A Return to Kenya: September 2019

[TonyQ]

Night Drive

One option in Naboisho is to do a night drive. You have dinner a bit early (about 7pm) and then go out for a drive in the conservancy for about an hour and a half. For this activity, another member of staff joins the drive to use the spotlight. The spotlights are red, to protect the animals’ eyes and this does make photography a bit more difficult. (I have converted to Black and White as I prefer it to red and black!)

Bat-eared Fox

Bushbaby

Springhare – there were a lot of these and it was really interesting to see them hop along - a bit like mini-kangaroos!

 

We also saw Genet and Scrub Hare. We didn’t see a huge number of different species, but it was very enjoyable

[TonyQ]

Love and Death Part 3

 

We saw lions mating most days we were in Naboisho. It became easier to spot the different aspects of the behaviour, especially as the mating was repeated after a 15minutes or so rest

 

A bit of a yawn and a growl from the male

Looking into the eyes

And reinforcing the bond

 

Male follows female

Nuzzles the neck

Bites the neck and mates

A big growl

Female rolls on back

 

Rest and repeat!

[KaliCA]

Great job on the LBR in flight. Wonderful sequence of lions mating as well. Last pic should have a caption with the lioness saying “ready for my cigarette now.” 

Isn't it interesting  how all lions follow the  exact same pattern and sequence and the female is always in charge! Hmmmmm.

Keep them coming!

[Lubanga]

Range of Animals very impressive.  The Serval is usually extremely  shy it really  is impressive   getting the  Shots yiu did on the trot

[Atdahl]

Awesome shots @TonyQ!  Isn't the springhare great!?  We loved watching them quickly hop around during our night drives but it sure was hard to get a decent picture.  You did a good job.

[Amylovescritters]

Awesome pics! We saw a large mob of Banded Mongoose in TZ with numerous young. They all scooped up little ones and fled quickly. We cherished this sighting. I, too, adore hyena. I have only seen spotted in the wild. Hoping that might change this March in Botswana (maybe Brown or aardwolf). They are definitely vilified unjustly, and undervalued as a cunning, incredible predator. They have such intriguing hierarchy and clan/cackle  dynamics.

[Kitsafari]

catching up with the TR - great photos as always. you can't go wrong with Mara conservancies - they are always pumping with wildlife and the landscapes are just stunning. I too found Mara North's landscapes varied and very interesting. 

Kicheche camps are always well run and managed by the camp staff. and their guides are still among the best. I had a beef with the top management and although Herman will return to them, I'm not sure if I would want to support the top management. 

 

Love the shots in Naboisho - your sightings show that it rivals Mara North and OMC in terms of seeing a diversity of wildlife.

aren't the hyena cubs the cutest?!

 

[mapumbo]

Those are some well groomed healthy looking hyenas.

I was hoping you were on Christmas break @TonyQ

[TonyQ]

@KaliCA @Lubanga @Atdahl@Amylovescritters @mapumbo  thank you

@Kitsafari  thank you. We are happy with Kicheche, but there are other fine camps in the consevancies as well

 

So to continue with a bit more - to give a flavour of what was there

There were lots of GIraffe in Naboisho, and we are always happy to see and watch them

Many in the distance as well as those close by

 

 

One afternoon we saw this mother with a very young baby

Bernard asked if we wanted to go closer, but we said we didn't want to disturb them, and we could see well from where we were.

 

Giraffe are also useful for finding Cheetah - if you see a Giraffe staring for some time it is worth going to see what it is staring at!

 

Beautiful eyes in lovely late afternoon light

 

The light was going but cheetah are always great to watch

 

 

[TonyQ]

Some more herbivores - there was a good range

Thomson's Gazelle testing each other out

Zebra - it looks friendly

Grant's Gazelle

We also saw some Elephant at a mineral source. They got double value out of this. They come here to eat the mud for the mineral content, but they also take a dust bath. Fascinating behaviour to watch.

 

 

[TonyQ]

And a few more selected birds

 

(F+M) Pygmy Falcon

in flight - these birds are tiny, and lovely to see

Three-banded Plover

Common Ostrich - female display to attract mate

Bare-faced Go-Away Bird

Green Wood-Hoopoe - very striking birds

Helmeted Guineafowl - very common and easy to forget about!

Marico Sunbird - we saw a few of these, but this was the most cooperative on, sitting out in nice light showing of the stunning metallic colours

Rufous-Crowned or Purple Roller - our only sighting of this species of roller

Striped Kingfisher - these were also very cooperative, sitting out by the side of the track, not bothered by us at all

 

And to finish this block, another sunset. Help yourself to a drink and some snacks!

 

 

 

[Kitsafari]

baby giraffes are so cute!

stunning sunset

[Atdahl]

Wow!  Beautiful photos.  I agree that sunset shot is stunning.

[TonyQ]

@Kitsafari @Atdahl thank you for your kind comments

And now I will finish....

 

 

We had the opportunity to visit a different Hyena den, so were delighted to do that. Apologies for misguided folk who do not like them – but here are a few more. Again it was fascinating and very enjoyable to watch the interactions.

This youngster headed out to our vehicle when we arrived, just to see what was going on

 

A very young baby coming from underground to see what is around

Joined by a sibling

 

A bit of grooming

Some affection with mother

 

 

And it all gets a bit tiring....

[TonyQ]

A few other creatures

Hartebeeste - not seen very often, but a handsome creature

Nubian Woodpecker

Silverbird

[TonyQ]

And on our final morning we visited a waterhole and were pleased to see a large group of Elephant visiting

 

 

 

 

So a nice way to finish the final drive

[TonyQ]

We had arranged for a late departure on our final day, catching an afternoon flight to Nairobi, so we had a full morning game drive. The airstrip is just a short drive from camp, the plane stopped at three or four other airstrips on the way.

 

We were back in Nairobi time to go to Ole Sereni for a curry on their terrace and plenty of time to catch our international flight back to the UK

 

Kicheche Valley and Naboisho

We really enjoyed our time here. The camp was very comfortable and the food was good (diet well catered for). Again our guide, Bernard, was excellent. The camp was well run by Andy, and he was good company at dinner. Front of house had the very friendly Joyce and Maurice who were always very helpful.

 

There were a number of resident Hyrax living around (and possibly under!) our tent, so I will finish with them

Resident Hyrax

 

The overall trip was excellent, we really enjoyed all of it, and I am sure that at some time in the future we will return to Kenya.

[Kitsafari]

And baby hyenas like their adults are even cuter! 

Thanks fir sharing your trip and your awesome images and thoughts. 

[Zim Girl]

Great report Tony, I also enjoyed seeing all the hyena pictures.  The very young ones are totally adorable.

[Towlersonsafari]

I have just spent a very enjoyable lunch hour reading your splendid report     @TonyQ now wondering why we have not been to Kenya-save an add on with Rwanda-lovely sightings and photo's. We stayed at Kicheche Mara and thought it was a wonderful camp

thanks for a great report

[michael-ibk]

I am really glad you decided to do this report after all Tony - as always, a joy to read from start to finish. I share your fondness of Hyena but confess I am not sure if I´d qualify Hartebeest as "handsome". 

[Zubbie15]

Thanks for sharing @TonyQ a very enjoyable read. I've never seen very young hyenas, they are definitely quite cute! 

[chui71]

really nice pictures. thanks for sharing. I also like hyenas and their cubs are always very cute too watch. 

Edited May 19, 2020 by chui71