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Majestic Moorlands, Peaks and Falls - a Return to the Aberdares


michael-ibk

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michael-ibk

And not only one Eland, there was a whole herd of them. With Zebras:

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Cheating just a bit here. These were actually not on Sandai ground but one of the neighbours´, so all of these pics were taken through the fence. Still, we were surprised that they let us approach that closely on foot, especially the Elands which are normally very skittish.

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We soon were surrounded by Sandai´s horses (with donkey!). And some Impalas and Tommies in the background.

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Riding is an optional acitivity at Sandai but we never got around to doing it, mostly because we don´t know one thing about horsebacks. As a matter of fact I can proudly say that I´ve spent more time on elephants than horses.

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But there´s a very intriguing possibility for experienced riders. One can go to one of the neighbouring reserves on horseback, and ride among Giraffes, Buffaloes or Elephants. Sounds fantastic, but sensibly that´s only an option if you are a proficient equestrian.

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No farm complete without cows of course.

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Lukas, the underdog of the trio. Charly and even Roxy are so much more "boss" than him I always felt a bit sorry for him. The Impalas and Tommies always were very wary of us. The dogs actually, and they only had to move a bit in their direction and they were dashing off.

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After about two hours we finally strolled back to the farm.

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Not completely sure about this one, probably a female African Golden Weaver.

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We enjoyed some coffee and water on the terrace. Even though I had applied suncream I had clearly been quite negligent about some areas and had underestimated the power of the Equatorian sun even on a cloudy day - I was badly sunburnt especially in the hollows of my knees. Petra knew what do do and cut some Aloe Vera for me which really helped a lot.

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The terrace is a good place for watching birds, Petra has some feeders there. My favourites were the Red-Billed Firefinches.

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We also had a reptilian visitor. :)

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Swallows are having their nest straight under the terrace roof, and were very busy caring for their insatiable offspring. Not sure about the species, probably Rock Martins?

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Sandai´s living room. Not much used during the day, but a wonderful gathering place for everybody. Get a GT here (or two. or three.), have Hedgie the cat nestling up to you, just sitting and watching the chimney fire - doesn´t get much more comfortable.

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After our walk Charly, Lukas and Roxa accompanied us of course to make sure we were alright - and completely crashed on our terrace, sleeping like logs. Clearly we had overstrained them. :)

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michael-ibk

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In the afternoon we explored the opposite side of the farm area. Guide Alfred accompanied us, he was very good at pointing out birds for me which I would have completely overlooked. This time, we left the dogs behind not to scare everything away.

 

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Yellow Bishop

 

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Lesser Honey-Guide. Alfred (a very keen and knowledgeful birder) was excited to see this one, apparently they are not very common.

 

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Collared Sunbird

 

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Chin-Spot Batis

 

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We took it as a happy omen when we reached this small creek overgrown with lucky charms. All of these were four-leaved. :)

 

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Euphorbia trees

 

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Some kind of Thunbergia

 

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There´s another pond down here, the perfect resting place.

 

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Yellow-Billed Duck

 

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A Red-Headed Weaver was working restlessly on his nest here.

 

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Two different kinds of Faboideae

 

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Black-Crowned Tchagra

 

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Some kind of Lantana

 

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We didn´t find mammals on our walk except a hare we startled - and which was gone much too quick for even thinking about using the camera. Back up on the meadows this Shrike posed nicely for us. Probably a common, though a bit stocky for that.

 

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Grey Heron

 

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It had been a lovely walk in a very relaxed pace. Petra brought some drinks out, and we had some wine and GT in the fading evening light. And then, after a sumptous dinner we had more wine and GT and called it a day at the chimney. :)

 

Tomorrow would be "proper safari time" again - Ol Pejeta!

 

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SafariChick

Thanks so much for including the price, and even kindly translating it into USD for us Americans! That is really so reasonable considering all the different options you have, to go to Solio, Ol Pejeeta, the Aberdares, etc. with private guide! This is seeming more and more tempting - I can't wait to hear about what you saw at Ol Pejeeta! Hope that is coming today (my time - it's noon Sunday here!)

 

Good for you for telling her about Nutella and her for agreeing to stop serving it. I tell everyone about it and we try to buy nothing with Palm Oil in it though of course it is so hard these days. Eating as close to whole foods and unprocessed helps.

 

Interesting that they see wild dogs there yet it is fenced because of the neighbors. I wonder do the dogs jump the fences? They can't live there all the time, surely.

 

Are the cows and so on used for meat or do they just keep them for milk, butter etc.? It seems a lot of animals to keep up with in addition to hosting guests!

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michael-ibk

@@SafariChick

 

Sorry to disappoint, but no Ol Pejeta today - my time is "Go to bed soon" time. :)

 

Yes, that palm oil stuff is tricky, but I try to avoid it as best as I can, too. It´s a good thing I am no politician - some weeks ago Segolene Royal did what I just did, spoke out again Nutella! Oh my, huge backlash, and being a (French) politician she had to "sincerely apologize" because she had not "researched carefully enough" about the "environmentally sustainable palm oil industry".

 

I expect the Dogs are coming and going under the fence. Tommies do, too. Impalas and sometimes Elands are jumping it, though, as Paul told me.

 

The cows are probably just there for home requirements, ie for milk. Not a lot of them, maybe 10 or something like that. They also have geese and hens, I think.

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The terrace looks like an incredibly lovely place to relax.

 

I've never particularly cared for Nutella, but I know there are many knockoff varieties out there now, hopefully some of them are free of palm oil for those who like the taste.

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SafariChick

@@michael-ibk yes there is supposedly a sustainable palm oil industry and a group that producers can sign on to be part of swearing they are doing it sustainably but Birute Galdikas and others say there is a lot of corruption and it's not clear they are really doing it the way they say.

 

ah well, understandable I will have to wait for Ol Pejeeta. Thanks for answering my questions though - sweet dreams!

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Great information and pictures for Sandai. It does look like a really good option for that area.

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madaboutcheetah

Michael,

 

Just catching up with this report and missed installments - so glad I found it this evening. Of late, it's been hard to keep track of relevant current topics ......

 

So glad you make the case for Kenya -

Cheers

Hari

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Looks like such a peaceful spot...enjoyed all the birds,

 

and the dogs!

 

Looking forward to Ol Pejeta!

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The farm looks like a great place to stay - lots accessible from here

(and a good supply of Gin and Tonic from the sound of it....)

The dogs looked really tired after walking with you.

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@@michael-ibk

 

What a great idea to have a day to do 'nothing'. The farm looks a great place to stay and with lots of nooks and seating areas to sit and relax, watch the world go by (birds mostly by the looks of it), drink the odd G&T :) Reasonable prices. Particularly for your own car and guide.

Not too sure though how I would feel about being outside a park/reserve. I tend to want to stay in the thick of it :) But maybe it's time to try something new!

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Shangri la found. What a little piece of paradise for some down time, exotic flowers, colourful birds, ducks on ponds, a beautiful home, even some transient wildlife, you can feel the good karma all around you. Lovely, thanks for sharing.

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Great to see photos of Sandai. Happy to hear Lukas and Hedgie are still around. Looking forward to more.

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michael-ibk

Thanks, @@Patty , @@elefromoz , @@CaroleE , @@TonyQ , @@graceland , @@madaboutcheetah , @@Zim Girl and @@Marks .

Patty, somewhere I must have photos of Hedgie, will show up in this report sooner or later.

Carole, I know what you mean and I wouldn´t for the world have to give up on tented camps in the middle of wilderness. Roaring lions, Hyenas, Zebras snickering, the sound of the darkness ... nothing can top that. Sandai is something different, yes, but great in its very own way. It doesn´t have to be either or, next time I definitely want to do some camps "out there" AND Sandai, so to have the best of both worlds. :)

 

Tony, they also have lots of beer. :)

 

@@SafariChick

 

Well, who knows, maybe some of them are doing it sustainable, whatever that means in the palm oil industry, but better to avoid the stuff completely, I´d say - which is hard enough since it´s often not clearly labelled.

Initially we had not been completely sure if we wanted to do Ol Pejeta. It is a good 90 minute drive up North from Sandai and the question was - what did it have to offer that Solio did not? "Elephants", Paul said, many, "many Elephants and from close quarters". That was his main argument, and it was good enough for us. And of course it´s always interesting to check out new places. So we left in the morning without having proper breakfast to get there reasonably early.

The weather looked very promising, for once the sky was nearly without clouds, and we quite enjoyed the drive.

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Especially since his majesty, Mt. Kenya himself, was in a generous mood today, and allowed us a good view for once.

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Snow in Africa, right at the equator - does not feel quite right. :)

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We reached Ronga gate after exactly 90 minutes. Our tickets were USD 95,--. That includes a visit to the Chimp sanctuary but not to the Northern White Rhinos.

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Ol Pejeta or Sweetwaters Game Reserve? Originally there just was Sweetwaters (about 140 km², since 1988), but after the whole ranch area (360 km²) was bought by a British company in 2004, the reserve was extended to the full size of the ranching area, and so the Ol Pejeta Conservancy was created.

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Game density is very high here, we would see (Plains) Zebras, Impalas, Grant´s, Waterbuck, Buffalo, Warthog and Hartebeest pretty much all day long.

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Helmeted Guineafowl

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Superb Starlings

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Black-Necked Heron

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Interestingly, the days of Ol Pejeta as a cattle ranch are not a thing of the past. Grazing livestock is a regular sight here, the administration argues that they can have the best of both worlds and that livestock farming and wildlife are not mutually exclusive. The cows are protected in mobile predator-proof bomas at night (and should create vegetation hotspots in these places). It´s also said that they actually help thinning out superfluous grasses, and thereby help creating even more nutritious vegetation for herbivores.

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The many open plains of Ol Pejeta certainly leave lots of space for Cattle and Wildlife alike.

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And with abundant preybase around predators can´t be far - we soon found our first lions, about 70 of them are said to be in the conservancy. (Which is not fenced like Solio, so animals can migrate, up to Lewa or Buffalo Springs/Samburu.)

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The young male was digging quite unremittingly, maybe he was after a warthog. The others seemed to realize that this was quite a pointless enterprise and watched with a bored gaze.

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Lions and Mt. Kenya

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Lions and Cattle - the cats were definitely interested in this meat parade walking by.

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Great start, Love the lions with Mt. Kenya AND tasty morsels in back of them!

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Great start at Ol Pejeta; Love the lions with Mt. Kenya AND tasty morsels in back of them!

 

Sorry - tried to edit - got a double post...

 

 

But on the bright side, Worth saying TWICE!

Edited by graceland
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Love the digging Lion, what did he think he was doing? Every round family has a square peg.

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still catching up! but love love how the exhausted dogs were still accompanying you, flat out on the terrace while you were there.

 

i too like that digging lion. i wondered if it was digging for a cool spot - just how dogs often dig holes for cool areas to lie down and roll in! but digging for warthogs makes more sense.

Edited by Kitsafari
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michael-ibk

Well, who knows what that lion had in mind - whatever it was, he certainly was not successful. :-)

 

Diggin´ lion:

 

 

 

We enjoyed our breakfast in the presence of a buffalo herd, and all of us were chewing happily, them on grass, we on bread, jam, buter, muesli, fruit and juice. Better deal for us, but probably a matter of perspective. :-)

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After this peaceful interlude we moved on to further explore "Grants plains" - a place full of life.

 

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Impala parade

 

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These Ant-Eating Chats were showing the way.

 

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Unlike Solio, Warthogs here are very relaxed, and much more numerous.

 

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Mr. Ostrich and his graceful ladies.

 

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This place is called "Grant´s plains" for a reason.

 

One of our nicest sightings of the day was a young baby Grant obviously just enjoying its very young life, jumping up, down, left and right just for the fun of it. Mum had a hard time keeping up with her hyperactive fawn.

 

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michael-ibk

Suddenly peace was disturbed - a young lion showed up, accompanied by his friend, Mr. Jackal.

 

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Not sure if this is our slightly weird "Mad Digger", but could well be. The lion had an unorthodox strategy, just confuse the hell out of everybody, and then when everybody is still wondering where he´s trotting that urgently and what he´s up to ...

 

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...and then, against all "stalk patiently and ambush-attack" rules, just go after the first warthog around which obviously would never even look out for a lion hunting this way. And so he did.

 

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But unorthodox as his plan was, the hunt failed. We weren´t able to follow this too closely, off-roading in Ol Pejeta is prohibited "unless under exceptional circumstances during game drives" and completely during the rainy season.

 

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We took pity in this very disappointed - and hungry - lion.

 

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He began to walk back to the place of action again, and we were wondering if he would try again ....

 

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... but he seemed to be too exhausted, and soon preferred to rest in the shades of the bushes where we left him.

 

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michael-ibk

And what about his friend, the Jackal?

At first we couldn´t see him anymore, and the grazers were all returning to their feeding routines.

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But soon he showed up again, and apparently had drastically shifted his allegiances - instead of teaming up with lions he now had decided to be pals with herbs.

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"Yeah, I´m friends with Zebras! Wanna make something of it?"

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michael-ibk

We left the plains and reached the marsh area.

 

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Good elephant land, and indeed we soon found our first pachyderms.

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Further back inside the marsh a sizable breeding herd was feeding. Try as we might, they made it very hard for us to get closer - when we approached on one side they would inevitably move to the other one.

 

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So we stopped trying, hoping that they would get more comfortable about our presence and kept busy with birdlife.

 

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Spur-Winged Goose. Seen lots of them in Botswana but I believe these are the first we found in Kenya.

 

And one of my favourites, a Pied Kingfisher. Ready ... set ...

 

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.... GO!

 

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... and there´s the snack!

 

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The herd still kept their distance, but had come a bit closer.

 

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Grey Woodpecker female

 

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Male

 

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In the distance the youngsters were playing. One bull seemed to try to shield the herd from our view.

 

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michael-ibk

Unnoticed by us, a lion had sneaked up on us and was suddenly just there, posing perfectly on a trunk.

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These Crowned Cranes were not impressed.

 

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The rear-view photo of the Secretary Bird would make a terrific photography trivia challenge!

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What a great day. I love the hunting lion, the lion on the log, the birds of course are smashing; but the playful elie wins the prize!! I've not seen a young one standing on its hind legs trying to play with another. That is adorable.

 

kingfishers are one of my favs. The Sec. Bird was a hoot.

 

Getting better and better each day!

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