Going Round Mt Kenya - Kenya Trip Report December 2006
 

We got back from our trip on Christmas Day and I have started the report. I will post the first part very soon, but in the meantime here are the first of the pictures - sorry I didn't put them together but if I waited until everything was finished I've no idea when it would be. Once I've posted this I'm obliged to make myself finish it fairly soon.... is the theory!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-aegjde

Our itinerary was supposed to be

Dec 7 Bangkok – Nairobi
Dec 8 Nairobi – Stanley
Dec 9-12 Meru NP- Elsa’s Kopje
Dec 13-14 Shaba NR – Sarova
Dec 15-17 Samburu NR – Serena
Dec 18-19 Ol Pejeta Conservancy – Sweetwaters
Dec 20-21 Aberdare NP – Tusk Camp
Dec 22 Mount Kenya NP – Mountain Lodge
Dec 23 Nairobi – Stanley
Dec 24 Day room at Stanley – Flight to Bangkok

Some awesome birdpictures here. Thanks for sharing, am looking forward to the report, makes my waiting time a bit shorter.

siro

Really enjoyed your pictures, I had to look at them twice. I lived vicariously through you to Adamson’s Falls and Elsa’s grave. Even though you still had some rain while in Meru NP it must have been better conditions, they were very discouraging about trying to go to Adamson’s Falls when we were there.

A gaggle of reports on Meru and more people going?

By the way the pictures are chosen to illustrate the report for the most part (however, SOME of the blurry ones are supposed to be that way -honest!). I’ll post a link to the photos after Meru NP when I get the next part of the report done. In fact this part doesn’t even get to the end of the pictures.

I am going to write far too much. This is a report that keeps growing and growing. Since that is rather sel-indulgent, for those who only want the “meat and potatoes” I will try to remember to put tangents in separate paragraphs and add a warning first … but forgive me if I forget. The first part was made particularly and deliberately long so it gave Patty and Joyce a chance to write up Meru first - I promise to speed up later.

Itinerary (as we booked it!)
Dec 7 Bangkok - Nairobi
Dec 8 Stanley, Nairobi
Dec 9-12 Elsa’s Kopje, Meru NP
Dec 13-14 Sarova, Shaba NR
Dec 15-17 Serena, Samburu/Buffalo Springs
Dec 18-19 Sweetwaters, Ol Pejeta Conservancy
Dec 20-21 Tusk Camp, Aberdare NP
Dec 22 Mountain Lodge, Mount Kenya NP
Dec 23 Stanley, Nairobi
Dec 24 Day room at Stanley, night flight home


Preamble… We started planning this trip as soon as we got back from Kenya last December. The planning thread is not of great interest but it’s at
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34739645

Salient details are that we lost a $500 deposit at Il Ngwesi before we even set out (not their fault but it IS their policy… and our reasons for cancelling had nothing to do with the destination, which I still very much want to visit), that we chose Serena in Samburu because it appeared to be most accessible to the wildlife (both in terms of us getting out to see them, and them getting in to see us) and that Sweetwaters was a reluctantly-added last minute replacement for two of the nights at Il Ngwesi - the other went to a fourth night at in Meru NP. Oh, and my wife is terrified of small planes, but we were flying to Meru. In some cases there was no logic to this logic.

Having planned for a year we were pretty excited in the few days before the trip and when bags were packed we missed a couple of things. Especially the charger for my portable hard drive. Oops!

We flew Kenya Airways, which now has direct flights from Bangkok to Nairobi (9 hours!!). We went Business Class and it was good. Sort of a super-super-duper economy class, complete with seats that go 90% flat. Food and service and in-flight entertainment are at the “learning” stage but there was nothing unpleasant or inedible, and those seats meant a nice 5 hours of sleep. We landed at 4.40 a.m. and got straight through immigration to await our bags for 45 minutes (guess it’s a little early for the baggage handlers!). Someone from Eastern & Southern (ESS) was there to meet us and take us to the hotel.

Our room at the Stanley was okay, but the second floor might be a bit noisy if you’re a light sleeper. I would stay there again for the sake of having the Thorn Tree downstairs and everything needed so convenient - camera stuff, food, souvenirs, books, decent coffee, a supermarket. Service is good, except in the Thorn Tree, where it is inexplicably slow … sometimes seems like every order has to be signed in triplicate before the waiter can fill it. But I still like the Thorn Tree. In the end I liked the hotel because it had a mix of African and tourist business and the staff were very friendly … doesn’t take much to please me, but it feels “lived in” and real if you know what I mean.

After our nap we had a coffee and a pizza at the Thorn Tree (interesting and tasty and not the same as the pizzas on the room service menu of the hotel) and packed everything we would need for Meru into one bag since we were going to leave the other with Serah at the ESS offices and have our driver/guide (Julius - same man Patty uses… which is coincidental) bring it up with him later, since we were flying to Meru and using Elsa’s Kopje vehicles while there. We paid the remaining 80% of our costs to Serah and had a chat with her about everything but the trip (after a year corresponding by email there wasn’t much left to clarify). She did warn us that Meru and Shaba were pretty wet but told us if it stayed dry we should be able to do everything as planned, but that we might need to accept a day indoors somewhere along the way.

WARNING … A KIND OF TANGENT (way more than you need to know about our experience at Nairobi Safari Walk) …………. We set off for a half-day tour with no agenda (my request since we couldn’t make up our minds exactly what to do). We started off with the Nairobi Safari Walk, and our driver didn’t take us inside, but that was fine because there was a ‘volunteer’ guide (that means you’re supposed to tip her, by the way) there to take us around. She was a student of (oops I forget, but it was relevant… zoology perhaps) and pleasant. She was a little formulaic at first but relaxed when she saw we were genuinely enjoying it and knew quite a bit about the animals and the place itself. And we DID enjoy it, surprisingly. I was expecting to be giving her the “let’s go to see the cheetahs now, nudge, nudge, wink, wink… is that my wallet in my pocket?.. Know what I mean?” after a polite viewing of a lonely hyena, a couple of sad giraffe and mangy, depressed lion (neither Nam Wan or I are zoo fans). However, the animals do have decent amount of space and by not spending much money on doing up the place they have left the animals with a pretty natural habitat (the Safari walk was created by building enclosures and walkways over a corner of the existing national park) where the vegetarians can actually graze on real trees, bushes and grass, and not just stand around waiting for feeding time. Of course seeing the Bongo (totally out of place) was sad and I’ll never really like seeing carnivores in captivity (except for our 8 cats) but what I saw was generally more interesting than depressing - they even have a walkway to take you to look over a waterhole in the unfenced national park, which would be nice in the dry season. We saw one “free” bushbuck… which I identified correctly from 100 m away (based on color, size, and location next to a bush, ) impressing both our guide and Nam Wan (although she showed this by making a snorting sound). The one-horned oryx is a dead ringer for a unicorn from the right angle - I just couldn’t bring myself to take such a corny picture but Nam Wan has no such “corn” problems and is proud owner of a few seconds of unicorn video - and the pygmy hippos are cute. It’s a zoo but it has its heart in the right place and it’s a lot better than sitting around the hotel - and all money to the KWS is probably well spent on what you are visiting Kenya for….which I can’t say about the bribes (oops… :-o I mean tips).

So the last enclosure we came to was the cheetahs and our guide told us that some people asked to pet the cheetahs but it was totally forbidden to enter the cages with the cheetahs (they’re not kept in the cages - they have quite a large space to themselves - they just eat and possibly sleep in them in bad weather or for shade) and that any keeper who let us in would be fired if the bosses found out. I didn’t solicit this in any way, except to mention that we loved cheetahs early on in the tour- which is not solicitation but conversation - and if I hadn’t been “in the know” I’d have been totally confused and maybe just a little shocked that some tourists liked to go into the cages with large predators.. As it was, I knew what was up and responded “what a pity…. I bet my wife would have loved to pet the cheetahs“. However, she said, the bosses weren’t around today and so IF I wanted to go in she could ask the keeper and see if it was possible, but we would have to give him something for his trouble because he could lose his job over it. I assured her I understood what “something” was and that was that. I won’t go on about the cheetah petting experience, except to say that the cheetah was more interested in it’s dinner (waiting in the next cage) than us, but did indeed purr like a pussycat when you stroked him right. I didn’t tip the keepers but left the money with our guide - I gave them the same that I gave her and perhaps less than expected…but I am afraid this is corruption folks, and I am very ambiguous about it, despite being relatively used to it.

DOUBLE WARNING …TANGENT WITHIN TANGENT (and not a feel-good conclusion either) …. I asked quite a few people about this cheetah hug thing while I was in Kenya… to try to find out what was going on. Although I don’t think this is the definitive answer, based on what I saw, what I heard before I went and what I heard while in Kenya the KWS has recently seriously considered ‘legalising’ the cheetah visits (it goes on at both the Safari Walk and the Orphanage) but decided against it. Instead they announced a strict ban on it and any keeper caught allowing tourists into the cages may indeed be fired. Although direct superiors are aware of it, they still seem to be turning a blind eye. I don’t really see any harm - at least at the safari walk the cheetahs have a decent space and are orphans designated to act as “ambassadors” (the safari walk is quite educational with a good guide and aims in part to teach local kids respect and love for their wildlife) and they are certainly not distressed by handling. They are a bit passive for cats but I saw the one we “met” immediately after and he seemed lively and normal, so I don’t suspect anyone of putting ganja in their kibble. However, although I do not know why KWS decided not to formalise things I do sympathise with KWS that since a decision has officially been made what is now going on is corruption within KWS and cannot be allowed (I mean that as a point of logic and not an edict!). I don’t know how much others pay in what was in no way a ‘tip’, but I do think there is a significant scam here and do not think KWS or the animals see the slightest benefit from it. There is no question of this being a case of us persuading the otherwise loyal keepers to make a little exception for us, pleeeease. We were solicited. Given that, I would be reluctant to do it again and I wouldn’t even mention it here if it was not already so well known. There may be another perspective but I think encouraging corruption in an organisation which protects the wildlife we love cannot be good. Oh and I think anyone can get themselves solicited at the Safari Walk with a nod and a wink … I don’t know about the Orphanage. Sorry, I am a bit cynical …. and Nam Wan enjoyed the experience tremendously - certainly one of the top 5 or so memories of the trip for her. Look upon it as “doing no real harm” if you wish….. J


BACK FROM TANGENT
After the Safari Walk, which had taken nearly three hours instead of the expected one we had a coffee and then visited the KWS shop at the entrance to Nairobi NP. It’s really quite good - lots of maps and guides for the national parks, and quite a bit of the stuff you‘d expect at a lodge gift shop. They even have a limited KWS clothing line! We spend a few thousand shillings there to unofficially ‘pay’ for the cheetah visit… and because we liked and needed the stuff. Visit it if you have the chance and perhaps your money will go to a better cause than if you spend it at the lodge gift shop.

In the evening we decided to have a noisy and crowded night out, since we expected we’d be having pretty quiet evenings for the next few days. So we went to Carnivore. It was a Friday night and getting a taxi who would wait proved a little difficult and more expensive than it should have been but we got there in time (I booked via email a week in advance and if I hadn’t wouldn’t have got in that night - it was full until after 8.30). Everything was the same as last year but we got a good table this time by booking in advance. I wouldn’t say it was quiet (understatement) but we were next to the garden outside (and not in the “tour group” section of the garden) and the atmosphere was much better. If you drink wine by the bottle, not the glass, you’ll enjoy Carnivore more. It reminds me of German beer halls a bit and it’s certainly not the place for a romantic dinner, but it‘s fun for us. And since it was the first place we ever visited in Kenya outside the airport and our hotel it’s always going to be a bit nostalgic. I’d rather go somewhere else but Nam Wan loves it (and she likes oldies too). A place for lovers of Elvis rather than Disneyland, perhaps? ;-) We got back to the Stanley about 10 o’clock and there was a really good band doing African covers in the Thorn Tree (well it sounded fabulous after a couple of bottles of wine, so I am downgrading it to ‘very good’). We listened to them for a while but were tucked up in bed by 11.

We woke up at 5.30 the next morning for our 8 o’clock flight and ordered a room service breakfast (they start serving at 6.30 downstairs). Ate and packed our one remaining bag - a suitcase - and went down to check out and get our ride to Wilson Airport for the flight to Meru NP. Were we excited? We were dancing down the stairs to the lobby!

The plane left at 7.30 instead of the scheduled 8 because all four passengers were already checked in. The flight was uneventful but notable for Nam Wan for being the first time the Captain has both opened the door and done the in-flight service - sweets (candy) - she works on 747s and is still smiling about it. In addition, one of the other passengers was Thai, but a Kenyan resident. Two people out of four on a plane going to Meru are Thai - another sign we are going to have an unusual trip if I’d read the tea leaves.

Joyce... They weren't initally keen on us going either - it was actually our guide, Joseph, who persuaded Anthony to let us go.. although two days of reasonably dry weather helped. I'm not sure about the better weather - I'd guess more changeable might be a more accurate description. Sorry you couldn't get to Adamson's Falls - it's a a great journey - but you'd have seen even less game if you'd headed down that way. I think you did the right things given you were only there two nights.

Thank you siro, but the credit goes to Meru NP. The light is fantastic for photographing birds if you get a good day - and absolutely miserable on a bad one ...on the downside.

Meru was green from the air and even greener on the ground once we had cleared the impala grazing on the runway to land. Grass was long and the bush was thick - so thick that even the dik-diks took a detour to get into it! The drive to Elsa’s Kopje made it clear game viewing was going to be challenging - apart from quite large numbers of dik-diks, impala, vulterine guinea fowl, sand grouse, helmeted guinea-fowl and ground squirrels we didn’t see anything. However it was beautiful and wild (they appear to have done a fantastic job of regenerating it, and at the moment may have felt they did TOO good a job) the sun was shining and there wasn’t another vehicle in sight.
(In fact although the bush is always thick in Meru, it should be semi-desert in places, with the many rivers attracting lots of elephants and other game).

We arrived at Elsa’s and were totally, suitably impressed. I will leave Patty to describe it, since we even had the same room and I do think she’s better at it than me ;-) I will say we were not as high up as I’d imagined. Although the kopje is very big, he elevation of the lodge is similar to the Serena in the Mara since it is built on the lower part of the kopje. Some of the views are getting partially obscured by trees too, but that’s about as critical as I can get. I guess the rooms are slightly more rustic than I expected but that was a plus for me - at least under the management of Anthony and Emma (a fairly young Kenyan couple who work hard to make sure you are taken care of in the way you want, within reason) the place is totally unpretentious. If you love nature and don’t mind spending the money, my recommendation would be unconditional. For me everything was perfect because the unexpected is a big part of the fun and the people at Elsa’s knew how to deal with the unexpected when it happened and wasn’t positive. Some people who had our experience might call it “lax”, but boo, hiss to them… I call it refreshing and relaxed. A real eye-opener for me that I might be a Cheli & Peacock type - still can’t believe I am, but I certainly very much like Elsa’s Kopje and all who sail in her.

Of course we were already semi-celebrities when we arrived thanks to Patty and Mark’s treasure hunt for us. Anthony and Emma were sure we must be firm friends and were very surprised to find out we had never even met. I think they found this a bit mad, but they were very polite about it.

At lunch Anthony asked us what we wanted to do that afternoon, but because of the “few drinks” the night before we weren’t feeling energetic and the bush we‘d seen was clearly the type that needed energy, so we ended up passing and slept until nearly 5. After a shower with a view we went for a sundowner in the sitting area of the main building and were later joined by Pu (the Thai woman) and her partner. Tables were put on the lawn for dinner and at least dessert was under the stars - it was cloudy - and we also ate with them that night. Food was great (no choice unless you request it, but that’s a choice isn’t it?) and with only 6 guests the ambience was something else. Quite a contrast to last night.

Woke up at 4.45 after a restful night. No lions or much else - just regular bush sounds, which reinforced that we were going to have to work hard for our sightings. From what Anthony and our driver from the airstrip had told us the elephants were being seen rarely, and even then in small numbers, lions were around but seen sporadically due to the very long grass, and cheetahs hadn’t been seen for nearly a month (this is contradicted by what Patty said, but I guess they meant by anyone at Elsa’s). Leopards were being spotted every couple of days but basically we were being gently warned that they couldn’t promise us that much and that we should choose where to go on our game drives appropriately, especially since the roads were still pretty bad in places. Anthony recommended the rhino sanctuary since some guests had recently proved it was accessible, without rain (well done Patty, Mark, Joyce and Rod!!). From the “menu” of activities in each room, with approximate driving times, we’d chosen Adamson’s Falls and Elsa’s Grave as two places that we wanted to go. Anthony wasn’t initially keen on either since no-one had been for a while and he didn’t really know what the roads would be like; and the journeys were long too, without much chance of game. However, we insisted we were keen if the drivers were keen to give it a go, and we’d quite understand that if we got stuck we’d have to wait for the rescue truck . :D

I woke up at 4.45 and found a dead mouse in our outdoor bathtub. No idea how it got there … perhaps dropped by a careless bird but there were no obvious wounds. After coffee in our room at 5.30 and a hot shower we went down to meet our driver. Unfortunately there’d been some kind of a mix up and we’d been assigned John, who had taken out Pu’s partner the evening before. Since Elsa’s policy is to assign the same driver throughout, and Pu’s partner was obviously quite taken with John, Anthony called up another driver (I should call them guides , and say all the guides at Elsa’a appear to be very good indeed, but with the roads the way they were it was their prowess behind the steering wheel that stood out for us!). In the end we had to swap our packed breakfast for their hot chocolate and take Joseph and his language of many colours. I will never know if under other circumstances we or anyone would have got Joseph as a guide (he‘s far the youngest and least experienced of the guides there and has a very strong accent, and I got the feeling somehow that he isn‘t first choice) but that is the kind of accident of fate which makes a trip…… I am quite sure none of the rest of this would have happened with anyone else. I have to write a little about Joseph since he is such a singular person . He says “bard” as in “that morn is a barder - he is lucking for bards in the boosh” but he is a bundle of energy and enthusiasm, which was what we needed, and real fun to be with. Who cares if we didn’t always understand him.

So we’re off at last! The roads are heavy and we don’t really expect to see much. After half an hour we see a herd of buffalo and it’s like wow! Buffalo! The animals are skittish here and even the buffalo scatter when they see us coming - here they run and then turn and face us off about 30-50 metres away, rather than stand their ground like they do in places they are more used to vehicles. After that we start to see more. We saw our first zebra, some impalas with calves, our first reticulated giraffe (also with a calf), our first warthogs (I told you expectations were low!!) and more interestingly three bat-eared foxes (“cute!” shouts Nam Wan). We also saw 4 different birds of prey (there are so many here) including my first martial eagle from close up. Basically though we’re seeing what is on the road in front of us, and then watching it walk or sprint away. We stopped at a large clearing for breakfast and scared off a small herd of eland with our arrival. A giraffe also runs for it when we arrive and we get the feeling we are the first people to visit here for weeks (not true of course, but we haven’t seen a single vehicle in two hours of driving). Joseph tells us that this usually a good place to spot animals because they come out of the bush to rest up. Breakfast is a fried egg sandwich, a sausage, cookies, fresh fruit salad and yoghurt. It’s all good, as is the coffee. The giraffe came back to watch us eating and so we did have wildlife with our breakfast - I am realising that we will have to be happy with sightings on a smaller scale and so take a picture of this. On the drive back we find some lion tracks, which is news since there have been no lion sightings for quite a few days apparently. We follow them but they disappear into the bush and off-roading is strictly forbidden in Meru. Joseph then stops and points, telling us “a curry bastarrrd” and indeed when I get my eyes focused there is a kori bustard in the grass. On the way back to the lodge it started to rain and we put the roof on the Landrover. Unfortunately, this vehicle was called up in a hurry this morning and it doesn’t seem quite waterproof, especially when the rain turns heavy and horizontal. Joseph gets soaked because of leaks and Nam Wan also gets wet on one side. It’s a bit of a shock - not part of our vision of our days at Elsa’s - but I am already getting the idea that going out is going to be a bit of an adventure - Nam Wan is still adjusting and is not amused.
(To be fair Anthony apologised profusely for the roof and changed vehicle for us).

One thing I noted is that when your vehicle comes in Anthony and/or Emma are always there to meet you and ask how things went. I found this to be a really nice touch.

After getting dry and Nam Wan being cheered up by a wonderful lunch , she got worked up by the handiwork of Titus the butler (she used to “tidy“ the room before we left but we‘d always come back and find it tidier still - drove her mad, but I convinced her she shouldn’t complain about it - they already thought we were slightly nutty). In the evening we see some more zebra, giraffe and buffalo, plus a Coke’s hartebeest and a lesser kudu crossing the road - the kudu are like ghosts here- you just get hazy glimpses and then they are gone. It was a pretty uneventful drive. No predators. No elephants. We find out we have gone quite a bit further than we thought (Joseph is an adventure waiting to happen) and as it gets dark we realise we are still an hour from camp. Joseph gets out the spotlight, but Nam Wan is getting cold because she did not bring a jacket and (more importantly) needs a pee. Since she has never needed a bush pee before she decides that doing her first in the dark next to thick bush is not on and sulks a bit. We saw some impala, an eagle owl and a genet and get back to the lodge at 7.30. Nam Wan stomps off and I have a word with Joseph about the need to watch her face and not mine for cues. Under normal circumstances this could have been an awkward evening but Emma has a good listen to Nam Wan and before long she’s laughing and smiling and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world. I tell the story because it’s the kind of place where this can happen. We have dinner in the restaurant tonight and an interesting chat over drinks with Anthony, who used to guide in Tsavo for a number of years. He reckons that elephants won’t ever charge you if you face them off and don‘t run - they’ll eventually go away - but I think the drink made him a little more emphatic on this point than he really wanted to be….he finally admitted that we probably shouldn’t test out this theory too much.

We woke up at 5 on Monday and coffee was delivered as ordered at 5.30. Today we’re out right on 6.30 because we’re going to Adamson’s Falls, which is over 2 hours away. The trip has been okayed on the basis that there has been no sustained rain for two days now. Pretty soon we’re in think woodland, which in parts is breathtakingly green - almost shining. The tsetses are enjoying our visit tremendously having been starved of tourists for so long, but fortunately they are only in patches and Joseph puts his foot down when we hit them. We see literally hundreds of dik-diks -every 50 meters there’s a new couple in places - and the ever-present sand grouse (I have no idea why people hunt these birds with guns - you simply have to drive fast and grab them out of the air as they fly past) but there is generally very little game visible. If there was a herd of elephants 5 meters from the edge of the road we probably wouldn’t see them. Still, we’ll get to visit the Tana River and see Kora (entry to Kora NR is with special permission only and we were told “no”, but I have a plan). We are surprised to pass the equator - there is a little sign - and then we all see a silhouette in the middle of the road ahead. This is the first and only time I beat Joseph to the identification - cheetah! As we get closer the cheetah runs off the road and we think we’ve lost it, but then another two follow it from out of the bush, and when we get to where they “disappeared” we find there is a clearing and mama cheetah is using her toilet while two fairly mature cubs look on. We stop and enjoy the family for as long as it takes mum to finish her business and check us out and then the three of them disappear into the bush… and at the same time two more run across the road in front of us to join them. So that’s five, right? Joseph says four and so the record book at Elsa’s will say four (Nam Wan’s video is inconclusive) but I know there were five. J Anyway, cheetah just shouldn’t be here - it’s such thick bush - and they must have been migrating. Such a lucky sighting.

This is a nice place to finish. I’ll follow with the rest of the day later.

You know it's going to be a promising trip report when it starts with the words "Our itinerary was supposed to be" :D

Off to look through your photos and continue reading.

Kimburu, karibu nyumbani. Beautiful green, flowery pictures! The dikrenuk looks lovely and so does the curry bastard. The impala that’s not scared of jackals looks more like a Grant’s. Sad to see the last of the Grevy’s and the dead mouse. Interesting to read about an ambiguous cheetah hug. Looking forward to more, like your reflections on Elsa’s grave, your Kora plan and pictures of a real Denys Finch Hatton-style hat.

Glad you made it to the falls and Elsa's grave. I'm jealous you saw cheetah AND leopard AND lion and got photos of the bat eared foxes and lesser kudu, even if the latter is blurry. Like the geredik too. Loved the hyrax butts. I can't wait to hear about the rest of your adventure.

Did you go to the orphanage or just the safari walk in Nairobi? We saw the 3 cheetahs at the orphanage but to make a long story short, decided not to inquire about petting them (I was going to do it purely for the purpose of gathering statistical data for Fodors and it was actually quite by accident that we ended up there in the first place). For some reason, no guide ever latched onto us as we went through the safari walk nor did we know that guides existed. I think it would've been interesting to have one along.

Did Anthony tell you the story about the guests back in May whose vehicle got hung up on the river (Anthony was the driver) and had to climb onto the roof as the water came in? That might be why they're pretty conservative about advising guests where they should or shouldn't go :D

Nyamera. You are of course quite right that it is a grant's gazelle and not an impala. I did the captions very late at night!! I will change that one quickly before I lose my credibility.

Don't ask "what credibility?" ;-)

Patty.. we just went to the safari walk. The guide was there when we went in... I have no reason to think she was prearranged, but perhaps I'll check with Serah about that. Sorry you didn't get solicited - maybe you didn't have on appropriately dorky "safari gear"? I think havign a guide at the safari walk is a really good idea because there are a lot of little things about the animals (and even those particular animals) which it is interesting to know.

Yes I think Anthony told us that story - in another context which I will come to later. Is that the same one where he had to winch them accross and the woman was totally miffed at being winched ... like, what was he going to do, build a bridge out of driftwood?

thanks for posting the story about the cheetah hug. We only went to the orphange in Nairobi, i didn't even think about the safari walk. There was no solicition of money at all, i offered some up to the person who used our camera.

My sister in law has only lived in Nairobi about a year, and when she took her son last year they actually had someone there taking pictures of the people petting the cheetah and then they sold you the picture. Or they would just use your own camera and take your picture for free. maybe that was an experiment and KWS decided not to continue it.

We also liked that KWS gift shop and if we weren't so jet lagged probably would have bought more. Rod does have a nice KWS ball cap now and he's gotten a few comments on it recently.

TANGENT: Well I should let everyone know what happened with the treasure hunt arranged by Patty. We found the first clue in our room pretty easily, as intended, and located the first of the plastic animals. The second clue directed us to the only place we would find dry hair, but after searching for a hairdryer for a while we realised there wasn't one and anyway, we didn't expect patty to make it THAT easy. Nam Wan remembered a little later that there was a hairdryer in the pool changing room, and she went to look for it. No luck, so i went to look for it... No! So was this a tremendously cryptic clue? We considered everything except anagrams, consulted Anthony and other guests, but in the end everyone concurred that it had to be in the changing room. But it wasn't there. Someone must have moved it.. or even taken it! We weren;t going to give up and so on day 3 we pressured Paul teh barman to confess that he knew where another piece might be hidden. He really wasn't going to tell us (don't know what Patty threatened him with) but after an hour or so of hot coals to the soles of the feet he told Anthony where he had seen Patty hiding one of the pieces - it the camel sculptures! (associated clue "ships of the desert"). Unfortunately this turned out to be the last clue and so we only had to locate one more animal (and I'd spotted the photo of George Adamson in reception immediately). This final message included congratulations and a recommendation not to wear thong underwear on the trip to Shaba - a dark warning indeed! Patty seemed to be suggesting she had tried this - or perhaps it was Mark or Rod? - and it was not comfortable. b( I asked Anthony about it and he looked a little unsure how to respond... but he was relieved we had finally got the treasure hunt finished ... or not quite yet. Since you can't follow clues backwards, we were still missing one, but the staff found it on the fourth day to much relief.

Yep, that's the same story.

I didn't know you could do the cheetah hug at the safari walk too. That explains the differing descriptions and photos of their enclosure/environment posted here. I think you would've found the orphanage a bit depressing. The safari walk is much nicer in comparison.

:-d

Now I must chime in. Having done the cheetah hug both ways with Kennedy and been at Elsa's, met the couple that was stranded in the river (with Anthony); yes I must intervene! So help me God.

Patty, you're amazing! Not knowing anything about this mystery hunt, I won't touch that. Anyway, where to start?

Kennedy explained the "Cheetah Hug" to me like this. It's not a KWS sanctioned activity, OK. He's able to arrange it, but when there are officials in the park, they have to be discreet about it. It's not illegal. Kennedy doesn't have the keys to the enclosures. He's always met by the keepers who have the keys and they let us in. But it's also not a featured activity at the park. We're walking a fine line, but so far Kennedy has never been refused entry for us. So, when the coast is clear you get to hug the girls out in the open at the orphanage. When there's official activity in the park, they take you to hug Mr. Nice in the back enclosure of the Safari Walk. He doesn't live in this little fenced in space with a concrete table, but in a huge enclosure with his girl friend of many years, Mailu. Mr. Nice comes into this enclosure just to be petted by you (for a tip/fee/bribe to the keepers), which has been arranged by Kennedy in advance. Kennedy never knows which enclosure you will be assigned to as it depends on the activity in the park when you arrive. Hence the confusion. The girls are in the orphanage and Mr. Nice in the Safari Walk. They all have a decent enclosure spacewise, but cheetahs need a lot of open space to hunt; these cheetahs don't need to hunt for food. I'm not judging this either way.

Back to Elsa's. Patty, did I tell you about Juan and Isabel? I met this Spanish couple last May on their honeymoon at Cottar's. They just came from Elsa's where I was heading next. Well, we hit it off and they were telling me about this horrifying experience they had leaving Elsa's. On the way to the airport, after heavy rains, the river was swollen. The guide drove across and made it, leaving them on the other side, returned and decided they could probably make it to catch their flight out. They got half way across, slid into the river in the rushing torrent and the vehicle floated away. Juan and Isabel scrambled onto the roof of the vehicle, their luggage floating out the windows and down the river. Isabel said she knew she was going to die. Help somehow arrived, a rope was suspended from their vehicle across the river onto a tree on the other side and they had to hand over hand escape the vehicle this way. Isabel wasn’t strong enough, but someone caught her and got her across; she can't remember how. She praised the crew for their quick response to save her life and the luggage. She told them to let it go, but they wouldn't. She begged me to convey the message to the manager at Elsa's not to fire the driver, that she was shook up but OK and very grateful. What she didn't know is that Anthony, the driver was the manager! He'd been there only about a week or so last May. When I told him later, (as I promised Isabel I would), we got a great kick out of this. Their clothing was washed and dried at Cottar's, but it took several days. We enjoyed each others company at Cottar's. They were a delightful couple. But what an experience for them! What a memorable honeymoon!

Kristina,
Yes, you were the one who told me the story first. I then asked Anthony about it when we got to Elsa's. Anthony's version is somewhat less dramatic than Isabel's ;)

He disputes the "vehicle floated away" part and says they simply got hung up on the bridge :D

and didn't Anthony say he had to strip down to his underwear as his clothes were bogging him down.

It's always interesting to get more than one point of view. The truth probably rests somewhere in between Isabel's total terror in knowing that she was going to die and Anthony's experience with the bush. When we got there just a few days later, the water had receeded a lot and we could actually see the river crossing "bridge", which is nothing more than a raised platform of cement on the river bottom. You can't see it when the river is high, but the drivers know where it is. Also, at this particular point it curves a bit, which makes it tricky. Anthony said that the water was rising at the time and must have pushed him off this track. Also, with them in the car the second time he crossed, the car was heavier too. Anyway, nobody disputes that the vehicle was totally covered with water except for the rooftop and they had to be rescued by a rope. Isabel said also that the helpers swam out into the river to rescue their luggage. She was horrified at that as she didn't think they would survive. She didn't care about her stuff at that point. Juan didn't really say how he felt or I can't remember it. He took it all in stride and just worried about Isabel. They were both all shook up when they got to Cottars. Needless to say, they got a later flight. Duh! Anyway, we celebrated their rescue and marriage with a huge bottle of champagne at sundowners at Cottars. We were the only guests there at that time last May. We had different vehicles, but they insisted on us joining them for sundowners.

I bet Anthony was surprised that you knew about this incident?

I think "banana hammock" were the exact words he used.

Oops, that last post was supposed to appear under Joyce's.

Kristina,
He was quite surprised and wanted to know my source ;)

Kimburu,
Your tangents give great insights. I like the extra info when I'm investigating a potential destination.

That's an amazing honeymoon tale!

Did you think 4 nights at Elsa's was about right? I'm glad you described it as unpretentious. Somehow I had gotten the opposite impression. Maybe cause of the legendary bathroom.

So there really is a dikrenuk or a geredik? It's not just a joke? I saw the photo!

The tortoise family was adorable and the vulturine guinea fowl were spectacular birds. Loved the spying baboon and displaying kori bustard. Nice yellow butterflies. A lovely photo of the two of you. And now I've seen that cute rock hyrax family in three different albums.

Welcome back and happy new year, kimburu and Mrs. kimburu.

Am just going through your first photographs--wow, the colors and the light are stunning.

Please anyone let me know if you can see the latest post, ending "perfect day". I can see it now in the "post a reply" field, but not in the thread itself... :(

kimburu,

I cannot see the post ending "perfect day", the last one I have from you was about 48 hours ago.

I can still see this post, in "post a reply" but hopefully it will not come up twice - if it does, this is the one to read:

I'm having a lot of trouble posting - may be Fodor's and may be the loss of major undersea cables due to the earthquake off Taiwan... probably a combination.

Anyway... Anthony seems to have a few versions of that story ... all essentially the same but with different "morals" perhaps? And I'm sure all of our versions of other people's versions are slightly different in the details - well, I've realised mine is - Anthony didn't say he winched her out , he said he carried her out I think... the winch was an idea he or I had for getting us across.... but I may still be getting mixed up - we had a lot of "water action" and subsequent discussion about it.

Juan was probably right to keep his mouth shut. I've learned not to interfere with my wife's telling of a story too I should probably keep my mouth shut here.

I am pretty sure that Anthony is correct that there was little danger of the Landrover being swept away, although less certain that his version of "no dnager" is completely accurate. The river is not wide and even IF you were really floating – as opposed to sinking to the bottom while moving sideways - you'd hit the bank and get stuck there...

Kristina... you intervention is very welcome! Now I have learned that we met Mr. Nice at the safari walk! Didn’t know his name. Also you have cleared up why people who are going with Kennedy have such differing descriptions of where the cheetahs are kept. However, the people I talked to were sure the petting is now 100% officially forbidden, even though it still goes on for a price….. or for love – I can admit the possibility.

Lynn...I am not sure if my tangents give great insight, but some may be worth exploring further with a little help from our friends who know more than me.

I would love to tell you that there was rreally a "dikrenuk" and that I was the discoverer of this rare species, but I am afraid it was only a dik-dik which had learned to feed on its hind legs. I was hoping somebody might know if this was common - I suspect it probably isn't that unusual.

Back to my story - which has been further livened by the rescue story...

Apart from a couple of “ghost” kudus, more dik-diks and a growing number of tsetse flies we didn’t see much more on the way down to the Falls. It was thick woodland all the rest of the way… broken by the occasional stream or river … and then suddenly there is an intersection and a steel bridge in front of us, over the Tana River. This bridge is so incongruous out here so many miles from anywhere, and basically going to nowhere since Kora NP, which is on the other side of the bridge, is pretty much undeveloped. The bridge was built, along with a lot of the roads and other infrastructure in Meru NP, with money provided by French development agencies, the UN, IFAW and others. Although this infrastructure may eventually allow tourism throughout Meru NP, and neighboring Bisanadi NR and Kora NP, its main use at the moment is to enable KWS rangers to efficiently patrol this large area, and ensure the encroachment and poaching which ruined the park during the 80s and 90s does not recur. In fact the only vehicle we met coming down here or going back was a KWS supply truck – presumably returning from the Park HQ in Kora. For now Kora and Bisanadi remain essentially shut off to tourists – especially during the wet (but not animals, rangers or researchers). Although there is a camp site in Kora NP, and the compound in which George Adamson lived with his lions is still there, visits are certainly not encouraged (if you want to try you have to talk to the Senior Warden in Meru NP). Before I went I would have said this was not a good thing, but really Meru is basically so quiet and free of tourists already that there really isn’t a need to go to Kora until you’ve bored yourself of Meru first – which would take some time.

Back to the tale…. Kora may be off-limits but like I said, we had a plan… so we drove out onto the bridge to admire the Tana and once there we had to cross – it’s single lane. We then asked the ranger on duty if we could turn out vehicle around there and he duly obliged by raising the barrier. So we can honestly say that we have visited Kora National Park (for all of 45 seconds) :D I got Joseph to stop so we could take a few pictures of the park and the very unexpected road sign there. It’s very thick woodland at that point, rather similar to Meru in that area of course. We returned to the permitted side and took a walk, admiring the broad, brown Tana River and the devastation it had caused along its banks recently. There were tree trunks 6 feet off the ground and 20 or so metres away from the banks of the river at what was already a “rainy season” level. Some trees had died with their roots totally exposed to the sun by the floods washing away the banks. We took pictures of the falls, better characterized as downhill rapids but very attractive thanks to the heavily wooded banks on the Kora side and the layered and sculpted black and grey stone. There’s a beach on the Meru side at that point and it’s truly a beautiful spot for a picnic, so that’s just what we had. Same breakfast again but no complaints from us. We ate, chatted, and then wandered over the rocks to stand next to the Falls, getting some “barding”, small animal and reptile spotting, and flora lessons along the way. After that Nam Wan finally got her first “bush pee” in this lovely spot – she doesn’t think twice now, although she did learn the hard way that you should try to make sure your feet are not downhill from your bottom. :-)

The drive back to “civilization” - meaning the part of Meru NP in which you might occasionally see another vehicle – was uneventful. We tried to go along the river to Elsa’s grave but the road was too dodgy and so we turned back and came back basically the way we had come. I think this would be a great drive at a drier time, when the road along the river is passable.

Being Joseph, even after the long drive back he just couldn’t resist taking a little detour on the way … just to check out the lion tracks again, seeing as it had been a lucky day so far. We found the tracks but no lion, and returned to the lodge.

Lunch was below par today – just “very good”, and we had a pretty leisurely afternoon since we were heading out for a shorter game drive that evening, starting at 5 o’clock – probably taking in the hippo pool. We went for a swim - the water was really nice since this was the clearest and hottest day we had seen - and then read by the pool for a while before getting ready for the evening drive.

We left at 5 and Joseph decided he’d go a slightly different way (maybe finding the lions was still on his mind or maybe it was a shortcut). So we headed off across an area with a faint hint of a track visible somewhere under the grass, which was extremely thick and mostly about a metre high. The “road” we were on began to get pretty wet and so Joseph decided to use the “verge” - not worth getting stuck, especially since the bosses were going out for a romantic sundowner tonight (we were at 6 guests, and we were all pretty low maintenance). Suddenly the road seemed to disappear and I could see Joseph wondering whether to turn back or not (he knew the track was there, it was just that it had been completely overgrown to the point that you couldn’t see it anymore). And BANG! Nam Wan and the right rear of the Landrover disappeared momentarily from view and I felt a sharp pain in my left knee as she came back into view, and then they both disappeared again as the rear right hand wheel of the Landrover settled into a huge hole.

After 30 seconds of the three of us shouting “are you sure you’re all right?” at each other, Nam Wan and I just broke out laughing. Joseph was still not sure it was okay (he may have been worried we were in shock) but a couple of hakuna matatas got him back in a good mood and he called for rescue – from the angle of the vehicle it was quite clear we weren’t going to drive out – the front wheels weren’t flat on the ground. Joseph got out to survey the damage and we looked over the edge to see what had happened and sure enough our rear wheel had fallen into a hole about the size of one of those big reclining armchairs beloved of couch potatoes – you could have hidden chair and couch potato in it quite comfortably. The Landrover was fortunately only slightly damaged since it was all earth and grass. We were told not to get out of the vehicle because there were a lot of ticks in the grass at the moment so we stayed put. After about 15 minutes Anthony, Emma and two friends showed up all dressed nicely for their sundowner, complete with picnic hamper. Of course they were very concerned at first, especially since we’d already been soaked and frozen on our game drives, but we were unhurt and smiling – Nam Wan was in the mood now and claimed later that driving into a hole was just what she needed to remind her that this was Africa and she loved it. Then Emma, who was nicely dressed in white trousers and a nice top for her sundowner fell in another hole on the way over to commiserate with us. With the grass being so long it was really wet down there and poor Emma’s white trousers turned into “sheer trousers with attractive red-brown and green patterns”. Surprisingly it was pretty easy to pull the Landrover out using Anthony’s and really, although I could tell we all thought there should be something else to do, there was absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t all carry on our merry way – well, except perhaps for Emma who was going to be freezing by sundown if she stayed in those trousers.

So we carried on with our game drive and the Landrover seemed not too much the worse for wear. We didn’t have much time left and Joseph was on strict “home before dark” instructions, so we didn’t get to see a lot in the end. But there was a beautiful sunset which we shared with some zebras and a displaying kori bustard, who was still displaying the next morning (could he have been at it since Patty’s visit?).

We discussed the holes with Anthony and concluded they must have been part of a burrow system that had collapsed in the heavy rain. Anthony thanked us for taking it so well and pointed out the conservation value of helping to open up roads like that, because if they get overgrown and dangerous they could be lost forever, which would hurt tourism and therefore the chances of conserving the area long-term… I publicly think that was spinning it a bit too far, but am still secretly glad for my contribution to conservation. ;-) We had dinner on the lawn again, this time properly under stars, and decided it had been a very oddly perfect day.

We decide to get up a little late on Tuesday (5.45) since we found we had more than enough time to have our coffee and a shower before our activity. Elsa’s grave is down near the backs of the … River, about 90 minutes drive. However, we are once again going through woodland and the tsetses are out in force this morning, so Joseph speeds a bit – they seem to like him even more than me. Nam Wan isn’t getting bitten much at all today – although they do keep on getting caught in her hair - and she claims it is because she is wearing a non-toxic lemongrass-based mosquito repellent. We both doubt her, but when we try it have to admit that it does seem to work – or that suddenly where there used to be tsetses there are none. Again we see no vehicles, and in this thick woodland, with all the tsetses, very few animals or birds. Although this is partially because we are going very fast, Joseph says you don’t ever see much game down here. The woods get less thick and we see a kopje which Joseph says is that used in the film “Born Free” and then a short time later the woodland opens up completely into a beautiful clearing next to the river – Elsa’s grave and the site of one of George Adamson’s camps (I note with Joseph there is always a lot of talk about George and little about Joy but this is George’s home turf so to speak and so perhaps that is not surprising). You can see the area in my pictures if you are interested – it is just like that – 80 meters or so of clear space next to the river, with Elsa’s grave at one end of it. Of course one comes down here to get all nostalgic, and a bit choky and sniffly - Elsa’s death is after all a sad story as told by George via Joy - but I have to say it was a very, very peaceful place here and almost worth coming in its own right – definitely so if you could combine it with a drive along the river to Adamson’s Falls.

On the way back we took a different route, to “reopen” some more of the roads that hadn’t been used for a while, and with the good weather if felt as if we were leaving (due next day) at just the wrong time. On the way down we had seen a few lion tracks, and on the return we found more – we were able to see that it was a number of lions – maybe as many as five. We followed the tracks for a couple of miles – they were quite clear – until we came to the river again, where the trail went cold as the lions seemed to have walked onto the rocks on the banks of the river. Since there is a ford at that spot Joseph guessed that they had crossed the river – he said it was unlikely they would hang around on our side anyway because the game was thin and the tsetses would drive them nuts. Although it was disappointing not to find the lions, it had been a lot of fun tracking them in this way, guessing how old they were and so on. I’ll have to try this again sometime on foot. We gave up and drove up towards the Rojeweru River where we were going to have breakfast and then look for some more game – most of which we had seen near to, or north of that river. We visited a big baobab tree on the way, where Joseph showed us signs of poachers who had probably used it as a hideout in the 90s. On the way up we met another Elsa’s vehicle and they told us they had met a lion in the road half an hour ago. Since it had already left the road and disappeared into the bush, Joseph said he’d check it out after breakfast.

After crossing the Rojeweru we visited a pool where we saw hippo and some colourful birds, including two types of kingfisher and two types of weaver. Baboons and vervets around too, of course. Our breakfast spot was only a very short distance up the road and as Joseph announced our arrival I switched my camera off since I was worried about my batteries (long story why). I rarely do this on a game drive, and of course as soon as I did Joseph stopped the Landrover and whispered ‘leopard’.. and there was a leopard sitting in the long grass right at the entrance to the “viewpoint” which was our picnic site, looking at us. I turned the camera on but it takes a couple of seconds for it to work and a couple more to check the settings, and then when I pointed at the leopard to shoot I couldn’t focus – the long grass was fooling the autofocus… aarrgh!… so I had to turn it to manual focus and SO SLOWLY the leopard came into clear view and I shot it. The moment I did the leopard got up and I watched it walk across the road (no chance to get another shot with it moving, manual focus on and the vehicle in the way) – and no way we were ever going to find it again in that bush. Phew... :-) And at the same time, I wish I had had more time to look at the leopard - I tried very hard on this trip to make sure I either shot once or twice and then viewed "in person", or viewed first and shot when I'd had my fill - it's too easy to see everything only through the lens and in the context of what might make a good photo. With the long grass making autofocus unreliable and "clear" shots nearly impossible at times... and the whole process slow... this proved difficult to maintain, and I missed a lot of shots doing it, but I'm glad I did (except in the case of the leopard).

You had a harrowing trip to Elsa's grave. The single shot of the leopard was a good one.

Going off at another tangent .. but just a little way... the Cheli & Peacock Web site draws attention to the fact that there are now only 8 female Grevy's zebras left in Meru since the last male was killed by a lion, and that KWS currently has no plans to introduce more. This has been mentioned elsewhere and I asked about it while in Meru, but it seems that there is nothing more to the story - it is simply a case of KWS not seeing it as a priority comapred to other projects they ahve going, and so no funding is available now. Since there are currently no foals among the group of 8 (who we saw all together) Grevy's will become extinct In Meru NP soon, which is a real pity because they are not there unnaturally. Of course if the local lions have got a real taste for them their time may be extremely limited, and they may need quite a number to build up a sustainable herd. In both Aberdare NP and Ol Pejeta Conservancy we found that lion numbers had been deliberately reduced because prides had developed specialist skills for hunting locally rare animals (Bongo and Jackson's hartebeeste, respectively). I wondered if that was teh case in Meru NP, but the person I asked said there was no real evidence of that, and that it was more that the numbers were never that large to begin with (expert scientists were called in when Meru was being regenreated to calculate what numbers of everything would be required to make a balanced and stable ecosystem - for the most part the animals returned naturally as the park became a more secure area for them, or were already there, but in some cases there were imports of native species from elsewhere... but perhaps such calculations can never take evertything into account). Anthony seems to toss this information out relatively often in the hope that some guests will be in a position to fund a translocation from Lewa Downs, where Grevy's are bred for just this purpose... I didn't ask how much it would cost, but if anyone is interested I'm sure Anthony and Emma would arrange to throw in a couple of free nights in Elsa's oh-so-beautiful House to take the sting out of it ;-)

I added the rest of the photos (Shaba, Samburu, Sweetwaters, Tusk Camp, Mountain Lodge) - still editing, but they should be there while I do that - from No. 84 onwards...

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-aegjde

Enjoyed the rest of your photos. Looks like you toured the same village in Samburu I recognized some of the woman. I am will curious to read your opinion of it.

You really have some nice bird photographs; I’m still wondering how you shot that liliac-breasted roller. And who’s kitty cat was that out on the road? You sure had good luck in finding the big cats. Also glad to see you really got to explore the Abedares the waterfall shots are great and the buffalos at the waterhole.

Thanks for the info on the Grevy's Zebra. The mother-baby vervet shots were adorable. Some very close closeups of the rhino. The gerenuk bookends were great. The running Jackson's Hartebeest was lovely.

Loved the hartebeest in action. Your Aberdare photos brought back very fond memories. Hope you enjoyed your time there. You have me daydreaming about a "next" Kenya trip already (Meru, Abedares, Tsavo West & East would be on the itinerary). What's the antelope in your Mountain Lodge photos? I can't wait for your "no Moses" day installment.

Sorry for not responding to comments - amd still having a lot of trouble posting or even reading.

Lynn... 4 nights at Elsa's is probably just right if you like the sound of the park and Elsa's itself. If you are keen on long drives and picnics and taking the time to track the lions with the guides, etc. even longer would be fine. They do walks too when the ticks are not out in force. And if you like to sit and read/meditate in perfect solitude too, book a week!

Joyce... the roller arrived and started dust-bathing in the road right in front of us while we were stopped to look at something else... easy.

We’d had good weather most of the time we’d been in Meru, despite a couple of very heavy showers and the constant threat of more serious stuff. However, on the last night I was woken at 2 a.m. by heavy rain. I got back to sleep but at 5 woke again and got up to have a look. Rain was dripping into the room and so I moved any stuff away from the area we appeared to have a leak in (a honeymooner wasn’t so lucky with his I-Pod; I got the impression these thatched roofs leak slightly if the rain is very heavy and sustained – attractive and generally reliable as they are). The rain continued until after 7 but really it didn’t seem that bad. Still we were glad that Julius from ESS (who had arrived the night before) had insisted we leave early rather than having a last game drive – he was worried about the weather. We packed up and had our first breakfast at Elsa’s – we’d had packed breakfasts every day. There’s very good muesli and the like, bread, pastries, toast and a cooked breakfast with eggs made to order. Basic stuff but fine. At 8.15 we were ready to leave. Goodbyes are warm at Elsa’s – we’d like to think they were especially warm for us, but I suspect this is just the way they do it – with some warmth and the sincere wish that you’ll be back this way soon. Anthony, Emma and Joseph waved us off and we’re finally on our way… off to Shaba. The roads are really quite wet and the minivan is slipping and sliding a bit – no cause for alarm though. We meet a car coming the other way and the driver stops to talk to Julius. Julius says he couldn’t get across the ford up ahead but not to worry, since we have a better set up for fording than he does. However, when we get to the ford he looks considerably more concerned – what was a trickle has become a bit of a torrent. It’s not that deep, but it is 3 times as wide as it was and moving very fast. We decide to wait because it’s not raining and some Elsa’s vehicles are coming behind us, taking staff on leave. When the Elsa’s vehicles arrive 10 minutes later, the water has already visibly risen. Everybody gets out and has a look, and thinks about it – after all they have a big truck there. But in the end nobody wants quite to take the risk – it’ll go down soon is the consensus so let’s wait. After a while Joseph and Anthony show up – guests are due to arrive at the airport and they need to see if they have a chance of getting to meet them. But the river just keeps on rising. Anthony twice tried to wade across – to see how powerful it was – but abandoned the attempts – just as well since we’d seen pretty big bits of trees hurtling past. When it started to rain again and we’d all been there about 4 hours it was decided we should all go back to Elsa’s and wait a couple of hours – the new arrivals had already been picked up by vehicles from Leopard Rock Lodge and taken for lunch. There was some reluctance to leave – it would be nearly an hour’s drive back to Elsa’s in this weather – and everyone was kind of slow to move. Then someone comes running with the news that the river behind us is rising rapidly now and we’d all better get across it quickly – we were actually on a kind of island between three rivers. We all jumped in the Landrovers – leaving the minivan – and found that the other river had indeed risen significantly and was moving very fast. Anthony got his Landrover across, taking the ford at an angle to compensate for the pressure of the water. He got across safely, if not comfortably. Joseph was driving us and we were find for two-thirds of the way, when the current suddenly started to take us rapidly with it. Although Nam Wan claims she was sure we were going to die, we of course made the bank with literally inches to spare – another foot to the left and we would not have been able to climb the bank due to it’s steepness. Whoooo!

The roads were just pure mud by now and we were driving sections sideways, like crabs, with roaring engines… We just left the road at one point and used Elsa’s airstrip – which was like a swamp and was like driving on ice - but we made it back without getting stuck. Joseph seemed to be enjoying himself immensely – his passengers slightly less so. Back at Elsa’s we got a report. A French couple who were staying at the KWS bandas were stuck with us since they couldn’t get home. Elsa’s new guests were all at Leopard Rock Lodge having lunch. We had KWS rangers stranded with us too. Elsa’s staff would try again to make it out later. In the meantime, we’d all have lunch and have another go later in the afternoon.

Throughout the afternoon we got reports as various people went out to check how things were. We’d know we were due an update when we saw Anthony in yet another set of clothes. By 4 it was clear it would be extremely risky to try and get out. The French couple would try again at 7 p.m. since their banda was just across the river, but we were going nowhere. Elsa’s new guests had been checked in at Leopard Rock Lodge already.

I knew this was going to cost us because our itinerary meant we passed from Elsa’s care when Julius picked us up, rather than at the airfield. Serah called and she had already been in touch with Cheli & Peacock and Sarova (where we were booked to spend that night). The best she could do was a FB only rate of $450 for two (with rescue thrown in!) from Cheli & Peacock and a partial refund from Sarova (she eventually got us $150 back). Still, this was another blow to the shopping funds!

So wet and feeling rather poor we followed an apologetic Anthony (he of course has no real say over who pays what) to our new room. However, it wasn’t a room - Emma had told Anthony to put us in the house – Elsa’s Private House that is – as a kind of “sorry”. I’d always thought of this as being away somewhere from the rest of Elsa’s and possibly a little sterile or “child friendly” but the place is near reception and absolutely fantastic. I don’t know quite where to start with it…

I’ll tell a little more later …. Want to post this before the Internet gremlins strike again.

wow, i wasn't expecting that story. i guess if you have to get stuck staying in Elsa's house must have been very cool

Why couldn't it have been us? :((

Life is bad Patty.. 5 days at Elsa’s Kopje … would I swap if for your flying though?

The Private House is totally enclosed at the back for privacy and totally open at the front for the view. It is built in a gentle curve around the pool deck and lawn which border the private swimming pool (a dead ringer fro the main one) and surrounded by rocks and trees. The view is one of the better ones at Elsa’s, out to the Nyambeni Hills and the caldera. The rooms are big and beautifully furnished and decorated, with the twin bedroom being much the lesser of the two bedrooms (but still very, very nice for that). It’s light and bright for the most part and ever so tasteful. It has its own dining table and bar, and so you can live down here if you want, completely apart from everyone, with your house butler to take care of things. Around the pool on the rocks and trees there are even more hyraxes than elsewhere, including a white one - but not albino as far as I can tell - as if there are even special hyrax for the house. All the furniture is nicer, newer and better than that in the cottages and in fact I’d say it was quite a step up from the cottages to the house (which is saying something, and surely a matter of opinion). There is a beautiful big indoor bath with a view and an outdoor shower with an even better view. I could go on (it’s own library, the little lawn with its shady tree) but better just to say it’s just amazing. Even from the point of view of cost, while I could never afford to stay here as a couple, if I was in a foursome or with two kids who needed their own room I’d consider it something close to good value - seriously. And I doubt you’ll stay anywhere better in your life - different or more to your taste perhaps, but not better per se.

By the way we did not get a discount so that I would write nice things about the Private House ;-) It just wowed us that much…

After our rather arduous day, we spent the next 3 hours enjoying the minor royalty lifestyle, sampling our bar and watching the hyraxes, which are even less wary of people her than elsewhere around Elsa’s… one even came through the house to get to a tree on the other side of the pool… sniffing our shoes and Nam Wan’s foot on the way. We tore ourselves away to go to dinner and see what had happened to the Ferench couple and other refugees.

Basically no-one had got anywhere and the stranded French couple had to stay the night (poor them… although I do not honestly know if they got a cottage or a place on a sofa somewhere, they could have found a worse place to get stuck!). The Elsa’s guests stuck on the other side were being put up by Leopard Rock Lodge - fortunately they had rooms available. We had another chat with Anthony and the French couple but left early since we had to try out the bath and the swimming pool. Both work perfectly and swimming in the starlight (the sky had cleared) has never been better.

In the morning, we decided to make an early start - even though it was hard to tear ourselves away, there were other things to see. The roads were still wet but definitely better and we had a breakfast report that the French couple had made it across the rivers without problem. We drove out and found Julius’ minibus still where he’d left it and apparently none the worse for its night out, said our goodbyes to the lovely Joseph (who had managed to steer his guests’ game drive past us to check we were all okay and the minibus was going to start - not just for us; he is very fond of Julius too) and were on our way. The roads were pretty wet in places but we made it without any scares and were at the park gate by 9.30.

So Meru? Great park. Even in the wet we saw cheetah, lion (twice), leopard, bat eared foxes, and everything you’d expect to see in a good reserve except for elephants (which were probably in Bisanadi rather than Angola…) and crocodiles - well I saw a young one scurrying across a ford so they are there - but including lesser kudu. We could have seen rhino if we had wanted to, but we had a full program without a visit to the rhino sanctuary and we were visiting Ol Pejeta anyway. Birds were great - I have read somewhere that it could be difficult to see them because of the heavy cover, and that was probably true, but we saw plenty, especially birds of prey. And the cover couldn’t have been much heavier. The scenery puts most places to shame - it might not be everyone’s preference for an African landscape, but it is gorgeous. If it hadn’t been so wet we’d have had even more diverse habitats. The animals are quite skittish for the most part but that makes it all the more exciting when you do get close and they are not so skittish as to make viewing or photography impossible - they just want a bit more space than most in the Mara or Samburu. Do nto expect to see what you’d see in the Mara - the places are not comparable. This is a game viewing destination requiring a bit of character - not much, it is very seductive ;-) Would I go back … in a heartbeat! Would I stay at Elsa’s Kopje? Frankly, I suspect Leopard Rock Lodge may be better located for game, but absolutely. My second choice would be the KWS bandas - although I didn‘t get to visit them as planned I got a report on the “poorer“ of the two sets of bandas from the stranded French couple and it sounded fine - although I’d maybe go for the ones at the gate which have more ‘amenities‘.

Things to do if you do visit Elsa’s/Meru:

Game drives: If you are set on making Meru into a game viewing destination, make game drives long and take a packed breakfast to get the most out of it - 4 hours at a time was not a long time.

Adamson’s Falls - well worth the trip for the nature boy/girl - wild country.

Elsa’s Grave - only for nostalgia - this is a pretty rough drive and you won’t see much… but if the roads allow it to be combined with Adamson’s Falls it’d be a very interesting way to come back from there.

Bush walks - I couldn’t but maybe you can if you go in the dry.

Swimming - don’t miss using the pool

Night drives - KWS only extend your license to stay out until 8 p.m. or so (okay, anyone can get “lost” says Joseph, so let’s say 8.30). Nevertheless this is a really nice way to extend your game drives - be prepared for insect appetizers though if you are spotlighting. Nothing spectacular for us with all that thick bush, but others will be luckier.

Sundowners - Elsa’s know where to go and what to do… leave it to them. Sunsets were not at their best while we were there but lovely nonetheless.

Rojewero View Point (I think that’s the name).. Lovely picnic spot with benches by the river - again leave it to Elsa’s and you’ll probably end up here anyway.

Relaxation - take the time to smell the roses and admire the views…..



I think that part of my report has disappeared into the ether….to very briefly cover what is missing… we went on a night game drive (properly prepared this time) and found out we had to do our own spotlighting. We saw some impala, an owl, a bush baby and a lion … not much of a haul but it was fun despite the insects - if you are spotlighting while driving do not open your mouth ;-)

The lion was the same as one we had seen the previous day on the way back from the leopard encounter - a young male with a short black mane - it is normally very hot in Meru.

On the last evening we went for a sundowner - it was a memorable experience but I won’t give away the surprises….

This report is getting VERY long - but I'll hop through Shaba and Samburu.

Patty... the antelope is a bushbuck... that's the one you mean? The males in the area of Mountain lodge have that lovely long dark brown coat and the nice stripes and spots.

By the way, you are not considering that next Kenya trip for 2008 are you? that would jsut be too much.... our tentative plans have switched 2008 from Botswana to a week in Tsavo East and West, a week in Masaai Mara or Serengeti, and one other place (we're in dispute over that).

Yes, that's the one. I thought it might have been a type of bushbuck but wasn't sure.

I have a hard time seriously thinking that far ahead, but 2008 is a possibility. You're not thinking of going in May are you?

BTW how's Namibia coming along?