they do - and he fancies himself a fierce hunter as well like them - though he can't run for nearly as long as they can 

 

Our last morning, we decided we had to get up and out very early because we wanted to get one last shot at the dogs but also, we had an appointment at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust for the private visit at 3:00 p.m. and had to make sure we left plenty of time to get back to Nairobi in time for that.  The Israeli couple was game for getting up early so we all piled into the vehicle at about 5:45 a.m. We had originally thought of making it 6 but then I suggested let's try 15 minutes earlier just to give ourselves a better chance. Good thing I did because at about 6:15 when it was barely light out, we ran smack into dogs crossing the river out of LWC's ranch! I managed some very fuzzy photos but enough to remember I was there and we saw them! 

 

 

 

It was just a couple of minutes long but we were happy to have had them come out to say farewell to us, so to speak. Sadly, I've just learned that the old alpha male of the Tui pride has been killed by lions. Annabelle says that's very common when they get old, but still so sad. Apparently the alpha female is looking for a new mate now.  But such is life in the bush.

 

We drove on a little more and suddenly we get a flat tire. I guess it was good it happened AFTER we saw the dogs and also not when we were on our way to Nairobi in a time crunch.

 

 

 

and then we drove around for a little while until we had to go back and get ready to leave for Nairobi. A few more photos:

 

 

 

 

 

and then it was time to be on our way to Nairobi. Mugambi was going to drive us to Nanyuki as he had to pick up some supplies for the camp there anyway, and then we would be met there by a driver to take us to Nairobi. Little did we know that we would have more sightings on our way to Nanyuki!

[SafariChick]

I think we left LWC at about 8 or 8:15 a.m., very sad to say goodbye. But our adventures continued. At 8:19 as we're still on part of LWC's ranch, I believe, but in an area that we'd not driven before, we caught sight of something that I was quite surprised to see. A mother cheetah with FIVE CUBS that were 2-3 months old! Even Mugambi was very excited and surprised. He said they do see cheetah there but never with more than two cubs! Unfortunately the photos I got, in keeping with the rest of this day, were from very far. We left the road and followed the cheetah and cubs at a distance and I tried to get anything I could. These are zoomed in from what I got so the quality is poor.

 

Here is the mother behind the sparse euphorbia that is in the foreground, pretty much in the center  and the cubs can be seen to the viewer's left (mother's right) in the clearing 

 

 

 

Here are a couple more:

 

 

 

 

this was quite a nice surprise! We started joking about what else might we see that we hadn't seen while we were there. Among the animals we wished to have seen were bat-eared foxes. No sooner said than ....

 

 

It was a pair with four babies and they were absolutely perfectly posed and beautiful but I took too darn long getting my camera on and trying to zoom in and I got this of one of the adults running away!

 

Here are the rather poor photos I got after that:

 

 

 

Next we came upon a Goshawk bathing in a little pool of water

 

 

and then we came upon this big leopard tortoise in the road. We'd wanted to see leopard - this is what the universe gave us. Mugambi pulled over so he could get it out of the road and to safety.

 

 

 

Mr. S. taking the above photo:

 

 

and a giraffe and a shot of the landscape to finish out our time in Laikipia:

 

 

 

We really loved our time at Lakipia Wilderness. Despite the problems going in in the area, we were unaffected. I truly hope that the issues in the area are resolved soon. This is a magical place to which I would love to return some day.

 

I will be back with a few more posts covering our trip to Nairobi and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.

Edited June 11, 2017 by SafariChick

[Tom Kellie]

 

~ @SafariChick

 

A couple of years ago I especially liked the image of you with the baby ele at the Sheldrick Trust as it captured the love between humans and animals so well.

 

Well, you've done it again. If Mr. SafariChick took this portrait he outdid himself.

 

It really shows the “being out on safari” feeling. Your happiness, pose, and the dramatic backdrop say it all.

 

Thanks so much for posting it.

 

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

~ @SafariChick

 

I hope that this isn't in bad taste...

 

When I saw the terrific portrait above, the first thing that popped into my mind was that this was the first recorded photo taken by Tarzan.

 

But if so, where's Cheeta?

 

Tom K.

[SafariChick]

@Tom Kellie Very sweet comments about the photo of me. I hesitated to include it as I'm not wild about my appearance, but I agree it shows that I am truly happy on safari so I decided to post it. And yes, Mr. Safarichick took it! I guess that makes him Tarzan in this scenario? And don't worry about the last post - people have been saying "Me Tarzan, you Jane" to me all my life! 

[Tom Kellie]

~ @SafariChick

 

Thank you!

 

I'd been sitting here anxious that maybe I'd gone too far.

 

Now all you guys need is for friendly Cheeta to appear!

 

(Is it obvious that someone was hooked on black and white Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan films as a kid...long, long ago?)

 

Tom K.

 

 

[pomkiwi]

@SafariChick What a wonderful 3 country trip - thanks for sharing it. My safari 'pattern' at the moment is very short trips. I'm lucky to be able to go fairly often (the benefit of living in the UK as travel is quite easy) but hope to manage a 2 or 3 week trip sometime.

[Kitsafari]

you saw bat-eared foxes in the day! wow so happy for you. they are so cute. and so are the hyraxes!

[SafariChick]

29 minutes ago, Kitsafari said:

you saw bat-eared foxes in the day! wow so happy for you. they are so cute. and so are the hyraxes!

The BE Foxes were one of my favorite sightings and totally unexpected - the babies were so cute, I just am kicking myself I didn't get my camera snapping quicker before they ran into the bushes!!

 

[Kitsafari]

@SafariChick you saw them so you have those images in your head still and those pictures will help you recall those moments. 

[monalisa]

WHAT?! You're allowed to be on the ground with the wild dogs?!?! WHAT?!! That is incredible!!!! 

 

Also loved the video of the baby elephant in the water. It is too precious!!! 

[SafariChick]

@monalisa thank you so much - the baby elephant really was adorable, wasn't it? and YES they do let you go on the ground with wild dogs and I agree it is pretty crazy but I'd seen other people do it in trip reports and I sort of did it in Mana Pools in Zimbabwe but not this close so I knew it could be done but when you actually do it, and they get close to you and look you in the eye, the adrenaline rush is amazing!