Toasting to wildlife in the arid north

By Kassim Shitawah

The thought of northern Kenya conjures up images of dry, hot, inhospitable and insecure environment. But behind these negative attributes are the most fascinating landscapes, sceneries and unique fauna.

Samburu National Reserve is one such gem in the area. I recently accompanied a group of French tourists on a two-day safari to this world famous national reserve.

We started the seven-hour journey on a warm Nairobi morning. The uncountable police roadblocks on Thika Road soon gave way to lush-green pineapple and coffee farms. Unlike the city the air was crisp and clean.

At around one o’clock, we made a brief stop at Mountain Rock Lodge near Naromoru and later another mandatory stop at the Equator line.

"It is not every day that one crosses the Equator by road," remarked one of the tourists.

Elephants are a common sight at the Reserve. Photo: courtesy

As our journey progressed, the landscape changed dramatically. The further we ventured north, the drier and hotter it became. On a clear day, one can see Mt Kenya but on this particular day the mountain hid behind the clouds.

The last major stop was at Isiolo town, for basic necessities. With its population of miraa-chewing and cantankerous people, this town is always abuzz with activity.

This also marked the end of the tarmac road, what lay ahead was a rough and dusty stretch that was gateway to Samburu.

Occasionally, a lorry full of human and animal cargo could zoom past leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. These, we were told, are the only means of public transport beyond Isiolo.

After what seemed like eternity, we arrived at the Samburu National Reserve. The gate is decorated in the colours and patterns of a reticulated giraffe, one of the animal species unique to this reserve. After park entry formalities, we drove to the public campsites, which meant going across the reserve.

This gave us a chance to observe some wildlife to whet our appetites. We passed a herd of impalas and a pair of scared dik diks that scampered into the bushes upon seeing us.

Then we came face to face with a herd of elephants and it was impossible to contain the tourists.

Darkness was fast approaching, when ahead we saw a lion and a lioness lying side by side. Darkness or no darkness we had to take pictures. When we were finally through, we had to use the vehicle lights to navigate our way back to the campsite and locate a place to set camp along the Ewaso Nyiro River.

We finally got a place strewn with elephant dung and broken branches. To me it seemed more of an elephant battle ground than a campsite. Immediately I remembered the dos and the don’ts of wilderness trekking and camping.

Samburu manyattas at the edge of the Reserve

One was never to pitch a tent near animal tracks especially elephants since they have an uncanny memory and they always use the same route to and from the pastures and water points.

I pointed this fact to the ranger who also doubled up as a guide, but he allayed our fears saying that the elephants were very far away and that they were not likely to return soon. Reluctantly, we set camp at the now christened ‘elephant bedroom’. Our safari cook made us delicious spaghetti bolognaise, which made us forget our fears albeit momentarily.

The night was calm save for occasional hyena laughter, barking of baboons, hooting of an owl and the constant chirping of the crickets. These sounds of the African night soothed us to sleep.

In the morning, we were woken by sounds of breaking branches. The cook who had woken up earlier announced to us that a herd of elephants was just a few meters away in the bushes behind our campsite. We crept out of our tents to survey our surroundings and have a glimpse of these pachyderms.

True to his word, at about 50m away, there was a herd of about ten elephants partly hidden by tall bushes. In my many years of wilderness camping, I had never been this close to elephants while on foot. As we stood there transfixed, one elephant broke away from the group and headed for the river. It took its time drinking the water before wallowing in the mud and joining the others. All the while, we stood and watched in awe.

Close brush with death

Slowly the elephants retreated back into the bushes and disappeared altogether. We didn’t believe that we had actually slept next to a herd of elephants without even a guard.

After breakfast, we set out for a game drive to look for the endemic species of Samburu. The first animal we saw was the grevy Zebra grazing forlornly, its thin black and white contrasting the brown parched vegetation. These solitary zebras differ from their cousins in the south by the thickness of their stripes.

Next to the zebra was a herd of oryxes. Seeing these gracious antelopes with long straight horns made us remember the story of the large-hearted lioness that had adopted a baby oryx in this same park some years back.

The tourists inquired if they could see that particular lioness. Well, that was a tall order since no one knew exactly, which part of the reserve the lioness could be found. We left it to chance.

"Giraffe, giraffe!" Shouted one of the tourists. We all turned our heads towards that direction and we saw the neck of a reticulated giraffe protruding from the canopies of acacia trees. We drove towards it and we soon realised there were more others hidden in the bushes. We stopped to observe closely and take pictures.

Just like the grevy zebra and the oryx, the reticulated giraffe with its chestnut geometric patterns is unique to Samburu National Reserve. The giraffes were delicately picking the acacia leaves with their quick tongues and gingerly munching on the leaves.

It was getting warm as the sun’s rays penetrated the trees. We drove on with the hope of seeing more wildlife before it was too hot.

As we drove on, we noticed a long-necked gazelle standing on its hind legs as it browsed leaves from the top acacia bush. This gazelle called gerenuk is also unique to the reserve, having adapted well in living in arid areas.

As we approached, it came down on its fours and disappeared into the bushes. The distressed chuckling of the vulturine guinea fowls aroused our curiosity. They were making the sound while looking in one particular direction. We decided to head that direction and soon we saw a furry antelope that looked out of place in this hot environment. The antelope was a common waterbuck. Like the guinea fowls, the antelope also had its gaze fixed ahead. We drove past the waterbuck to find out what was drawing the attention of these animals.

The hunter and the prey

Crouching right ahead, were a couple of cheetahs. Undisturbed by our presence, the cheetahs focused on their prey. One remained crouching as one slowly approached the waterbuck. Soon after, the other followed stealthily and when they reached about 20 meters away from the waterbuck, they broke into a sprint. Instinctively, the waterbuck broke into a run. A spectacular chase, lasting ten seconds ensued and soon the cheetahs realised they could not catch the waterbuck. Dejectedly they abandoned their mission and headed for a shade.

Hunting scenes are very rare during game drives and the tourists were elated to have witnessed such a scene.

We left the cheetahs and drove by the river where we saw a very big Nile crocodile lazily basking in the sun with its mouth wide open. Flies were having a field day flying in and out of the crocodile’s mouth, probably in search of food particles. The sun was now very hot and as we headed back to the camp we saw a group of impalas and buffaloes huddled in groups in the little available shaded areas.

We looked forward to the evening game drive in the neighbouring Buffalo Springs Reserve on the other side of the Ewaso Nyiro River.

The evening game drive was equally rewarding though we were not lucky enough to see other lions or the elusive and discreet leopards. Nevertheless we came back to camp in the evening happy and contented. We went to bed with exciting images of the wildlife replaying in our minds.