New polo ponies

Much excitement – we have two new polo ponies. They have come all the way from Zimbabwe which was 6 days on a lorry. Their longest traveling day was 21 hours, including 5 hours standing on the lorry in the blazing heat at the Zambia / Tanzania border crossing. Despite their seemingly arduous journey, they both stepped off the lorry looking remarkably sleek and shiny. Just another example of how easy going African horses are compared to their UK counterparts! It is best just to accept that things are done differently here and it really doesn’t seem to do the horses any harm. Whereas in the UK, we wouldn’t dream of putting a horse on a lorry without protective leg bandages, these two came all the way from Zimbabwe without them. I did send our lorry and syce to Nairobi with bandages for the last leg of their journey, but they didn’t bother to use them telling me there was no point since they had done the first five days of the journey without them!
Anyway, the new ponies are called Amarula (how apt – one of my favourite drinks) and Nakita. Nakita is tiny, just 14.2 hands so she really is a pony. Although they did most of their journey with five other horses (not for us, but for other people in Kenya), they have obviously bonded and are now inseparable. They absolutely refuse to mix with the other polo ponies and graze in a separate part of the boma (paddock). In an attempt to break this bond, we have moved them so they are no longer in next door stables. They neigh to each other all the time and are delighted to see each other the following day. Nakita seems intent on attacking any other horse that comes near her, but hopefully they will make some new friends soon…. At least they come from the Zimbabwean bush so they have seen elephants, giraffes, etc before. They don’t like our camels though! Can't say I blame them - they are quite ugly.

What else is new? Well, we had an equine vet from the UK staying here. She commented on how healthy and well kept our horses were which was nice (obviously I made sure her and her mother had decent looking horses and hid the old skinny ones!). Unfortunately, on her second ride, her horse went lame which was a bit embarrassing but I guess these things happen. Especially with our horses who like to be lame a lot.

Foal update. It is so lovely to see how Santa has progressed after all the hard work he has been. He looks so healthy and alert now. He has stopped trailing round after his mum with his head between her hind legs and now is a lot more independent, his head is held high, his ears are pricked and he is becoming very inquisitive. He is so trusting and sweet natured considering all the traumas he has been through. He can even canter and buck, but his legs are so long that he has to graze like a giraffe with his front legs spread so that his head can reach the ground. Even Champagne has started being a bit nicer to him (she is a bit of a bully).

Coco still hasn’t had her foal! When I first came to Lewa, I was told that both mares were due to foal on the 8^th Jan. Santa arrived early on Christmas Day, but Coco did not look at all ready to foal. On rechecking with the owners of the stallion, I was told Coco was due 29^th Jan. Well, it’s now the 16^th Feb so who knows?! Over the past week, her udder has definitely enlarged so we think she is thinking about foaling and isn’t just fat. However, my research tells me mares can start “bagging up” weeks before they foal so it may not be imminent. I guess she will have it in her own good time..

Well, it has been a very horsey blog so far. Apologies to those of you who are not the slightest bit interested in horses. I’m not sure that I’ve done too much else of note to report on. Yesterday was fun though. Whilst we were having lunch, there were lots of elephants on the hill opposite making their way down to the river to drink. So after lunch, we took a walk down to the river and sat and watched them drinking. I love baby elephants – they are so sweet. Then later that day driving to the farm, I saw a baby giraffe. Haven’t seen a baby giraffe in ages so that was nice. Then early evening, we were heading out to set up sundowners (drinks) for some guests and all the giraffes were lined up along the air strip looking at something. We drove over to find three cheetahs – a mother and her two boys (although they are almost fully grown). The boys actually jumped up on to the toilet hut roof and were playing together. Fantastic to see them out in the open as normally they are barely visible in the long grass.

That’s about it for now. Had some rain recently which has been quite refreshing. Not too much – just a couple of light showers late afternoon, but it helps to dampen down all the dust and makes the air smell fresher.

Friends Reunited

Happy times. My friend, Dianne, was able to come visit whilst on her way through Kenya (she is also travelling with Odyssey Overland as I did last year but on the northbound trip Cape to Cairo). It was very surreal to see Athena (the truck) turn the corner at the Meru / Isiolo junction with Alison and Rogan in the cab and Di jumping out of the back. (For those Odyssey Overlanders who travelled with me last year you should remember this junction well. It was where we broke down on that long drive from Samburu to Nakuru..). It was great to be able to show Di my new life here on Lewa and provide her with a much needed night of luxury. Having spent months camping, I think she was more than happy to have a night in one of our guest cottages with 2 four poster beds and 2 sitting rooms! The contrast between life at Wilderness Trails and life on the Odyssey Overland truck could not be greater. I was reminded of this when Di commented at dinner how fantastic it was to be served a three course dinner at a table with napkins, wine glasses etc rather than eating off a metal plate that is burning your lap (not to mention having to drink wine out of a tin cup!).

Even though Di was only here for less than 24 hours, we found time to go on a game drive and a horse ride. Saw lots of rhinos which was great for Di as they are not so plentiful in other game parks across Africa. We then headed up to Samburu to catch up with the truck. Samburu is about an hour’s drive north of Lewa but it was my first proper road trip unaccompanied so it was quite exciting for me. Had to have a lesson in how to change a tyre from one of the mechanics before I left as I am always getting punctures which on Lewa is fine as there are always people to help you. Out on the open road it might not be so advisable to accept offers of help – may end up being robbed at the same time.

It was fun to go back to the Samburu campsite where I had stayed for two nights last year and spend a night being an “overlander” again. Also great to catch up with Rogan and Alison, drink champagne on the roof of Athena and watch the sunset by the river. Samburu is such a different landscape and climate to Lewa. Very flat and dry and also much warmer – no need for warm clothes once the sun goes down there.

It was quite strange watching the new Odyssey Overlanders break camp and pack up Athena in the morning. That was my life for over 4 months last year so it was odd to come back to it again. There was a part of me that was slightly envious of the adventures they have ahead, but it’s a long bumpy road through the rest of northern Kenya (and a potentially dangerous one, particularly the Moyale border crossing into Ethiopia where tribal fighting is escalating right now). So for me it was a nice early morning drive back to Lewa and my life of luxury… No roughing it on a truck and not showering for days on end!

Dry, dusty Lewa

I noticed when I logged on to the internet today that Britain is set for lots of snow. That seems quite unimaginable to me here on Lewa as it is getting drier and dustier each day. The grass is dying quickly and you cannot drive anywhere without clouds of dust following you. When you stop to open a gate, you are simply engulfed in the dust the vehicle has kicked up. I would choose this over the cold any day though!

Well, it has been very quiet here on the guest front for a few days (I say that looking out of the office window at ten new guests that have just arrived so not for much longer..). Had lots of time to go for some nice rides and find some new routes. The game is fabulous right now. 12 rhinos on this morning's ride alone, and the other morning we just sat quietly on our horses watching 50+ elephants crossing the river ahead of us and then headed up the hill where we saw 8 rhino, not to mention the stunning views across Lewa to Mount Kenya.

Speaking of Mount Kenya, a few of us took a day trip up to the lower slopes. The landscape is dramatically different from Lewa. First you head up through beautiful farm land and crops which is very reminiscent of a large arable farm in the UK with lots of the bright yellow oilseed rape crops. Then through the forest and out onto shrubby moorland. We drove up to a place called Rotundu where we then trekked down into a gorge - quite a scramble actually - to reach a beautiful stream full of trout. Some of the group fished. I chose just to relax on a rock and listen to the sound of the water and take the occasional paddle in the ice cold water.

Also been to the school in Isiolo again. I find Isiolo a very depressing place. Something about the air, the heat and the dryness really gets to you and you feel completely drained within five minutes of arriving. Isiolo is not a very settled place right now. Lots of tribal fighting going on to the north with warring groups killing each others animals and arguing over land. Best avoided for the time being..

Nanyuki (to the south of Lewa) by contrast is quite a nice place to go for shopping or lunch. Found a restaurant with free wifi the other day which was nice.

Still waiting for foal number three to arrive. Coco (the mare) is huge so it can't be too much longer. Santa is growing very well and I think his brain may even be catching up as he seems much brighter and sharper. He even skips, canters and bucks now. He will never be as smart as Champagne but that is just as well - he is a lot easier to handle than she is!

A typical day at Wilderness

Was wondering what to write about this time as I'd hate to bore you all with my tales of 'I saw this animal and that animal, etc'. So thought I would describe a typical day for me here.

Well, it normally starts around 6.30am as this is when the horses are fed. I would of course be lying if I tried to claim that I participate in that. Normally the syces have already fed the horses and are waiting around for their instructions. Generally, we have guests ride at 7.00am so it is a case of deciding which horses to use and making sure they are all tacked up and ready to go. Then meeting guests, briefing them, fitting them with helmets, and getting them mounted and away. I don't normally go out with them if they are doing a slow ride - I only tend to go if it is a faster ride for more experienced people. Besides which, the guides here are obviously far more knowledgeable about all the wildlife than I could ever hope to be so the guests will have a much more informative ride with them!

The faster horses need to be kept fit so I try to ride them every two or three days. Depending upon who is lame, there are normally about six of these horses so myself and a couple of syces will ride a horse each and lead another. At the moment, the polo ponies are on holiday (no, they haven't gone to the beach, they are just enjoying some time off work as the season doesn't start again until May). When they are back in work, then we will also have to exercise them each morning so I will be much busier then than I am now.

If we have a quiet morning without guests or the need to exercise any horses, then it gives me time to have a good look at all the horses as they head out of their stables and off to graze each day. Or to do jobs like shoeing (two of the syces are also farriers), or vaccinations. Injecting 40 horses isn't really my idea of a fun way to start a day but it's not too bad once you get started and the horses are all good to do (apart from the foal but that's another story). So far, I've had African Horse Sickness and tetanus vaccines to do, but the annual rabies jab is also due soon.

After riding, I normally have breakfast around 9.00am by which time I am truly starving! Then at 10.00am, I drive down to the shamba (the farm) where the mares and foals live to check they are all okay. Right now, I am in a routine of one day re-bandaging Santa's legs and the next day doing some handling work with Champagne. Santa is growing well but his legs are still a mess. The vet said it may be necessary to continue with the bandaging for 100 days!! In another place, he really would have had skin grafts but this is Africa and that isn't going to happen. Champagne is just the most gorgeous foal. Incredibly naughty but also very clever and affectionate. She accepts that she has to wear a head collar but isn't happy about being taught how to lead. She rears, has tantrums and has even thrown herself on the floor and refused to get up. Suffice to say, her first tetanus jab did not go well and three syces had to pin her into a corner in the stable as that was the only way to inject her. Despite all that, she really does love fuss and a cuddle - just don't ask her to do anything that she doesn't want to do..

The rest of the morning is free really. I might sort out ordering food or drugs for the horses, read, internet, or chill out by the pool. Then lunch which tends to be a prolonged affair (drinks beforehand, then 2 courses, then tea/coffee on the verandah after) as I eat with the guests. I start work again around 3pm when the horses come in from grazing in time to be ready for the 4pm ride. Asides from getting organised for that ride, every horse is groomed and has all the ticks removed so generally I am just checking all the horses and the stables. I can pretty much guarantee that at least one horse will have some minor cut or injury (usually from thorns out in the bush) that needs cleaning up and treating. They also like to lose shoes with amazing regularity. We feed around 5pm and then I just wait around for the riders to return around 5.30pm - just to make sure all went well and no one fell off..

So that is my day done. I then either relax until dinner at 8pm or may be play a little tennis or go out on a game drive. Dinner with guests is once again a prolonged affair but it is useful to chat to them about riding if they are planning to go on a ride the next day to figure out which horses might suit them. I have developed a bad habit of immediately trying to assess people's weight as we don't have many big horses so I hate it when heavy people want to ride. Also if they are over 90kg trying to figure out how to tactfully say they can't ride!

Well, that's about it for now. The two donkeys did their first bit of work yesterday. We have called them Up and Down as their job is to go up and down the hill to a nice picnic spot by the river transporting lunch. They were very well behaved apart from when they were left grazing and they decided to take themselves off back up the hill to the stables! Supukia (the camel/donkey guide) had to run after them which was quite hilarious. They were tied to a bush after that. The new picnic spot is fab. You can swim under the waterfall and jump off the rocks. The water does look a little brown but it's quite nice once you're in!

No rain for ages so the grass is now dying very quickly and everywhere is taking on a yellow / brown colour. Quite different from the lush green when I first arrived on Lewa.

News from Lewa

So what exciting things have happened since my last blog?

Saw lions this morning when I was out riding!! Have always known that at some point I would and fortunately they were a good distance away and the horses were oblivious.

Went on a great game drive the other evening. Watched a couple of lionesses hanging out by the swamp and then saw three cheetahs together. They had just killed an impala and so we sat just metres away listening to them contentedly chomping on their dinner whilst the sun went down. Then saw three porcupines after dark running along the track in front of our vehicle - very funny creatures.

Lots of babies around at the moment. Saw the sweetest little waterbuck which must have been only a few hours old, and also the tiniest baby elephants - their ears still pink and barely coming up to their mums' knee.

Still haven't seen a leopard though...

Also ventured into Isiolo which is a town 30 mins north of Wilderness. Visited a school / orphanage / clinic project there. The school provides a home and education for children who have been orphaned and have effectively become head of their household. It is very common for children to be orphaned due the death of their parents from AIDS. The charity provides carers for the other children so that the oldest child can get an education. Kate and I spent an afternoon as "teachers". A Wilderness guest had arranged for her school to send penpal letters so we handed out letters to each student and then helped them write a reply, draw pictures to send, etc. Was fun but quite exhausting. We will have to go back soon to give out the next lot of letters. Heading into Isiolo and hearing about life there is certainly a stark reminder of what life is like for so many in Africa. Living on Lewa shelters you from all that and those who come to Africa just for a luxury safari definitely don't see the real Africa.

Ngare Ndare Forest, Angry Elephants and Sad Donkeys

Lots happened here since my last update. Had a great day trip to the Ngare Ndare forest which is about an hour's drive from Wilderness. Very fun journey there in the back of a pick up transporting lunch, etc for our guests and great to get out and see some more of the area. The forest is beautiful, very cool and green with amazing waterfalls and pools to jump in - most refreshing!

Had an interesting run in with some elephants one evening. Kate (Wilderness lodge manager) and I decided to go over to Sirikoi which is another lodge on Lewa for drinks at sunset. Driving back in the dark we came upon a huge herd of elephants blocking the track. So we waited patiently for them to move which they showed absolutely no sign of doing. There was another vehicle in front of us and as they decided to go off road to bypass them, we thought we would follow. Unfortunately, the elephants started to get really angry and two of them threatened to charge us. It is very scary when you can see an elephant in your rear view mirror coming at you and then another from the side! Fortunately for us, they didn't make contact with the vehicle and we emerged unscathed but I shall be very wary of elephants from now on!

Other news is that we now have two donkeys at Wilderness. I have always wanted donkeys so I was very excited at the prospect of their arrival. They are going to work as pack donkeys transporting lunch down to the river when we hold picnic lunches for guests. They are rather battle scarred little donkeys, although I'm assured by the locals that their scars are due to them fighting with other donkeys rather than ill treatment. They also have really tatty ears as the ears are cut as a means of marking them so villagers know who owns which donkey. I rather think these donkeys have landed on their feet coming to live at Wilderness and being pampered by me. They are going to be the best kept donkeys in Africa! I've successfully treated the pus filled wound on one donkey's neck. Unfortunately, the other donkey is not as friendly and took great exception to me trying to clean up its runny eyes. I guess the poor donkey has never been handled by a mzungu (white person), and they've definitely not had hard feed before as they just stood and stared at the food bowls. The syces all think I am completely mad for being so nice to the donkeys, and I've given up on feeding them. They just have hay at night in the stable and roam free during the day. The difficulty with having the donkeys is that the horses all went crazy when they saw them, although they are slowly getting used to each other now.

Finally, an update on my foal, Santa. The traumas continue but he is still with us! I decided that he wasn't really developing and was a bit slow mentally as well. I spoke to the vet who suggested putting him back on antibiotics and vitamin injections to try and boost him. I also learnt that there is a condition called 'dummy foal' where the foal suffers from a lack of oxygen during birth and thus mentally is somewhat slow although they can gradually recover. As I mentioned in my last blog post, he was constantly injuring himself as well which was something of a mystery. Very fortuitously for us, a vet was coming for lunch (he is actually a Professor at the Royal Vet College in the UK but was holidaying in the area). So to earn his lunch, he was persuaded to come and look at Santa. Just as well that he did. Turns out that the circulation to his lower limbs was affected (the vet said he must have been very close to death from septecemia at one point which he was in his early days) and the skin was all dead and just falling off - hence why he kept injuring himself because he actually has very little feeling in that area. Luckily for me, the vet stripped off all the dead skin and scrubbed his legs until they bled / got back to live tissue, showed me how to bandage them, etc. So I am now three days in to the daily saga of scrubbing his legs and rebandaging them and more antibiotics. Not sure at this point how well the legs will recover but Santa is definitely getting stronger each day and really fights against his treatments. The poor foal is going to be traumatised for life by the sheer number of injections he has had. The fact that he fights so hard gives me some hope that he is not as dumb as we first thought!

On a more positive foal note, my two month old foal has finally succumbed to wearing a head collar after what seems like many hours of trying. She was very cross when we duped her into getting it on and  she realised that she couldn't get it off. Foal number three is yet to put in an appearance - technically due yesterday but I think it could me a few more days yet..

Played squash yesterday for the first time ever which was really good fun. Can't believe that I've never played before. There is a squash court in Nanyuki and as our guests all left yesterday, Kate and I ventured out for an evening of squash and dinner at a restaurant. Quite a long way to go for squash and dinner but such is life when you live in such a remote place. A guest free day today which is nice..

Anyway, I think that is my main news so I will sign off now.

Happy New Year

Just a quick blog post to wish everyone a happy new year. Thanks to everyone who has sent me emails or messages via Facebook wishing me a happy Christmas, etc. Apologies that I haven't replied to many of you. I will get round to it one day when the internet improves!!

So New Years at Wilderness was fun. We had dinner out in the bush with a campfire, two whole roasted lambs and Masai warrior dancing. With the amazing stars here, it was really very beautiful and quite unique. Certainly a different way to spend New Year.

Well, who knows what 2012 will bring, but I wish everyone all the best.

By the way, for those who are interested in the progress of my foal (who has been named Santa), he is doing okay. Still a little wobbly but getting there. Had a bit of a setback yesterday as I think he must have fallen over in the stable as he has a few little cuts and is lame on his back leg. Seems better today though so I just hope he will start to go from strength to strength. No sign of the next foal yet... As for the other horses, they are still proving a challenge. The guests we have staying are very into riding so it wasn't a good start to New Years Eve when two of the horses we were planning to use come out of the stable lame. I am rapidly running out of 'useful' horses and the ones that are sound are being massively over used. Fortunately it's a quieter day today so some of them can have a rest. For the first time since arriving here, I actually used the pool today and did a bit of sunbathing as the guests are all out walking and having lunch. Peace and quiet..