MARCH 2006
“My children will never forget such magical moments. We've learned a lot of life and of ourselves.” Javier , Mexico
We saw our first Aardvark at Ol Seki the other evening on a night run - a very exciting addition to our normal spring hare/galago fare. The aardvark was obviously enjoying the influx of winged termites. Predation is high after the rainy season and during the day all the insectivorous birds and even birds of prey come out in their full numbers to enjoy the fat grubs. We weren't sure whether we were the recipients of a monsoon off the Indian Ocean or whether these were late or early rains, but they were certainly more than welcome after the extended drought. The drought in Kenya has had a devastating impact in the north, and the cattle nearby have been so emaciated that, ironically, at the start of the rains, they have been dying of pneumonia. Small calves have been herded together and small fires lit to maintain warmth. Many ungulates, such as eland and dikdik display a resistance to drought but the Maasai cattle always seem the first to suffer. Now the fresh green grass has brought hope and with it an abundance of game to the area.
The little bat-eared fox were close to camp the other evening - they too enjoyed the termites. On two occasions we have seen the shy caracal in camp but never close enough to photograph. Our evening game runs have been a great success and being out of the game reserve means that if we do hear exciting sounds at night then we are always ready to go and explore. Rather gruesome and quite scary sounds of lion, described 'as the rumbling of an immense bass organ', strangling a buffalo, awoke us early one morning and we watched them feast below the tents. A leopard left his impala kill on a tree in front of a tent, and so our nights have been filled with sounds and excitement! Our second sighting of leopard just a few metres below the library tent enthralled our guests. Said is a whiz on his stars and we've all enjoyed wonderful Star Walks - sometimes early in the morning, before the dawn call, if there has been a full moon that night.
The zebra have gathered on our bluff, preferring the high ground in the rainy season. Fortunately most of our roads are quite rocky and so game viewing has continued unhindered during the rainy season, except for one day when all three rivers rose for a few hours. Fourteen men, three vehicles and a detour of two and a half hours later, five guests made their Kiwayu connection!
The bluff is looking just amazing now - wildflowers everywhere - though interestingly, we found a particularly beautiful ground orchid - Eulophia petersii - flowering in the vicinity mid-drought - what a thrill! The beautiful deep orange Crossandra in the early morning light, against the dark rocks of Letilet's Il Ndorobo cave is a photographer's dream. Said's description of the migration of the Il Ndorobo is fascinating and we are collecting data on medicinal uses of plants that Letilet, in particular, used during his hunter-gather days. Now a committed conservationist, he regales us with stories of his past. His sixth sense has saved him on many an occasion and we haven't heard half his 'wild' tales!
Jan has returned to the Mara to close the camp for the rainy season - sad because it couldn't be lovelier at this time of year - I hope that next year more guests will visit Kenya in March. Meantime lovely to be with the family again here in Nairobi, so 'karibu' if you are in town.
We hope to see you at Ol Seki soon,