Back in Camp After the Rains

 In March we left a very dusty, dry camp. The Olaro Orok river had come to a complete stand still with only a few pools of water big enough for the hippos to wallow. They had all moved in to the smaller rivers and streams due to the pressure in the Mara river. The noises of hippos battling for their stretch of river every evening was remarkable.

One evening, whilst having a sundowner by the fire we had to take cover as two male hippos ran out through the bushes, and in to the river behind the shop tent.

We closed up camp Just as the first storms started to twist and turn around the skies.

Two months later we have returned to a completely different landscape. The grass is high, the rivers flowing, and the animals that lay under the trees seeking shade are now sunbathing in the tall grasses.

The family of Lions we share our camp with have introduced us to another 6 cubs. Making that 12! They are a joy to watch as they learn and grow into skilful predators through their playful ways. The two males (Frank and Jessie) are busy protecting their territory and new family members from roaming nomadic lions.

The Cheetah are always one of the most interesting to be with after the rains. To get the best vantage point, they seek the highest points to stand and sleep on. Last week some of our guests were lucky enough to have Malika and her cubs jump on to their safari cars to scout the planes.

 (Photo by Jackson Looseya)

Bambi

Most of the time is usually death we witness in the Mara with the huge amount of predators around us. But on some of the good days we get to whiteness the Miracles of life.

I have always wanted to see something in the wild being born! I must be one of the most amazing sights. I arrived literally minuets after a female impala had given birth to her foal. We watched as little Bambi got up and ran in to the bushes. It takes approximately 10 minuets for a foal to get up and run after it has been born.

Still covered in gloop, his mother carefully nudged him and got him on his knees. 

He did a few face plants before he got any where.... 

After about 9 minuites he got up and shot across in to a bush. At amazing speed! luckly as this is prime lion territory.

 A few hours before I had seen a baboon run off with a newly born impala. They are defiantly easy pray for all sorts, including birds as well.

However Mother Nature did give them something special to ensure they stayed safe. ... As soon as they have been born and for the first few days while they are getting stronger  they can lie as still as a rock and blend in to the environment. They dont have any scent so predators

can literally walk straight past without smelling or seeing them.

Just like this .........

Calving in the Mara

Something exciting is happening in the Mara at the moment. The wildebeest have started dropping their young, and the plains above camp are filled with new mothers and their wobbly babies.

There are also a great amount of  Zebra who are also dropping their foals all around the conservancy.There sweet little fluffy stripy things that run with such power when they see you but dont seem to get anywhere.


We saw the fist young wildebeest about a week ago, since then they have multiplied and the chances of seeing a birth are very high! I am on the look out!



Their timing was perfect, as we have just had a few days of much needed rain and the fresh grass shoots are giving them the strength before they make their annual migration across the river in a few months time.

However they make a tasty and easy meal for someone. One of the reasons they all drop at the same time is so that there is a better chance of survival. Nature is so clever.

Meet Ponto

Meet our newest Member of the Family.... Ponto. Everyone is asking where the name Ponto comes from.... So here it is....

There was a Boy whose name was Jim;
His Friends were very good to him.
They gave him Tea, and Cakes, and Jam,
And slices of delicious Ham,
And Chocolate with pink inside
And little Tricycles to ride,
And read him Stories through and through,
And even took him to the Zoo—
But there it was the dreadful Fate
Befell him, which I now relate.

You know—or at least you ought to know,
For I have often told you so—
That Children never are allowed
To leave their Nurses in a Crowd;
Now this was Jim's especial Foible,
He ran away when he was able,
And on this inauspicious day
He slipped his hand and ran away!

He hadn't gone a yard when—Bang!
With open Jaws, a lion sprang,
And hungrily began to eat
The Boy: beginning at his feet.
Now, just imagine how it feels
When first your toes and then your heels,
And then by gradual degrees,
Your shins and ankles, calves and knees,
Are slowly eaten, bit by bit.
No wonder Jim detested it!
No wonder that he shouted ``Hi!''

The Honest Keeper heard his cry,
Though very fat he almost ran
To help the little gentleman.
``Ponto!'' he ordered as he came
(For Ponto was the Lion's name),
``Ponto!'' he cried, with angry Frown,
``Let go, Sir! Down, Sir! Put it down!''
The Lion made a sudden stop,
He let the Dainty Morsel drop,
And slunk reluctant to his Cage,
Snarling with Disappointed Rage.
But when he bent him over Jim,
The Honest Keeper's Eyes were dim.
The Lion having reached his Head,
The Miserable Boy was dead!

When Nurse informed his Parents, they
Were more Concerned than I can say:—

His Mother, as She dried her eyes,
Said, ``Well—it gives me no surprise, 

He would not do as he was told!''
His Father, who was self-controlled, 

Bade all the children round attend
To James's miserable end, And always keep a-hold of Nurse 

For fear of finding something worse.

If hes going to survive out here,  Hes got to have a name Like Ponto! 

December 2014

So a few things have changed since i last put something up. Our little dog Kiko got stung by a wasp and sadly died! Its ridiculous.... We live in a place where leopards and lions walk past our tent every other night, and huge birds swoop down catching small antelope, we kept little kiko safe from all these big scary things and the thing that got her was a F****ng wasp!

To cheer us up Jasper, My brother got us a Go Pro for christmas to make sure we carry on the blog and share stories and photos with him. So i have started making some small films and taking photos to put up of life and all the animals in the Mara.

Weve just got our Selfie Stick and floating device so we can get some serious action shots now. I got Kyle a Kite for xmas - so still trying to convince him to attach it to the Kite for a flight. 

A Night in Camp

Watching the Full moon rise last night in camp, the Sky gets lighter and lighter as it comes up. Sadly we stopped the camera just before it peaked above the trees. Need to get practicing some more with our Go Pro!

A little bit about Life Now

So, four months ago Kyle and I packed up our belongings, in to his car and moved to the Mara. With our puppy kiko, a few boxes of books, bags of clothes and a trunk of stuff to make our new home/ tent comfy for living in the bush.  

We arrived for the start of a new season at Offbeat Mara on my birthday and moved in to our new home. The camp staff were highly amused at the amount of stuff we had with us. Thankfully though, most of it was kyles! He must have about 50 pairs of shoes and a pair of shorts for every day of the month with him.

Its funny how life works in cycles. Just over 20 years ago my mum and dad were living in a tent with me and my brother, who was just a baby. We lived up in northern Kenya while my dad was doing thesis on camel’s milk. Now I have moved back to living in a tent. But happily no babies yet, just my little dog.  

My mum always used to keep a dairy of what we were up to and the funny things that happen when living n the bush away from any civilization. So it inspired me to keep a diary too, but to be able to share everything going on in my life with family and friends through a blog.

So…  we work for Offbeat safaris. http://offbeatsafaris.com Offbeat is a great little company which started off as riding safaris around laikipia, Nakuru and the Mara. 

They are still very wild riding safaris– you can have a look at the video here… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9aH3DO-fck

Then the Offbeat camps were set up by Piers Winkworth. One in the Mara and one in Meru. We manage the camp in The Mara. It is such a gem, between a valley and the Olaro Orok River, that runs in to The Mara river. There are 6 luxurious tents, so its very small and personal and very comfortable ‘glamping’.

We have a team of about 25 staff to and as we are in one of the busiest game park in Africa lots of guests to look after.  So camp is always busy and filled with stories and things to deal with. We can have 22 people to stay at a go. It’s a complete echo camp that can be taken down completely with no signs of it left or impact on the environment. So we bring in al our water, food, gass fuel etc twice a month.

We constantly have animals around, usually a lion or two on the ridge inf ront of camp who call all night. Hyena’s giggling when they find a feast, Elephants and giraffe grazing in the bushes behind, crocodiles that splash around in the river below our room, buffalo grazing by the tents at night and a hippo who sneakes into camp at night for the fresh grass. During the migration we have the wildeerbeest , topi and the zebra grazing in camp all day. Occasionally a lion gets one!

The smaller creatures we share our home with are the menaces of dwarf mongoose who raid the bins after lunch, and squeak at you when you get too close, they also make their way into the room and find our chocolate supply!!

Vervit monkeys that torment out little dog kiko because she cant get up the trees to chase them.  The reedbuck that chills in the cool of the river beside our tent after lunch. There is an amazing amount of birds here, you learn to understand their calls and alarms, ive learnt to prepare for a rain storm, listening to them go crazy after lunch means rain is on its way. The Bush babies come down for bread rolls at dinner and then use our tent as a trampoline to get from one tree to the other. The safari ants, after a rain storm they always seem to make a line in the same place across the path going to our tent which we all have to leap across. There are all sorts of other creatures but I would be listing Jonathon Kindom field guide if I carried on.

So, were planning to be here for at least 2 years. I hope you enjoy the stories I share and that lots of my friends and family get a chance to come and stay in this magical place!!