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Wilddog & Blue Bird's Kenyan Adventure - Good times at Laikipia & Blue Bird Climbs a Mountain


wilddog

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@@wilddog ~ thanks for the detailed explanation of how you handled the middle of the night loo visit ~ not going at all most times isn't even an option!

 

@@Tom ~ I don't drink alcohol however enjoy the experience of a sundowner in the bush. Just let the camp know prior to going out what you'd like to drink altho usually they ask anyway. My preferance has always been passion fruit or mango or guava juice and you're sure to get at least one of those.

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A great adventure. Sounds like the Mosquitos enjoyed it too!

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Wilson Aero Club - Great to know you actually stayed there and it worked. I've been curious about that option. So Annabel Carey at Laikipia arranged Wilson Aero Club and also your transfer there up on arrival an Kenyatta. This is most helpful already. Now on to the safari.

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I want that white and brown bull (cow). What a beautiful animal.

Me too. I wonder what kind of cattle that is?!

 

Nice spotting on the lions. Your eland is rather frisky.

 

Such a nice big wild dog pack!

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I want that white and brown bull (cow). What a beautiful animal.

We will be fighting over that one @@armchair bushman, I want it as well

 

but I guess you are closer :(

 

 

 

I don't know what it is about those hump-backed, fat headed cattle that I love so much. Their droopy eyes maybe? That huge flat forehead? Just the smooth texture of their coat? I don't know.

Whatever the case, I'm not interested in owning any old cow. I want THAT exact type.

A normal Maasai cow sold in a rural area will go for between Kshs 15,000/- to Ksh 40,000/- depending on size/age, sex, health, etc.

One of THOSE beautiful animals will sometimes go for upto Kshs 400,000/- (Approx. $4,500). That might be another reason I want one. And the calves are SUPER cute.

We could start our own auction for it!

 

I hope to go to a Maasai cattle market somewhere around Manyara on my next visit. Won't my husband be surprised if I come home with one of those cows?

 

Lovely light on the eles. You have some great action shots like the eagle taking off, the running impala, and the guys jumping into the waterhole!

 

2 leopards, very good!

Edited by Atravelynn
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@graceland@wilddog

 

well, unfortunately I took that jump at the very first day of my stay at LWC, so the following days on bumpy roads, chasing dogs were indeed not too pleasant. Never went to see a doctor (not until back home, that is), there is absolutely nothing you can do to "cure" broken ribs

I am in pain just reading this. Hope you healed quickly. Ouch ouch!

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Love the aardwolf. You look very cozy for your impromptu fly camp outing. What a great trip!

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@graceland@wilddog

 

well, unfortunately I took that jump at the very first day of my stay at LWC, so the following days on bumpy roads, chasing dogs were indeed not too pleasant. Never went to see a doctor (not until back home, that is), there is absolutely nothing you can do to "cure" broken ribs

I am in pain just reading this. Hope you healed quickly. Ouch ouch!

 

 

thanks - it took about 2 1/2 months to heal completely - I've been painfree for about two weeks now

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@@wilddog

The fly camping looks like a lot of fun. You did see a good variety of wildlife - I didn't know there were so many elephants in Laikipia! It is good that you saw the Wild Dogs early in your trip - it looks like once the pups are big enough the dogs cover a wide area.

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What an adventure @@wilddog.

 

I just read your report..all of it in one go. It was like reading a thriller! i just couldn't wait to see the next episode. I had no idea one could camp in the wild thus. seems like great fun. great pictures too.

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I hope that I'm lucky and see an aardwolf in Lakipia,and perhaps a caracal at Saruni Samburu Camp because both of these animals have long been on my list of dream animals that I've wanted to see on safari. I know that I'll be going to two of the best places to see them.

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I hope that I'm lucky and see an aardwolf in Lakipia,and perhaps a caracal at Saruni Samburu Camp because both of these animals have long been on my list of dream animals that I've wanted to see on safari. I know that I'll be going to two of the best places to see them.

 

~ @optig:

 

At such fine locations, your safari dream may yet come to pass.

A nice image or two of either an aardwolf or of a caracal would be a real treat for us to see on Safaritalk.

Tom K.

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Thanks @@TonyQ It was great fun and yes quite a good variety of animals and experiences. We were there a total of 6 nights so had a chance to do a bit of everything and see most areas.

 

Dogs of course do roam a lot at this time and the other problem locating them is the valleys. Even with collared packs the signal can be lost if they are resting up in a gully somewhere.

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Thank you @@Earthian glad you have enjoyed it so far. Just a bit more to add; call it a work in progess.................

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@@optig I hope you are lucky too. We saw Aardwolf 3 times in total on the night drives. Previously I have only seen Aardwolf in Tuli, bolting at the sight of the vehicle. In Laikipia they seemed less alarmed and one just trotted through the bush in full view and gave me a good chance to really look at it in detail.

 

Good luck with the caracal too. :)

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@@optig I hope you are lucky too. We saw Aardwolf 3 times in total on the night drives. Previously I have only seen Aardwolf in Tuli, bolting at the sight of the vehicle. In Laikipia they seemed less alarmed and one just trotted through the bush in full view and gave me a good chance to really look at it in detail.

 

Good luck with the caracal too. :)

 

~ @wilddog:

 

I'm especially interested in what you mentioned about the Laikipia aardwolves seeming less alarmed.

There have seemed to be regional differences between animals of the same species.

The warthogs in Masai Mara are so skittish, running from the slightest stimulus. Samburu warthogs seem comparatively nonchalant.

The African Buffalo in Tsavo West appeared to have little concern about safari visitors, even when young calves were present. The African Buffalo in Meru acted hyper-tense, as though fearing immediate attack.

Is this due to habituation since infancy? I don't know. Your mentioning it with regard to aardwolves raised the question in my mind.

Tom K.

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@graceland@@wilddog

 

well, unfortunately I took that jump at the very first day of my stay at LWC, so the following days on bumpy roads, chasing dogs were indeed not too pleasant. Never went to see a doctor (not until back home, that is), there is absolutely nothing you can do to "cure" broken ribs

I am in pain just reading this. Hope you healed quickly. Ouch ouch!

 

 

thanks - it took about 2 1/2 months to heal completely - I've been painfree for about two weeks now

 

So this was a recent misadventure.

 

@@wilddog, how close were you to taking the big plunge from the high rock? Or was that never considered?

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Hi @@Atravelynn . It was a great trip. Already enjoying the report on your trip to India.

Jumping from the rock? Not really a consideration for me. Apart from my advanced years I have a slightly vulnerable back.Last time I jumped off or out of anything was a tandem sky dive 20 years ago.

@@Blue Bird gave the jump some thought but once he got up there, he thought better of it.

Sorry to hear it has taken so long to get over it @@ice

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Tandem skydiving! You ARE an adventurous gal! If the water had been cold, I might be persuaded to wade--not jump from a cliff--in up to my knees.

 

You probably had to ice those ribs, @@ice. That's a bad one, I know.

 

6 nights makes for a leisurely, unhurried stay. Lots can happen. And it did!

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The drive back to camp was comparatively uneventful and suddenly we were into the last 36 hours of our trip.

 

There had been no further signs of the dogs or the lions and Blue Bird and I felt very relieved to have seem them earlier in the week. The other guests were obviously disappointed and one could sense that Steve and Barend were feeling the pressure for these guests and for those coming into camp shortly.

 

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Blue Bird was keen to go canoeing but I was a little hesitant. I canoed down the Zambezi some years ago and felt that I had 'been there , done that and got the tee shirt' as they say and felt it was probably not for me.

 

However, Barend reassured me that the water was low so we would not experience any massive rapids etc (I am getting to old to cope with getting rolled underwater!) and I finally agreed.

 

Later that morning we set off for the river to be greeted by some camels that roam the area across from LWC.

 

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..................and what fun the canoeing was! I travelled with Barend, and Blue Bird, who is much younger than I and already inducted into 'shooting the rapids' sometime ago in Uganda, had his own canoe. Barend was at the back in control and I was doing my best to assist in the front.

 

It was in fact so shallow that we occasionally had to get out of the canoe to manoeuvre it over the rocks.

 

After we reached the end of the canoe trip we had a swim in the shallow water whilst the packed up the canoes.

 

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After lunch went up to another pool and watched the elephants.

 

Barend suggested we got out of the vehicle and, although I have no problem with lying on the ground, he very kindly provided a blanket to lie on. As always the elephants entertained us. There was one little guy with a stick in his mouth which he carried around most of the time. The arrival of the bull, striding forward and muscling into the water's edge caused a bit of shuffling around, but overall, a very tranquil scene.

 

There were also some waterbuck at a distance.

 

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That evening we had our last Gin and Tonic sundowner high amongst the palms with Laikipia stretching out below us

 

 

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Note the telemetry device behind Barend and, in the second picture, at Blue Birds feet............... we never gave up looking for the dogs :)

 

The following day was departure day. Blue Bird was leaving first as he had a road trip to reach his mountain and I was to leave later.

 

 

We had a morning drive, dropping off @@Blue Bird mid morning and later for lunch I joined the new guests at the waterfall. No swimming for me this time. I then set off for the road transfer to Nairobi and back to the UK.

 

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One unusual sighting was the brown Grevy's Zebra we saw, travelling with the herd.

 

I gather this is not a normal colouration and this zebra seemed to trail behind the others. Possibly it was sick but if anyone knows more about this, comments would be appreciated. @@twaffle may be this is your area of expertise?

 

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I really enjoyed Laikipia; the sense of wilderness, with only a few people around, the range of wildlife and the relaxed atmosphere.

 

For me this was a perfect spot for a UK mid-winter rest and the fact that there were not lion/wilddog sightings every day was not an issue, although no dogs and no lions over 6 days would have been disappointing.

The options of night driving, walking, swimming, canoeing and fly camping provided variety over the week particularly on 'dog disappearing days'. Annabelle also has some horses stabled there, which we went to see one afternoon; the plan is to also offer horse riding to guests.

Other guests I spoke to were combining Laikipia with the Mara which sounds a good combination to me.

I have no doubt I will return to Laikipia one day.

 

So over to @@Blue Bird now for any additional comments and his add-on trip to Mount Elgon and the Saiwa Swamp.

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So over to @@Blue Bird now for any additional comments and his add-on trip to Mount Elgon and the Saiwa Swamp.

 

I've been reliving the trip with the excellent report @@wilddog has put together - in fact I had forgotten we had seen and done so much! I'm very grateful to @@wilddog for allowing me to 'gatecrash' her holiday. I have to echo her comments that Laikipia Wilderness is a really fantastic experience with a great variety of sightings and excellent hospitality from a very slick team who kept us entertained from dawn til dusk. My main recommendation is not to get too bogged down with the dogs and just go with the flow and enjoy the multitude of activities and animals on offer. There is certainly much more to Laikipia than the dogs.

 

I was sorry to read about the broken ribs @@ice. I was game to jump and got to the top and bottled it. I suspect had it been an hour later with a bit of Dutch courage on board, copiously supplied with the excellent picnic lunch, I too may have landed in the same predicament!

 

I combined my six days in Laikipia with further exploration of the North Eastern side of Kenya along the Ugandan border. Travelling overland from Laikipia I had an overnight stop at Lake Nakuru before heading north, via Kitale Golf Club, to the pristine forests on the slopes of Mt Elgon for a few days of hiking and exploration. Even managed to fit in a visit to Saiwa Swamps, Kenya's smallest and least visited national park, for hunt the Sitatunga. More to follow ...................

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Hi @@Atravelynn . It was a great trip. Already enjoying the report on your trip to India.

 

Jumping from the rock? Not really a consideration for me. Apart from my advanced years I have a slightly vulnerable back.Last time I jumped off or out of anything was a tandem sky dive 20 years ago.

 

 

~ @wilddog:

 

What? A tandem sky dive twenty years ago?

Your comment caught me by surprise, especially the date.

That must've been a prime era for such, as that's when my one-and-only tandem sky dive took place.

Glad to have done it but in no hurry to reprise.

Tom K.

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Over Lake Taupo, New Zealand, 24 December, 1994

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~ @wilddog:

 

Those look different than anything I've ever seen.

Would you please pardon my ignorance, but are those possibly Günther's Dikdik?

I've seen drawings and photos in field guides, but never knowingly the species in the field.

I looked at the three faces, feeling that their noses and crest looked unfamiliar.

Perhaps I'm reading too much into a small difference.

In any case, many thanks for your recently posted photos and commentary.

It increases my interest in visiting Laikipia, as opposed to driving through it en route to parts north.

Tom K.

 

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You could hardly ask for a better vantage point to photograph those eles - and you got great results!

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