A Tale of Two Countries - Travels through Kenya and Tanzania during the Pandemic

[Biko]

Now this is an exiting adventure, and beautiful pictures.

[Kitsafari]

I can just imagine you in the swooping plane, Sangeeta Streep.  just sorry for that moment that took a bit of shine off, but surely not enough to erase memories of that exciting flight. 

 

I've never seen rhinos fight so fiercely before. that must have been quite a sight. hopefully both weren't too injured. 

and what an astounding scene of 2 males taking down that eland giant!

 

 

[Sangeeta]

Quiz: Do you need a Covid test to enter/exit Tanzania? 

 

Well, not unless you enter Tanzania from Kenya, or not unless your airline requires it, or not unless your departure/arrival destination requires it. Or not unless the authorities change their mind at the very last minute (as happened to us).

 

On arriving in Kenya, we found the place was rife with rumors about President Magufuli (a Covid skeptic). Was he ill? Some said he was in Nairobi. No, no, said others, he had been flown to India for treatment, etc. Turns out that Magufuli had not been seen in public for weeks and there were rumors that he and many of his generals were all infected and very sick. On March 18, whilst still at Lewa, we heard the official announcement of his death. And now suddenly, Tanzania wanted a test for arriving passengers (although this requirement seems to have been lifted yet again).

 

We were headed from Lewa to Nanyuki, where Laikipia Wilderness was scheduled to meet us & drive us to LWC. Since I knew that Nanyuki had a testing lab, we opted to do the test there, so that we would have a test result within 96 hours of departing Kenya. The tech did a nasal swab test (USD 100), and we went our respective ways. The test was conducted inside our car (not in a lab setting), and so perhaps that had something to do with the fiasco that was to follow….but first let’s enjoy Laikipia Wilderness Camp  

 

The Dogs on the Hearth at Laikipia Wilderness Camp

 

 

Since its inception, LWC has been one of my favorite little camps in Africa. I was first here in 2013 and it was a perfect little  bush camp then. Eight years later, it is still is, though now comfortably faded around the edges with age.

 

I was thrilled to see Buster and Boris as we drove in - the 2 family dogs were still making the rounds and greeting visitors, I had not expected to see them at all. Buster was top dog back in 2013 and he was holding on to that alpha spot still. Boris, the Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy was all grown up now in 2021 but goofy as ever. In fact, 2 new dogs had joined the pack, including an adorable little needle-toothed chocolate lab pup and a somewhat aloof (until he let you pet him) dog called Trigger. It has always been all about dogs at LWC and long may that magic last!

 

 

 

As some of you may remember, in 2017 there was a terrible drought in Kenya, which eventually resulted in livestock herders invading private lands for access to good grazing. Along with the cattle came domesticated dogs, and in no time at all, canine distemper had raged like wildfire through the wild dog population of Laikipia and the entire population of the area had pretty much been decimated. In fact, all the seven packs studied by Ngatia, an ecologist at Laikipia’s Mpala Research Centre, died during this time. As did the packs at Ol Jogi.

 

https://phys.org/news/2017-09-wildlife-price-kenya-illegal-grazing.html

 

https://www.rufford.org/projects/dedan-ngatia/protecting-human-and-wildlife-health-during-political-upheaval-rabies-and-canine-distemper-in-rural-kenya/

 

The Phoenix Pack rises from the Ashes

 

 

 

When the carnage was over, there was 1 female dog left on the ranch. She survived against all odds (and because of the abundant availability of prey dikdik) until she met up with 2 wandering males and these 3 banded together to form the nucleus of new pack. Tragedy struck again when the new alpha male was killed by a leopard (am I right @VikramGhanekar – and do you have any images/stories from your visit that you could share?). At that point, the second of the 2 males took over as alpha male, and here is a beautiful portrait of that handsome, tenacious survivor, taken last month by Dave.

 

 

 

https://medium.com/@exploreorg/african-wild-dogs-new-litter-means-they-are-on-the-comeback-trail-30fea9cd718d

 

https://mpala.org/rise-of-the-wild-dog-phoenix-pack/

 

The alpha female was heavily pregnant and went into den 1 or 2 days before we arrived, so we despaired that perhaps we would not see the dogs at all. But luck was with us…. The yearlings were curious, spontaneous, naughty and altogether gorgeous! I used to prefer the lighter coats of the southern African wild dogs, but seeing what these chaps have gone through, I am partial to their dark coats now  

 

A few doggie portraits for your viewing pleasure…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some LWC highlights:

 

-          The whole pack playing at the dam one afternoon, mock charging everything that came their way, including ellies and an adult Grevy’s.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-          Spotted hyenas at an eland kill with a lion chased up a tree; also saw the beginnings of 2 clans getting ready to go to war over the carcass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-          A leopard-dikdik hunt.

 

 

 

 

 

-          Mr Crocodile Dundee with Mr Puff Adder.

 

 

 

 

-          Lovely large flocks of cobalt-colored vulturine guinea fowl.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve (Carey) was busy with a student group in Turkana when we arrived (though we met on the last day), so the other Steve was assigned to us during our stay. He was a superb guide, really terrific. A quiet man who knows every inch of the terrain, he was an excellent tracker & spotter as well, and familiar enough with the wild dogs to anticipate their behavior.

 

 

We spent a lovely afternoon with the dogs at the dam, and had hoped to see them the following day as well (our last full day at LWC), but… oh no, no, were we all done with those wretched Covid tests? Not yet, not by a long shot, nopes.

 

 

But before we get into those travails, thank you Steve (Carey), Steve (the guide), Ken (camp manager), Annabelle, the trackers and the rest of the team at Laikipia Wilderness. It was all just as wonderful as I remembered it from all those years ago - I had waxed poetic about leopards and dogs to Dave and LWC came through in every way. Also, if you're a foodie, take note - this camp serves some of the most delicious meals in all of Africa. Thank you for everything, and especially with the last day arrangements.

 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2021 by Sangeeta

[gatoratlarge]

You really know how to create suspense!!!  Cliff hanger!

[SafariChick]

Fabulous report so far, @Sangeeta! As you know, I will tease you mercilessly from now on about the phone since I am normally the one teased for losing things on safari! Great photos from everyone, and you saw so much!! So glad the dogs have managed to recover at LWC. Looking forward to more! 

[Biko]

So good to see that you were able to see the dogs at LWC even when the alpha female was in the den.

 

I am curious to learn what has gone wrong with a PCR test.......

[Caracal]

This is great @Sangeeta

That first photo of a distant Mt Kenya stopped me in my tracks and momentarily transported me way back to my first sighting of a distant Mt Kenya in 1996.

What great variety of sightings already in this report - the lion receiving an eland kickback, a delightful pair of klipspringers, great rhino and dog photos etc

An appropriate Dickensian quote isn't coming to mind at the moment but I'm looking forward to the next instalment.

 

[Kitsafari]

DOGS! 

 

[Pamshelton3932]

 @gatoratlargeI was thinking the same thing about it sounding like a scene from "The God''s Must Be Crazy!"  This has been such fun to read and the pictures are outstanding.

 

[shazdwn]

Fantastic report, what great sightings you had and you portray it so well.  

[RC88COR]

On 4/12/2021 at 4:48 PM, Sangeeta said:

Wow, Sangeeta, I would have been pulling my hair out! The clock-ticking PCR tests are a deterent. 

 

 

 

[RC88COR]

On 4/21/2021 at 1:49 PM, Sangeeta said:

 

 

 

 

your phone ... This is the best story ever! I can't stop laughing. Right up there with the toilet paper. 

 

Edited May 3, 2021 by RC88COR

[RC88COR]

And the photos are stunning!

[Towlersonsafari]

splenid trip report so far with stunning photos and so glad you made the effort and didn't just "phone it in"  @Sangeeta

[Atravelynn]

What a phone story!  Hope it is ok I was laughing.  The series of lion kill shots if phenomenal.  I was a little surprised at all the tail pulling!

[michael-ibk]

Wow, riveting stuff, what an excellent trip report this is! Really outstanding photos from Dave, and great storytelling. Very happy to hear about the Laikipia Dogs rising again. But come on now @Sangeeta, you're overdoing it with the cliffhanger situation now. Get on with it! 😁

[gatoratlarge]

My fingers are slipping!  

[Super LEEDS]

On 4/12/2021 at 9:44 PM, Sangeeta said:

Tanzania section in the Tz sub-forum

 

Where, please?

[Sangeeta]

Sorry guys - Michael is right - I really did overdo the cliffhanger bit. So here goes...

 

Hard Times (yes, turns out that Dickens has a book by that name !)

 

On the morning of our last day at LWC, we headed out early, hoping once again to find the dogs at the dam. It was another exhilarating morning in Africa, the air fresh and crisp as it always is in the pre-dawn hours, and the promise of another wonderful day ahead. Alas, that was not to be. While we were still chasing down tracks and talking to the ranch workers to see if they had seen any sign of the dogs, my phone pinged. (For those of you who may be curious - this was my back-up phone, now equipped with a Kenyan SIM card – not the one I had tossed into the air from the plane at Lewa!). Here were the results of the Covid test we had done in Nanyuki en route to LWC. I was not concerned about the results (after all,  I had tested negative 3 times in the last week already, hadn’t I). But when I clicked on the email notification from the lab, it was with a sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach that I saw the letters POSITIVE.

 

WHAT?? What? What were they talking about? I felt fit as a fiddle, I had last been tested within hours of landing in Kenya (at Frankfurt Airport), I had definitely not contracted Covid at either Lewa WC or Laikipia WC – the ONLY possibility was the flight from Frankfurt-Nairobi, but I had been in an empty business class cabin on Ethiopian, so that was unlikely too. How could this be? Also, Covid symptoms (if any) usually manifest within 7 days of contracting the disease (said Dr. Dave), and here I was on day 8 and completely asymptomatic. But IF this was not a false positive, then I had better isolate myself asap, else I risked infecting a bunch of other people too. Oh no, no, no ☹☹ ☹ And poor Dave, even though he was fully vaccinated, he had been in the vehicle with me for days now. Yikes, ouch, oh no! But he turned out to be the best of safari companions (other than calling me "Typhoid Mary" for the rest of the trip, which cracked me up, stressed though I was ) and he was kind enough to give up a night at LWC to head back with me to Nairobi for all the extra testing.

 

We called Steven, who was just back from a trip to Turkana, and headed back to camp asap. I called a colleague in Nairobi who set up a rapid antigen + another PCR test for me for that afternoon. Steven had his own rapid antigen test waiting for me back at camp. I spat into the tube, shook the reagents and waited anxiously for the results, and very shortly the results came back – I was negative. Whew. In the meantime, the camp manager Ken had chased down an airplane that was dropping off guests to Nanyuki, and after quick goodbyes to Steven and the rest of the team, we skittered off to the airstrip as if all the dogs in Laikipia were chasing after us!

 

Once in Nairobi, it was straight off to the lab for 2 more tests ($170). I did one more Rapid Antigen Test to reconfirm that I was negative (thankfully yes!) and then it was time for another nasal & throat swab & another RT-PCR test. These results would come back in 12 hours, so at about 2 pm that night. But armed with 2 negative Rapid Antigen tests & normal temps, I felt okay heading off to my hotel room for the evening. Oof, what a day it had been. I was up that night, watching TV as I waited for the hours to creep by. The results came back at 1PM, so a bit early. It was negative, and all was well with the world – I could proceed to Tanzania as planned, but I had made it by the skin of my teeth.

 

Moral of the story: This is NOT the time for a DIY safari to Africa. Rules can change on a dime and things can go terribly wrong in the blink of an eyelid. False positive results can and do happen. Every single camp that I visited went above and beyond to help when asked, but there are a lot of moving parts on an African safari, and I think you’ll find that in these uncertain times, it is best to outsource the firefighting.

[Sangeeta]

On 6/21/2021 at 7:29 AM, Super LEEDS said:

 

Where, please?

Just now being created in the Tz sub-forum @Super LEEDS

 

Sorry for this delay, I really am.

[Caracal]

I see that David has a great sense of humour @Sangeetaaka Typhoid Mary!

What a disruption to your safari with that false positive. I've taken on board the Moral of the Story in these challenging times.

Yes I well remember Dicken's Hard Times - I had to study it for exams more moons ago than I care to remember!

Can't forget Mr Gradgrind!

A bit off topic I know but here's a quote from Hard Times that somehow has some relevance in these covid times especially with your experience:-

 

"Are you in pain, dear mother?"

"I think there's a pain somewhere in the room" said Mrs Gradgrind, "but I couldn't positively say that I have got it."

Edited July 14, 2021 by Caracal

[Zubbie15]

I think a false positive is one of my main concerns about traveling right now, thankfully you had the flexibility to resolve the issue. 

 

I really enjoyed this section, looking forward to Tanzania! 

[Kitsafari]

Oh No! what an awful awful fright and scare. I'm glad it turned out negative,, but what a huge disruptor it must  have been. I never thought about this hiccup. 

[philw]

great report and magnificent photos - thanks for sharing. Good to hear at least one pack survive in Lakipia