Lily reaches the final leg of her epic trip around Kenya and says goodbye to this amazing country.
Kicheche Valley Camp
We were up early and away on our early morning game drive by 6.30am as usual. One thing I really love about the morning game drives is the fabulous, fresh, clear African air that I find completely invigorating every morning. The whole of Africa awaits me! We saw lots of game on our drive including hyena, ostrich, long tail starling, a herd of 8 eland including a bull, topi, Thompsons gazelle, gnu, zebra, crowned eagle, dik dik, five steppe eagles, four jackals and even more. We may not have seen any of the Big Five but the variations and consistencies of wildlife viewings tell us what a success story the conservancies have been in this area adjacent to the main Masai Mara Game Reserve.
Of course, we didn’t go too long without a lion sighting. In fact it had been less than 24 hours since our last one! We were treated to an amazing sight with a big male lion hauling the body of a gnu into a quiet spot where he could tuck in. Our next high profile sighting involved a leopard who had killed an impala and hauled that up into a tree. The female leopard was holed up in the thicket below the tree ‘guarding her kill’. The open plains were also full of herds of elephants ambling around and kindly giving us a very relaxed photo shoot. After our game drive we headed back to camp via a river crossing and a sharp eyed hippo gave some entertainment ducking and diving before he made a bolt for land. (Perhaps he was telling us he had had enough photos taken for that day!) During our morning’s game viewing, we only saw 4 other vehicles, including one other from Valley camp. Every game drive is a very personal experience in the conservancies and it is unusual to share it with any other vehicle. Back to camp then for a delicious lunch before we sadly bade farewell to Val and Brendon, who, in their particular style, create such a fun, friendly party atmosphere at Valley camp.
Leleshwa Tented Camp in the Siana Conservancy
We were transferred to a meeting point under a grove of trees just outside the conservancy gate. Here we met Joe Charleson, David, the Masai camp manager and the Masai askaris/guides Rinko and Kimaren from Leleshwa Tented Camp. When we arrived at camp we were warmly welcomed by Joe’s wife, Gillian, and their team. Joe and Gillian are a charming couple who are owners of Leleshwa and instantly made us feel at home. The camp is in a truly idyllic setting under shady trees, overlooking a river bed. Leleshwa really complimented our stay at Kicheche camps by being a very different but also wonderful experience. This camp is not so focussed on wildlife as it also showcases local Masai culture and the local people. It is also based in a conservancy, this time the 20,000 acre Siana Conservancy.
The Camp’s tents are very spacious and well appointed and the camp is very relaxed and peaceful. We enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea before heading off on a game drive to explore more of the conservancy. This area was very different in terms of terrain as we were surrounded by hills of varying height and interesting topography. We made a ‘temporary camp’ on an open plain area where Rinka and Kimaren laid out chairs and mattresses. In this relaxed setting, sipping our sundowners in the glow of the campfire, we listened to Joe telling us about the latest developments and future plans for the conservancy, and exciting plans to work with the local Masai families and clans with whom Leleshwa has a very strong bond. As the sun went down behind the hills, I personally felt we were part of the way forward for Kenya, its people and its wildlife. We then packed up and headed back to the delights of camp where Gillian and supper were waiting.
Twiga Mobile Camp
This morning I sadly left Leleshwa Tented camp after my far too short a stay. We had an excellent safety briefing from Joe before we set off on our 10 kilometre walk to the mobile camp. We were accompanied by David, Rinka, and Kimaren although we all carried our own water and light day pack. On our walking safari we saw plenty of plains game about such as Thompsons gazelle and zebra. Temperatures started to rise quite a bit and we had to take several stops in the shade. One of which included a demonstration of spear throwing by Rinka and Kimaren and some amusingly unsuccessful attempts to emulate them by Ben, Jean and myself!! We crossed plains, woodland, and quartz covered hillsides with Masai cattle with tinkling bells, until we wearily arrived in an open area with a few shady trees … and to such a sight! Gillian and her team had got there before us and laid out our lunch and cold drinks which were just what we needed. Afterwards we carried on walking to the mobile camp which was another few kilometres away. We completed thelong walk crossing Twiga Plain with its resident ‘tower’ of giraffes (twiga in swahili). My main reasoning for completing the walk rather than wimping out was the thought that the following day I would be at Nairobi airport awaiting my flight home so it was best to get the extra exercise while it was on offer!!
We were warmly welcomed to the mobile camp. The three tents, looking out onto Twiga Plain, were very spacious with all facilities and were much more luxurious than I expected. I really savoured the bucket shower which put a spring back into my step once again. Ben was in a dome tent of the type used for the Loita Hills hiking and fly camping but even that was roomy enough. At 5.30pm we set off towards the local Masai manyatta which has a close community relationship with Leleshwa. Our first aim was to find the cattle herds which were being walked back to the boma and safety for the night. Rinka and Kimaren, as our Masai guides, walked with us and no one paid any special attention to us at any time. It was an amazing sight seeing the long lines of cattle calmly walking with their herders, wrapped in red/blue checked shukas. Some of the herders were as young as 8! All the cattle are branded with the owners mark (as explained to me by Kimaren). I really enjoyed being part of this and I even grabbed a stick from the ground and did my bit with the herding! The cows are definitely skinnier than they are back home. It was almost dark when we got to the manyatta and at first it all seemed quite chaotic to me but there was obviously a system in place. The women took over and the animals were penned up (in small bomas) according to their rough age groups before being miled. We got to have a look around a Masai family Hut. This was very unusual – as you entered you passed a group of calves which were penned up, before moving into a narrow passageway which led into a large family area with a fire burning and some sleeping areas. Several children of different ages viewed us with interest – as interested in us as we were in them! We were also joined by a young goat and a calf in the hut! Outside in the fresh air we bumped into the cows who were waiting for their offspring to appear from the calf pen in the hut.
We bought some cowbells as souvenirs from the Masai herders as we all wanted reminders of this fantastic experience. We had been welcome into the Masai’s everyday life rather than some kind of display for tourist and we felt very privileged indeed. It is all thanks to Leleshwa’s special relationship with the local Masai community and something I really treasured. We then headed back to Twiga mobile camp and before we had even gone five minutes we spotted a young male lion in the darkness. He sloped off into the night showing us lions are never far away in the conservancies. We then had a delicious meal back at camp as we all nostalgically shared our final night here in magical Kenya.
Back Home
After breakfast we loaded up and heade off to the Siana airstrip. It was an interesting last ride including a herd of elephants rushing past us at speed and we also passed a community Masai village going about its business and Joe pointed out various aspects such as the chiefs house and the school. Siana Airstrip was quite busy with people waiting for various flights to other parts of the Mara area as well as back to Nairobi. We enjoyed a very scenic flight back to Nairobi Wilson airport where we said our ‘goodbyes’. We all thanked Ben for giving us this incredible opportunity to experience Kicheche camps from Ol Pejeta to Mara North, Olare Orok and Naboisho followed by Laleshwa Tented camp and its mobile satellite camp at Twiga. Every day was unique – and just when we thought it couldn’t get better… it did!! This has been a truly eye opening and fantastic experience and I have loved Kenya and all that it offers, especially in terms of incredible wildlife. I can’t wait to come back again!
Posted by Lily
