Spotting Lions in the Samburu

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I am writing this sitting on the balcony of our tent, finishing my Tusker beer, and watching the antics of the Black Faced Vervet Monkeys all around me. There are so many of these little cute monkeys around the camp. We were instructed not to leave the flaps of the tent open (they close from the inside with a caribiner) when we’re not in the tent, and to keep the coffee things (mainly the packets of sugar) in the safe! These little guys will come into your tent if you leave it open when you leave, and trash the place, mostly searching for the sugar packets. There is also a very large elephant just down the way a bit, right in front of the restaurant. I put a short video of him on facebook. And there are also many olive baboons around the camp, though the staff will chase them away when they see them. It’s a pretty incredible place.

This morning we headed out at 7:30 for our morning game drive, following breakfast at the camp. We were on the search for lions, as there were reported sightings. We had to leave the section of the reserve our camp is in, and head to another section, so it was a longer drive than yesterday afternoon’s game drive. It was another very bumpy ride! We drove around for awhile, spotting giraffes and elephants, and eventually, found the elusive lion. They were resting in the heat (did I mention how hot it is here? It’s 34 now). We first saw one female, resting, maybe following a kill (although there was only an older carcass nearby - nothing fresh). Then we saw a group of around 3 or 4, resting under trees nearby. The male lions don’t grow the large mane here, because of the heat. We were all snapping pictures madly, marvelling actually seeing lions in the wild. It was amazing! And then Stanley says this is just an orientation, that we will see so many more lions in the Maasai Mara?.

We are so lucky to be travelling now, because there are so few tourists here. We were the only jeep around the lions (there was one when we got there but they quickly left). In pre-pandemic times, there would apparently have been 50 jeeps, all vying for a spot to view the lions. I can’t imagine. I’m so glad we came here now, even though travel was more complicated because of the pandemic. We are so fortunate to be able to see the animals without the crowds.

Stanley was on the radio to the driver of the other jeep, Safe, advising him where the lions are, and after they showed up we headed out. We stopped for a bathroom break at the nearby camp called the “Elephant Bedroom”. It is a pretty deluxe place, with fancy tents, right on the river. Martin asked to see a tent, so we viewed the deluxe tent. Very deluxe indeed! And I believe quite expensive. Elephants come right into camp, so there isn’t a pool, just individual little splash pools on the tent balconies. There was a gift shop here so naturally I popped in for a quick look, and saw a nice Tusker t-shirt, but I couldn’t buy it because I, and nobody else, brought any money (we didn’t think we’d be anywhere we’d need money for during the game drive). Apparently they will be available lots of other places.

Our next impromptu stop was at a local school (in the small town close to the gates of the other area of the reserve we were in), to give a donation of school supplies. Martin and Donna had brought supplies for a school we are to visit in the Maasai Mara, I believe, but when Donna spotted this school she wanted to give some of them out here. The children were all cheering and mobbed us as we got out of the jeep. I’m always a bit leery about this kind of thing. While I think it is a great idea to donate school supplies, I don’t like the idea of personally handing them over. It just feels somehow like being the beneficent white tourist, handing out gifts to the poor locals. And I really dislike anything that encourages children to ask for gifts from tourists. But I know Donna and others really enjoyed it and found it a rewarding experience. We stayed for a bit, then headed off to a local swimming hole, in the Buffalo Springs section of the reserve. (OMG, the elephant just walked along right in front of me as I type this!!). This swimming hole is actually a crater from a bomb in World War Two. The water level was lower than usual (because of the very long drought in the area), but it was very refreshing and cooled us down nicely.

We then drove (along the super bumpy road Stanley calls a “Whiskey Road” - because of all the weaving), back to our camp. We had a Tusker beer along with lunch (soup and salad), and now we have some relaxation time until we leave for the afternoon game drive at 4 pm. More to follow!

It’s now about 9:15 pm and I’m finishing the blog. We had an enjoyable afternoon game drive, although we didn’t see a leopard, which we had hoped to see today. We went to an area where there are leopards, but they are elusive animals, and while they may have been there, we didn’t see one. We spotted a sheep carcass in a tree, which would have been left by a leopard, but it was starting to decompose and Stanley said the leopard would not come back to feed on it. We were surprised that people are allowed to graze their animals within the reserve boundaries, but apparently this is the case only because of the drought.

We also saw many vultures feeding on the carcass of a small cow, which Stanley said would have died from natural causes (starvation due to the drought). There were two different species of vulture feeding on the carcass, and it was something to see. Surprisingly, it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. It it just the circle of life.

We also saw zebras, giraffes, and many different and new bird species. We also saw kudu, which was a new animal for us. And any day you see lions, can’t be a bad day! We’ll have other opportunities to see a leopard, and hopefully we will be able to see one during our time in Kenya.

After we got back from the afternoon game drive about 6:30 we went straight to the bar and ordered gin and tonics. While we were enjoying our G&Ts, I booked our train tickets from Mombasa to Nairobi, using my M-Pesa account (which I got when we got SIM cards). That is the only way to buy train tickets online in Kenya. We are looking forward to the train journey, following our four nights in Mombasa after the safari.

We had another G&T then moved into the restaurant for dinner. I had red snapper (the fish is really good here) and Susan had a spicy lentil soup and the Indian vegetarian meal (plus we each had a glass of white wine, which is South African and quite nice).

We have a later start tomorrow, heading out at 8:30 for our drive to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy. Maybe we will see a leopard!

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Photos

Black faced vervet monkeys
Just outside our tent on the way to breakfast

Male and female lions
The male is older, the female smaller and younger

Baby lion!
Just poking his head out from the tree

Goliath heron
Apparently quite unusual to see here

Comments

[Faye Walker]

Spotting lions in the Samburu
It just gets more exciting & fantastic as you go along. Super pics! M&D

[D MJ Binkley]

Elephants
I never tire of elephant photos.... although giraffes are one of my favorites.

[alex waring]

Samburu
Yay, well done on the lion sighting! And the elephant walking past your tent as you were writing, amazing! I also feel the same in situations where local people and children anticipate gifts from foreign tourists, it makes me feel uncomfortable also. I hope you get to see a leopard ?

[Waddads Travel]

Samburu
Seeing the lion was so amazing! Alas, no we did not end up seeing a leopard while on safari. Maybe we will on a future trip!

[RENanDREW]

Cuteness overload
Those lions are so super cute! Your happy faces say it all really. The black faced vervet monkeys are so similar to the black faced langur monkeys native to Asia, also old world monkeys I suppose. And very very cute :)