Another bloody safari - Mara and Ol Pejeta October 2015

[Kitsafari]

i'm glad i got to read the last 8 pages in one go. I would be happy to jump on such a "boring trip" that you had there.

 

some favourites that I can recall -

 

hornbill vs puff adder - what a sighting! on par with a lion battling a buffalo - pound for pound-scale. it got me wondering - what is the adder was still alive and the bird swallowed it, can the snake still give a fatal bite while in the bird's mouth? or is this another inane question from me?

 

Malaika and kids - the babies are so grown up - altho i think i did see them earlier in bettel's report. Super Mum again supervising their hunt and they have in down almost perfectly when we last saw them in their early lessons in February. soon, mum will untie those strings and set them out on their own.

 

RIF - what a adorable baby! what an ode to joy and life, and i'm so jealous you got to share it with the baby rhino.

 

I knew it - you saw an aardvark - and a zorilla too! i thought they were just myths until you showed us the evidence. so aardwolf, aardvark, zorilla - time to plan a trip to the Mara again please.

[pault]

Now that @@Kitsafari has caught up, I can continue...

I'll assume you know quite a bit about Ol Pejeta, and if you don't and want to know they have a very good and easy to read website. If you don't really wantr to know, you can just enjoy the pictures and the funny bits. What all that information on the web site doesn't do is to give you a feel for the place, and I will try to convey that a little bit. One small piece of information you need is that Ol Pejeta is divided into zones. There is an agricultural zone, a cattle zone, a tourism zone and a wilderness zone. The latter is probably over half of the total area and is where the three small Tented camps are located. The tourism zone is where the blind rhino, chimp refuge, last of the Northern White Rhino males and Serena's Sweetwaters tented camp (mid-priced, maybe 40 tents) are. It's also the area most likely to be visited by day trippers and school kids -they invite in a lot of school kids to see their natural heritage. But don't worry you grumpy old wretches, they do a pretty short circuit and then visit the blind rhino and the visitors center. You will barely notice them, And they were pretty quiet - with the exception of a bus from a girl's secondary school, who were loud enough to spook a herd of zebras from a kilometer away; sounded like a flock of birds were arriving to water.

 

 

Spot the odd man out

 

The daily gathering of clouds over Mount Kenya.

 

 

Anyway, wildlife is welcome in all zones and you can see anything anywhere - the wild dogs are not going to desist from tearing apart an impala because kids are there. I mention it because when you see fences you know we are in the tourism zone. There is a perimeter fence around the wilderness zone, open in strategic places to allow migration and from the rest of Laikipia and closed elsewhere to prevent conflict with local communities. So how do they stop the rhino from wandering? They have short wooden posts designed so that any animal except a rhino (or a hippo I guess) can either pass through or walk over. Smart. The gaps also have other protection, but I am not sure it is a good idea to give too much information about that (although the Ol Pejeta website gives a lot of the game away, surprisingly - and I am not being lazy referring you to the website; it's good and you should visit if you are interested)

 

One of the few Grevy's Zebras still out unrestricted (most have been moved into a (very large) enclosure with the Northern White Rhinos in order to let numbers recover as the lions were taking a toll - a different approach to Lewa, but they are different places). meets the preimeter fence and contemplates whether the grass might be greener beyond - it wasn't.

 

View from the breakfast table... with morning coffee.

 

 

Another thing to consider about Ol Pejeta is that it is right in the front line, as the furthest south of the connected network of formally or informally protected private ranches that make up the part of Laikipia that we as tourists visit. This makes it very accessible and as a major rhino sanctuary and breeding area it requires a lot of protection, which is very costly. Fortunately it has been bought outright by a major conservation organization, but it also raises a lot of money to pay for itself in quite innovative ways. Some of those ways, such as maintaining the beef herd and having an agricultural zone within the conservancy are also a kind of long-term experiment which will hopefully help provide a model for how wildlife can continue to flourish alongside human activity in the worst case scenario that populations continue to grow and governments continue to fail to provide protection to wildlife. Of course not everyone will be able to afford a small private army, but not everyone will be protecting this many rhinos or so near a major town on such desirable land.

 

 

Love this fresh water, man!

 

And it's all so...... all so....... so..... oh, I forgot!

 

Alleged scrub hare

 

We saw few elephants despite the water - presumably they had somewhere better to be. This one collared, as are a few animals on Ol Pejeta... hosting and assisting research projects is another way they raised funds virtuously.

 

Terrain is perfect for the secretary bird

 

 

 

First morning out we came across a collared lioness near to the road in some thick bush. It soon became apparent that she was not alone, and also that she was missing most of her tail!

 

Still so early in the trip, even fairly inactive lions were worth a wait and it seemed we might be rewarded for our patience when she stiffened and fixed her eyes on something far away. It turned out to be a herd of eland, accompanied by some zebras.

 

The lions started stalking, and if it had been 1-2 animals and there had been more cover they would have had a fair chance. However, as soon as they moved out of the bushy area they were spotted, and the herds assumed a defensive position. There would be no hunt.

 

 

 

 

The lions seemed unconcerned, and having already risen decided to move to another location. We followed them for a while, but then we spotted that running “warthog” in the distance that I mentioned in the previous post and had to make a decision about which direction to go. The lions lost (well, they wouldn't have felt that way).

 

 

Ironic they paused to decide which way they should go at the signpost. Half-tail got her way and they didn't go to annoy the chimps.

 

 

 

On the second evening out we drove along the track that runs parallel to the fence when returning to our house. You get a few too many views of the electric fence on this route for comfort, but it was actually quite productive in terms of wildlife. In case of not much else, there were two hyena dens on this route (two of four we saw here relatively close to the road. The pups at both were growing up, but still pups at heart so there was every chance there would be something to see.

 

At the first den, there were two fairly mature pups and they were not doing much. What was interesting was that their den was no more than 20 meters away from a warthog burrow (I’m writing on instinct here, but when I think of it why do I feel hyenas have a den and warthogs a burrow when the two are practically the same?). The warthogs were very relaxed, going about their business, and if anything the hyenas were the ones looking more intimidated… or perhaps more sly.

 

 

One of the warthogs was doing some burrow repair work, perhaps preparing the burrow for a new arrival or four. But that was one thing unusual about this warthog group. There were three adults, all clearly mature – not even a sub-adult around. I imagine the neighbours talking.

 

 

Good morning, Ms Hyena. How are you today? Enjoying your breakfast?

 

Good morning Mr Warthog. Yes, it’s delicious. How can I help you?

 

I was wondering if you’d seen Junior? He appears to have gone off somewhere during the night.

 

No, no. Haven’t seen him since yesterday. Probably just went for a run.

 

Yes, I’m sure you’re right. Thanks – enjoy that…. what is it?

 

Chicken… it’s a big-boned chicken.

 

 

 

Don't just put it back in the hole this time.

 

 

 

 

Next installment.... domestic bliss and more baby rhinos (pictured one is different from the flyer).

 

Edited November 13, 2015 by pault

[Kitsafari]

thank you for waiting for me,

 

and i can't spot the odd man out, unless it is the headless giraffe.

[CaroleE]

@@pault

 

Fantastic series of the cheetah hunt.

''The drive wasn't the best''.....with an aardvark and a zorilla you have the nerve to say that!

 

Stunningly beautiful shots of the two Leopard Gorge trees. The tree in the second of your two shots remains one of my favourite trees I have seen on my travels. Good to see that it looks just as good in your shot as it did when I saw it (that was with a blue sky background.)

 

Ok let's continue with the trip report and see what other dreadful game drives you had to suffer

[pault]

@Kitsafari You are correct. It's not supposed to be difficult, but inclusive. One everyone can get right! I thought of you as I was lying there "dying". I had felt so sorry for you getting sick and missing and day, and there I was. Completely unrelated symptoms so it must be the Curse of Serian?

 

RIF.... I like it!

 

@@armchair bushman Thanks. Just for the record, the continuing description of Ol Pejeta in the latest post is not in response to your encouragement - you have not unleashed a monster with your generous praise; I was a monster already - with the latest description already written. (from memory because despite my encouragement for others to visit the website I did not recently do so myeslf).

 

@michael-ibk You are exactly correct... open house seemed like a risky idea. My wife was note keen. Consider yourself invited next time, with or without a formal invitation.

[Marks]

Great lion shots.

What is in the foreground of the secretary bird photo (probably a rock )?

 

Enjoyed the hyena/warthog conversation, too.

[Atravelynn]

"The third day followed the same routine - so dull." Segment 63, most boring ever. Just cheetah cubs doing especially cute things and then that colorful but common Lilac Breasted Roller flipping a beetle airborne into its open beak. At least you tried to liven it up with a silhouetted sunrise/set shot.

 

 

Those cubs just get more and more adorable with their antics. Lion and monitor? That has to be a new one for you. Whatever settings were used for the leopard, you came out with some great shots and then focused on that eye injury in the lion.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Atravelynn

[pault]

@@Marks Good spot! I am not sure what it is, but it looks very, very much like a buffalo horn.

[pault]

Just a few snapshots in this post. Been trying to finish the photos and it brought back a few memories of events from Ol Pejeta that I had almost forgotten after the drama in the Mara.

 

Will be interesting to see how the colours come out as this set look different when I look at the originals and the reduced size versions on my photo storage site, and the originals look over-warm.

 

One morning, almost first thing, we saw a group of hartebeest staring into the distance, so of course we stopped to see what they were looking at (and take a picture or two if at nothing).

 

 

But it wasn't nothing. It was a male cheetah, wandering towards us, and the hartebeests.

 

 

And marking his territory as he went.

 

 

He was uninterested in the hartebeests, but the feeling was not mutual. He ignored his posse and found a bit of bone that he wanted to sniff and roll around next too (so maybe there was more than bone scent there) but when he got up his posse had grown and were getting impatient..

 

Sweetwaters in the background, but we were the only people at the sighting - most were still not out yet as it was even earlier than it looks in the pictures.

 

 

 

 

And the hartbeests couldn't stand the tension any longer and charged him, sending him running. He tried to stop and face them but they just kept on coming and in the end he just kept on running too, disappearing into some thick bush, Even then the hartebeests didn't give up and spent a few minutes looking for him. But he was gone.

 

Unfortunately I missed the bit where they were closest to catching him because I had to change to a wider lens to try to get them all in shot - didn't seem much point in only having one party or the other. And when I realised I was going to miss it, I decided I wanted to see it, rather than missing it altogether while I fiddled with my camera. A wake up call for me though - get both cameras ready even if there doesn't seem to be anything happening,

 

 

The cheetah easily out ran them, but he got the message.

 

I wasn't sure whether to think the hartebeests had spoiled the cheetah sighting by cutting it short (it is not that easy to find cheetahs and view at OlPejeta without the ability to offroad) or made it. On reflection, they made it, although I wish they had left me a bit more time with the cheetah as the light was just about to get perfect. At the end we were left with perfect light but no cheeetah and not hartebbeests (and everything else had left the area too).

 

 

A few sights from around the conservancy.

 

 

 

Roller gives me a knowing look before flying off away from us... and I was so perfectly set up too. Look at all that space to fly into.

 

Lots of eland calves at the end of September

 

 

 

Black rhino with his trusty sidekick

 

 

And in disguise - the masked rhino

 

 

And just to show you how at a great distance a small rhino could be mistaken for a warthog.....

 

 

... well, okay - only if you don't use your binoculars or look very closely.

 

 

One day the we and the little flyer got caught out in a short rain shower. He didn't seem very impressed with this rain stuff - doubtless hadn't seen too much of it so far in his short life. I mean, I am not cherrypicking photos - this was his facial expression in almost every one in the rain.

 

 

 

Getting wetter.....

 

 

But turns out the discomfort was at least partially caused by a full bladder. Fortunately they were close to a midden and he didn't have to wait long.

 

 

... yes even at this age they use the midden - and you should have seen how fussy he was about where he would go - had to sniff about 5 locations before he was satisfied.

 

 

I liked the look of the rain on the dried mud on the skin, and managed to catch a couple of wet warthogs running past too - running past I think because they were between a Landcruiser and a White Rhino and must have been feeling very small.

 

 

 

Trying to see things from the waterbuck's perspective.

 

 

Always takes me longer than I expect to post and it's late now, so I'll have to cut this post a bit short.

[Alexander33]

@@pault

 

I am just thoroughly enjoying this report. Sorry about your head mishap, but it seems you recovered nicely enough. Based on our last three journeys, it just wouldn't be a vacation if at least one of us didn't suffer a head injury. I'm just glad on our most recent trip I was able to be the nurse instead of the patient -- a nice change.

 

Your photography is magnificent. I officially am jealous of your night shots. The springhares, the aardvark, the zorilla (never seen one) -- all leave anything I am capable of producing completely in the dust.

 

Who doesn't love a baby rhino? And your photo of the secretary bird is great.

 

Thanks for sharing this with us. Looking forward to more!

[twaffle]

I love the baby rhino in the rain, who could resist that face. A love your selection of photos, very entertaining.

[pault]

I have found a little time to finish off my little sketches of Ol Pejeta..

 

White-bellied bustard

 

 

After breakfast one morning we came across a ranger walking down the road (quite common as they monitor the rhinos on foot mostly). We slowed to say hello,and so as not to cover him in too much dust, and then stopped because from his body language it was clear he wanted us to stop. He asked us if we wanted to see some lions as he'd seen a pair not far away. We said yes, why not and when Francis asked where they wre the ranger told us he would show us. It only took us five minutes to find them - one male and one female so probably mating but they were quite far apart.

 

 

 

They were up at the top of a high slope, looking down on a luigga that still had a little water - fairly still but the female was "interested". Some zebras arrived down below at the water, and the female started to stalk. She had a long way to go to get to them so we didn't think she had much chance, but we certainly weren't about to leave at that moment. So when the ranger said "I need to get back" Francis nodded at him absent-mindedly while watching the lion. He thought he meant in a few minutes and we'd drive him. He certainly thought the conversation was going to continue,

 

But as we all watched the female there was the sound of a door shutting and a cheery "bye!" and we turned around to see the ranger strolling off down the road. Almost immediately the male stood up and started moving towards us and staring intently. "Hey! The lion's coming after you.." shouted Francis at the ranger, now 15 meters down the road.

 

"It's okay, he'll run away." shouted back the ranger with a cheery wave.

 

And at that, the lion did indeed do just that. Having seen it was a man, he scarpered up the hill, only recovering his dignity when he was safely 100 meters away from the ranger and near to some cover just in case.

 

Of course this also completely messed up whatever very slim chances the lioness might have had. The zebras saw the fleeing male and approaching human and did s abit of fleeing of their own. There was nothing to do but laugh.

 

 

 

 

Most mornings, unless we were particularly late, we would swing by a dam on the way to the house to see what was happening. The dam was of particular interest because it was a favorite hangout for one of the lion prides. We saw them there once, on the evening of the blood moon, but mostly we would just see zebras, waterbucks and impalas.

 

 

One morning we were watching the zebras coming to water when we heard a strange, chattering sound like a huge flock of birds. "What's that?" I asked Francis, testing his knowledge of bird calls. A pretty keen birder, he smiled knowingly. He knew this one.

"Schoolgirls" he replied. He was very familiar with the sounds, having one of his own back home in Nakuru. And a minute later, they arrived, causing a small stampede among the zebras.

Zebra and oxpeckers watch the arrival of the schoolgirls.

 

However, once they realised it was only schoolgirls, the zebras moved off in a much more orderly manner, accommpanied by oxpeckers. And for some social reason, one zebra had a very large number of ixpeckers on its back - up to a dozen at one point, although that made a less interesting picture as half had their backs turned.

 

 

With it being so dry, I was reminded of Etosha occasionally, which is two places I never thought I would be comparing (really Ol Pejeta is nothing like Etosha; don't get the wrong idea). And the rhino viewing was very good this time too. All we had to do was head for water roughly when they would and we'd often either meet them there or on the way there. With the elephants seemingly somewhere else, they were bosses of the waterholes.

 

One morning we came across six whites - a magnificent sight for us, but less so for a thirsty lone impala. The Impala did eventually manage to squeeze in for a drink, but that was cut short by the brouhaha that I pictured in my first Ol Pejeta post. You don't hang around when six rhinos get agitated.

 

But it was all a lot of fuss about nothing and they were soon all tolerance and peace again

 

 

 

 

Just after the hyena-warthog neighbours we came across another hyena den, and the pups there looked friendly and active.

 

Oh good, they are coming towards us.

 

 

Getting very close.... Francis is watching them with me.

 

 

 

 

Then, from the other side of the vehicle a scrabbling and scratching sound and something is underneath us. I try to take a look, but don't want to lean out to far in case Part of me becomes a chew toy. But I catch a glimpse of a hyena pulling something out from under the vehicle and scurrying off with it. Hope it wasn't something important.

 

 

But the hyena coming out from under the vehicle doesn't give us a chance to get away as another two or three have attained from the other side. The tyres are getting it.

 

And then two of them try to do a Mara cheetah on vehicle thing and get on top of the spare tyres on the rear door. But hyenas aren't very good climbers and all they succeed in doing is ripping off the tyre covers... or maybe exposing fresh tyres to chew was the whole point.

 

Not much to shoot when your minimum available focal length is 100mm.

 

 

Francis is snapping away with his camera and I wonder why he is so keen on this incident - he usually just takes a couple of photos. Slowly it dawns on me that it is for the insurance.

 

But insured or not, we have to get out of there. With the spare tyres exposed now, we are in danger! Francis gunned the engine and four fur balls flew out from under us. Then carried on with their business, and their new toy courtesy of Francis' Landcruiser.

 

 

 

Hey, come back. We're just getting started.

 

Back at the house we inspected the damage. Not too bad (apart from losing the cover to one of his spare tyres completely) it seemed, but Francis had some inspecting and fixing to do that evening.

Edited November 16, 2015 by pault

[johnkok]

Not a RIF but a carnaptious two-toned baby rhino. Love it.

[Marks]

Fantastic detail on the waterbuck horns and hyena fur.

I'd agree that the hartebeests made the cheetah sighting complete; at least from this perspective, it makes for a fun story to go along with the photos.

[Atravelynn]

I was admiring the angle on your caterpillar tree before I realized the significance of it being enveloped with "silk." Never seen that. Adorable young hyenas and your active jackal pup shots are outstanding. It really makes me want to roll around with them on the ground.

 

The boredom continues at Ol Pejeta. What a dull rhino calf; it's not doing tricks. Those dramatic skies have me bleary eyed with boredom.

 

Your meals look anything but boring!

[Zim Girl]

The rain splattered rhino are very photogenic and I love the baby at the midden. Your description of him taking his time to decide where to go made me laugh, my dog is exactly the same, especially when it is raining!!

[Kitsafari]

a two-toned baby rhino! what a cute picture he makes at the midden - doing everything naturally and still managing to look cute. LIke @@Zim Girl, i have one dog who makes 5 circles - sometimes in different areas - to find the PERFECT spot.

[Super LEEDS]

Wow timing really is key! I mean, by that time, I was hoping someone would punch you with all those damned, unbelievable sightings and the tree did just that.

 

Curb Your Enthusiasm?

[PT123]

Awesome (can you tell I'm from the '80s) rhino shots - talk about rhino happy heaven! Our guide in the Mara talks about how people regularly mistake warthogs for rhinos given the somewhat similar profile; something that I've never been guilty of : =>...

 

 

Also, I think that you should try to start an internet news story -

 

"safaritalker narrowly escapes hyena's savage mauling of jeep"

[pault]

@@Super LEEDS. Hahahaa sorry I didn't comment. You must have thought I was upset not to respond! Of course I wasn't. I had to have a very small operation and then to arrange some family visits to and fro, so have barely been around. You are right. I deserved it.

[Atravelynn]

To 103

 

God Wifi joke. Tremendous cheetah kill series. Love the little hyenas. If you were unlucky with the weather and clouds, it was the only area where you lacked luck.

[Atravelynn]

The leopard in #118 is looking rather jaguary. Oh my goodness those B&W landscapes! What a night drive. Aardvark, amazing. Your zorilla (I've seen only 1) and springhare shots are great too.

[Atravelynn]

So now I got to the true bad luck. But the fact that you lived to write about it means it wasn't that bad. What impresses me most is that you had the presence of mind and wit to make the comment about part of your brain on the floor. Moral of the story: next time listen to your wife.

[Atravelynn]

What a final Mara morning before the airstrip. That baby rhino and the antics you captured so well are just adorable.

 

I know the source of all of your good luck, despite the one bloody injury--it was good karma from you decision to support a "worthy cause" or two this safari.

[pault]

Having handed in my sicknote and reported back for duty I better get this finished.

 

Pelican House is a three-bedroom cottage with whitewashed walls and a thatched roof. It belongs in 19th century Devon, but there it is in 21st century Kenya. The bedrooms open onto a big open area with a huge wooden dining table and views of Mount Kenya (good views) where we would have had breakfast if we had ever been there for breakfast and had lunch. We ate dinner inside as it was cold in the evening, but you could have it outside too. There is a large garden, visited by black-tailed mongooses and vervet monkeys, as well as a variety of common birds (and some kind of parrot although we didn't see it for long enough to identify it - just a flash). At the dam out front, there were giraffes, waterbucks and impalas frequently and we also saw zebras, gazelles and hartebeests - oh, and a rhino by the light of the blood moon (although he also visited occasionally in the daytime). There is undoubtedly more, since we always had the feeling - backed up by fleeting glimpses when we got home at lunchtime - that there were a number of other creatures waiting for us to depart so they could get stuck into the lovely green lawn and garden.

 

We hired a cook from Ol Pejeta since we didn't really want to spend time cooking (I actually quite like the activity, but it does take time) and a housekeeper and gardener-cum odd job man come with the house. So when we brought our "driver" with us we had a full staff to deal with. I'll be honest that we hadn't really thought about that. I mean people know what to do (especially Elizabeth the housekeeper and the gardener) but on a self-catering basis like this you do actually have to tell the staff some of what you want doing and when, and you have to make the "driver"-housekeeper hierarchy clear. Elizabeth needed to know if she can chase this man away with her broom if she sees him with his nose in the fridge or feet on the furniture. Anyway, after a couple of days Francis managed to convince Elizabeth that he was a "guide" and a nice boy and she stopped looking very pointedly inconvenienced when he asked her for something. We could have avoided that if we had simply introduced him properly - after all from what she could see all he was was a very stuck-up chauffeur who had managed to weasel his way into a bedroom in the house rather than being out in the tents in the garden where he should have been.

 

I am imagining this... but I won't be that far away from the truth.

 

Another issue we had not thoroughly thought through was food. Because we used an Ol Pejeta cook rather than bring a Gamewatchers one from Nairobi, he had no idea what we wanted and didn't go shopping with us on our first trip. AS a result there wasn't enough food that he was happy cooking - and as mentioned before many missing ingredients. When he did go shopping with us we left the buying to him, as we had discussed the menus with him in what we thought was enough detail. However, as we found out when we got back - and had suspected when we paid the bill - he was used to cooking for more, and for Ol Pejeta staff and management who had been working all day. "That's enough to feed an army" may have been only a small exaggeration. Better safe that sorry? Well yes, but Francis took home 20 chicken legs and 2 kilos of steak when we left, as well as five pies, a few kilos of potatoes, 3 kilos of rice and an assortment of vegetables. The next visitors to Pelican House will also find it well stocked with herbs and spices. We just had to laugh when we saw it all.

 

But it was all good because Francis had made the serious mistake of sending his wife selfies from around Pelican House. He thought she would be happy for him with such a beautiful room, getting served, eating great food (once we got the ugali and flour for chapatis that was) and sitting in front of a roaring fire in the evening. Her response was "You are not working; you are on holiday. You are a liar and a bad one." or words to that effect. My wife tried to explain to him what as going on here - he is still quite a young man - but it was hard going getting him to understand that the difference between reality and perception is really not relevant. Perception is reality, in every way that matters. Anyway, coming home with all that great food not only showed he cared; it also kind of proved that he had indeed been working. Not exactly win-win, but some kind of a silver lining!

 

Enough potatoes for 10 - fortunately we bought the lamb and not the cook, so the amount is modest. Note homemade pumpkin soup - when we say "cook" we don't mean someone who heats up stuff from tins.

 

 

The house from outside - early evening

 

The deck and verandah

 

 

Area out front of the house for viewing the wildlife at the dam - and sunbathing if that is your thing I suppose.

 

 

Meanwhile, out and about

 

 

 

Some kind of industrial facility in the background of this one - we traveled far this day and I have no idea where we were. I hadn't seen the red and white towers/ chimneys before.

 

 

We came across the scaredy-cheetah again one evening

 

 

And this young black rhino was out on her own, although she seemed too young. What a pretty face!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now I can rest...... the lion sleeps tonight (actually this would become the blood moon later)