A Snake in my Room

For someone who doesn’t like snakes, there is nothing more traumatic than, whilst sitting on the toilet, suddenly seeing a snake dart across your room and catch a lizard!! Squirrels and lizards I can cope with in my room – even squirrels that try and get into my chocolate supplies – but snakes I draw the line at. Guide to the rescue to remove said snake from my room pronto, although they assured me that it wasn’t a poisonous one…

The last week of January has been a quiet one guest wise, so I’ve been on a few excursions. A day trip to the Tana River – not that we ever quite made it to the point we planned to get to due to a lack of passable roads, but we found a river that runs into the Tana. A fun day out and we got a few interesting looks as I don’t think they see too many muzungus (white people) in that area.

Also took a trip up to Borana, the neighbouring ranch to Lewa, to visit a friend. Had a great time riding on Borana as it is great riding country with lots of hills and forests - not as much game as on Lewa but very pretty scenery. After riding, we took a trip by car into the Ngare Ndare Forest and went to the waterfalls. As we were supposedly on a recce to find horse riding routes, we were ill equipped for swimming but the water looked so inviting that we jumped in clothes and all regardless. Icy cold water but most invigorating!

Another great morning out was buggying and quad biking. Some friends have set up a business offering trips by motorised buggies and quad bikes. They are great fun for exploring areas outside the conservancy as long as you are prepared to get seriously dirty and dusty! The buggies, which take one driver and one passenger, are great for off-roading and a lot more comfortable than a car for bumpy African roads.

Lewa seems to be teeming with elephants at the moment. They say elephants are incredibly intelligent so perhaps they know that poaching is on the increase in Kenya and that they are safer inside Lewa than outside (Lewa has never lost an elephant to poachers). However, elephants and horses don’t get along so well and I’ve encountered a few angry eles on rides recently. A lot of ear flapping and rumbling noises if you get too close to them. Quite fun as long as they don’t decide to full on charge you!

 

Bottle feeding a baby rhino

I got to bottle feed a baby rhino!! Something I imagine that not many people can say they have done. Six month old Nicky is a blind black rhino who was found at two months old with his mother. Although she was no doubt doing her best to care for him, his blindness was making it hard for him to cope in the wild and he had already been attacked by hyenas. One of his ears is rather torn as a result of that attack. As black rhinos are so endangered and his chances of survival were slim if left with his mother, Lewa Wildlife Conservancy decided to bring him in and hand rear him. He lives at the headquarters and has 24 hour care. One of his two keepers is always with him, even sleeping alongside him at night. If his blanket falls off, he jumps on his keeper to get him to tuck him back in again – how sweet!! After a shaky start, Nicky is doing really well and it is looking very hopeful that his eyes can be operated on and his sight restored. Ultimately, he will be able to be released back into the wild which would be wonderful. With rhino poaching escalating at an alarming rate, every single rhino is so vital to ensure these incredible animals don’t become extinct.

Would love to upload a photo of the gorgeous Nicky at this point but the internet is too slow. That said, he is something of an internet sensation. If you google "blind baby rhino", lots of pictures and news articles will come up on him! He has been successfully fundraising for his sight restoring operation by using the fact that Prince William spent his gap year at Lewa.

Sarara Camp, Samburu land

Animal update first. The cats have been spayed. I really should have got my cats spayed sooner but I’ve never seen any other cats around Lewa so I thought they were safe. So I was not too pleased to one morning see my little female tabby cat following a big black tom cat around!! Whisked them off to the vets to discover she wasn’t pregnant but her tortoiseshell sister was at least 3 weeks pregnant with four kittens so she must have met the tom cat some time ago. Suffice to say they are now both spayed (I feel like a kitten murderer) and back home after an overnight stay at the vets. Rather a traumatic experience for them both as they did not appreciate being bundled into a dog crate and a long car journey to Nanyuki. They are now wearing plastic bucket collars for two weeks so that they can’t pick at their stitches. They are very cross with me as this rather impedes their freedom and they can’t whizz around the stable rafters and hunt rats like they used to because the stupid collars get in their way.

On the subject of neutering animals, Santa has also been castrated. As the vet was coming up to the area, it seemed sensible to get him done as in another few months he will probably start getting interested in mares. I really enjoyed assisting the vet with the operation and it all went very smoothly until it was time for Santa to come round from his anaesthetic. Typical Santa can’t be like any normal horse and just get up, be a bit groggy and recover quietly in his stable. Santa gets up, then falls over, a process he repeats about 20 times, getting increasingly stressed and thrashing around. We eventually got him back into his stable and held him up whilst he spent 10 minutes head butting the stable wall for reasons best known to himself. Luckily there wasn’t any swelling or other post-operative problems so he is now a gelding and has entirely forgotten about the experience.

That’s the animal news. On to more exciting subjects. Jenny, my best friend, is here! She arrived last Friday and I took a couple of days off over the weekend so that we could go off on safari. We drove three hours north of Lewa, up to Samburu land to stay at Sarara Camp (check it out at www.sararacamp.com). Such a magical and beautiful place. It is the only camp in that area so you literally look out on to a million acres of complete wilderness. There are no other tourists or cars. The camp is built into the hillside and the six luxury tents are positioned to give a fantastic view of the flat scrubby Samburu land and the Matthews range of mountains. I can honestly say it is one of the most stunningly beautiful places that I have ever been to. We were very lucky in that (a) they gave us a much cheaper resident rate, and (b) we were the only guests so had the place to ourselves. The camp has a fantastic infinity pool built into the granite rocks fed with natural spring water. Beneath the pool is a watering hole so the animals come into drink, mainly elephants, but we were also treated to a leopard sauntering past one evening as we sat with gin and tonics in hand watching the sun go down. The game is far less plentiful than on Lewa and harder to spot because of the dense bush. However, considering that in the 70s and 80s, all the game was completely poached out, it is wonderful to see that there are now over 4000 elephants living in the area. Sadly, poaching for their ivory still remains a major problem and it is unlikely that rhino could ever be reintroduced to the area unless the land was fenced in and massive security introduced.

Sarara Camp also has a pet kudu (type of antelope) that was found abandoned at 5 days old. She was hand reared and is completely tame, so much so that she wanders about the dining area asking for food! I have to say that it was really fun to be a “guest” for a change rather than working at a lodge. Having wake up tea bought to my room in the morning and sitting on the verandah watching the sun come up rather than going to work – I could get used to that!

First blog of 2013

Happy New Year everyone!

I had an early Christmas present from one of the horses – a kick in the head. This is the thanks I get for trying to clean a leg wound, although I think she was really just kicking at flies and caught me by mistake. Much drama in the yard as she sent me flying sideways and seeing stars until one of the syces caught me before I hit the ground. Once the blood was cleared up, it turned out not to be so serious – just needed a couple of stitches at the local clinic. The kick was at the side of my head by the hairline so if it scars, it won’t really be visible. It could have been much worse!

And so it was my second Christmas in Kenya. Christmas Day started with a ride before breakfast, then we had a traditional roast turkey lunch, followed by dinner and a campfire in the bush in the evening. Except I ended up missing out on the evening festivities as I was looking after a sick horse, aptly named Santa as he was born last Christmas Day. Poor little Santa did not have a good Christmas, or indeed 1^st birthday, but he is much better now.

We got a new polo pony just before Christmas called Dancing Gem. She has come all the way from South Africa which is one very long journey by lorry – more than a week of travelling. She clearly didn’t have the best journey as the horses were fighting and her neck is one mass of bite marks, not to mention all the other cuts and bumps she managed to obtain along the way. Then she arrives on Lewa and all our polo ponies gang up and bully her. Anyway, I think they have largely sorted out their differences now and she is settling in nicely. I took her for her first ride today and she was very calm despite having to contend with seeing five rhinos and lots of other animals that she clearly isn’t used to. Her last owners informed us that she is good in traffic. Not particularly useful to us as we don’t ride our horses on the road. It would be more helpful if she was good with elephants, rhino and giraffe!

New Year passed by in a similar vein to last year. The same family have been coming to Wilderness for the past 10 years and they book out the entire lodge for 10 days. New Year’s Eve was a sit-down dinner for 20+ people out in the bush with a big campfire, roast lamb and Masai dancers. And a few elephants roaming past who thankfully didn’t come and join in, although they were obviously intrigued by events!

Hopefully, 2013 is bringing us all better weather. I actually had to buy a pair of wellington boots because the rain and the mud was so bad. But finally the days are getting hotter and the rain has stayed away for a few days…

Drowned Rats

Oh my – what a day. We’ve had lots of lovely weather since my last blog but yesterday the rain returned with a vengeance. And today has been the wettest day I’ve ever experienced in Kenya. Rather inconveniently, this is also the day the polo ponies are coming back from the last tournament of the season. There was not a hope in hell of the lorry making it all the way back to Wilderness so we decided to offload the horses not far from the main gate to Lewa and ride them back. Potentially quite fun - slightly less so in torrential rain. The timing could not have been worse. As we start getting them off the lorry, the heavens really opened. After seven hours on the lorry, the horses would normally be delighted to get off and stretch their legs but even they looked around as if to say are you mad? We were warm and dry on the lorry. Where are we? This is not our home.

After throwing tack on quickly in the pouring rain, we hopped on and set off. The rain stopped, the sun came out, there were elephant, zebra and gazelles grazing as we rode through the bush. It soon became apparent it was easier to off road as the horses were slipping too much on the muddy “roads”. If only we could have made it back before the heavens opened once again. Sadly that was not to be and the driving rain came again. It was quite funny when I looked back at one point to see misery clearly etched on all the riders and horses faces. As we got closer to home, the horses seemed to realise where they were and that their journey was nearly at an end which gave them a spring in their step. They were delighted to get home, have a good roll in the sawdust and get into their stables and start eating. Happy horses finally…

Please let the rain stop tomorrow. The tack room is one big mountain of wet dirty tack and the yard is a complete mud bath. This is why I could never work with horses in the UK – wet weather and horses is not a pleasant mix.

What else has been happening since my last blog? Actually, sad times on Lewa as rhino poaching is very much on the increase. Lewa has, in the past, been hugely successful in running very tight security and keeping poachers at bay. However, that has changed this year and five rhino were poached in the space of one week. In just one night, four rhino were shot, although the horn was only taken from one of the rhino, probably because the poachers didn’t think they would have time to escape with more than one. What a tragic waste of life. Rhinos are so endangered simply because of the ridiculous demand from the Far East for rhino horn. Deluded people who believe that the horn contains medicinal properties when it has been proven that this simply isn’t true. Black rhino are particularly endangered. I’m not sure of the exact numbers now, but I know that at one point numbers had dwindled to just 500 left in the world. We have about 60 on Lewa so we are very fortunate. Just days after the four rhino were shot, another rhino was poached. What made this particularly poignant was the fact that we can see its huge rotting carcass on the hillside opposite Wilderness. Very sad.

Lovely Lewa

There is nothing like being away from a place to make you appreciate it even more. It was so exciting to arrive back on Lewa which, after the rains, now looks like a completely different place. It is all lovely and green – amazing to see the changes in just six weeks.

Now that there is lots of grass, there is even more wildlife right on our doorstep. Giraffe, zebras, Grants Gazelle, baboons, impala, waterbuck, ostrich and wart hogs just on the drive back in. You don’t even need to go anywhere to see animals as there were elephants on the hillside opposite camp at lunch time and then rhino in the early evening.

What a joy to return to a lovely clean room and have a good night’s sleep. However hot it is during the day, African nights are always cooler and it was great to have a hot bubble bath and be cosy under a duvet after weeks of hot humid nights in India. And, of course, having all my washing and ironing done for me, my room cleaned, my bed turned down and a fire lit each evening in my room. I now appreciate even more how thoroughly spoilt I am living in Kenya! Not to mention the fantastic meals prepared for me. Yesterday, for example, there were no guests so I just had breakfast in the kitchen. Nothing fancy, just mangoes and strawberries, followed by poached egg on toast. The first guests of the season arrived mid-morning so lunch was a buffet of pizza, butterbean stew, chicken salad, green beans, hummus, guacamole and pitta bread, followed by strawberry crumble and cheese and biscuits (I didn’t actually have any of the crumble – wouldn’t want to be too greedy!). A nice gin and tonic pre-dinner, then vegetable soup to start, beef for main course, and a fruit and cream brandy snap basket to finish. Whilst I definitely lost weight in India, I shall be putting it back on quite quickly here!

It was also great to see all the staff at Wilderness again. Everyone is so friendly and happy here. I bought the syces back some chocolates and they were so thrilled, although in fairness, I don’t suppose they get to have too many luxuries like that.

The cats are both still alive and well, and the stables are rat free so they are doing their job. The horses are very happy with all the grass and aren’t so keen to come in at night now, especially as their hay and hard feed has been reduced. “Clinic” is running twice daily to clean and bandage wounds, administer injections, etc. It tends to be the case that either all the horses are fine, or lots of them have injuries all at once. At the moment, it is lots of them, so I feel like I am running a clinic as the horses are bought out one by one for their treatments.

My first full day back was lovely. Exercised the polo ponies on the canter track before breakfast who are super fit and strong now. You certainly get a good workout riding them – blisters and aching muscles the next day as I haven’t ridden for a few weeks. Went on a drive in the evening and saw six lions!!

The weather was really nice for the first day, but the rains have now made a return. I keep telling myself this is good because the grass won’t stay green for long without more rain. However, it could get a bit boring if it continues as the roads become impassable, you can’t ride or go anywhere, and it’s not much fun for our guests either! Still I’m sure it won’t last forever and it’s a good thing really…

Varkala - seafood, yoga and dolphins

And relax we did… Staying at a lovely guesthouse called “New Heaven” with a balcony looking out to sea. Varkala is a one mile stretch of guesthouses, restaurants, shops, spa and yoga centres set precariously along a cliff top. There is one main beach, but if you wander further north, you can also find lots of small secluded coves. The waves here are huge so the swimming can be a challenge!

One of the best things about Varkala is the seafood which is amazing. All the restaurants display the fish freshly caught that day. I’m told by Di that you can actually go and help the fishermen drag in the huge nets each morning at 7am (I won’t pretend that I went and did that – no one would believe me anyway!). Have had some delicious prawns, grouper and red snapper, and all this fish makes a nice change from the veggie diet of Rajasthan.

Yoga is also big here so I’ve done a couple of morning yoga classes which have been fun. Loving the dolphins too who can be spotted most days. It rained one day which they seemed to love as they went into a complete frenzy of flips and jumps, putting on quite a display.

You know, we’ve been in Varkala so long that even the shopkeepers don’t really hassle us anymore!

So, it’s our final train journey today – just a mere one hour to get us to Trivandrum, our final destination. After spending a night there, I fly up to Delhi tomorrow morning via Mumbai which in total takes 4.5 hours. This gives you some idea of the size of India and the distance we have covered. A direct train from Trivandrum to Delhi takes 50 hours – can you imagine?!? I’m then going to have a very boring afternoon and evening at Delhi airport as my flight to Nairobi doesn’t leave until after midnight. Back on Lewa by Friday lunchtime and very much looking forward to seeing the horses and cats!!



Amazing seafood

Varkala Beach

Enjoying mojitos