Ninian is back after a very busy summer of safaris. Jamey and I are glad to have him home for a while!

The start of the year brought great changes for Kenya; a landslide election saw the Hon. Mwai Kibaki becoming our new President, the third president in Kenya’s history. The new government has come in with promises of change; some of these promises are already being kept with free education in government schools now being offered to all children in Kenya. Also at the top of their list of priorities are environmental issues and Aids.

This has been a season for big family safaris. One, a family of 32, spanned 4 generations. The two youngest safari adventurers have been 14 months old. One of them even learned to walk while on safari. He had all six guides and the two au pairs cheering him on. As always there has been more to the safaris than simply viewing wildlife, Ninian has taught kids how to drive, fished for catfish in the rivers, had magnificent walks through the wilderness, and had many spear throwing competitions with the Maasai - who always win!

Reading through past news letters they all seem to be filled with stories of leopards. Although Ninian has seen many over the last few months, including having one who conveniently chose a tree just by the mess tent to store his kill, this has been the summer for cheetahs. Their numbers appear to have increased. We do not know too much about cheetahs but they seem to have huge territories. Individuals that have been absent from the Mara for years are suddenly back. In the Mara at the moment there are more than 6 mothers with cubs all of whom are doing well. They are becoming tamer and Ninian has had the privilege of having his car used as a mobile termite mound. They climb onto the car in order to spot game in areas of long grass. In particular, Ninian has spent a lot of time with one cheetah mum and her three cubs. He saw her kill five times in a week. She was mainly hunting Thomson’s gazelle. On a couple of occasions he watched as she caught fawns and released them amongst her cubs as part of their lessons in hunting.

The Wildebeest and Zebra arrived in the Mara in mid-August. They came through in vast herds and within days acres of long grass had been neatly mown and became fields of verdant green lawn. Ninian witnessed some spectacular “crossings”. On several occasions over 10,000 animals crossed the Mara River. Sometimes the river, swollen by rain, made the crossing harder than usual. Even the crocodiles struggled in the current often too exhausted to be effective in catching their prey.

One of the safaris that Ninian has been on visited Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. The trip started in Zambia where they stayed at a lodge on the Zambezi River. A helicopter ride over Victoria Falls, lunch at the world famous Victoria Falls Hotel in Zimbabwe and walks to the edge of the gorge to see the vast rainbows that emerge out of the spray are amongst some of the things they did while there.

While in Botswana, Ninian stayed at Jack’s Camp, which is situated on the edge of the Makgadikgadi (mahadi-hadi) Pans in the Kalahari Desert. There, Ninian saw his first Brown Hyena. He feels extremely lucky to have seen these rare creatures. There is little known about them and they are only found in dry arid environments such as the Kalahari and the Namib. They also got to spend a morning with Meerkats; the resident researcher took them out to visit the group that she has been studying. The Meerkats have become so used to her presence that they allowed Ninian’s group to closely follow them about their business of foraging for insects, surveying their territory and socializing. Out walking they came across fields of fossils and stone tools in the open pans. Ninian remarked on how many of the tools appear to be left handed which is something he hasn’t seen often.

A walk with the Kalahari Bushmen has inspired Ninian. Imagine a safari that includes a few days walking and fly camping with the Bushmen, learning about their unique culture and traditions. With western ways rapidly encroaching there is a chance that we may not be able to have such a genuine experience within a few years.

In Zimbabwe, the troubles have not extended to the national parks, and the opportunities to visit vast areas without too many people should not be missed. He met several eminent Southern African guides whilst on the trip who all felt that it is safe to go there. One very exciting trip is a 5-day canoe trip in Mana pools. This is a gentle trip down the Zambezi River in Canadian canoes. Each day when you bank you find camp already set up by the crew who went ahead. I have been promised that you need no paddling experience. I admit that when Ninian and I spent a gorgeous evening canoeing on the Zambezi, I lazed in the back and let him do all the work! It is fly camping, but with comfort, so certainly a trip for those looking for a bit of adventure.

In South Africa they stayed at a lodge called Singita, situated in the Sabi Sands Reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park. Ninian came home feeling incredibly lucky to be running safaris in East Africa, despite Singita being a 6 star lodge offering an incredible wine cellar, sumptuous facilities, and air conditioning! We still have MAGIC. We can offer an experience that is reminiscent of the very first safaris, with freedom and wilderness and masses of wildlife. It is good to know what else is out there, and still feel satisfied with our lot.

While I don’t get into the bush as often as I would like, when I do, I am reminded why we do what we do. Nothing compares to sleeping under canvas with the gentle hum of crickets in the background broken only by the occasional yip of a hyena or the distant roar of a lion.

Just last weekend Jamey and I flew down to the Mara to join Ninian who had been there for 12 days with one of our guests, a professional photographer. We went to join him for three nights and in that time we saw tens of thousands of wildebeest and zebra. The highlights for Jamey included not only catching 5 fish on his own, but also watching his very first lion kill: I was driving out of a rocky riverbed onto a plain covered by hundreds of wildebeest, when suddenly a lioness exploded out of a bush in front of us. Her target didn’t even see her coming. Her speed and power was mind-blowing. The whole thing took place within yards of our car and it was amazing to be so close.

There is always a serious side to what we do. Ninian, as I have mentioned in previous newsletters, is part of a team at Ker & Downey responsible for conservation and community initiatives. In the past we have simply donated funds to organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund or the African Wildlife Foundation. We have now gone a step further. We have joined together with the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), which has set up a tax-deductible account on our behalf. All donations will be channeled through this account and all monies spent will go towards projects identified by our guests and ourselves. This way we ensure that 100% of our money goes where we want it to go. What is unique about this set up is that none of our funds go towards administration costs. Already projects are underway and some have been completed. If you would like to know more about the projects I would be happy to write to you.

I mentioned in our news last year that we were taking on a 15-year lease on approximately 75,000 hectares in northern Kenya. Namunyak – “the blessed place” – is situated a couple of hours north of the Samburu and Shaba Game Reserves and is owned by Samburu. The area includes a sizeable portion of the forested Mathews Range as well as the distinctive northern landmark, Ololokwe “Half Dome”. Many of you will remember it from safaris up north - a sheer rock face rising out of the dry earth dominating the landscape. This is truly wild country. Initially we had planned to rebuild the existing lodge, “Sarara”, however it has been decided that it would be more beneficial to the community if we concentrate on assisting with the land and wildlife management and let them continue to run the lodge.

Our long time concession area in Amboseli is reaping new benefits. Our well-established relationship with the Maasai is bringing positive change and it looks like they may agree to keep domestic animal herds out of the area that we lease. Some of you have met James Ole Kamete who is instrumental in bringing in the changes. Hopefully some of the funds that have been generously donated will go towards providing water outside this area, as it is a major reason the cattle come in. To protect the whole of the Amboseli basin we will be training rangers as part of a project in conjunction with all the safari companies that use Amboseli.

And so to finish up with a James Bond moment! Jamey and I joined Ninian and Tim on safari for New Year and we experienced huge rainstorms for several days. With rivers rising, cars getting stuck and vast expanses of land turning into lakes it was an epic trip! It was a safari on which Ninian felt extremely grateful for every piece of equipment he carries in his car. On the final morning we set off for the airstrip. Two of the guests were leaving on an international flight home that morning and we were taking them to catch their Nairobi bound charter. Battling through mud we got to the river to find it 8 feet higher than usual. The only dry airstrip was on the other side and there was no way to cross. Now, in the old days this would have been a disaster. We would have sat by that river and patiently waited for the floodwaters to subside. The flight to Europe would have been missed; Mother Nature has a humbling habit of ignoring our timetables. BUT we are in the 21st century now! Out came the Sat phone, up went the whip aerial, the GPS flashed up our coordinates and within 45 minutes a helicopter was settling on the one dry patch for miles around right by the raging river. Our guests made their flight, while the rest of us sat and enjoyed the scenery and watched the river go down, sipping hot coffee.

As always each trip produces its own stories. The surprises we can never convey in an itinerary are all part of the adventure. Every time a new group comes on safari, a new chemistry is produced and magical things happen. We look forward to seeing you on safari for more adventures and fun.

Lara, Ninian and Jamey Lowis
Nairobi, September 2003

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