Lewa Safari Camp superb again June 2016

[Geoff]

Some more of Cosmic Rhino's pics...

 

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[COSMIC RHINO]

• Lewa is very special to me, it is sacred ground
• at one stage I was changing SD cards on game drive , checked in the punch I had put it , and could not find it , rechecked and it was where I thought it was, amongst blank cards looking almost the same. so I put a pencil star on the top of used cards and the location and date at the bottom
• it is probably not the best to change the card in a hurry in a moving vehicle
• the ideal given for a guide in east Africa is Megan Emmett's book GAME RANGER IN YOUR BACK PACK , I had given it to another guide before , Alex gets to look at that copy sometimes, he told politely that he would like me to get him a copy . It has some very useful and easy to understand information on the most important animals ,birds, trees and reptiles ,although it was put together about Kruger , most of it is of general application to southern and east Africa.

if you have a special interest in rhinos , the books don't have that many photos , less than 5 in an entire book , so it is a matter of what you can do for yourself and building up a bit of a collection , what has been presented here is far from all of what I have, and they were all taken by advanced compact or bridge camera , which as far as I am concerned gives a good result , no camera easily deals with the animal who is too far away, lying down ,moving too quickly or hidden in the bushes.

Edited August 1, 2016 by COSMIC RHINO

[COSMIC RHINO]

the Lewa flight can be combined with other locations in the area like Samburu and ol Pejeta.

 

my return flight had passengers going to OP, where additional passengers got on for Nairobi

 

OP uses the air strip at Nanyuki

 

When the plane lands at Wilson airport there is now someone to meet the plane with a clipboard marking of the passengers from a printed list and asking if anyone has an ongoing flight

 

people are asked to identity their bags and they are placed in a large box trailer with a push handle.

 

everyone walks over together to the arrivals building puts their checked bag and hand luggage through a scanner, then walks through a metal detector

 

this change makes it really easy to collect your luggage

 

if you kept to the luggage specifications of a small soft bag, the wash rooms are large enough for you to take your bag in with you if you were travelling alone

Edited August 2, 2016 by COSMIC RHINO

[COSMIC RHINO]

You walk through the yard ,then the gate , outside on the street you will find transfer vehicles and a taxi rank.

 

a uniformed soldier armed with a G3 automatic rifle is on the gate of the yard

 

a vehicle from the Weston hotel was waiting for me with a sign in the window with my name in very large print

 

I was back at the hotel in nearly no time and had a rest after an excursion into real life, an escape from urban consumerist nonsense

 

I take of my shirt and see some proudly acquired thorn scratches on my arms

Edited August 2, 2016 by COSMIC RHINO

[COSMIC RHINO]

I now notice that there is a small splinter under one of my finger nails, it is good to see but I don't know where I got it.

 

coming back at the end of my safari I want to keep the dirt under my fingernails as it is GABD, good Africa bush dust.

 

It does not take long to sort out my packing as I only have a small bag.

 

I have breakfast the next day, check out of the hotel ,then I am taken to my agents office, they want to meet me and have a bit of a chat , they are all interesting.

 

they are interested as to why I have a special passion for rhinos and why I keep on going back to the same place

 

they comment that I am active on Safaritalk

 

JKIA SECURITY

 

As before all passengers are checked before entering the outer airport area

 

this is now done by having people remove metal objects trouser belts, watches, keys etc which go through a scanner

the people walk through a metal detector

 

it takes a while to find the departure unit , at the entrance to the departure unit there is another scanner and metal detector , remove coats ,metal and put hand luggage through the scanner, people walk through the metal detector.

 

at the airline checkin counter people are asked to show their yellow fever certificates, if you have a good reason for not having one they accept it

 

you go through immigration and on to the airport shops and departure gates .

 

there is now a playroom for young kids supervised by their parents or carers

 

with all the security I am surprised to see someone pushing around a supermarket trolly past the shops

 

the checkin for the flight is much earlier now as the security takes more time

 

 

• people are required to show the boarding card, passport and yellow fever certificates (once again explainations for not having one are accepted)
• as per usual no belts,watches or other metal objects ,cabin luggage gets scanned
• people are required to walk through with one layer of clothing only,empty pockets ,in socks and go through a full body scanner holding nothing in their hands
• one layer of clothing only , no jackets, coats ,neck scarves etc
• everyone has to remove their shoes and place them in a plastic container

I had no problems ,they asked to look at my camera batteries.

Edited August 2, 2016 by COSMIC RHINO

[COSMIC RHINO]

I happen to meet the same friendly man from Sydney in the immigration line when I arrived and walking around the airport shops waiting for the return flight

 

RETURN FLIGHT

 

everything went fine , then getting back to ORITA Johannesburg arrivals line was a real horror

 

there were a whole lot of people already waiting there from previous flights

 

from my flight I was amongst the first to join the line, then they started a few people saying that they "needed to get through " nothing more exact than that , and they were allowed to walk through the line to towards the top . then more and more of them

 

it took me around 1 hour to get to the counter , and from my flight there was almost no one behind me

 

next time it could be a case of me needing to get through

[Atravelynn]

Page 1

 

You mention traffic in 2012--was that your last visit? It seems like you've been back to Kenya since then. Or does time fly?

 

How nice you have thought to share the interesting contents of the onboard magazines! Very thorough. No marathons for me, thank you. I might differ with you on the quad bikes, though. At reasonable speeds, of course.

 

You're a fan of the local billboards too?

 

Sound advice on the resident ostrich and fire ants at Lewa.

 

Will you be toting your cobalt blue water bottle on your next visit?

 

Looking forward to the rest of the report as only you can tell it. But on a sad note, you mention baby rhinos dying. Were there many? Do they really thing it was visitor contact? Maybe too much visitor contact? Any insight you can give is appreciated. If you address this after page 1, I'll find it tomorrow.

Edited August 10, 2016 by Atravelynn

[COSMIC RHINO]

The traffic was especially bad in 2012, I was really amazed that anyone could be so mislead as to use anti bacterial house paint , and that anyone would be allowed to sell it

 

if you don't have a problem with quad bikes perhaps you could think about going to Borana and taking a ride, then add a micro light flight when you are there

 

since they are giving out water bottles , that is something less to pack and take up weight in my small bag

 

BABY RHINOS

 

Visits were allowed , then they were discontinued as a larger hand raised rhino called Elvis was likely to walk through the area , which was not really safe for guests

 

the visits recommenced in 2015 and could be popular ,however 2 died in one year

 

the reserve administration thought that it could have been from contacting all these unfamiliar visitors

 

however , the camp manager who is a guide trainer and has a good knowledge of wildlife,things that eating sooden plants could be the explaination

 

what really happened who knows but the visits are of

[Atravelynn]

The traffic was especially bad in 2012, I was really amazed that anyone could be so mislead as to use anti bacterial house paint , and that anyone would be allowed to sell it

 

if you don't have a problem with quad bikes perhaps you could think about going to Borana and taking a ride, then add a micro light flight when you are there No microflight for me!

 

since they are giving out water bottles , that is something less to pack and take up weight in my small bag

 

BABY RHINOS

 

Visits were allowed , then they were discontinued as a larger hand raised rhino called Elvis was likely to walk through the area , which was not really safe for guests

 

the visits recommenced in 2015 and could be popular ,however 2 died in one year

 

the reserve administration thought that it could have been from contacting all these unfamiliar visitors

 

however , the camp manager who is a guide trainer and has a good knowledge of wildlife,things that eating sooden plants could be the explaination

 

what really happened who knows but the visits are of --probably best for the safety of the calves

[Atravelynn]

That 3-day old rhino is a special photo. The little guy seems quite ambulatory.

 

"this brings to mind the unwelcome advances from a male rhino which forced the much loved black rhino Samia and her calf, of the edge of a cliff, something they did not want repeated" Oh no, I hope they survived.

 

I agree that sleeping in for the last safari day is a poor use of precious time.

 

Nice that your agents are aware of your ST activity!

 

Did the toilet paper fix your memory card issues I hope?

 

This report is one of those "takes a village" approaches so your photos appeared. You could do a post of "credits" at the end.

 

GABD, love it. It belongs under your fingernails, but hope the splinter was removed without much discomfort. Congrats on those scratches too. Hope your scar lasts until the next trip.

[COSMIC RHINO]

• You could take the view that sleeping in on safari, is equivalent to paying half the full board with activities rate for breakfast at the place you are staying. No meal is worth that much.

The unwelcome advance from a male white rhino with attitude is what pushed Samia and her calf over the edge and killed them both . The offending male later became part of the group to repopulate Meru National Park . This had a very bad emotional effect on the emotions of Anna Merz , its is probably the major reason why she moved to Sth Africa.

guides actually point out the cliff where that accident happened

last year I started calling the aggressive male grumpy guy, my guide told me that this is the name guides also use for him

the SD card was ok then I decided to replace it as I had spares ,it had problems twice when the animals were good, there was no problems printing of it at the Kodak machine at Officeworks

Edited August 11, 2016 by COSMIC RHINO

[COSMIC RHINO]

• the suggestion was that it was not properly formatted

the important thing is to mark SD cards well to distinguish them from blanks and don't change them in a moving vehicle

unfortunately the scratches are gone ,the splinter is causing no trouble and will come out by itself in time

on a walking trip my long trouser legs moved a bit , I got a scratch and the outline lasted for about 2 years

a have a pric of a thorn scratch on the outside of the bony area of my left eye socket , which with any luck will never go away

the sole of my boots gets a bit loose , I glue them down on safari complete with a good quantity of GABD, there are also thorns pushed down well into the soles .

a little bit of dust sticks to the water bottle, I have no intention of ever cleaning it of

when I ask my guide what do you think is my favourite bird ? they get it right the oxpecker

I was really impressed by my group photo of Grevy's zebras, I decided to print it in sepia . I sent a A4 copy to my brother , he has seen my Lewa photos before ,but was really impressed with this one . He is seriously considering going to Lewa Safari Camp with his wife and 2 kids in December .I have a laminated a A4 copy and will be attaching a printed online calendar to use as my wall calendar

the cubicle around my desk at work has a number of laminated Lewa photos

Edited August 11, 2016 by COSMIC RHINO

[COSMIC RHINO]

I have no idea how anyone got the idea that the guides are rude, they are all kind, considerate ,polite , skilled and professional .

 

recently I have had some people say that on the phone to me at work, and all I was doing was to ask them where they were going so I could book their transport.

as is my usual practice on safari , I safari dress code clothes brown or green only, not usual urban casual wear , hiking boots, a dark brown leather sun hat , amber and orthoceras fossil pendants . later in sth Africa without being critical ,even though I had mentioned what my job was ,someone asked me if I was a geologist or archeologist .

 

whenever I am on safari I take a mini statue of Artemis, the ancient Greek goddess in a trouser pocket.

 

thanks to Geoff , Offshore birder and Superleeds for help with posting my photos

[Atravelynn]

Good advice on extra memory cards. I once had a guide open a new one, right from the pkg and it was faulty. So I always test out a new card before leaving home, both taking pics and downloading them.

 

The fatal fall of the mother and rhino calf is part of nature I guess, but sad nonetheless.

 

If you are mistaken for a geologist or archeologist, I think you are doing something right!

 

It would be great if you could accompany your brother's family to Lewa.

 

I remember your fossil and statue that accompany you. Very cool.

 

The poor guides can't please everyone and some guests probably like to be catered to and worshiped. If that doesn't happen, the guide is rude. I had a guide tell me his guests called him rude and arrogant because he refused to let them pursue animals closely on foot.

 

How nice your cubicle has an Africa theme!

 

@@Geoff, @@offshorebirder, @@Super LEEDS thanks for your artistic contributions.

[COSMIC RHINO]

• it is relatively easy to glue down the front toe area of the boot, I carry craft glue with me in its bottle within a small container ,applied with a strong twig , it dries very quickly

the promotional photographer at Africa on foot told me that SD cards are actually at their best straight out of the packet

the only thing I could work out as to why people were calling guide Alex rude is because they don't use English for radio calls , and he would nor drive of the track in areas close to the wetland where it is not permitted, or in rocky areas where the car might break down, but hey it is done on bear grllys and topgear

my cubicle does not have much more room for photos, but still I manage to fit a few more in

Edited August 13, 2016 by COSMIC RHINO

[COSMIC RHINO]

The small splinter is under my fingernail and causing no problem. there is no pain . I am not going to visit a doctor to have it pulled out , the good African bush tree micro segment can stay.

 

perhaps some female members here have a splinter, but have not noticed it due to nail polish

[Atravelynn]

Craft glue. Good idea. A guy's boot came apart on a gorilla trip once and the poor guy was planning on climbing Kili in those boots. If only he had packed craft glue. Twigs were plentiful.

 

The nail splinter finale is sublime.

[COSMIC RHINO]

craft glue fixes a whole lot of things quickly , it is a good idea to also put a small plastic food storage container around it , once my bottle of craft glue leaked within a toiletries bag ,fortunately it did not go far and the stream dried semi solid.

 

I use a twig to avoid touching the glue which is harsh on skin and fingernails

 

a transfer driver suggested taking a tube of silicone seal, something I have never tried on the toe area of boots coming loose . I keep watch of that area and don't let a crack last long before filling with craft glue

[optig]

@@COSMIC RHINO I'm sorry I couldn't meet you in Nairobi, I arrived back in Nairobi on the 12th and this time not depressed by brother's stupidity and cruelty.As you know I love reading your posts and trip reports. I will do anything I can to get cheaper rates for you;as you know I'm not in the business.

[Lois Hild Photography]

@@COSMIC RHINO

I was just in Lewa this July and also had Alex for one of the guides for my group. What he said about the grass is that it is a different type, but it is tougher than the red oat that is found in the Mara and that is why you don't find Thompson's Gazelle at Lewa, the grass is too tough for them to eat. Zebra have to eat the tops of the grass because the wildebeest aren't there to graze it down. That is part of the reason the conservancy allows controlled grazing of community cattle- to manage the pasture lands through grazing rather than burning which damages the biome.

 

Alex was a very friendly and knowledgeable guide, as was Tom, Lewa's head guide, who was the other guide for my group. I also visited Lewa Safari Camp in 2014 and had a guide named LaBan who was excellent. All are Silver level guides. The camp managers are great also, until it comes to assessing my pain level from scorpion stings. More about that in my trip report!

 

Edited August 18, 2016 by Lois Hild Photography

[COSMIC RHINO]

• well animals will do what they will and don't follow the books and scientific papers

 

• cattle from selected farmers in the surrounding area are invited in to eat the grass in areas where it is too thick, as a good way to promote good relationships with the rest of the community

 

the grass gets fertilized from the dung and not burning firebreaks eliminates the possibility of winds spreading fires wider than what was intended

 

• all the guides I have had a Lewa safari camp are very good ,Laban is the rhino specialist guide.

[Lois Hild Photography]

@@COSMIC RHINO

 

LaBan left Lewa in May and is now somewhere in the Mara. I'm trying to locate him.

[COSMIC RHINO]

Leban if I have the spelling correct was still at Lewa Safari camp , I spoke to him in the parking lot .

 

His name means leader in the Massai language

 

perhaps he was on leave some time, he lives near the Mara

 

he is the duty head guide and the rhino specalist

 

you are lucky if you get him, in 2015 he was pleased to have someone who was interested in rhinos , so everyday we skipped the sundowner and skipped most, if not all the afternoon tea

 

 

 

I have been told that most people have Lewa selected by their foreign travel agent , want to race around the place , spend little time at a siting unless it is a lion . Since there are not many lions they tend not to return

 

some people have even asked to be shown the whole reserve which is rather large

 

my guide knows there that I am there for mainly rhinos,elephants, Grevy's zebras and reticulated giraffe , have a general interest in everything except rather inactive lions.

 

I make a good impression by being interested in the animals which the conservancy was set up to protect , and since my request is simple there is no need to repeat it

Edited August 19, 2016 by COSMIC RHINO