FEBRUARY 2006
“Absolutely gorgeous and we really appreciated the attention to detail.” Elizabeth and John , USA
We've had some special guests and old friends this month, one family even staying for six nights who are hoping to return - saying that six days was too short! Other friends from New York, who have been on safari with us many, many times since 1970 pronounced our new project 'A1'!
We've had almost daily sightings of both cheetah and lion close to camp, and records are kept of their group sizes and whereabouts. Petius and Moses have now clocked 208 species of birds in the vicinity of the camp, excluding our trips to the reserve. Some very excited 'birders' were thrilled to see a first for us too - a chestnut bellied paradise fly catcher. Interestingly, not far from a wonderful flowering Albizia petersiana , neither species of which should really be in the area, according to the books. I wonder if there is a little 'island effect' here on our bluff? And we've seen the flappet lark whose call way up high foxes many a guest.
Travel News will be publishing an article on Ol Seki in April - entitled - naturally! - "The Wow Factor". Nigel Pavitt's truly inspired photos of Ol Seki will be there. His beautifully photographed and written books on the Samburu, Turkana and The Great Rift Valley, grace many a bookshelf.
The Guiding School has its first Student Graduation in March, and Dominic, whom we had sponsored for the year, will be there to collect his certificate. After a year at the school, one of the first of its kind, and sponsored by Tusk Trust, he will be a great asset to our guides, most of whom hold their Kenya Professional Guides Certificates. They are coming home in March for a workshop on ethnobotany and to hear a talk by Anne Powys on "Mti ni mali' (Plants are valuable) and they'll be doing a refresher in First Aid too. Our nearby Olesere Primary School has been 'adopted' by two overseas schools and the children have been thrilled with their gifts of books and goodies. We planted a Euphorbia candelabrum to provide shade for them, and all sorts of projects are planned - health awareness too.
'Mama William' from the nearby village gave me 'Tinga', a Maasai mongrel - or perhaps it is a rare breed?, whose antics delight us all. Like Mama William, I, too, have learned that one's status changes over the years and have learnt that it is both a compliment and an honour to be known as 'Mama Jan'.
We hope to see you at Ol Seki soon,
This is dedicated to Joan, Chris and Christof - you inspired me 'to learn to tread lightly on this earth' - thank you.