Going to the Dogs in Laikipia

[ice]

the time you stayed, was it considered low or high season?

[stokeygirl]

the time you stayed, was it considered low or high season?

 

I think low season, being just after their closure.

However, I find the seasonal pricing in Kenya to be a bit odd and not related to the quality of the game viewing- it seems heavily influenced by European school holidays more than anything else.

[stokeygirl]

 

Xmas 2013 or 2014? I know Annabelle said they are pretty busy over Xmas this year. I'm looking at going back Jan 2014, combining with Kicheche Bush. One option would be for me to fly on NYE, go to Kicheche first (they are booked up over Xmas then seem to be empty from 1 Jan) then to LWC from 6 Jan. Annabelle checked for me and said they are pretty full up to 6 Jan. I'm looking at some other dates later in Jan as well.

[stokeygirl]

 

Tell me about it- I spent 8 weeks tracking lions in Tembe and even with the telemetry the buggers were incredibly hard to find. In some way the dogs were easier, as they are always on the move, which sounds counter intuitive but it meant that if you were in the right area and they were hunting, chances are you'd stumble across them (or they'd stumble across you!) eventually.

[stokeygirl]

 

Yes, it is quite cheap, and I'm not a fan of NYE so am happy to miss it. I like Xmas though, so I'd rather be home for that.

[kittykat23uk]

For tigers, I would go later, march.

[kittykat23uk]

If you think tracking the dogs was difficult, try tracking dormice at 2 am In an ancient woodland, think, like thick mopane spikeyness!

[pault]

No questions @@stokeygirl. Pretty comprehensive. Thanks for that and I really look forward to the pictures.

[Sangeeta]

Short and sweet but all the important info is here - nicely stated, SG.

 

Boris and Buster were a big highlight of my stay at LWC. Loved the informal, no-set-plan routine they have. Makes such a lovely change from some of the more regimented places out here.

 

I was at Loisaba before LWC and although the dogs cross over and back quite often, without the telemetry equipment, it's hit and miss from Loisaba for the dogs - not because they're not there, but because they're so hard to track.

 

why are you paying extra for access to Mpala? I saw 2 greater kudu on a hillside at LWC and a nice eland herd at the top of a plateau.

 

From what I gathered, Steve helps quite a bit with the tracking data (downloads and updates things for the researcher in her absence).

 

Had a lovely long sighting of the dogs at the river bank, sniffing the air and checking out the water, but darn it, they did not swim across though we waited and waited...

 

Cheetah would have been fantastic, but mating pair of leopards is pretty cool, SG. I think that in a just a couple years, this place is going to rival other famous 'leopard' places for some amazing sightings.

 

Did you ask Steve how the dikdik population keeps us with the depredation?

[graceland]

Happy you found so many dogs. Loved that you were able to lie on the ground and watch, having them come to you!

 

What an experience. Expecially for such an intrepid safari

 

Between you, and Twaffle LWC will be getting plenty of publicity here.

 

Off topic~ but I remember when planning a trip to No. Kenya a guest of Sosian was riding a horse, fell off, and almost got trampled by an elephant. She lived to tell the tale but was not happy about it. Guess dogs are safer than horses. I was planning a horse safari at that time but did not work out. Probably a good thing.

 

Looking foward to the pictures...esp swimming dogs - and a few cats along for mating.

[stokeygirl]

I think I was quite unlucky with leopard- Steve says they quite often have daytime sightings. Perhaps it was because I was quite focussed on the dogs. I didn't see the leopards actually mating, but seeing a male and female so close together, the conclusion was that they were probably mating.

 

As for the dik diks, I don't know but there were a hell of a lot of them around so hopefully the dogs won't have too much of an impact. There was no shortage of impala, so my guess is if dik diks declined the dogs would just have to take on the impala. They did kill at least one full grown impala when I was there and a few babies, so it's not that they exclusively take dik diks, I just think the dik diks are so numerous they're easy prey. I bet if Botswana had so many dik diks, the dogs there would do the same!

 

I loved Boris and Buster too- especially Buster.

[Sangeeta]

Buster had actually eaten some wild dog 'leftovers' at camp and developed an awful sounding cough. Nice to hear that he's out doing his thing again

 

I had two excellent leopard sightings. One started out when there was quite a lot of light but we stayed with it through dusk and it was completely relaxed even with the spotlight.

 

From my reading, dikdiks reproduce twice a year and have a long gestation period (6 months) for such a small animal. Can you imagine how many dikdiks there must be in Laikipia for the population not to decline precipitously if 1 pack takes 10 a day??

 

The relationship with the spotted hyena was very interesting. Saw them each time we saw the dogs - pretty much lurking around on the periphery. With all the dikdik and hare hunting, I wonder what motivates this behavior because the dogs consume everything they kill. Or perhaps this indicates that they do get bigger prey more often than we see (and as you saw) and they hang around for the impala kills?

Edited June 17, 2013 by Sangeeta

[SafariChick]

Thank you @@stokeygirl for this great report!! As you know, I already have been wanting to go to LWC but this makes me want to go even more! I am really hoping to make it happen either January 2014 or January 2015. Sounds like Jan. 2014 may already be getting crowded and maybe I'd better get on it already if I want to go then. Just trying to figure out if it's in the budget. I'd like to bring my kids, especially since it sounds so kid-friendly, but there's the little matter of school. I think they do have the first week of Jan. off or so ... will have to check.

[twaffle]

Just seen this report Stokeygirl and really enjoyed it. Full of details and quite helpful in planning for our upcoming trip. As you don't tend to carry your camera when walking, did you get any feel for how hard photography might be when out walking?

 

I can't wait to visit and am really looking forward to seeing your photos.

[marg]

thanks! can't imagine anything better than a week with dogs! even the domestic ones would certainly be different in the bush.

[stokeygirl]

Just seen this report Stokeygirl and really enjoyed it. Full of details and quite helpful in planning for our upcoming trip. As you don't tend to carry your camera when walking, did you get any feel for how hard photography might be when out walking?

 

I can't wait to visit and am really looking forward to seeing your photos.

 

It depends what sort of photography. If I knew we were headed for the dogs I would take my camera, although usually these would be short walks as we had tracked the dogs and knew where they were.

 

Otherwise, for wildlife photography, I didn't really feel we were close enough to get good photos of other animals.

 

Landscape is another matter- we did walk to some fabulous viewpoints. This did often involve scrambling up and down quite steep rocky paths, and I wouldn't recommend having a camera slung round your neck or over your shoulder. Not unless you want to risk it swinging round and smashing into a rock! I would say if you're going to take a camera (which for the landscapes and views I think would be well worth it) then take a backpack that you can put the camera in for the climbs.

[twaffle]

Thanks Stokeygirl and ...., I feel reassured.

[kittykat23uk]

Sounds pretty amazing. I have some questions, how many days would you say you need to have a good chance with the dogs? Is it feasible to combine this with a few days at Amboseli, the Mara and a good lake for flamingos (Nakuru or Naivasha?)?

[stokeygirl]

Sounds pretty amazing. I have some questions, how many days would you say you need to have a good chance with the dogs? Is it feasible to combine this with a few days at Amboseli, the Mara and a good lake for flamingos (Nakuru or Naivasha?)?

 

Well, we didn't have too much trouble finding the packs, and if one goes of the property you can aim for the other. As well as the telemetry Steve seemed to be pretty good at predicting where the dogs would move to next, and even when we couldn't pick up a signal, he seemed to be able to say "they're probably behind that ridge" and he was usually right. From what Steve and Annabelle said, they have not yet had a situation where both packs have been out of the areas they can access although in theory it's possible.

 

So I think even in a 2 or 3 night stay you'd have to be extremely unlucky to miss out.

 

As for the combination, I'm not sure. I've no doubt it's possible, whether it's economically feasible is another matter, especially if travelling alone!!

[stokeygirl]

I do agree  that 3 or 4 days would be better but then that's my view on most places.

 

I'm sure you'd probably see them if you only went for a day, but the longer you stay the more you increase the chances of having really good quality sightings.

[kittykat23uk]

Thanks both! I would really like to visit there at some stage.

[stokeygirl]

@kittykat23uk I was thinking of you as we were hunting for striped hyenas.

 

Or rather, as we were sat on a rock high above the valley drinking G&T and waiting for the hyenas to make an appearance.

[Sangeeta]

If travelling alone, perhaps better to focus just on the lakes and Laikipia, Samburu, Meru etc and leave the Mara/Amboseli for another trip.

 

I have been pricing a road trip similar to the one you proposed for a solo photographer with a gazillion kilos of equipment and a 12 night trip is super pricey with the Mara/Amboseli & quite a bit less without them both.

[pault]

I agree with Sangeeta. Mara, Amboseli and Laikipia together is a lot of driving backwards and forwards, or flying. If you add maybe $500 more than you might expect to your costs, you can do what you're thinking about. But it's not a really natural mix. If flying, Laikipia and Mara works fine because there are good flight connections, including direct flights. If driving, it's really just so much time on the road - but possibly no worse than you did in Madagascar, so you might look at it another way.

 

Edit:...... In response to @kittycat23uk of course!

Edited June 19, 2013 by pault

[kittykat23uk]

Thanks both! looks like two different trips would be in order.