Day 3 - Sunday and our first major kill

You know you haven’t been in bed long enough when your hot water bottle is still hot and it’s time to get up.

The morning drive was packed as usual with new birds, old mammals and glorious equatorial sunshine. First up were two Ground Hornbills fighting over a Lizard, followed by breakfast overlooking a hippo-filled river with weaver nests dangling over the edge. Very pleasant indeed, but incredibly frustrating to capture with a heavy camera and no tripod.

After breakfast we caught up with Mrembo and ‘Manky-Eye’ getting stuck in to an impala kill with an audience of a few White-Backed vultures up in the trees. Within ten minutes or so, the vulture numbers had swelled to over 30 with more landing every time you turned to look. Soon the nearby tree branches were full and the vultures began to occupy ground space, getting closer and closer to the cheetahs. A Hyena eventually turned up chasing the Cheetahs away and running in to steal the carcass only to come out with a vulture instead! – she spat it out and waded back in through the carpet of ugly feasting birds for a second attempt. A brown hairy mass, carry a blood soaked lump and a flurry of feathers was all I saw as the Hyena dashed into the trees with her swag, but I will never forget the smell. As soon as those vultures had punctured the intestines the smell was everywhere. Truly rancid.

The vultures stripped the carcass in minutes and took to the air in a mass swirling column that moved as one across the plains. It was time to head back for lunch.

After lunch we headed back out across the open plains area stopping to shoot a Zebra threesome en route to a known hyena den where we spent a lovely session with a couple of females and their family of cubs. Apparently the females take it in turns to babysit whilst the other females head out to scavenge. It looked to me as if each female was feeding cubs that could not have been theirs, because one opportune little cub was moving between females and feeding from both!

As the light faded, and ISO settings became too noisy, we headed out for sundowners in the open and grabbed a few sunset shots at the same time. What a beautiful way to end a very exciting day.

Day 2 – Kicheche Acacia Camp

My 5:30am wake-up call arrived at 5:50am (‘Swahili time’) which meant I had ten minutes to be up, dressed and ready for the off. As a result I managed to make my tea with the hot water which was meant for me to wash in – oops!

Thankfully I have a sad habit of hording teabags from hotel rooms so it meant when I realised my mistake I could make another brew from the flask of hot water, and actually use the brown warm water for washing in.

I made it to the main camp tent after the other ladies but just 30 seconds before David which was perfect as I was then able to join in the jeering at his tardiness.

We set off and managed to reach a good spot just in time for a few sunrise shots before a herd of elephants came through, closely followed by Cheetah! A female called ‘Mrembo’ (meaning Beautiful) and her 9 month old male cub (who we referred to as ‘Manky-Eye’ since he has not been given a name yet and has a dodgey left eye). We followed them for a good couple of hours and managed to catch them playing together, washing and hunting which was incredible. Mum even leapt up onto the bonnet of the truck at one point which put the wind up Sheila, who was standing with her head out of the roof but facing the other way at the time. Daniel, who was in the driving seat, managed to get a good face to face shot whilst the rest of us jostled for space in the back.

Onwards to include Jackals and breakfast out on the plains only 200 or so metres from where we last left the Cheetahs relaxing in the shade. How lucky am I.

We returned to camp around noon for a camera download and some lunch before heading out again about 4pm. I must say the pace is getting to me a little. I was hoping for more downtime and thinking time and also some time to review images etc. None of which we have had so far. My camera keeps resetting itself to factory defaults every time I turn it off which is a real pain (think I have cooked the memory in the heat) and the new £1,000 lens is so soft it’s unusable. Very disappointed. I almost cried silently at one point this morning when I realised every single one of my lion shots from yesterday and all my elephant shots from dawn are slightly out of focus. Very very disheartening. I thought it was down to me not being used to the new lens, but I have tried everything, checked over the settings, done some set tests under controlled conditions and the outcome is still the same. I cannot get it to produce sharp images even when placed on a table, facing a stationary object and taken using the timer.

We went out this afternoon with the intention of returning to the Hyena den to film the cubs in better light, but unfortunately they were very inactive and so I only managed a few shots of mother feeding one cub. I have returned to using my old Sigma 500mm lens now and will simply have to make the best of it. My own fault for not fully testing the new lens before the trip I guess. Lesson well and truly learnt. I did take some nice sunset shots and a few good birds in flight which I am hopeful for. Although I can’t really tell until they go onto a full size screen.

The group are truly lovely woman. Very like-minded and all well-travelled. Sandy seems the least fussed amongst us about getting the perfect composition and is happy to snap away at anything, which means we continue to stop for things that are not great subjects, repeats or are in poor light etc. But so far it’s not causing any of us a problem (except maybe David!), in fact, she has made some odd calls which have turned out to be fantastic for everyone.

We returned after sundowners in the dark and had ten minutes to shower before dinner. Dinner was pork so I just ate the mash and spinach with a pint of lager and returned to my tent for 930pm. The heat is quite tiring and I feel like there is not enough time to unwind at all or think about what we are doing. I understand we need to make the most of the time here and go out in search of game every day, but sometimes I wish I could just do my own thing for a bit. I might sit out of an afternoon drive one day to take some time out (I think there are parts of my anatomy that would appreciate a rest from the painful ride too – there are no roads on the routes we take!). My cameras behaviour is really starting to grate. I have overcome the factory reset issue by simply not turning it off, but it’s proving hard to change a habit I’ve formed over 20 years, and it also means I am going through batteries much quicker than expected. Add to that the fact that the solar-powered charging banks here at the camp also take much longer to work than 240v sockets at home, and I am really struggling to keep the camera going throughout each drive.

Day 1 - Kicheche Acacia Camp

What an amazing day. It started with a fantastic buffet breakfast, followed by a quick time-killing tour of the hotel gardens with my camera, before the hotel’s driver, Steve, drove me to Wilson airport where I killed yet more time with a large fresh passion-fruit juice (15p) and a read of my new ebook guide to Kenya waiting for the rest of the group to arrive.

Thankfully they are all lovely – all female apart from David our photographic guide and tour leader. We are four. First there’s Judge Marian, who has been to the Pantanal on David’s tour three times before and is going straight from this trip to Rwanda to see the Gorillas along with the second member of our group, retired marketing and PR person, Sheila, who has also been on the same Pantanal trip four times now. Then there’s recently-retired Sandy who has a great sense of humour, is very down-to-earth and, like me, has not been to Kenya before. This is Sandy’s first tour with David, although she has attended a couple of his UK day courses in the past. And finally me; the youngest of the group, only one Pantanal trip under my belt, and the only Pentax user.

After introductions and anti-malaria drug discussions, we boarded the tiny 16-seater plane. The ride was a little bumpy, but the view was incredible. We were met at the other end by our guide, Daniel, in full Masai dress (the famous red ‘Shuka’ adorned with beads) complete with Tanzanian Yamaha sandals.

As soon as Sandy and I had finished peeing into a wasp-filled hole in a straw hut at the Mara Shukah airstrip we started the journey out to Kicheche’s Acacia camp where we will spend the next 5 nights. Daniel had word from the other guides at the camp that a Leopard had been spotted very close to our tents and so we all agreed (despite the lack of sleep or food) that we would go see if it was still there. It was! My first wild Leopard within an hour of arriving in the Mara! VERY happy bunny.

Along the way we saw allsorts and by the time we reached camp at 12:15pm we were all fit to crash. First though we had to listen to an informative and interesting induction talk given by the camp manager Andy. Because the camp is not fenced in at all and the animals are free to wander in and out as they please, the main rule which must be observed is not walking around alone in the dark. There are Masai Warriors (Askari) on hand to escort us around, all we have to do is flash our solar torches from the tent and they will come to get us.  We have two-way radios in the tent by the bed in case we have concerns and the Masai fill our bucket showers with piping hot water every evening before dinner.

After the welcome chat, we were taken to our tents to settle in and freshen up before lunch. My tent was some way away from the main camp and named Kiboku (meaning ‘Hippo’). David had the tent even further away than mine but both overlooking a tree-edged lugga, skirting plains covered in zebra and impala. Sandy had the tent to my right and Marian and Sheila were nearer main camp.

The tent itself is like a small bungalow with a flushing toilet, basin with cold running water and king-sized wooden bed. There are also two single beds one of which had monkey poo on it when I arrived. The monkeys had also been through my bathroom area and knocked over the jar of washing powder. (The masai do everyone’s laundry every day but understandably they don’t wash women’s undies.)

I barely had time to remove my boots when I realised it was time to make my way back to the mess tent for lunch followed by a photographic revision session covering metering, aperture and things to be aware of when shooting in the Mara and from the vehicle.

Before I knew it we were back in the truck and off again, shooting impala, buffalo, secretary birds and lions before settling on hyena cubs at a den just before sun down.

‘Sundownders’ are an old colonial custom which most white Kenyans continue with to this day. You basically find a nice spot on the open plains and set up a picnic table with bright red masai table-cloth before pouring everyone their drink of choice and handing round ‘bitings’ (crisps, nuts or finger food) to nibble on whilst watching the sun go down. I’m sure if we had the vast open plains, the wildlife to roam it, the enormous sky, and the evening warmth, we would do the same in the UK. But somehow standing out in your local park with freezing wind whipping your face and MacDonalds wrappers swirling round your ankles doesn’t quite have the same appeal.

As darkness descended, we packed up and headed back across the Mara to camp in time for a shower and a drink round the campfire before dinner. The food here is incredible, and all cooked on charcoal. Tonight’s dinner was fried fish with potatoes and mango followed by an attack from Siafu ants. Not nice. Funny looking back, but not nice at the time.

I was sitting at the table when I suddenly felt something bite my ankle, I bent down to brush it off and sat upright again only to be bitten again half way up my leg. Since I was wearing full length combats, I suddenly realised that something must be inside my trousers. Another bite on my thigh. Another slightly higher up. I leapt up and started frantically looking about for an Askari. I had ants in my pants and it felt like plenty of them. Sandy, who was sat next to me, saw more on me and followed as I ran to the communal toilet tent outside, where I stripped off in record time. The askari who had escorted us there was waiting outside the tent and must have wondered what on earth was going on... two women go into the toilet together, lots of commotion and then one shouts ‘take your pants off’ whilst slapping me with a serviette!

By the time we had returned to the table I could manage only a cup of tea. Exhausted, itchy and slightly embarrassed I headed off to bed. How comforting then to find my room attendant had put a hot water bottle in my bed and placed my piglet on the pillow. Day 1 finally over.

Welcome to Kenya!

It’s currently 530am and I have had about 5 hours sleep since arriving last night. I am due to get up and go down for breakfast in half hour before heading out to Wilson airport to meet the rest of the group. So far all I know is that one is called Sandy, another is Sheila and the third is a guy. So fingers crossed we all get on. Another Pam for 9 days would really test my tolerance levels.

So the plane landed around 930pm last night into near total darkness. Through the window of the 777 as it descended I could see the odd cooking fire lighting up the landscape, but really it didn’t look at all like the vast sprawling capital city I saw as I drove across town in Paul’s minibus.  Paul works for the Fairview hotel and was the first black Kenyan I met.  He was waiting for me with a board reading ‘JOANNES HEDGER’, I had to smile, both at the spelling of my name and at the relief of seeing it written there in front of me as I came through customs. (The VISA desk was remarkably quick, easy and only £20 which was a bonus.)

Paul and I ventured out to retrieve the van which was to the back of a car park and buried deep in Mercedes cars driven by Asian Kenyans who had all rammed themselves from every direction into the one exit lane to reach the ticket office first. It was chaos. Needless to say by the time we eventually reached the little booth Paul’s temper was a little frayed and an argument broke out as to who’s turn it was and why the guy behind couldn’t just wait. Car horns, frantic arm gestures and shouting was followed by the appearance of a security guard, and two more drivers who had brought along their tickets for payment on foot.  Paul was now outside the van and in full swing. An impressive outpouring of abuse and frustration saw him effortlessly switch from English to Kiswahili and back again. Once he had got it all out of his system he turned to the lady sitting in the booth to pay – to which she helpfully added that she didn’t have any change anyway and we would have to pay at the next machine!

Eventually (after another car park fiasco, more testing of the horn and an end-of-tether defiant drive-through at the final barrier), we were out of the airport. It was almost 11pm.

The hotel is well kept, highly secure and boasts “the fastest internet connection of any hotel in Nairobi”. Unfortunately I didn’t get to test this statement as it was ‘down’, so no final email home to send news of my safe arrival.

Only one more sleep to go!!!

Well if I'm not ready now I never will be, I have checked-in online and printed my boarding card, packed everything that I need and given up fretting about the few kilos extra I'm carrying. My storage cards are all cleared, camera batteries all charged and copies of all documentation safely distributed. The eReader is loaded with books (as well as a guide to Kenya and copies of my travel docs) and my laptop is ready to receive what I estimate will be around 3000 images of everything from sunrise and silhouettes to bugs, butterflies and big cats. My next update will hopefully be when I reach the Fairview hotel in Nairobi tomorrow evening.

WIKI notes on the Masai People

"The central unit of Maasai society is the age-set. Although young boys are sent out with the calves and lambs as soon as they can toddle, childhood for boys is mostly playtime, with the exception of ritual beatings to test courage and endurance. Girls are responsible for chores such as cooking and milking, skills which they learn from their mothers at an early age. Every 15 years or so, a new and individually named generation of Morans or Il-murran (warriors) will be initiated. This involves most boys between 12 and 25, who have reached puberty and are not part of the previous age-set. One rite of passage from boyhood to the status of junior warrior is a painful circumcision ceremony, which is performed without anaesthetic. This ritual is typically performed by the elders, who use a sharpened knife and makeshift cattle hide bandages for the procedure. The Maa word for circumcision is emorata. The boy must endure the operation in silence. Expressions of pain bring dishonor, albeit temporarily. Any exclamations can cause a mistake in the delicate and tedious process, which can result in life-long scarring, dysfunction, and pain. The healing process will take 3–4 months, during which urination is painful and nearly impossible at times, and boys must remain in black cloths for a period of 4–8 months."

Going dark

One week to go and I have made an important, and positive decision to leave my mobile phone (and my Blackberry) behind. It will be the longest we have ever been apart, but with a 15Kg luggage limit and probably zero signal on the open plains of East Africa, it seemed a pointless waste of weight allowance, space and cost as well as being yet one more thing to keep safe.