DECEMBER 7th (FIRST DAY AT SAMBURU GAME RESERVE)
We arrived at the Wilson Airport for a 9 o'clock flight to the Samburu
Game Reserve. We flew in a 12-seater Air Kenya plane with 3 other
passengers. We couldn't have asked for a smoother flight or for
better visibility. Mike and his parents were thrilled to have the
opportunity to fly so close to several significant landmarks in
Kenya. The 2 sites they enjoyed the most were the Aberdare Mountains
and Mount Kenya. I enjoyed seeing these areas for their beauty but
lacked the emotional attachment they seem to have for these
mountains. After all, they are the ones that have spent many years in
Kenya. I have only been there twice on vacation.
Soon after we landed, we met up with our driver, Sammy. “Oh good, he
drives a van with a pop-up top. He doesn't have one of those
open-sided Land Rovers like the one we had at Masai Mara,” I
calmly said to myself. “We have 2 young children with us this
time.” You wouldn't believe all the wildlife we saw on our way
to our cabin! There were several of each type: a troop of baboons, a
herd of elephants, a half a dozen giraffe, a dozen impala, a few
water bucks, and several small antelope known as the dik-dik. I was
on a safari going from the airstrip to our cabin! WOW!
We were taken by the beautiful scenery of the Uaso Nyiro River. About
half of a kilometer down the river, we could see about 8-12 elephants
at a time crossing the river in single-file. It looked like an
elephant scene out of the movie “Jungle Book.” I could
almost hear these elephants marching to 1-2-3-4...keep it up...2-3-4.
One of the workers stated that numerous elephants had been crossing
the river all day. Sammy told us there are 850 elephants in the park.
(I think I saw every single one of them today!) There were
several crocodiles in the river. Weaverbirds could be heard quite
clearly along the water due to the large number of them nested in an
acacia tree across the river. Around the grounds, lizards were
everywhere. There was also a troop of vervet monkeys hanging out.
They made themselves right at home. Adding to the atmosphere of the
reserve were the Samburu people. They were dressed in their
traditional clothes while carrying their spears. There was a lot to
absorb in our immediate surroundings.
At 4 p.m., we were off to our first game drive. At this point, I was
convinced I had already been on one. Every few minutes, we
would see a new animal. My in-laws were told that Samburu Game
Reserve is smaller than most game parks, but has a higher
concentration of animals. Having experienced the reserve for one day,
we knew they were serious. It was awesome to experience so much in
such little time! There were at least five to six different types of
antelopes. We saw approximately a dozen elephants crossing the river
on the drive. You wouldn't believe how close the driver got to them!
I could have reached out and touched them! We were practically
blocking their path while they were emerging from the river. Sammy
told us we would be fine as long as we didn't separate a mother and
her baby. I had no problem following this rule! We saw one
very sleepy male lion under a tree. He ended up being our only lion
sighting. I didn’t mind since they do make me a bit nervous.
There were some other interesting encounters. We spotted our first
Grevy’s Zebra. Later, we watched a 3-foot monitor lizard
climbing a termite hill. What a pretty sight that was! We saw
vultures, weaverbirds, storks, an orange-bellied parrot, hornbills,
and guinea fowl. My experience was out of “The Lion King”
movie!
DECEMBER 8th (SECOND DAY AT SAMBURU GAME RESERVE)
Our day started with a knock at the door with one of the workers stating,
"Wake up Call!" This is another way of saying, "Get up
now! Your game drive will be starting in a half an hour!" Within
minutes, we were at the coffee bar overlooking the river. There was
tea and coffee waiting with a few sugar cookies on the side. As we
were leaving the area and were heading back to our room, we ran
across a few mother vervet monkeys holding their babies. It was too
sweet of a sight to pass up for a photograph. While I was taking a
picture of a mother and her young, a large troop of these monkeys
quickly began encircling me. Oops! I forgot! I had 2 sugar cookies in
my hand and they wanted them! Needless to say, they won the
cookies by using their clever method of intimidation. I went against
the Samburu Lodge policy of DO NOT feed the monkeys, but
hey...I left the grounds without a bite or a scratch! Later that day,
my mother in-law lost her undeveloped film to one of these wonderful
creatures. He had the nerve to help himself inside her open purse to
get it out. One of the workers suggested bribing the monkey with some
food. My mother-in-law eventually did get her film back, but the
bright yellow box went missing. Curious George does
exist after all!
For our first game drive of the day, we went across a bridge to the
opposite side of the river. In many ways, the drive differed from
yesterdays. We found our first herd of buffalo in the park that
morning. We ran across a family of elephants eating in the bush. The
largest elephant of the herd had a monitor on its head. Apparently,
these elephants were being tracked for studying the movement of them.
Sammy told us that when the elephants sense it is going to rain, they
do not cross the river in fear that they will be unable to get back
on the side of the river they call home. I found this so fascinating!
It was better than watching National Geographic on television!
Mike and I went for a bird-watching tour at the lodge. Jacob gave a
wonderful tour. He was very knowledgeable about the birds of the
area. He was extremely sensitive to every movement in the trees and
bushes. He certainly seemed to have his birdcalls figured out. It was
like being out in the bush with Tarzan.
At 3 o'clock, we were off to our second game drive of the day. The
highlight was definitely going to a Samburu village. I kind of knew
what to expect because I had been to a Masai village 10 years prior.
Sammy brought us to the village. Unfortunately, Evan fell asleep
therefore did not experience visiting the village. Sammy offered to
baby-sit him while went on our tour. Julianne came in with us with
some hesitation. The different culture was a bit overwhelming for
her. We meet the village guide who spoke English very well. Good
communication with the guide really helped us feel more at ease. He
gave us a lot of information regarding the people of Samburu and
their lifestyle. He allowed us in his “meeting room.” Their
meeting area consisted of an acacia tree surrounded with thorn
bushes. Apparently, no women of the village are allowed there. It was
a privilege to be allowed in as a woman! The meeting area is where
the male elders of the village gather and make the decisions for the
people. At the entryway, there were several children of varying ages.
How do I break the ice with children of such a different culture and
speaking a different language? I knew a smile or two would work. The
*high five* worked as well. They sang us some songs when we entered the village. Later, the guide
showed us where the women spent most of their time. They sat outside
one of the huts and made beaded necklaces, bracelets, and other items
for themselves and for the tourists to buy in the markets. The
Samburu young males showed us how they started fire with their
special “Samburu Matchbox.” The guide proceeded to show us
inside one of the huts. The roof was made of cardboard with plastic
on top to keep it waterproofed. Inside, there was an area to sleep.
The kitchen consisted of a few gourds (to mix cow's milk with its
blood), drinking cups, a fire pit and a pot. Animal skins were on the
floor for comfort. I didn't see much else because a two-year-old
child grabbed all my attention in the hut. Later, the women showed us
a traditional dance on the grounds. Within minutes after the show,
the women were all lined up in the center of the village and opened a
market for us. We were not prepared to buy much therefore we had very
little money on us. It was extremely overwhelming how much they had
for sale. I was uncomfortable regarding how much attention we got.
Julianne did get to buy six bracelets. What an experience for a
six-year-old girl! Overall, we were quite comfortable and felt very
welcomed by the people of Samburu. Thanks to our driver Sammy and our
guide. Hopefully our entry fee, money for the bracelets, and the tip
for our guide will help these people. I know a lot of the money is
supposed to go for the children's education.
DECEMBER 9th (THIRD DAY AT SAMBURU GAME RESERVE)
The safari ended on a very quiet note. Sammy searched for the cats. We
had seen cheetah tracks 2 days in a row but there was no cat in
sight! We did get to experience the lovely but awkward marabou stork
that morning. They look like old hunched-back men in a tuxedo. They
could easily pass for undertakers. I think they are charming but no
one agrees with me. We did get to see two Crested-Cranes on this
journey. This type of bird is Uganda's national bird. Our last
interesting sighting was a foot long turtle tracking along at snail
speed. At that point of our safari, we all somewhat resembled this
lethargic looking creature. We were utterly exhausted, in a good way
of course. We were certainly ready to leave that morning. It
definitely had been a very positive experience for all of us.
Don and Thelma liked it so much, they are seriously considering coming
back next August for their 40th anniversary.
We had a good view of Kikuyu farmland on the way back to Nairobi via
airplane. It was certainly nice to see all the greenery along the
hillsides. It is a clear indication that the food source is good for
these Kenyan farmers. Thank goodness for the recent rain!
To the Coast
Write to me at bernadine@kijabe.org
We were taken by the beautiful scenery of the Uaso Nyiro River. About
half of a kilometer down the river, we could see about 8-12 elephants
at a time crossing the river in single-file. It looked like an
elephant scene out of the movie “Jungle Book.” I could
almost hear these elephants marching to 1-2-3-4...keep it up...2-3-4.
One of the workers stated that numerous elephants had been crossing
the river all day. Sammy told us there are 850 elephants in the park.
(I think I saw every single one of them today!) There were
several crocodiles in the river. Weaverbirds could be heard quite
clearly along the water due to the large number of them nested in an
acacia tree across the river. Around the grounds, lizards were
everywhere. There was also a troop of vervet monkeys hanging out.
They made themselves right at home. Adding to the atmosphere of the
reserve were the Samburu people. They were dressed in their
traditional clothes while carrying their spears. There was a lot to
absorb in our immediate surroundings.
Our day started with a knock at the door with one of the workers stating,
"Wake up Call!" This is another way of saying, "Get up
now! Your game drive will be starting in a half an hour!" Within
minutes, we were at the coffee bar overlooking the river. There was
tea and coffee waiting with a few sugar cookies on the side. As we
were leaving the area and were heading back to our room, we ran
across a few mother vervet monkeys holding their babies. It was too
sweet of a sight to pass up for a photograph. While I was taking a
picture of a mother and her young, a large troop of these monkeys
quickly began encircling me. Oops! I forgot! I had 2 sugar cookies in
my hand and they wanted them! Needless to say, they won the
cookies by using their clever method of intimidation. I went against
the Samburu Lodge policy of DO NOT feed the monkeys, but
hey...I left the grounds without a bite or a scratch! Later that day,
my mother in-law lost her undeveloped film to one of these wonderful
creatures. He had the nerve to help himself inside her open purse to
get it out. One of the workers suggested bribing the monkey with some
food. My mother-in-law eventually did get her film back, but the
bright yellow box went missing. Curious George does
exist after all!
We had a good view of Kikuyu farmland on the way back to Nairobi via
airplane. It was certainly nice to see all the greenery along the
hillsides. It is a clear indication that the food source is good for
these Kenyan farmers. Thank goodness for the recent rain!
To the Coast
