The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men … a somewhat turbulent safari to Kenya

[AKR1]

An ever better start to the trip report than expected and that is high praise indeed. With the two, perhaps most distinguished, in terms of overall safari experience, ST members jointly producing this report, it's no surprise that's its this good. Thanks for the quick turn-around.

[Sangeeta]

 'Two distinct voices in uncontrived harmony', @@Rainbirder 'A masterpiece in duet'...they've said it all

 

Some beautiful writing already. What can I say, you guys are an inspiration...

Edited December 15, 2018 by twaffle

[twaffle]

My goodness, thank you for such lovely replies. I never expected such responses. Very humbled.

 

Graceland, I'm very sorry to hear of your illness, get well soon.

[PT123]

Dyno-mite start! Look forward to more. I'm sorry to read that your trip to Ishaqabini got cancelled but I think that you two were braver than me as I wouldn't consider going north of Samburu/Shaba/Buffalo Springs. (Is Ishaqbini northeast of or east of Shaba?)

 

I recall on the road into Shaba our guide pointing to a building and saying that it was the northern most (national) government installation. Looking at a map of Kenya, it seems that about 1/3 of the country is between Shaba and Somalia. That's a lot of tribal land that frankly I am very intrigued by but simply too chicken to visit.

 

 

Edited December 15, 2018 by twaffle

[PT123]

I've heard of Matthew range but didn't realize that it was actually north of Shaba. (Looks like I need to take a refresher geography course.) Lake Turkana sounds festinating but no way Jose - didn't you read the Constant Gardener!

 

Edited December 15, 2018 by twaffle

[Safari Cal]

Excellent trip report you two, wow, what a start to what I'm expecting will be an awesome adventure that it feels like we're all sharing in... you could easily serialise this to a travel magazine. Did you realise when you were writing it how immersed we'd all be in the story?

 

Kenya is Kenya, nothing ever works out as you plan but that's part of the fun I guess, although it sounds like those bandits are causing real mayhem and perhaps it's fortunate that it didn't all kick off a day later!

 

@@twaffle, that monochrome photo of the Zebra Stallion is stunning, love it love it love it. But then again all of your photos are wonderful.

 

Can't wait to read more.

[PT123]

My favorite is the herd of oryx in front of the acacia tree with the weaver bird nests dangling down from the branches. That is a lovely shot that brings back happy memories.

[pault]

Well if you want Constant Gardner The Movie scenery it'll be a lot cheaper!

 

.... It's a sign of how much we are enjoying the story that nobody thought to commiserate you.... If that makes sense. And twaffle didn't stop at that point, so we've already "moved on". Terrible shame.

Edited December 15, 2018 by twaffle

[twaffle]

I had to live with endless sorrow stories from others for days remember … not going there again!

Edited December 15, 2018 by twaffle

[ZaminOz]

Thanks @@twaffle  for your wonderful TR so far. What is a safari in Africa with out a little adventure?!

Stunning photos too, as usual, Twaffle!

Edited December 15, 2018 by twaffle

[graceland]

I'm so stuck on yours I've no time to write mine. I also did not have any Somolia bandits interferring with our plans so now I fear it boring.

 

I did get food poisoning on United though. Being whisked off the plane in a wheelchair was a bit of an adventure

 

We stayed at Machshula house in 2010; bet it has grown as the word got out. Lovely little place to de-stress for a night --and then stress all over again when Squack shows up! But sounds like all went well.

 

Waiting for more. I need more excuses. I dread trying to upload these pics. Not my best attribute.

[twaffle]

The art to writing a great trip report is to leave enough time between sections to let everyone get involved and add their stories. Also, it gives time for other recently finished trips to have their reports written and posted as well!

[ZaminOz]

The art to writing a great trip report is to leave enough time between sections to let everyone get involved and add their stories. Also, it gives time for other recently finished trips to have their reports written and posted as well!

I of course wait a good two years before staring so that everyone has time to get settled before I start.

[johnkok]

What a fantastic duet. Poetic in word and image. Wow!

[twaffle]

 

 

SHABA

Shaba takes its name from Shaba Mountain, an ancient, extinct volcano to the south of the reserve that was used as location for shooting target practice sessions in the colonial days, and is bordered to the north by the Ewaso Nyiro (which starts losing its peaceful appearance to give way to some waterfalls and rapids), and is circled by an amphitheater of ridges and mountains, the most famous being Ol Ololokwe to the north-west (the sacred mountain of the Samburu), but the most prominent to the visitor being Bodech Mountain (also known as “the sleeping lion”) to the north-east.

 

The scenery in Shaba is undoubtedly magnificent. 

 

 

Joy's Camp was pretty busy during our stay, a good sign considering the bad publicity that Shaba attracts at times due to some alleged security issues. Everybody to whom we spoke told us that those were totally unfounded. Joy's Camp is operating without a problem, and quite often private guides belonging to Ker & Downey put their mobile camps in the reserve, either in a campsite along the Ewaso Nyiro or at Funan, a natural spring in the center of the reserve.

 

These springs, whose water comes down from the Nyambeni Hills, a fertile range separating Shaba from Meru, are the lifeline of Shaba, and obviously are a focal point of attraction for the local wildlife. In particular, we spent a lot of our time around Chaffa Gafarsa, the largest swamp, on the eastern boundary of the reserve.

 

 

A very positive note during our stay in Shaba was the clear optimism that we perceived from Abdi and the management of the camp about the impact that the establishment of the Nakrupat-gotu Conservancy (another commendable initiative by the Northern Rangelands Trust) is going to have, reopening ancient migratory corridors (especially for elephants) and creating a larger dispersal area for the wildlife. Then there is Sera Conservancy a bit to the north, providing a link with another important game area such as the Matthews' Range....

 

 

We can only hope this optimism will prove to be well founded, but just hearing someone like Abdi so passionate about his wildlife and so positive about his own land was both refreshing and heartwarming.

 

Unless you stay with a mobile camp in one of the campsites, Joy's Camp is the only functional option if you want to explore Shaba. It is a very nice tented lodge, even if arguably a bit over the top, and is smoothly run. 

 

Edited December 15, 2018 by twaffle

[kittykat23uk]

Talk about a cliffhanger!

[twaffle]

SHABA … a spiritual burial ground … where the cats have no names and where hope springs eternal (twaffle)

 

It’s almost lunch time and I’m sitting on our verandah, bare feet on the concrete, watching the lush green swamp as a variety of animals wander past. The birds are noisily going about their business and a small haze of clouds is drifting past.

 

What a morning we have had, it seems so long ago now. We headed out to hopefully catch a great sunrise which I suppose we did, of sorts. Not spectacular in that glossy, in your face way that many desire, but in the subtle “catch me if you can” way which can yield the sort of photos many of us really prefer.

 

 

 

We dallied around the swamp before Abdi continued his search for a mysterious male lion which had appeared near camp only recently and then had been seen near this swamp. Where he came from, the guides could only surmise. For me, this was wonderful as the one thing I dislike most about the Mara (apart from the disgusting behaviour of the migration crowds) is the fatuous naming of the cats. If you want take the mystery, wildness and spirit out of a place the first thing to do is give human names to the lions, leopards and cheetah … bleh! Happily for us, we found Mr No Name just behind the swamp resting off a meal of warthog. Said warthog was found lying smellily under a nearby tree. I was teased about my “Lionless safari” as in the first hours on Day 1 of the safari in a place not known for its lion deliverance we had our first one. Not very active or photogenic, but life was good.

 

 

 

 

 

When we had arrived the previous afternoon, one of our first sightings was a giraffe carcass being fed on by a small number of vultures. We asked Abdi about it this morning and he said that it was still there, no other scavengers had come in to feed. I found that worrying but Shaba is a reserve under some pressure but coming out of bad times (we hope) so perhaps the natural balance of predators, scavengers and prey will return.

 

 

 

 

After our time with Mr Lazy Pants (without an acknowledged name we could give any sort of inappropriate soubriquet to our lion) we headed towards the big swamp on our way to breakfast. After innumerable rock and log sightings by the rest of us, Terry called out in great excitement “leopard”. Of course Abdi stopped immediately, but was probably thinking “silly, blind mazungu” but he was too polite to say anything and when we all saw Terry’s leopard we were excited beyond belief and had no thoughts of rocks, termite mounds and logs anymore.

 

 

 

We spent a good 15 to 20 minutes of quality time with this beautiful male leopard but we did encourage Abdi to radio the other Joy’s vehicles because a leopard sighting anywhere is special but in Shaba!?! Unfortunately for the other vehicle, it arrived just as the leopard decided to head off so they only had a fleeting sight of it. The other guests from camp decided not to leave breakfast but they were under the guidance of a private guide and were heading to the Mara so he probably (rightly) thought they would see leopards down there and wouldn’t make this sighting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh bliss, I don’t think any of us expected to be so fortunate, in Shaba, to see a lion and leopard in one short drive.

 

Memories put aside for awhile, I drag myself up to the main guest area for lunch, looking forward to what the afternoon will deliver.

Edited December 15, 2018 by twaffle

[twaffle]

A little walk around camp:

 

[twaffle]

THE MYSTERY OF THE CAIRNS (twaffle)

 

Abdi pulls up next to a large cairn of volcanic rocks and asks us if we know what they signify.

 

 

Obviously, the blank looks on our faces gives im the green light to make his explanation. Apparently each cairn is the burial place of one of his tribal ancestors. With the ground so rocky, it was impossible for deep graves to be dug with the lack of tools available. The shallow grave was quite a complex construction with wood used to line the hollow to protect the body from the earth. Also covered with wood before the earth was added to cover the grave. Each person was placed on his right side with his head facing towards the North East. The stones were piled high for protection against scavengers. Abdi had proven to be an interesting and knowledgeable guide and our wanderings were more than fun.

 

[twaffle]

AND SO, WHAT OF SHABA? (twaffle)

 

 

And what of Shaba as I listen to the sounds of our last night here?

 

I came to Shaba with few wildlife expectations, not one person intimating that we would see much in the way of wildlife. The scenery is, as everyone says, spectacular, however, perhaps in more of a visual sense when you are there rather than in a landscape photographic sense. More than that, there is a history here which is well worth investigating if given time. The land itself varies immensely, from powdery, fine dirt to volcanic stone.

 

The swamps provide a green oasis where birds congregate and the occasional buffalo enjoys a solitary mudbath.

 

There is wildlife a plenty, but perhaps not in the way of the lusher parks and reserves. I think we have become spoilt in the way wild animals are served up on a plate. Gerenuks were everywhere, as were some of the finest Grant’s gazelles I’ve seen.

 

 

We felt fortunate with our Grevy’s sightings and were told that Shaba has a healthy population.

 

 

 

 

Birds were plentiful, other vehicles were not.

 

Come with an open mind and time up your sleeve.

[kittykat23uk]

Wow! Lovely scenery for your leopard to e encountered in! It's purrfect!

[twaffle]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 15, 2018 by twaffle

[twaffle]

Obviously that should be 'spring'

[twaffle]

INTERMISSION

When you realise that we only spent one full day at Shaba and it has taken me 2 full days to edit those few photos, you will appreciate that I need quite a lot of time to go through the VERY large Meru section of 4 nights. Writing is the quick and easy part for me! Apologies ........

[PT123]

Twaffle - thank you another great installment of your trip report. I looked forward to seeing/reading your thoughts on Shaba and Joys. I'm so happy that the reserve looks to be in good shape and that you had a good lion and leopard sighting. Alo, thanks for the shots of the sleeping lioness!

Edited December 15, 2018 by PT123