Tuesday 14 February - Part 2
A few random things I learned/saw in Laikipia…
- Hanging from trees are what appear to be wooden mailboxes but they are in reality beehives hung by the locals and yes, they do harvest the honey. The bees aren’t doing that now when it’s hot.
- Kids are meant to be herders and be proud of whatever herds they have, be it goats, cows, etc. If they aren’t good herders, their parents threaten to send them to school. So yes, they get punished by going to get an education.
- The drought here is so bad that up in the northern part of the country people, not just wildlife, are dying. The government is sending food aid to them and will for several months after any rainfall, because that is how long it will take for crops to rebound.
- We saw a natural bee swarm in a tree. It was just a big blob of bees swarming all over each other. It was sort of interesting, I’ve never seen anything like that at home.
- There were two female elephants we saw with foot deformities, almost like webbed feet. Simon thinks they are sisters. They appeared to get around fine by my eye but when they stop walking, they lift up the affected foot.
And about Sarara, where I’m staying now. They have 6 (I think) thatched tents built into the side of the hill. Each is quite luxuriously appointed and the outdoor bathroom is pretty swanky. Service is off the hook so far; I could barely put down an empty glass that had had passion fruit juice in it when I was offered another. The common area has an infinity pool where, on the other side, elephants and other wildlife come to drink in the watering hole Sarara has built for them. Or, if you’re Boris the bull elephant, you stand in the watering hole while drinking. Apparently Boris broke a water main late yesterday, leaving the camp without water. That emergency repair has happened, and I suppose now they will have to keep a closer eye on Boris. As Daniel explained it, they elephants can feel the water flowing under their feet and will stomp on the water source until it breaks through ground. Yes, even though there is a perfectly good watering trough on the camp grounds specifically for them. Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth!
As I sit here writing this, I hear a plethora of birds and the occasional purr or shriek of elephants. If there is a better way to take a siesta, I’ve not found it yet.
The focus here is very much the Samburu culture, with a lot of programs on offer, as well as nature walks and game drives. I may partake in a walk but it is going to be very early in the day because it is HOT here. I have already abandoned my safari pants and hiking shoes for shorts and flip flops and will put a tank top on for later. My hopes for game drives are really just whatever I can see of the northern 5 (gerenuk, grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, Somali ostrich and Besia oryx). We were talking at lunch and it’s not likely I’ll see the oryx or the ostrich here, but the others should be possible.
The dining area has a resident tree squirrel living in the tree that is the mainstay of the thatched roof. She is tiny, maybe 5 inches long nose to tail, and her baby is also up there, about 3-4 inches if I’m being generous. Kind of cute.
Lunch today was quite good, starting with a gazpacho and then the main was butternut squash ravioli, teriyaki cucumber and carrot salad, a cold vegetable stew goulash and tomatoes with cheese. Dessert was a almond tart. I had a glass of pinot grigio with that.
I headed down for tea (for me, club soda with lime) at 4:30. I met Daniel and his spotter (I think his name is Larro) who was toting a large rifle, at 5:00. We headed out on a general game drive around the conservancy near camp. I knew going into this that this would not be a game-concentrated experience. When you come to Sarara, you come mainly for the Samburu cultural aspect. That there is wildlife here is very much second priority. I was ok with that. What I didn’t expect was how much I would learn.
We saw quite a bit of game on the drive out, from impala to dik dik and giraffes, some really cute vervet monkeys, more elephants and a lone Cape buffalo. I have never seen kudu (a large antelope) that I can remember, so seeing a mother with a young baby was noteworthy (lesser kudu, which are smaller but have more stripes than greater kudu). Daniel stopped to talk a lot about plants, their medicinal purposes for the Samburu and birds. I learned so much it was crazy. Especially given that I really thought there was not much more to learn about safari.
I did not know that plants will secrete a chemical in the morning when first bitten into by herbivores (impala, other antelope) that will then trigger a chain reaction among all nearby plants so that the impala will taste a bitter plant and cause it to move on. This means that first thing every day the impala are madly running from bush to bush looking for one that hasn’t started secreting the hormone yet. The effect only lasts a half hour though.
I saw a bee-eater bird who sits on a branch looking for flying insects, particularly bees, and will snatch them in midair and then beat them against a branch to loosen the stinger before eating them. Crazy!
The Samburu use a particular bush branch as a natural toothbrush, and the roots of the same bush to calm pregnancy pains. There is also a plant that is good for upper respiratory infections, which is why no one here got covid (go figure…?) but taken it too high a dose will kill you. Needless to say I will not be experimenting.
We spent sundowners talking about how Daniel grew up. Their lives go in 15 year phases. First they are warriors, then they train the next generation for 5 years, then they are elders for 15 years, then they can drink alcohol and be senior elders (at the age of 35). The men are circumcised between 15-16. Their father arranges marriages, and the bride cannot be from the mother or father’s clans to prevent inbreeding. Polygamy is allowed but more often it is because the wife needs help managing the goat or cow herds or the home, not because the husband wants additional wives. Daniel is only married to one wife with 4 kids. He lives on the other side of one of the mountains here and sometimes walks 6 hours to work when he doesn’t feel like taking his motor bike.
During the first 15 years of being a warrior, if married, the men cannot be seen eating by the wife. The Samburu believe eating is a bonding experience to be shared by the warrior men. When they hit the 15 year mark, they have a ceremony at which the wife feeds the husband food and milk for the first time. He says he still forgets that he’s allowed to eat with his wife.
I’m sure there is more, and with tomorrow being our “culture day” full of activities about the Samburu, I bet I’ll have a lot more to relate tomorrow.
I arrived back at camp late, and it seemed as though all the guest were waiting for me, so I didn’t bother to freshen up and we had dinner. The appetizer was fried halloumi cheese on a chimichurri sauce, stuffed sweet potato for the vegetarians among us, broccoli in cheese sauce and a vegetable fritter. Dessert was a crepe filled with mango and ricotta and drizzled with chocolate sauce. Yep, the meals here are pretty special.
The folks around the table tonight had some spirited discussion. I was telling Robert the camp manager about some of the work I do which he thought was really interesting, then we talked about the Boston Marathon (he may be visiting Boston in April) and then we got into the British royal family and Harry and Meghan. Four guests are from the UK and despise her, so I seemed to fit in well and shocked them with some of my not so subtle opinions, but they loved it.
More than anything, it just feels good to be around people and having relaxed, normal conversation. It’s been too long. I feel safe doing so since everything and everyone is in open air and well spaced out.
I get to sleep in until 8 tomorrow, what will I do with myself? I set the alarm for 6:15 so I can watch the sunrise from my balcony over the valley. Old habits die hard.
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