Close Encounters of the Dog Kind

[madaboutcheetah]

@zimgirl - that Lion sequence was amazing!

 

post#48

Edited November 18, 2016 by madaboutcheetah

[Zim Girl]

So, we were really pleased with what we saw. Obviously not the numbers of the big crossings but you were able to watch the reactions of the individual animals and we were holding our breath and willing that zebra to escape the croc at the end there.

 

We left the river and drove a long way off to find Tim's favourite tree to have lunch under

 

Female ostrich displaying her feathers

 

 

After lunch we went on another hunt for leopard with Tim trying all the places he could think of, but it wasn't to be. Still we had had a fantastic day and now rain clouds were starting to gather so we headed back towards Naboisho. Not long before we reached the conservancy it started to rain really hard and by the time we got there the road had already turned to very slippery mud.

We got back to camp around 5pm. The rain was set in for the rest of the day so we relaxed in the tent and then had another very pleasant evening with Roelof and the other guests at dinner.

 

This morning was our last game drive before being taken to the airstrip for the flight back to Wilson.

Sadly Tim had been summoned back to Rekero, so we had Lukas take us out. We asked him to drive us round some of our favourite spots near the pools.

 

Then a very nice surprise, another cheetah.

This was a lovely farewell present from Naboisho.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The safarilink flight left at 10.20am and we reached Wilson at around 11.20am.

Then we were picked up and taken to Nairobi Tented Camp for the rest of the day.

 

[Zim Girl]

@zimgirl - that Lion sequence was amazing!

 

post#48

 

@@madaboutcheetah

 

Thank you, it was pretty amazing being there and seeing these big male lions running past the vehicle and hearing them panting heavily.

[Zim Girl]

We had an afternoon visit booked at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust elephant orphanage at 5pm.

From Nairobi Tented Camp it is only a 20 min drive away.

 

The visit starts with all the elephants being ushered in from the forest in small groups. Their names are called out as they pass by you and then they are led into their enclosures and given big bottles of milk. You are free to walk around for the next hour watching them as they eat or in the case of the small babies go to sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had time for dinner back at the Tented Camp and then we were taken to the airport for the flight home.

 

It was a really enjoyable holiday. We saw everything we wanted to see (apart from leopard) and a whole lot more. The walking in Laikipia with Steve Carey and in Naboisho with Roelof Schutte was brilliant and a very good mix with the Mara game drives.

 

And we will never forget our close encounter with 'that dog'

 

 

[linjudy]

@zimgirl, great report! thank you for sharing. we had a very similar trip to LWC and Mara (Rekero & Kicheche Bush), and this brought back great memories. The dog videos were amazing! We did the "sit on the ground" trick a couple of times but never got that close.

 

How did you find the walking? Was it tiring? We did a couple of walks, and definitely wanted to do more, but chickened out on the fly camping

[Atravelynn]

You really became part of the pack. Amazing stills and video. Lovely river shots too. It took me about 5 full seconds to process those were camels.

 

Tremendous series with the frothing lions. You really caught the froth and their forward motion, and capped it off with the very frightened looking hyena.

 

I have never been a big fan of those slopey-backed topis (though I appreciate their speed) but the babies are adorable.

 

The crossing was worth the wait. Your croc and zebra sequence had a Jaws suspenseful effect.

 

That ele calf asleep with its blankey is heartwarming.

 

Kenya came through for you. Thanks for sharing all this in your wonderful report.

Edited November 19, 2016 by Atravelynn

[Zim Girl]

@@linjudy

 

@zimgirl, great report! thank you for sharing. we had a very similar trip to LWC and Mara (Rekero & Kicheche Bush), and this brought back great memories. The dog videos were amazing! We did the "sit on the ground" trick a couple of times but never got that close.

 

How did you find the walking? Was it tiring? We did a couple of walks, and definitely wanted to do more, but chickened out on the fly camping

 

Thank you. I think we very lucky with the dogs. The walking was fine for us but we are used to walking long distances, we do a lot of hiking back home. The fly-camping is a must though. The camps are very simple but such a wonderful way to experience the area.

[Towlersonsafari]

What a great holiday @@Zim Girl and I really enjoyed the trip report. Started seeing the photos of the Zebra/croc interactions with the last first so was holding my breath wondering if the Zebra escaped-I know crocodiles have to eat and its all part of the natural world but I don't need to see it happening ! it must have been a wonderful sighting in what seems to have been a trip full of them.

[dlo]

Very nice report @@Zim Girl. Appreciate you're comments on watching vultures as we must have spent an hour or 2 with them on our trip as they demolished a couple of kills.