Game-viewing

Mara Nyika Camp, Naboisho Conservancy, Kenya

4th February 2021

Mara Nyika Camp, Naboisho Conservancy, Kenya

Great Plains Conservation

Mara Nyika Camp, Naboisho Conservancy, Kenya

No two persons’ perfect safari is identical. And that is ok. Disagreeing on what constitutes an ideal African trip is pointless. It’s just like taste. About which an ancient Roman adage famously decreed, there should be no argument. ‘De gustibus non disputandum est’. I might prefer luxury accommodation in a remote, private setting with superb guiding and cutting-edge cuisine.

Great Plains Conservation

Your preference runs to a small tented camp in the heart of the wilderness, listening to and experiencing wildlife close up. Others wouldn’t dream of going to Africa unless they can get their adrenaline pumping, heading out into the bush on a foot safari or exploring the Selinda Channel in a canoe. Some judge the success of a safari by the number of National Geographic-worthy photos they manage to capture, or the number of new bird species they are able to add to their life-list, with the help of an expert guide.

By the time Kathy and I made it to Great Plains’ superb new Mara Nyika Camp in the private Naboisho Conservancy bordering the Masai Mara Game Reserve last December, we had experienced these and other facets of what constitutes the perfect safari. Many of them, in fact, at several Great Plains Conservation properties in Northern Botswana such as Duba, Selinda and Zarafa.

We had experienced our first ever cheetah kill at Selinda. A searingly impactful, bitter-sweet experience which culminated in a seconds-long frenzy of action, after four hours of patiently waiting for the cheetah brothers to select the right moment and place.

Sanctuary Retreats

At Duba, we were witness to the most spellbinding buffalo and lion interaction, one beautiful September morning. Nobody on our game drive vehicle that morning will ever be able to forget the buffaloes turning on the lions, the soft morning light reflecting off their shiny noses, as they stared down their eternal enemies, heads held high. In the aftermath, as the dust settled over the herd, the lions having beaten a reluctant retreat, the four of us in the back of the game vehicle looked at each other like people who had just witnessed something extraordinary. Which it was.

Great Plains Conservation

Our memories are indelibly filled with similar exquisitely African moments and impressions from time spent in Kenya at Ol Donyo in the Chyulu Hills, Mara Plains in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy and its little sister Mara Expedition, a small, intimate camp with just five tents, in the Masai Mara National Park. Clearly, whatever your interests or travel style, there is a Great Plains Conservation experience perfect for you. There is no need to settle for someone else’s trip: you can make it your own.

Mara Nyika adds yet another layer of experience to the already rich Great Plains Conservation mix.

Great Plains Conservation

For me personally, what stood out was the warmth and intimacy, and the simply unrivaled degree of personal attention we received. Even though there were other guests in camp, we felt like and were treated as if we had the run of the place. It started with a warm welcome and competent camp briefing from manager Marietta and the thoughtful assistance from our room attendant Dominique and server Moses. Collectively, the Mara Nyika team was genuine and attentive to our every need.

And then there’s the place. Great Plains Conservation has an enviable reputation for picking absolutely the best spots for their camps. Mara Plains, Mara Expedition and Ol Donyo prove the point. Clearly a lot of thought and attention to detail had gone into staking out the ideal location of each of these properties. With the location of Mara Nyika, Great Plains hit a home run, maybe even a grand slam. Partially hidden in a grove of flat-topped acacia trees, the camp – which is raised on a boardwalk – sits at the base of a hill on the western side of the Naboisho Conservancy.

Great Plains Conservation

I’m not sure if the tree-house feel of the camp was purposeful or not, but that was definitely my impression. Walking up to our room (#1) on the far end of the camp, it felt just like walking into an acacia forest. The high boardwalk takes you right up into the tree canopy, just meters away from limbs and leaves, the umbrella tops providing comfort and shade. Looking for Kenya’s most exquisite ‘tree-house’? This is it.

Great Plains Conservation

We arrived at Mara Nyika by way of a rather eventful road transfer – along some of the muddiest roads ever – from the northern part of the Masai Mara to the Talek area and from there to Mara Nyika Camp. Most guests would fly into the nearby Naboisho (Ol Seki) airstrip on a scheduled flight from Nairobi’s Wilson airport, or arrive by private charter. Mara Nyika, which means “Large Plains or Great Plains,” has five light-colored canvas tents (3 doubles and 2 family rooms).

Our double room (#1) consisted of three adjacent, interconnected rooms: an entrance foyer/lounge, a bedroom and a bathroom, complete with a huge brass bathtub and shower. All that space, an intriguing forest setting, the view over the woodlands, the privacy – this is a camp where one needs to spend a minimum of three nights, to enjoy it to the fullest degree.

Great Plains Conservation

The 50,000-acre private Naboisho Conservancy (the second largest conservancy in the greater Maasai Mara region) has lots of space to go out and explore in search of animals. A major advantage here is the fact that the number of vehicles per sighting is strictly controlled, which makes for an optimal viewing experience. Also, off-road driving is allowed so it is possible to get close enough to a sighting for great photographs or video, without of course displacing an animal or causing it to change its behavior. In a private conservancy, night drives are allowed which opens up an entirely different set of experiences. Being out there when the sun sets, having a shot at seeing some of the special nocturnal species, and maybe even observing lions and hyenas on the hunt. After dark is when it all happens.

The afternoon game drive with our guide Solomon – like others I had experienced in Naboisho on a previous visit – underscored just how good the game-viewing was. There were hundreds of zebras, topis, impalas and Thompson’s gazelles all over the plains as well as wildebeest, giraffe, dik-dik and jackals.

At the scene of a wildebeest kill – to which we had been drawn by the presence of dozens of vultures – we spotted a gorgeous single male lion, intent on warding off a bunch of hyenas encroaching on its kill. We watched as he vacillated between defending the kill from the hyenas, or returning to the rest of his pride.

Just as the light was starting to fade, Solomon spotted another male lion (a brother) at the base of a distant line of trees. We made our way over there and – surprise – bumped into the rest of the pride en route. Two females, each with several cubs. We watched, enthralled, as the cubs ventured closer to the vehicle, practicing their rather rudimentary stalking and take-down techniques. On each other. It was a truly magical moment. Eventually, in the gathering gloom, with a massive late November thunderstorm looming in the background, we sat and watched and most memorably listened to the brother as he made a powerful, booming territorial call. The kind that reverberates right in your chest. It was time to call it a night.

We experienced an eventful morning drive out of Mara Nyika as well, finding and observing two separate cheetah males, both in hunting mode. One actually stalked and chased some impala but came up short. Just like on the previous day, there were multitudes of plains game to be seen in every direction, particularly topi, giraffe, impala and Thompson’s gazelles.

The Great Plains vehicle was ideal for a photo safari with plenty of legroom and working charge points, as well as photography bars for the cameras. The vehicle has night lights which are great for gathering all your stuff in the dark, at the end of a drive. There was a handy on-board fridge with space for drinks and provisions to enable guests to go out on full day expeditions, if they want to. While the vehicle was very ‘open’ all round, it was easy to cover the sides – with clean, clear plastic panels – in the event of a downpour.

Great Plains Conservation

Under the capable direction of chef John, the meals at Mara Nyika were out of this world and the private setting made them even more special. For lunch on the day of arrival we enjoyed polenta, spinach pizza, barbecue chicken, green salad and beetroot salad. We had daily conversations with Chef John and the kitchen really turned out the most amazing food – everything was outstanding! The bush breakfast was one of the very best we have experienced.

That evening we sat down for a terrific private dinner in the wine room. The personalized printed menu listed several delectable options: steak or fish for the main course, tomato soup as a starter, and dessert.

Naboisho means “coming together” in the Maa language and represents the 500 local landowners who came together to establish the conservancy. The conservancy model combines the conservation of nature and cultural heritage, tourism and the enhancement of livelihoods for the local communities. Each guest’s stay supports over 500 Maasai families with a sustainable livelihood and helps to ensure the conservation of this vital corner of the Masai Mara ecosystem.

Many guests may opt to spend a few days in Mara Nyika combined with a stay at Great Plains’ Mara Expedition or Mara Plains camps, to get exposure to all three wildlife areas, namely the private Olare Motorogi and Naboisho Conservancies and the Maasai Mara Reserve. Each wildlife experience from the three camps is unique and offers a different facet of the incredible Maasai Mara ecosystem.

Great Plains Conservation

Each guest tent has a pair of high quality binoculars and a professional Canon 5D camera body and Canon 100-400mm zoom lens, available for the guests’ use. The Mara Nyika team will download the guests’ photos to a memory stick to take with them. Private vehicles are available upon request, at additional cost. Children 8 years and older are welcomed and can be accommodated with their parents in the family rooms which have a common lounge, two bedrooms each with en-suite bathrooms, one bathroom with a tub and shower; the other with a shower only. There is Wi-fi available in the guest tents.

Great Plains Conservation

Our blog next week will take a look at Basecamp Mara, which has 17 tents spread out along the banks of the Talek River, in the central part of the Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya. The camp – and room #9 – gained a measure of fame when former US President Barack Obama and his family stayed there, when he was a US Senator.

More Info

Email bert@fisheaglesafaris.com

Email jason@fisheaglesafaris.com

@fisheaglesafarishouston

#FishEagleSafaris

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Cottar’s 1920s Camp

21st January 2021

Cottar’s 1920s Camp

Cottar’s

Cottar’s 1920s Camp

Cottar’s 1920s Camp in the far southeastern part of Kenya’s Masai Mara, right on the border of Tanzania, ticks all the boxes for an authentic, romantic, and above all private safari experience. It all starts with the first impression. Stepping out of the vehicle on arrival, your eyes are drawn to two beautiful, creamy white tented structures, the Explorers tent and Mess (dining) tent. Both with classic safari interiors, and filled with antiques and paraphernalia from the Cottar family’s decades of operating African safaris. Turn your head to the right and there’s a sweeping view over a large expanse of lawn into rolling savannah scenery.

Cottar’s / partimetravelers

Walk a bit further along a manicured gravel walkway and you’re ushered into your splendid room for the night: an elegant, spacious, white tented suite, with just as pretty a view over the Masai Mara as the main mess tent. Luxuriously furnished and incorporating original safari antiques from the 1920’s, the tents are more than a generous distance apart, ensuring a high degree of privacy with en-suite dressing room and bathroom, main bedroom and veranda.

Cottar’s

On our second night there we were treated to a private bush bubble bath experience on the verandah, in two canvas baths filled to the brim with piping hot water and enough bubbles to cover a small pond. Add some chilled Prosecco and delicious snacks and the two of us whiled away one of our best hours yet on safari. Soon after, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner served fire-side right by our tent, with a perfectly turned out roast turkey breast, mashed potatoes, a vegetable stir fry and a banana dessert.

Cottar’s / Bree McCann

Some further exploration of Cottar’s Camp reveals a large, sparkling blue pool with comfortable lounge chairs, a covered deck and expansive lounge area, complete with a bar, kitchen and restroom facilities. The pool lounge area was the location for lunch on one of our days at Cottar’s: home-made pita bread with a variety of fresh vegetables, melon balls with feta cheese, beetroot salad, olives, chili peppers, balsamic vinegar, a pork stir fry and homemade ice-cream over a red-wine infused pear.

Cottar’s

Yet another discovery, a short car ride further up the hill on which the camp is located, is an award-winning 5-roomed private villa which can sleep up to 14 people. With a 25-meter lap pool and the best views imaginable, the villa has its own dedicated staff including two housekeepers and a chef, and two private vehicles – three if needed.

Cottar’s

Beyond what the eye can see, or any brochure or website can reveal, Cottar’s is the embodiment of what needs to be done to protect and preserve the Kenya safari business and all its stakeholders. More so than any other safari camp I know of, Cottar’s succeeds in blending the romance and elegance of a classic African safari, with the demands of a forward-thinking business which successfully operates in close partnership with the local Maasai community. Over several generations and many decades, the Cottar family enterprise evolved from hunting to photographic safaris to the current model which offers a luxury, high quality wilderness experience in a sustainable manner, balancing the needs of the people, the wildlife and the environment.

Cottar’s / partimetravelers

Louise Cottar and the people of Cottar’s Camp

It’s a demanding, hands-on job to manage a safari camp, particularly one which sits on leased Maasai land, employs members of the local community and actively supports the community in various ways such as by building a school and providing meals for the children, conducting local health clinic visits, building a life-saving footbridge over the Sand River and becoming involved in anti-poaching and anti-deforestation projects, to name but a few. During our short stay there I noticed co-owner Louise Cottar engaged in one-on-one meetings with local community leaders, no doubt ironing out one or the other issue.

Cottar’s / partimetravelers

Having first met Louise when we stepped off our aircraft after an hour or so flight from Nairobi – it quickly became clear that the success of Cottar’s 1920 camp has almost everything to do with its people. Louise was gracious and friendly, yet clearly very much focused on keeping up with the many demands of owning and managing a safari property of this stature. Particularly at one of the most difficult times in the long history of Cottar’s, with most international guests having been absent from Africa for the better part of a year.

Just like Louise, everyone else we interacted with at Cottar’s displayed a keen interest in our well-being, and judging by the stellar online reviews garnered over the years, this VIP treatment is enjoyed by everyone fortunate enough to spend some time here. Camp manager Bruce Cattermole graciously dined with us a couple of times and was ready to arrange any number of activities for us including a run with the Maasai, an e-bike outing or a hike up Cottar’s Peak. Which unfortunately didn’t happen due to a lack of time.

Game drives out of Cottar’s Camp

Cottar’s is known for the excellence of its guiding and our guide Wilson Tumake Mpatiani and his tracker Sallash proved to be a most capable team. Our very first afternoon game drive at Cottar’s Camp reinforced everything I had come to admire about the Masai Mara over the years. As a natural spectacle there are few places in Africa that rival it. And then there’s the animals. In what seemed like no time at all, we racked up sightings of 12 mammals, ranging from a white-tailed mongoose to a buffalo, from a topi to a giraffe.

The following day we bumped into a pride of 11 lions, part of an even bigger pride of 22. Their territory stretches right across the border into Tanzania. We also came across a solitary female cheetah which appeared to be pregnant. To be more precise, Sallash spotted her walking from an exceedingly long distance away, literally on the Tanzania side of the border. There were giraffes everywhere! Wilson remarked that this well-wooded eastern part of the Mara is known for having much higher numbers of giraffes than the more open plains to the west. It stands to reason. We were thrilled to also bump into several breeding herds of elephants on our outings from Cottar’s.

On our second day at Cottar’s, when we drove into the Masai Mara National Park, we were both simply overawed by the beauty of this part of the reserve. There had been good rainfall for several months and the Mara was never in better condition. It is visually one of the most arresting expanses of real estate likely anywhere in Africa. There is just no way to do justice to this mosaic of grass, sky and rocky hills with a photo or description. You just have to see it yourself. A soul-pleasing place where civilization as we know it ends and the primeval beauty of nature in the raw takes over.

Every now and then I felt like just stopping for no reason to let my eyes linger on the beauty around me. Is there really a place like this where one massive grassy plain merges into another one, where one series of hills on the horizon vies with another to be more like the Africa you had come to see? Yes there is – but don’t wait too long to get on a plane to Kenya – and to the Mara – to experience it for yourself.

Clearly, Cottar’s 1920’s Camp has been successful in maintaining their reputation for wilderness and privacy, and for leading the way with their innovative and unique approach to sustainability. Already, Cottar’s 1920s Camp is a Global Ecosphere Retreat member of the Long Run, one of the world’s largest initiatives led by nature-based businesses following the 4 C’s: conservation, community, culture and commerce.

A talk by Letilet Ole Yenke – a local medicine man

In addition to the stellar game-viewing, another highlight of our stay was an early evening talk by a local hunter-gatherer, Letilet Ole Yenko, whose mother was a Maasai. Letilet is a local medicine man who has had a book published (Letilet’s Tales) and who features in a documentary – ‘Life of an il Torobo Hunter-Gatherer’. The documentary – which has had more than 9.5 million views on YouTube – can be seen here. Letilet’s fire-side talk had to be translated in real time as he speaks no English, but it was easy to see the passion and enthusiasm for his pastoral life reflected in his weathered face.

Letilet is exceedingly knowledgeable about more than three hundred plants in the vicinity of the camp and touched on the ancient and modern uses of quite a few – some useful for ailments, others for poison. Letilet and other herbalists are passing on their knowledge to Cottar’s younger guides, and Cottar’s has lately been including more foraged plant items into its menus.

Cottar’s

Which brings me back to dining. Much of the produce which finds itself to your plate at Cottar’s is as fresh as could be, having been sourced from the extensive on-site organic garden. Shortly after our arrival we enjoyed a simply fantastic meal with a selection of fresh salads with micro greens – in addition to some juicy ribs and freshly baked bread – served al fresco at a couple of large tables on the lawn in front of the mess tent. It was a perfect safari experience: casual, convivial and essentially stress-free, even in the midst of the pandemic. In that open-air setting with lots of space, and a light breeze pushing in from the plains, we could all set aside any concerns and enjoy the food and each other’s company.

Cottar’s looks ahead to the future

The Covid-19 lockdown allowed Cottar’s to complete some refurbishments to several of the tents and structures and to further develop unique, purpose-driven experiences that contribute to sustainability.

Louise Cottar put it like this: ‘Luxury safaris and the Big 5 game experience have become commonplace. We believe that travellers still value these elements, but that they also want to participate in a safari that provides values, purpose and impact. As such, we have spent the last year developing safari impact experiences that have a positive effect to the guests, to the complex and unique biodiversity that surrounds us and to the local Maasai community as we move forward into the next 100 years of providing safari and conservation services’.

Some of those experiences include enabling guests to engage with and learn about vulture rehabilitation, spend time with the only all-female conservation ranger unit in the Masai Mara, learn about the unique medicinal plants of the area, forage and taste local wild food, tour the community-owned private conservancy and participate in a reforestation seed dispersal bushwalk experience.

The Cottars have also developed a ‘Full Circle’ safari experience which enables guests to stay longer in the Maasai Mara, and move from the 1920s Camp to the Conservancy Camp to a mobile camp, to fully enjoy the amazing breadth of experiences that the Masai Mara has to offer. We look forward to one day returning to Cottar’s to experience more of this wonderful area and the family who is so dedicated to see it survive and thrive into the next generation and beyond.

A note about Covid protocols:

Just like all the other Kenya properties we visited on our trip, Cottar’s 1920’s camp had a comprehensive Covid-19 protocol in place, starting with a foot-operated hand-washing and sterilizing stations at the entrances to the mess tent. Guests’ temperatures are checked regularly, they are provided with masks, the staff wears masks all the time, and diligent cleaning procedures are in place for luggage, vehicles and common areas.

Our blog next week will take us to a different part of the Masai Mara, to Sanctuary’s Olonana camp tucked away on the edge of the Mara river in the far northern section of the park. Set at the base of the Oloololo Escarpment, Olonana is an ideal base for visitors who would enjoy an elegant, modern lodge which is quite close to some of the best wildebeest crossing points during the annual migration season.

More Info

Email bert@fisheaglesafaris.com

Email jason@fisheaglesafaris.com

@fisheaglesafarishouston

#FishEagleSafaris

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Elephants: Everybody’s Favorite

23rd October 2020

Elephants: Everybody’s Favorite

As a native of South Africa and someone who was fortunate enough to start going on safari as a child, I probably saw my first elephant in the wild before I was even 5 years old. As kids in the back of the VW Bus driving in the Kruger Park in South Africa, my sister and my brothers and I would literally shriek with delight when we came across a herd of elephants. We would stare at their giant tusks in awe, comment on their amazing ears, marvel at their versatile trunks, laugh at their antics, coo over the little ones, and just generally be delighted to be in their company.

Having seen literally thousands of them since then all over Africa, one thing remains the same. Every elephant sighting remains special. It is never ‘just another elephant’, or’ more elephants’, no matter how abundant they may be where I find myself. Elephants are fascinating creatures on so many levels and they have an almost visceral impact when you see them in the wild, especially close up.

Of course, there’s the sheer size of them, their massive bodies making an unequivocal statement as to who is the real king of the African wilderness. Hint: it is not the lion. I’ve seen enraged, trumpeting – sometimes even shrieking – elephants scare off lions many a time. Given a certain set of circumstances elephants are afraid of nothing and very little will stop them.

Mostly though elephants are adorable, much loved creatures who are always busy doing something. Mostly eating. The leaves on trees, shrubs, grass, bark, fruit, seed pods – pretty much any edible plant material. Another favorite elephant pastime: drinking. It is endlessly entertaining to watch elephants drink. They cannot go without water for extended periods of time and are almost always to be found within striking distance of a known (to them) source of water. Which means that on safari in Africa, one of the best places to find them – particularly in the dry season – is at a water hole, along a river, in a dam, a swamp or marsh.

Over the years, we have experienced many particularly interesting or satisfying elephant viewings, and every now and then have gotten lucky with a photograph. Here are a few of them with some of our notes and recollections.

Chyulu Hills, Kenya

One of my personal favorite elephant photographs is this one, taken of several elephant bulls at a small water hole right below Ol Donyo Lodge in Kenya’s Chyulu Hills. What made it special to me at the time – and what I tried to capture – was the seemingly invisible turf battle going on. These big bulls were in fact barely tolerating each other’s presence. Their ‘togetherness’ was simply the result of none of them being substantially bigger or more powerful than the others. Reluctantly, by the looks of it, they granted each other just enough room to get some water, and then move on. Nobody dominated, and everybody benefited.

Amboseli Swamps, Kenya

Amboseli is one of the best places in Africa to see elephants. Amboseli is a small national park which is famous for its elephants and its perfect view (cloud cover permitting) of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The Amboseli elephants are special because of the size of their tusks, their approachability, and their daily pattern of walking out of the woodlands to the swamps and then back. It is an arid area so they almost always kick up some dust which makes for atmospheric photos and awesome views. It happened to take me three visits to Amboseli to get some really good photographs of elephants with Kili in the background, but it’s mostly a matter of luck. Good or bad. On my third (successful) visit there were several first-time visitors in the vehicle with me… You just never know. This photo of a herd of elephants walking toward the swamps early in the morning, was made special by a relatively small but critical element: the one big elephant looking back. Just that. Without it, it’s a nicely lit and atmospheric shot of elephant walking, kicking up some dust. With the one elephant looking in the other direction? You can judge for yourself.

Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp, Namibia

Photography is all about light. Many professional wildlife photographers rarely attempt capturing anything beyond the morning and afternoon ‘golden hour’ window, when near horizontal light beams cast a flattering glow on practically everything it illuminates. Including elephants. Digital photography – which allows considerable manipulation of exposure levels in post-processing – has opened up a somewhat bigger photography window. Even so, few serious photographers expect a good outcome for photos taken in bright light in the middle of the day. The exaggerated shadows and washed out colors associated with harsh midday light, make it a poor choice. This photo of a desert-adapted elephant taken on a game drive from Wilderness Safaris’ Hoanib Skeleton Coast camp, is a good example. The soft morning light adds depth and drama and makes the photo ‘pop’. Take this same shot at noon and all the warmth is gone. It may in fact work better as a black and white image, then.

Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe

Hwange’s 30,000-plus elephants are wonderful photographic subjects, particularly in the dry season when hundreds and sometimes thousands of them congregate around the many artificially pumped water holes scattered throughout the park. I will never tire of watching a herd of elephants approach a water hole, particularly after a long and dusty, thirsty walk out of the woodland. As they emerge from the trees, they start to walk faster and faster still. The young ones run ahead, excitedly, to get to the water first. Then, almost solemnly, and with serious intent, they all start to drink, practically simultaneously. They fill their trunks with one deliberate deep draft of water after another, squirting several gallons of water forcefully into their mouths. Again and again. Not until their thirst is quenched, do the elephants start to relax, look around at the other herd members, and begin to interact. Elephants lined up at a water source make fantastic photo subjects, as did these three at the Little Makalolo water hole in Hwange. As is the case with giraffe necks and heads, there are often patterns or symmetry – or for that matter asymmetry – to be observed and captured. Look for it and incorporate it into your shots to tell a story and add drama.

Odzala Kokoua National Park, Republic of Congo

By the time I made it to Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the Republic of Congo, I had seen and photographed many an African elephant in dozens of places in Southern and East Africa. I had never seen or photographed a Forest elephant though. As it happened, we had fantastic luck with seeing and photographing Western Lowland Gorillas at Odzala. But not much luck with Forest elephants. A few glimpses and some far-off sightings, but nothing worth capturing with the big camera. Until we went on a walk down a small tributary of the Congo River. As we were approaching a clearing, a solitary Forest elephant emerged abruptly from the thick bush to our left. As startled as we were, it gave us a side-long glance and hurried across the opening, splashing through the water and disappearing into the thick bush on the other side, moments later. It’s for ‘can’t miss’ moments like these that wildlife photographers have to be ready for anything, with a camera set to freeze motion. Not ending up with a blurry photo is the overarching objective. With wildlife, there is often very little advance warning before things happen. And sometimes just moments to capture an instant in time which you may never experience again. I’m unlikely to ever again see a Forest elephant dash across a clearing in the Congo, but this image will forever be proof that it actually happened.

Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa

It is easy to believe that elephants are afraid of nothing and indeed they are – most of the time. Under certain circumstances though, they can easily be spooked, with sometimes unpredictable results. These photographs, taken in South Africa’s Madikwe Game Reserve, illustrate such an event. These three young elephants were slowly walking towards a water hole when a solitary running wildebeest set them off.

They wheeled on the spot and rushed off in the direction they came from, kicking up a cloud of dust. I’ve seen similar behavior elsewhere such as when a herd of elephants (in the Okavango Delta) started stampeding for no apparent reason. Ordinarily, this is not an issue to a casual observer, when you are in a vehicle. When you are on foot though, it can be most worrisome; you’d want to get away from the elephants as fast as possible and seek shelter.

Chobe-Linyanti, Botswana

Elephants love water and habitually enter rivers, lakes and ponds to cool off, play and seemingly just enjoy being submerged.

They are natural-born swimmers and can stay afloat for hours if need be. We’ve seen them swimming – with youngsters in the herd – clear across the Zambezi River.

This sequence of photographs shows elephants close to the Linyanti River in northern Botswana, walking in the river and also ‘snorkelling’ as they make their way through deeper water.

Mashatu, Botswana

Mashatu Game Reserve in southeastern Botswana is one of our favorite big cat destinations, but it also has great elephants. The Mashatu ellies are among the most approachable of any and will literally walk right by the game drive vehicles, just a few meters beyond touching distance. Which is awesome to experience – every time. Mashatu also has a specially constructed sunken elephant hide where photographers can get the most amazing shots of elephants coming to drink. This photo was taken of a herd of elephants approaching the sunken hide at Mashatu. They were moving towards the water in an almost businesslike fashion at a good clip, intent on getting there quickly and efficiently. We did manage to capture some great shots on the day and Mashatu’s resident professional photographer helped us improve our photo skills, regardless of our level of expertise. For any dry-season visit to Mashatu, a morning or afternoon spent in the hide is a most worthwhile addition to one’s program there.

Sheldrick Elephant Sanctuary, Nairobi

Since 1977, the David Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage in Nairobi has cared for and fostered hundreds of elephant calves from all over Kenya. Every morning at 11:00 a.m. there is a public feeding, where visitors can observe the elephants being fed, and learn a bit more about the challenges facing elephants all over Africa. Assistants help to dispense a special milk formula for the babies, and there’s some leaves and shrubs for the older ones. And sometimes a mud-bath on a warm day. The young elephants are housed in a safe stable environment until they are able to survive in the wilderness, when they are moved to Tsavo National Park for possible reintroduction with wild herds of elephants. This photograph of a tiny baby elephant happily drinking its milk formula encapsulates to me, just how vulnerable they are and how dependent they are on us – humans – for assistance. We cannot change the past but we can help to undo some of the negative fallout of poaching and human-animal conflict. Visitors or interested persons who adopt a baby elephant have the option of scheduling a more private afternoon visit, for foster parents only.

Next week’s blog post will focus on the most elusive of the ‘Big Five’ African mammals – the leopard. Much more common than one might think, but rarely seen due to their mostly nocturnal existence. We will look at a handful of places where leopards can be seen and photographed relatively easily and consistently.

More Info

Email bert@fisheaglesafaris.com

Email jason@fisheaglesafaris.com

@fisheaglesafarishouston

#FishEagleSafaris

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN

Destinations

Zambia

10th September 2021

Chindeni and the Bushcamp Company, Zambia

By late July we found ourselves at Chindeni, a small Bushcamp Company property

Botswana

Destinations

Okavango Delta

3rd October 2022

Camp Okavango, Botswana

Camp Okavango is in the heart of the permanent part of the Delta. In this idyllic setting there are no vehicles, and it is just a short walk

Area

Destinations

Nyerere National Park

Ruaha

Tanzania

14th October 2023

From My Safari Notebook: Wildlife Photography

Birds in flight and wildlife photographers have an uneasy relationship. Things go wrong as often as they go right. Getting focus-lock on a moving subject

READERS FAVOURITES

Destinations

Zambia

10th September 2021

Chindeni and the Bushcamp Company, Zambia

By late July we found ourselves at Chindeni, a small Bushcamp Company property

Botswana

Destinations

4th August 2022

On Safari At Belmond Eagle Island Lodge, Okavango Delta

What is the ‘secret sauce’ for an unforgettable few days on safari in Botswana? It starts with the animals, of course. The elephants, lions, giraffes, hippos

Destinations

India

27th May 2023

India

India’s tiger, mammals and birds.

Seeing and photographing Giraffes on safari in Africa

14th October 2020

Seeing and photographing Giraffes on safari in Africa

As long-time safari planners and regular African travelers, giraffes are often on our minds, or in front of our camera lenses. Other than perhaps elephants, it is the one mammal that we get the most questions about. Everybody wants to see giraffes on safari. Just like the big cats, these quintessential African mammals are high on everyone’s must see list. It is easy to see why. They are simply spectacular in so many ways. There’s the sheer size of them, their stilt-like elongated necks and unmistakable ‘horned’ heads literally towering above the landscape and everything else. There’s the way they feed, drink, stare at you and run. Pretty much everything about a giraffe is weird and worth a second look.

Linyanti floodplain, Botswana

This photo, taken in the Linyanti area in Northern Botswana, illustrates a couple of things about giraffes and about getting useful images of them. Be ready with the right lens. If all you have available is a big telephoto lens, this is all you might get. A portion of a giraffe. Legs. Or a head, maybe a neck and head. So either shoot them at a good distance where they can fill the frame or use a shorter zoom lens to frame them properly. On this day I was fortunate to have a yellow-billed oxpecker bail me out of the tight photo spot. These birds have a symbiotic relationship with giraffes, helping them to get rid of disease-carrying ticks, food for the birds. Even ill-equipped photographers can be the beneficiaries of symbiosis, with a bit of luck.

Kwara concession, Okavango Delta

When it is not possible to get the entire giraffe – or more than one – inside the frame, consider grouping together a few giraffe necks, heads or upper bodies. Sometimes, you can get lucky and three giraffes will be facing in the same direction, with a nice cloudy background. It doesn’t happen all the time but keep looking for such an opportunity to present itself. Some years ago in the Kwara concession in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, I did just that, got lucky and succeeded in getting a visually pleasing shot of these three giraffes.

Kwandwe Game Reserve, Eastern Cape

I captured this photograph of three plains giraffes feeding at Kwandwe in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is another example of framing more than one giraffe in the same photograph, by isolating their necks and heads. The more giraffes, the better. Four necks may even be better than three; I’ve just not come across a suitable opportunity to try that!

Samburu region, Kenya

There are several species of giraffe in Africa. The three photos above have been of the most common of these, the Southern giraffe. In north-eastern Kenya one finds what I consider to be the most handsome of the giraffe species, the Reticulated giraffe. This photo of a few of them was taken in Samburu, a mostly stark, arid area where a good number of these endangered animals co-exist with a couple of other northern Kenyan endemics such as Grevy’s zebra and Beisa oryx. I’ve always described the Reticulated giraffe as the oil painting of giraffes, compared with the more washed out – ‘watercolor’ – Southern giraffe. If you’ve seen Reticulated giraffes in nature, I think you will agree. Their spots are a vivid, dark burnt orange which make the white stripes stand out even more. Another good place to find and observe Reticulated giraffes is the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya

Taken in the Lewa Conservancy in northern Kenya, this photo of three Reticulated giraffes also illustrates their striking color pattern. And my penchant for trying to get several giraffe necks and heads in the same photo…

Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya

There is considerable disagreement among scientists as to the specific number of giraffe species. Some maintain that there’s only one ‘giraffe’ with several subspecies. Others contend that there are as many as eight distinct species. A giraffe that is widely considered to be a subspecies is the Rothschild’s or Nubian giraffe. I photographed this one walking in a yellow-barked acacia forest on the edge of Lake Nakuru in Kenya. Full species or not, it is certainly a handsome beast with its characteristic white ‘sox’.

Giraffe Center, Nairobi

There are several Rothschild’s giraffes at the popular Giraffe Center in Nairobi, Kenya. The Giraffe Center is operated by the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, to educate Kenyan youth about the country’s wildlife and environment and to provide visitors an opportunity to come into close contact with the giraffes. ‘Armed’ with a handful of giraffe pellets, visitors walk up a ramp to a balcony from where they can feed the giraffes at eye-level. The giraffes know the game. Whenever there are visitors, there are giraffes ready to stick out their crazy long tongues to retrieve a treat and be photographed. All for a good cause. Funds raised by the Giraffe Center have helped with efforts to re-establish the endangered Rothschild giraffe in several wilderness areas elsewhere in Kenya.

Royal Malewane, Thornybush Reserve – South Africa

A giraffe drinking is quite a sight to behold. This photo which I took on a game drive from Royal Malewane in South Africa illustrates the peculiar posture which a giraffe has to adopt in order to get its mouth down low enough to drink water from a pond or river. The exact mechanism by which a giraffe gets enough water in its mouth and up its massively long neck, isn’t entirely clear. What is clear is that giraffes are vulnerable to predation when they are drinking and they are always careful to look around for lions, before assuming the position.

Skeleton Coast area, Namibia

A little known fact about giraffes is just how adaptable they are. As a result giraffes are widely distributed in most habitats throughout Africa, even in some areas which are inhospitable to many life-forms. On two separate visits to Namibia’s Skeleton Coast we saw several groups of desert-adapted Angolan giraffe, a sub-species concentrated around ephemeral or seasonal rivers such as the Hoarusib, Huab and Hoanib. Wherever you see groves of acacia albida (Ana) and acacia erioloba (Camelthorn) trees, you can expect to find these giraffes. This photo was taken on a game drive out of Wilderness Safaris’ Hoanib Skeleton Coast Camp.

Okavango Delta, Botswana

Baby giraffes are cute. Like most other animals. These two youngsters were photographed on a game drive out of Wilderness Safaris’ Abu Camp in Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Even at a young age, giraffes adopt the typical habits of the species like being inquisitive and observant. They can see you long before you can see them, and they fully utilize their special advantage, always looking and staring. When safari guides are out on game drives searching for predators, they make a point of checking out where the giraffes are looking. If giraffes are standing still and staring consistently in the same direction, it is always a good indication that a predator is around.

Samburu, Kenya

Giraffes are relatively common in many areas in Africa. We always expect to see some – and sometimes many – in places like Mashatu in south-eastern Botswana, in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, pretty much all over northern Botswana, the north-eastern lowveld of South Africa including all but the far northern part of Kruger Park, and in most East African parks and game reserves. While it is still fairly easy to see giraffes on a trip to Africa, it is a disturbing reality that giraffe numbers have decreased by 30% over the last three decades, with about 110,000 remaining. Even though giraffes as a species are not endangered, they are considered threatened and the situation could get worse, if current trends persist. Mostly, their numbers are dropping because of habitat loss, which happens when woodlands are converted into farms and ranches. Trophy hunting and poaching also play a role in their steady demise. Some of the species – or subspecies – such as the Reticulated Giraffe are in fact endangered, with their numbers down more than 90% compared with earlier times. These Reticulated giraffes photographed in Samburu in northern Kenya are nowadays found mostly in a few wildlife sanctuaries, with less than 10,000 of them surviving.

In our blog post next week, we will take a look at Africa’s signature mammal: the African elephant. With plenty of photographs and a few of our most indelible memories of interacting with these behemoths in all parts of Africa over the years.

More Info

Email bert@fisheaglesafaris.com

Email jason@fisheaglesafaris.com

@fisheaglesafarishouston

#FishEagleSafaris

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN

Destinations

Zambia

10th September 2021

Chindeni and the Bushcamp Company, Zambia

By late July we found ourselves at Chindeni, a small Bushcamp Company property

Botswana

Destinations

Okavango Delta

3rd October 2022

Camp Okavango, Botswana

Camp Okavango is in the heart of the permanent part of the Delta. In this idyllic setting there are no vehicles, and it is just a short walk

Area

Destinations

Nyerere National Park

Ruaha

Tanzania

14th October 2023

From My Safari Notebook: Wildlife Photography

Birds in flight and wildlife photographers have an uneasy relationship. Things go wrong as often as they go right. Getting focus-lock on a moving subject

READERS FAVOURITES

Destinations

Zambia

10th September 2021

Chindeni and the Bushcamp Company, Zambia

By late July we found ourselves at Chindeni, a small Bushcamp Company property

Botswana

Destinations

4th August 2022

On Safari At Belmond Eagle Island Lodge, Okavango Delta

What is the ‘secret sauce’ for an unforgettable few days on safari in Botswana? It starts with the animals, of course. The elephants, lions, giraffes, hippos

Destinations

India

27th May 2023

India

India’s tiger, mammals and birds.

A visit to Kruger National Park & Sabi Sand Reserve, South Africa

10th September 2020

A visit to Kruger National Park & Sabi Sand Reserve, South Africa

Over the course of a week or so in the Kruger Park area I discovered a couple of superb new camps and revisited an old favorite, saw lots of animals – including many big cats and African painted dogs – benefited from expert guiding and was served some of the best food I’ve ever had on safari.

SINGITA LEBOMBO

On a recent September visit to South Africa, I traveled by road from the southern Sabi Sand area for about three hours to Singita Lebombo, on the eastern edge of the park.

This was my first visit to Singita Lebombo, and it did not disappoint. Singita sets an exceedingly high standard for the safari experience, at all of their Southern and East African properties. As I was to see for myself at Singita Lebombo as well as at Singita Ebony and Singita Boulders – which I were to visit later on – the properties excel at every facet of the guest experience. You might think that the food at Singita is out of this world – and it is – or that the lodges have simply the best stocked wine cellars, which is also true. But it doesn’t stop there. The same attention to quality and detail extends throughout the operation, from the selection and training of guides, to the front of house staff, property management, as well as the planning, design and execution of the lodges. Even more important is how successful the company has been in mobilizing its resources to create programs that benefit the people, wildlife and the areas in which it operates, all to safeguard Africa’s most vulnerable species and natural habitats.

Singita Lebombo is an architecturally striking lodge with clean modern design, lots of glass and plenty of natural light. The main dining room, bar and lounge have beautiful views over the foothills of the Lebombo mountains and Mozambique in the distance. The expansive kitchen turns out simply fantastic food. It takes confidence to attempt dishes of this quality and then to actually live up to advance billing is an achievement anywhere. All the more so here, in such a remote area.

The evening’s entertainment started with drinks in the Boma, by the fireside. It was a festive affair with a range of splendid South African wines and other beverages on offer. Guests had the choice of four white and four red wines including a Chardonnay, Chenic Blanc, Rose, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.

The food was bountiful too. The main offering was a range of charcoal grilled meats including beef, springbok, eland, lamb and beef ribs, pork ribs, and boerewors, the traditional South African ‘farmer’s sausage’, usually made with ground beef, sometimes a mix of beef and either pork or lamb. The starters were fantastic including snook pâté and chicken liver pâté, sweet corn fritters, Moroccan quinoa salad, citrus beetroot salad, ostrich sausage with bread pockets, sourdough bread, hummus, and marinated olives. If all that didn’t quite do it for you, you could also opt for fish fillets, grilled chicken, and oxtail stew. Side dishes included lentil bobotie, traditional ‘pap’ (a version of polenta), cabbage, shish kabobs with peanut sauce, sweet potatoes with a citrus reduction, broccoli and cauliflower, corn on the cob, and fruit skewers with ginger sauce. For dessert the chefs prepared a couple of South African traditional favorites, namely malva pudding and milk tart, and a peppermint crisp mousse. In recounting this menu, it occurred to me that I need to go back to this property immediately.

The morning game drive at Singita with our guide Margo started just after 6 am on a cloudy, rather blustery day. Margo succeeded admirably in making it a fun experience for the couple of safari veterans she had on board, as well as for a honeymooning couple from the USA, for whom it was game drive #1.

Although there were not large numbers of general plains game around, we did see a good variety of animals including plenty of giraffes, lots of Impala, some waterbuck, steenbok, several zebras here and there and a few wildebeest.

Of the bigger game species, sightings of note included two different male lions. One young intruder into the area just under four years old, the other a fully mature black maned individual, one of the dominant males in the local pride.

We also had good looks at a solitary old Buffalo whose face was often almost covered with several red billed oxpeckers and a large, handsome white rhino. Rhinos are apparently not easily seen in this area.

Lunch was started off with a flavorful focaccia bread with olive oil and fresh feta cheese. The tapas menu included carrot and coconut soup, apple walnut grape salad, beetroot polenta with white wine reduction, shimeji mushrooms, a butternut risotto, salmon tartare and carpaccio of kudu. All interesting, all expertly prepared and delicious.

The afternoon game drive at Singita was as good as any I had experienced on the trip thus far. Early on we observed a female leopard snoozing close to a recent kill, an unfortunate impala strung up in a tree just a few meters from where the leopard was resting. The leopard was the most relaxed of any of the Lebombo leopards and she paid not a whit of attention to our vehicle or to the two others which came and went. From there we proceeded to a different area where another leopard had killed an impala, close to the overhang of a cliff, alongside the Nuanetsi river. There was no sign of the leopard and the carcass seemed to have been abandoned. Later that afternoon we watched a black backed jackal sniffing around the area.

Shortly afterwards, having picked up our tracker Lawrence again – he had to do some remedial work on tracks our vehicle had left in the riverbed – we went on to our second lion sighting at Singita Lebombo. This time around there were two female lions belonging to the Mountain pride, walking away from a pan where they had been drinking. One of them crossed the road in front of us and it was painfully obvious that she had a bad case of mange. No doubt brought on by the stressful conditions of the drought. We were told that the cubs in this pride were currently malnourished due to an injured free-loading male lion who was hogging much of the food supply. One of the lionesses turned around and went back to the water where we had a chance to see her drink. And then almost as an added bonus we enjoyed our second leopard sighting of the day. This time it was a female lying on the road. She got up as we approached and slunk off towards the bushes, in the gathering darkness. Not alarmed or spooked, but somewhat more apprehensive than some of the more habituated individuals we had seen. There was not enough light to focus for photography but it definitely didn’t matter – the experience was firmly embedded in our personal memory banks. Dinner was superb again with a starter of seafood and ostrich fillet main course.

KIRKMAN’S KAMP, SABI SAND RESERVE

In somewhat of a departure from the usual early morning game drive, I did a site inspection at the nearby Singita Sweni Lodge, and the adjacent African village shopping area. Both impeccable. Singita Sweni Lodge’s seven spacious, open-plan suites are tucked into the banks of the Sweni River. The rich and vibrant interiors add to the dramatic look and feel of the lodge. The suites feature sweeping views through floor-to-ceiling glass, there are daybeds for sleeping under the stars and private decks that seem to float above the river.

At 11:00 I departed on a 3 hour drive to Kirkman’s Kamp, in the Sabi Sand Reserve. We first visited Kirkmans when it was still in the MalaMala stable, many years ago. We liked it then and nothing material has changed. The game-viewing is still as good as it gets, with all of the ‘Big Five’ mammals being seen practically every day, week in and week out. From the first time we saw it, we were drawn to Kirkman’s classic safari ambience. Built in the style of an original 1920’s homestead, the property is elevated on a high ridge with spectacular views over the landscape sloping down to the Sand River.

After a delicious al fresco lunch, it was time for the afternoon game drive departing at 3:20. Having received a very proper briefing, we trundled out of camp, the main objective being to locate a male lion coalition of two. We did that in short order, initially observing them in a rather sleepy, resting posture and then walking through the bush. Both lions sported beautiful black manes – and one of them had a prominent dislodged right lower incisor dangling from his lip. It didn’t seem to faze him at the time; the tooth was expected to fall off by itself soon enough.

That evening, we enjoyed a boma dinner, a rather elaborate affair capped with a lively singing and dancing performance by staff members. The menu included corn soup or asparagus as a starter; mains of chicken Cordon Bleu or grilled fillet of kudu and the grand finale was either an orange panna cotta or sticky toffee pudding.

The following morning’s activity started with a call to my room, prompting me to remain indoors for the next 20 minutes due to the presence of a leopard in the path in front of room number 10 and 11. I was in room number 13. Once the coast was clear, I made it to the reception area deck for a cup of coffee and a rusk, and then – naturally – we were off to find the ‘camp-exploring’ leopard. It didn’t take long. About 30 minutes later we were making our way through some pretty thick bush to where the leopard had been seen walking. It eventually got into a tree, where we were able to photograph it fairly well. Not ideal – due to a backlit situation – which wildlife photographers know is a problem without a real solution. You make the most of it with exposure variation, increasing the exposure by a few increments, trying to correct the exposure on the darker animal, without blowing out the lighter background. Somewhat unexpectedly the leopard snarled at our vehicle a couple of times – it was clearly not entirely happy with the situation.

Eventually the animal climbed down the tree and walked to a nearby ridge from where it observed the surroundings from its elevated position.

Unbeknownst to us the male lions which we had observed the previous night had made a kill only 300 meters down the ridge from where the leopard was sitting. In fact, we could see the lions from there. We made our way back to the road, drove around the corner and there they were: both of the boys literally sprawled out in the middle of the bush track. Just 20 meters or so away, was their thoroughly mauled buffalo victim. Its massive head had been bent backwards and sideways in an unnatural, clearly violent manner when it met its demise sometime the previous night.

The lions were not actively feeding, just lying there and resting up before going back to the buffalo carcass again. It would probably last them for a couple of days or more.

We then drove off to the bank of the Sand River where we stopped for a bush break and enjoyed a cup of coffee.

Just as we were finishing up, the radio came alive with news that a group of African painted dogs had been spotted in the Charleston sector of adjacent Malamala game reserve where Kirkman’s has traversing rights. Off we went to go and find them. After 10 minutes or so of steady but not overly fast or aggressive driving, we spotted the first of what would prove to be about 20 dogs in total.

We followed the painted dogs through the woodland, into the riverbed where they paused for a while, some of them drinking water from a depression, and then we picked them up again as they exited the river on the other side.

All the while the youngsters were sniffing at everything and clearly finding new and exciting things along the way. They stopped to inspect a buffalo skull and horns, ducked behind stumps, poked into bushes and generally followed the lead of the adult painted dogs who were running ahead of the pack, seemingly in hunting mode. By the time the pack started to disperse and move into thicker bush, it was time for us to return to camp for breakfast.

HAMILTON’S CAMP KRUGER PARK

A little later that morning I was on my way to Hamilton’s tented camp, a six-roomed property inside the Kruger Park about a two hour drive from Skukuza airport and about 2.5 hours from Kruger gate.

The camp can also be reached by road from Hoedspruit airport; this would entail a road transfer closer to 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

The drive from Skukuza to Hamilton’s was not unpleasant with good numbers of general plains game to be seen including zebra, buffalo and giraffe. I also spotted two white rhinos grazing around a depression where recent rainfall had resulted in a bit of green emerging vegetation.

I liked what I saw on arrival at Hamilton’s: it had an attractive lounge and dining room area located on the banks of a river, with beautiful tented rooms with air conditioning, a bath and outdoor shower, mosquito nets, ample storage space plus adequate lighting.

The afternoon game drive started slowly but it soon became apparent that there were lots of animals around. We were almost never not in sight of something: giraffe, kudu, zebra, elephant, buffalo, warthog, impala, there were animals everywhere. The afternoon ended on a high note with an excellent leopard sighing, being a solitary male lying up in the open on a sandy bank along a drainage line. He was apparently very full from just having fed on an impala, so not very active. It suited me just fine for a few photographs.

Our last day in the Kruger Park was not an ideal day to be on safari. It was blustery and downright cold at times with a strong wind whipping around camp, and right through the passengers in the semi open game drive vehicles. And of course the animals were not immune to the impact of the weather. My capable guide Gareth and I gave it a good shot and he did manage to find and show me the young male leopard in the marula tree, which we had briefly spotted earlier. The leopard was finishing up the last of the impala kill which was by now reduced to mostly skin, ribs and leg bones. After about 10 minutes or so the leopard dropped down from the tree and disappeared into the low bushes.

With the wind becoming even stronger and some rain making things decidedly unpleasant, we called it a day and returned to camp.

In next week’s blog: I travel to the northern and then western part of the Sabi Sand reserve in search of more special places and experiences.

More Info

Email bert@fisheaglesafaris.com

Email jason@fisheaglesafaris.com

@fisheaglesafarishouston

#FishEagleSafaris

YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTED IN

Destinations

Zambia

10th September 2021

Chindeni and the Bushcamp Company, Zambia

By late July we found ourselves at Chindeni, a small Bushcamp Company property

Botswana

Destinations

Okavango Delta

3rd October 2022

Camp Okavango, Botswana

Camp Okavango is in the heart of the permanent part of the Delta. In this idyllic setting there are no vehicles, and it is just a short walk

Area

Destinations

Nyerere National Park

Ruaha

Tanzania

14th October 2023

From My Safari Notebook: Wildlife Photography

Birds in flight and wildlife photographers have an uneasy relationship. Things go wrong as often as they go right. Getting focus-lock on a moving subject

READERS FAVOURITES

Destinations

Zambia

10th September 2021

Chindeni and the Bushcamp Company, Zambia

By late July we found ourselves at Chindeni, a small Bushcamp Company property

Botswana

Destinations

4th August 2022

On Safari At Belmond Eagle Island Lodge, Okavango Delta

What is the ‘secret sauce’ for an unforgettable few days on safari in Botswana? It starts with the animals, of course. The elephants, lions, giraffes, hippos

Destinations

India

27th May 2023

India

India’s tiger, mammals and birds.

KENYA TRIP REPORT PART 1: THE MASAI MARA

1st July 2020

KENYA TRIP REPORT PART 1:
THE MASAI MARA

Since I first started traveling to Kenya in the 1990’s, I have grown increasingly fond of this beautiful and incredibly diverse country and its friendly, easy-going people. With every return visit, my previous perceptions about Kenya as a safari destination have been re-validated, notably that it is an ideal destination for a first African safari. No doubt about that. Kenya has lots of animals which are easy to see, it has remarkable diversity in terms of habitats, wildlife, scenery and activities along with a well-functioning tourism infrastructure.

Culturally, Kenya is rich and diverse, it has excellent accommodation options in each area, great guiding and – like I said – friendly people who are genuinely interested in your well-being and happiness. So learn a few Swahili phrases, get your E-visa online, and get ready for a fantastic experience! Of course, if you’ve already been, you know most of this. But do keep on reading as there’s lots of information here about some places you might not have been to yet, like the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, or the Olare Motorogi Conservancy in the Masai Mara.

On my most recent trip, last June, I arrived at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on South African Airways after an on-time, uneventful flight. Getting a visa was a cinch – it literally took less than 10 minutes. Then a gremlin appeared in the way of a long and disorganized, scrum-like line to get one’s luggage scanned in an industrial-sized luggage scanner. Of which there really should be more than one, clearly. To compound matters, traffic congestion caused a lengthy delay getting out of the airport and on to the road to downtown.

Even so, I remained in a good mood, just happy to be back in Kenya. Here’s a tip for African travel in general and specific to Nairobi and Kenya: be prepared for a little bit of chaos mixed in with smiles from people who are genuinely pleased that you have decided to make your way there.

NAIROBI SERENA HOTEL

The security check on arrival at the Nairobi Serena Hotel was thorough, but not brusque. I never felt rushed or intimidated. A little bit of courtesy goes a long way. Reception at the hotel was smooth and professional, as was my in-room briefing. The room was luxuriously appointed, with the usual amenities including tea and coffee-making facilities, multi-channel TV, air conditioning, and thoughtfully designed charging facilities with a phone-ready cable for your iphone, and enough USB and universal plugs capable of accepting a US type plug without an adaptor.

I tried both the Asian fusion and traditional restaurants at the hotel for dinner and breakfast respectively, and they were both good. Serena has a well-deserved reputation for their breakfast spread and the Nairobi Serena Hotel was no exception.

LOLDIA HOUSE, LAKE NAIVASHA

From this point on and for the duration of my trip to the Masai Mara, I was accompanied by Zachary Methu, an affable, extremely capable and hugely knowledgeable Origins Safaris guide. What a difference a good guide makes! It took about 3 hours by road to get to Lake Naivasha, where I would spend a couple of nights at Loldia House. I had been looking forward to a return visit to this lovely old home which was built by Italian prisoners-of-war during WWII. Just like the last time, I spent a peaceful night in Room #1. Being inside the main house, it is convenient, large, and has beautiful views over the garden and the lake. The bathroom has been upgraded.

I enjoyed some bird photography and a delicious lunch, and went for a 5K run later in the afternoon in the cultivated (farm) portion of the estate. That evening, we enjoyed a delightful dinner – table d’hote style – with 8 other guests and the manager. The 3-course, plated meal was expertly prepared and served. Breakfast the next morning was equally good, particularly the pancakes.

Loldia is the perfect place to spend one’s first couple of nights in Kenya, prior to going on safari. It’s a great introduction to Kenya’s wildlife with a good variety of game to be seen including buffalo, hippo, impala, gazelles and giraffe. On night drives hyenas, owls, and bush pigs may be seen.

Included activities at Loldia are an afternoon game drive with sundowner drinks, a boat cruise on Lake Naivasha early in the morning and a night game drive after dinner. Beyond those, Loldia offers a host of optional activities (at additional cost), such as guided trips to Lake Nakuru, Crescent Island, Hell’s Gate, Crater Lake, Lake Ol Odien, Eburru Forest, Aberdare National Park, Lake Elementaita, and Lake Bogoria. There’s also golf available at the nearby Great Rift Valley Lodge, horse-riding and a tour of the nearby rose farm.

Room 1 at Loldia is in the main house; rooms 2, 3 and 4 (all upgraded) are in the garden. Room 6 and 7 (thatched roofs) are also in the garden. Room 8 and 9 are in the Top Cottage and room 10 is in the Top Cottage loft and has a separate/outside bathroom.

MARA BUSHTOPS, MASAI MARA

Fom Naivasha it was a solid 5 hour 30 minutes drive to Mara Bushtops, situated in a game-rich conservancy just to the north of the Masai Mara National Park. The impressive tented rooms are solidly in the deluxe category with beautiful wrap around views over the surrounding bush. There was an indoor and outdoor shower, Wi-Fi and an outdoor jacuzzi which can be filled in advance. The room has a buzzer to summon your personal butler. The room lighting wasn’t quite up to my ‘bright, clear, and easy to operate’ expectations.

A two-hour afternoon game drive on the Isaaten Conservancy illustrated once again why Kenya is such a good choice for a first – or any – safari. Without too much driving at all we notched up good views of elephants (lots of them!), giraffes all over the place, many zebras, scattered groups of wildebeest, impala, Thompson’s gazelle, topi, eland, Kirk’s dik-dik, vervet monkeys, warthogs and bat-eared foxes. Guests who spend three nights or more at Mara Bushtops will usually spend a half or full day inside the Masai Mara National Park; the lodge is only about 30 minutes from the Sekenani gate. Dinner was first class in every way in what was essentially a full-blown restaurant with multiple starters, main courses and dessert options. No set hours: you dine when you want to.

Exercise note: Mara Bushtops caters for health enthusiasts more than most other camps. They have a large pool with adjacent heated jacuzzi, a sauna, a small gym with weights and a treadmill. The Amani Spa at Mara Bushtops has a wide range of beauty treatments and massage and rejuvenation treatment options, several of which cater for couples.

ASILIA NABOISHO CAMP, NABOISHO CONSERVANCY

It was a relatively short drive today to the Naboisho Conservancy where I spent the night at Asilia’s Naboisho camp. Naboisho is a well organized camp with friendly and attentive management and staff, superior guiding by Dickson Kaleku, and abundant wildlife. I also did a site inspection at nearby Mara Encounter and liked what I saw, particularly the adventurous walk through a small, dense forest on the way into camp. I can recommend both of these camps and the Naboisho area without any reservation. The game viewing was as good as I’ve experienced anywhere – ever – with huge numbers of wildebeest around. It felt like the migration season, even though we knew it was not. We saw many lions and enjoyed an exceptionally good cheetah sighting with three sub-adult cubs. Plus elephants, eland, topi, gazelles, impala, zebra, giraffe and more.

Exercise note: Not an ideal spot for exercise, but you can go on an extended walk of a few hours duration with an armed professional guide.

MARA PLAINS CAMP, OLARE MOTOROGI CONSERVANCY

The next day, it was on to Mara Plains Camp in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy. This conservancy is a model of how local landowners and conservation-minded safari operators can work together for a greater goal, being the preservation of Kenya’s wildlife heritage for generations to come. In this huge area – which otherwise would have been dotted with homesteads and overrun with cattle, sheep and goats – wildlife is thriving and the local communities benefit with employment and cash income. Mara Plains Camp is a Relais & Chateaux property and it shows on many levels from the impeccable quality of the food and beverage offerings to the attentive and competent management and staff. I was wowed from beginning to end. The massive rooms are dramatically set on the edge of a seasonal creek.

For the few days that you may spend at Mara Plains you will be in a cocoon of unadulterated luxury. While guests no doubt appreciate the luxury touches and the property’s high level of sophistication, the lasting impression is of a team of people with a clearly defined mission to be a force for good in both conservation and community. The wildlife experience at Mara Plains on this trip was just as good as it was on a previous visit to the area, a few years ago. At that time I recall seeing as many as seven different mammal species all at the same time.

It would not be unreasonable to expect to see three big cat species – leopard, lion and cheetah – on a 3 night stay at Mara Plains; in fact we saw all three on one game drive, on this trip! Most memorably, I photographed a cheetah crossing a small road within the conservancy, while a local resident on a motorbike (here known as a boda-boda) paused for a few minutes, to give the cheetah the space to do so without pressure. Only in Kenya! We also saw various prides of lions, some with cubs of varying ages, and a host of other mammals and birds. My Mara Plains hosts Rich and Lorna – as well as Kyra – went out of their way to make me feel at home.

Exercise note: Clearly not a good place to go jogging, but each room has a yoga mat and a jump rope.

ASILIA REKERO CAMP, MASAI MARA

My next stop was Rekero – another Asilia property – located in an ideal spot on the Talek River with a great view down-river, inside the Masai Mara National Park. The huge deck is a perfect place to discover the coming and going of numerous birds including the rather stunning blue fly catcher which I tried to photograph with some success. Rekero is so well hidden in the thick riverine forest along the Talek River that it remains completely hidden until you walk into camp, from the parking area. There are nine tented rooms, two of which are family rooms; the tents are quite spacious with a separate en suite bathroom with plenty of hot water, a separate vestibuli with a day-bed and adequate lighting. I slept soundly by the sound of water rushing over the rocks in the Talek River. The food at Rekero was excellent and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner with a mix of South Africans, Texans and Kenyans and a couple from San Francisco.

We enjoyed yet another superb day of game-viewing in the Masai Mara spotting a leopard with an impala kill in a tree, four different groups of lions, two prides with cubs (from literally 1.5 weeks to several months old) some handsome full-maned male lions, powerful females, sub adults and more.

INTREPIDS CAMP, MASAI MARA

Intrepids camp, my accommodation for the following day, is quite large with 32 tents but with the rooms strategically spread out along the edge of the Talek River in thick vegetation, the camp does not have a ‘crowded’ feel.

The rooms are quite smart and nicely equipped with decent lighting, mosquito nets, a separate shower and toilet with door, a deluxe wash basin and ample mirrors. There is Wi-Fi everywhere in the camp. Each room has a small desk and ample storage and clothes hanging space. The bathroom area and particularly the shower of my room number 14 was starting to look a bit tired and is definitely in need of refurbishment.

Hot water – provided by wood burning boilers – is available from 5 to 9 a.m. and 5 to 9 p.m. Lunch was served buffet-style with multiple choices and options including a wide variety of vegetarian items. For dinner meals are plated with a substantial number of options for starters, main course and even for dessert.

What makes Intrepids a good choice though is the location. It is ideally located in the heart of the Masai Mara right where the action is during the migration season. From here your guide can take you towards the Musiara area if needs be, or to the main or Serena crossing over the Mara River, or even further afield to the southern section of the Mara in search of whatever is out there, including of course potential wildebeest crossings.

Exercise note: Mara Intrepids has an extensive trail/walkway winding through the camp and past the vehicle maintenance area, so this is a property where you can plan on getting a few miles under the belt.

MARA EXPLORER CAMP, MASAI MARA

The next day my journey would take me on to Mara Explorer camp, Intrepids’ smaller and more luxurious sister tented camp. Mara Explorer has just 10 quite elegant tented rooms, most with good views over the Talek River which was flowing quite strongly on the day. The rooms are spacious with a separate indoor shower (shower head needed replacement), a toilet with a door and an outside bath with a view. Hot water available from 5 – 9 a.m. and from 5 – 9 p.m.

The rooms are on the edge of the Talek River and some of them, like mine (#4), are very close to a sizable number of hippos hanging out in a hippo pool in a bend of the river. So if you really like hippos and don’t mind them waking you up at around 5 a.m. when they go back in the water then this is just the room for you. Our game drive today produced a sighting of an acclaimed coalition of four cheetahs, as well as some good views of lions and buffaloes. The day was rounded off nicely with a surprise bush dinner.

MARA NGENCHE CAMP, MASAI MARA

It was a shortish drive this day to Mara Ngenche, sister camp to Samburu’s Elephant Bedroom camp. The property is located in a prime spot at the confluence of the Talek and Mara Rivers with the rooms having views over either of the river beds. My room was large with a comfortable king bed, decent lighting, indoor shower and bath and outside shower. It also had a private plunge pool, lounge chairs and hammock. The staff was friendly and attentive and obliged with a special local meal with items such as ugali and sukuma wiki.

The dining room, lounge and bar tents were likewise quite well done; food was superb and varied with several choices of starters, mains and desserts. Game drives in the area were productive and we had a good morning with several sightings of leopards, among others.

ELEPHANT PEPPER CAMP, MARA NORTH CONSERVANCY

It was a slightly longer drive today, leaving the Masai Mara National Park at Musiara gate into Mara North Conservancy. I was initially somewhat put off by the presence of a large village not far from the gate, with several herds of cattle around. However, by the time we got to our next stop, Elephant Pepper Camp, everything had changed. It turned out to be a lovely and clearly well-run camp with energetic and friendly management, who made me feel welcome right away. I liked everything I saw about Elephant Pepper from the camp layout, the nice rooms with good lighting, to the fun meal-times. We arrived in the middle of a leopard sighting and that pretty much set the tone for the remainder of my stay. It turned out that the game viewing at Elephant Pepper – particularly for the big cats – was terrific. Zachary and I had some of the best views of the entire trip of cheetahs and lions on what was to be our last proper game drive in the Mara. A short spell of rain did nothing to dampen our spirits – in fact it set up an opportunity to get a photo of a wet lion shaking its mane.

KAREN BLIXEN COTTAGES – NAIROBI

It took just over 5 hours to drive back from Elephant Pepper to the suburb of Karen on the west side of Nairobi. We encountered heavy traffic in spots with lots of 16-wheeler trucks, the road being the main artery from the port of Mombasa to the East African interior. I was happy to have someone as experienced and patient as Zachary behind the steering wheel. This evening, I spent the night at Karen Blixen Coffee Garden & Cottages. Located in one of the oldest formal gardens in Kenya (with lots of great birds around), the hotel is convenient to the Karen Blixen Museum, Wilson Airport, Sheldrick elephant orphanage and Nairobi National Park. In contrast to the historic main building, the individual cottage suites are quite modern and spacious with high-beam ceilings, fireplaces, verandahs, a bath, shower, and TV. I enjoyed lunch and dinner at the adjacent Tamarind restaurant and could not fault the excellent ostrich burger and grilled tuna fillet, or the swift and friendly service. I took a cab to the nearby Karen Mall for some shopping at the Kikoy store and the well-stocked aisles of Carrefour grocery store (candy stop!). The next morning I would be on my way to Lewa in the northern part of Kenya.

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