The Offbeat circuit safari in Kenya, January 2016

[Alexander33]

The recent slew of reports on Meru is certainly generating interest on my part, and yours is only contributing to that even more!

 

Gorgeous sunrises in posts #35 and #39 -- so evocative of Africa.

 

And then there's the contrast between the beauty of those landscapes and the, uh, non-beauty? of the naked mole rat. Truly fascinating. I just keep returning to those images and staring at them. And they are great shots on top of that! Leave it to Safaritalk to introduce you to yet another species you've never heard of!

[mapumbo]

@@twaffle thank you so much for the complements and comments about the trip report.

 

I was a bit intimidated to make my first Trip Report on Safaritalk. Also, Mama Ndege was hesitant to have her photos included. She only has a mid-range bridge camera and there are so many superior quality photographers, including you, on the sight. She was afraid that her photos were not up to par with the others. I think a lot of it is the subject and how it is presented that matters anyway, although we certainly can appreciate the sharpness and color of the photos from high end cameras and the people who know how to use them.

 

But after spending hours and hours reading and researching trip reports for our recent visit to Kenya, I felt obligated to write a report as well. I had a struggle trying to figure out how to attach the photos on to the report but after help from both Game Warden and TonyQ and switching to Chrome instead of using IE it became much easier. Anyway, I appreciate the comments and support from the community. It keeps me posting away and enjoying the reliving of the safari.

 

We certainly did not know that the Naked Mole was such a special sighting. It is interesting to know that it is a specialty of the park. Of course, it was intriguing for us to view it and we thought that Dominic was pretty excited when he spotted it. I'm glad that we got a couple good photos of it and are able to share it.

[mapumbo]

@@Alexander33

 

Who knew that a Naked Mole Rat would cause such a sensation. I guess a posting of a naked image gets peoples attention.

 

Thank you for your very nice comments. I'm glad that you are enjoying the trip report. There is much more to come.

Edited February 16, 2016 by mapumbo

[Alexander33]

Who knew that a Naked Mole Rat would cause such a sensation. I guess a posting of a naked image gets peoples attention.

 

 

Well, now, I hadn't thought of that theory, but now that you mention it.......

[mapumbo]

After settling in to our really nice room, having lunch and a rest, we had an afternoon drive with the manager of the lodge Simon, and Misheck as the spotter. We were the only guests at the time so we had the vehicle to ourselves. We were really getting spoiled by the private guide/vehicle arrangements.

 

We had just crossed the Ewaso Norok River that runs near the headquarters and bisects the ranch, gone a short distance of less than a mile from our start, and Simon exclaims, "that looks like a cheetah". Sure enough, just down the road there sits a cheetah in the middle of the road, calm as can be. Misheck keeps repeating, "you are so lucky". Well, he had that right. We were lucky and we certainly were going to enjoy our luck for as long as it lasted.

 

 

We followed the cheetah down the road for a little way and then he strode off into the bush. We thought he was probably looking to hunt and spent quite a bit of time looking for him where Simon thought he might be heading, in the chance that he would make a kill. We never did get another look at him but we had a prime view with the original sighting.

Simon on top of the car frame looking for the cheetah.

 

We later came on this elephant dusting himself.

Our first look at vulturine guineafowl

Attached video of elephant dusting himself.

 

elephant dusting himself Sosian.wmv

 

After a sundowner by a small pond we headed back to the lodge. We saw that it was beginning to cloud up and by dinner time it was starting to rain. This began the pattern for the rest of our visit to Kenya of early evening to overnight rains. Some of them were light, but many of the rains were regular thunder storms with heavy rain. This evening was one of the heavy ones.

[TonyQ]

What a great start to your stay at Sosian - a cheetah - what a beautiful animal.

I canalso see that Simon is a bit of a gymnast!

I enjoyed your video of the elephant dusting itself - and your viewing of the vulturine guineafowl.

Edited February 17, 2016 by TonyQ

[plambers]

Sosian will be our first stop on our first safari next July so excited to see your photos and also to know we should have some great sightings.

[mapumbo]

Sosian will be our first stop on our first safari next July so excited to see your photos and also to know we should have some great sightings.

I'm sure you will enjoy Sosian. The lodge is just beautiful and the management and staff are great.

 

There are so many things to do there. If you are going with a family it is a perfect place with all the activities available.

[Thursday's Child]

You certainly had some great sightings - leopard at Meru and cheetah at Sosian!

[mapumbo]

@@Thursday's Child

Yes, we felt fortunate to see the leopard and cheetah (and apparently the Naked Mole Rat). Those weren't the last of the great sightings!!!

[offshorebirder]

Lucky y'all to have the Cheetah cooperate!

 

I am very much enjoying this trip report so far, and looking forward to more. Mama Ndege's photos tell a great story.

[mapumbo]

Lucky y'all to have the Cheetah cooperate!

I am very much enjoying this trip report so far, and looking forward to more. Mama Ndege's photos tell a great story.

Yes, we were lucky. Simon commented that they rarely see cheetah at Sosian. They had seen this young male a few times but generally just a glimpse. We knew how special it was when Misheck kept repeating " you are so lucky" .

 

Thank you for the nice comment on Mama Ndege's photos.

[deano]

@@mapumbo - I am a bit late to this report and only up to page 2 but really liking the look of Meru. Great sightings (elephants, mating lions, naked mole rat...who would have thought such a thing existed?). Thank you also for sharing the information regarding security. Very helpful as we plan our future safaris.

 

Your comments in post #26 about wanting to see anything big or small and animal interactions sum up pretty much what we like to see when on safari which is pretty much...anything. You have also included some lovely landscapes and in post #29 that winding two track through the vivid green bush is great (I mentioned in TonyQ's report that I think I have developed a road fetish now - thank you Safaritalk!); and your sunset palms in #39 would also fill a whole wall at my house if i had taken it. Super stuff.

 

And thanks to both you and TonyQ I finally caved in and typed "Meru Kenya" into Google. That's how it always starts isn't it..............

Edited February 19, 2016 by deano

[mapumbo]

@@deano Thank you for your fun reply. Glad you are enjoying the trip report. It's going to take a while to finish since we seemed to have something new and interesting happen daily.

We did not know what to expect at Meru. I think the best part is that it still seems like wild Africa. Plenty of game, a variety of topography, and no tourists.

[Terry]

Great trip report. Love the picture of the crocodile and the grey-crowned crane. I am always happy to read about the baby elephants and how they are being taken care of. Thanks for taking time to post.

 

Terry

[mapumbo]

Our first full day at Sosian Ranch was spent with a focus on their management of the cow herd that they run in harmony with all the wildlife that is found on the Laikipia Plateau. Mama Ndege and I are both from multi-generational farm and ranch families, so we had a real interest in learning about ranching in Kenya, especially the challenges of running a cow-calf operation along with wild grazers and predators.

 

We met Sean, the ranch manager, who took time out of his busy day to patiently explain how the cattle operation is managed. They have a ranch that is 24,000 acres with no fences. Sosian Ranch grazes approximately 300 mother cows with their baby calves. When the calves are weaned off the cows, the calves continue to graze on the ranch until they are two and a half years of age at which time they weigh around 1200 pounds and are ready for market. The cattle are the Boran breed which are a thick, heavy-muscled beef animal. We were surprised at the quality of the cattle. They have a stud herd in which they sell breeding bulls, and embryos throughout Africa.

 

The cattle are run in herds of about 70 animals per group with 3 herders that stay with them throughout the day to move them where they want the cattle to graze and to protect them from the lions. At night, the cattle are penned in bomas that have been developed on the Laikipia ranches. The sturdy steel enclosures are large enough so the cattle can lay down but small enough that if the lions come around during the night the cattle cannot gain enough momentum to stampede and break out of the pen. They have a very minimal amount of death loss to predators.

 

We were impressed with the careful management they practice in conserving their resources. Sean was most interested in making sure that they never overgraze their pastures. They want to make sure there will be more than enough grass for both the cattle and all the grazing species on the ranch. It has been a very rainy season and they have an abundance of grass which they were thankful for, but they knew that a drought is generally just around the corner. They had no intention to expand the cow numbers to utilize the extra grass but took the long view that the health of the range was more important than short term profits.

 

I realize that we have more of an interest in how cattle are raised in other environments since we are cattle ranchers ourselves, but it appears to me that one important opportunity for wildlife conservation hinges on the ability for conservancies and private property owners in Africa to efficiently manage livestock and wildlife side by side. This needs to be done in a manner, as we observed at Sosian, where the natural resources are carefully monitored and conserved for the health of both the wildlife and the domestic animals. Also, they have a vested interest in protecting the wildlife from harassment or poaching.

 

We started off the morning by driving down to where they were spraying the cattle herds for ticks. They have to spray the cattle every 2 weeks because of the heavy tick infestation. The cattle are brought into the area in their separate groups, lined up like cars at a car wash on the first warm day in the spring. These Boran cattle are so gentle that they calmly wait in the staging area, each group with their respective herdsmen, and don't try to mix with the other groups of cattle or cause trouble. Once they have gone through the alley to be sprayed the individual groups drift off in different directions to continue grazing.

 

Cows and calves in groups waiting to go through the spray alley.

Cow coming out of the enclosed ally where they are sprayed from all directions.

Exiting the spray alley.

Edited February 21, 2016 by mapumbo

[mapumbo]

After watching the cattle spraying procedure we returned back to the lodge for breakfast. Breakfast is served on the outside veranda with a huge variety of cereals, fruits, juices and hot entrees of pancakes, eggs, sausages, and bacon. They have a garden that is used for fresh produce for the guests. Also, there is a chicken and duck flock for eggs and meat.

 

Sean had told us that he had a cattle buyer coming later in the morning and that we were welcome to come back to another set of corrals to watch the transaction.

 

This was a group of two and a half year old steers of which they were going to sort the largest ones off to sell. The buyer watched as they brought the steers down a narrow alley to weigh individually. He would then decide which ones he wanted to buy. After the buyer would select a certain animal, an employee would brush a paint mark on his back so these particular animals would be sorted off to be delivered to the buyer. They had been having so much rain recently that Sean thought that they would have to drive the group to a neighboring ranch facility to load them on the buyers trucks. The roads into the Sosian headquarters had a really bad area that they could not get a large truck through.

 

Hyrax setting on stone wall when leaving the lodge

Steers entering scales.

Cattle scale

Cattle buyer choosing his purchases.

 

 

[pault]

Great stuff. Amazing how good the sightings have been in our three green Kenya reports. Meru is going to get a rep! A Naked Mole Rat and a Suni. Amazing. I would have missed the shot of the first for excitement. Lots of other good stuff too. Mama Ndege is doing a fine job.

[mapumbo]

@@pault We much appreciate your kind comments. Meru was decidedly more than advertised and I don't think that our experience is the exception to the rule.

 

The rains had lasted longer and been of more volume than usual. We visited with a couple that goes to Meru regularly in January and they had never seen it so green.

[mapumbo]

After our time spent at the cattle weighing area we left with Misheck on a game drive before lunch. There was a nice cross-section of wildlife to be viewed on the ranch. As befits Mama Ndege's name (Bird Woman, in Swahili), he was on the lookout for new birds for her. We came across this nicely marked Heuglins Courser in the road.

 

Also a Hamercop was trying to escape detection in the grass.

These weaver nests were well built with one double decker condo.

We saw many Defassa Waterbuck with this nice portrait of a handsome male.

[mapumbo]

We headed back to lunch at the beautiful lodge. The main home has been decorated very tastefully.

 

These are views of the interior of the main sitting room.

There are many nice paintings on the walls done by Murray Grant.

This one is of camels, there are ones of wild dogs and zebra that look like they could step out of the frame.

There are hundreds of yards of stone walls around the headquarters.

They have a small group of donkeys that hang around the yard and sometimes on the veranda and in the house.

Donkey through our bathroom window.

Morning tea service.

 

On our evening drive we were looking for the local pride of lions that have three young cubs. The adults are collared but the cover in places is so thick that it can be quite difficult to find them. Misheck along with our spotter for the evening, Patrick, had a good signal in the area that they expected them to be in, but could not get a solid fix on them. We were busting through the brush in search and finally Mama Ndege and Patrick exclaimed at the same time "Lion". One of the cubs had just flicked an ear and they had seen the movement. We never did find the parents, but were satisfied to spot the little ones through the heavy cover.

 

It looked like rain was headed our way so we called it a day after being able to catch sight of the lion cubs and made our way back to the lodge. We no sooner got on the road and it began to rain. We rolled the canvas across the top and made it back to the lodge for a nice long shower and dinner.

 

First cub that was spotted, no wonder they were hard to find.

The two other cubs.

[xelas]

@@mapumbo

 

Very good trip report, with added bonus of showing us also the other aspects of life in places visited. As for the photography, there will always be someone with better and more spectacular photos! But they will not be the same as those taken by you.

I assume there are other readers that will probably never visit some places described in your trip report. So reading about them, and seeing the photos from them, is a great privilege. Thank You!

[TonyQ]

@@mapumbo

We found it interesting to hear about the cattle ranching when we were in Ol Pejeta - but we are very ignorant city folk. It is fascinating to see and hear about it from your knowlegable perspective. Finding ways for cattle and wildlife to live together is very important for many areas.

 

Sosian looks like a nice place.

[mapumbo]

@xelas Thank you for the kind words. Even though Safaritalkers,for the most part, have been or are planning to go to Africa, you are correct that there is no way we can visit all the places that there are to see. I have the intention of describing our experiences in that respect so that others can see what our experience was like at that particular place.

 

There also is, I believe, more to a safari than the wildlife. As agriculture people we are always interested in seeing what is going on outside the parks.

 

@TonyQ I realized that Mama Ndege and I would have a much more intensive interest in how the cattle herd was managed than most other people on this site, but I wanted to try to convey the relationship of how the cattle and wildlife can exist together if managed properly. I appreciate that you have an interest in this and understand the importance of the practice.

 

Sosian was very nice, almost too posh for our comfort zone. We are not accustomed to having waiters serve us in white coats in a formal dinner setting. It was a good break to have the lodge in the middle of the tented camps, but give us a tented camp with a bucket shower and animal tracks around the tent in the morning any time.

[SSF556]

WOW..this is exactly what we are doing in June....this has me so excited now. We are doing the drive between Meru and Sosian and will be flying everywhere else. We will not be doing Nairobi NP...we will be doing Giraffe Manor though...