The Samburu
Beauties
By Jeremy
Leariwala
There is always something special about the
New Year’s date. There is a lot of excitement on its eve and your wishes on 1st
January are always vital. They guide you through out the year and help to give
meaning to living.
I have made up my mind to appreciate what
God has given to us first before I complain about what I am missing. Thus on
1st January 2016 I decided to go on a road trip and explore our local National
Reserve. I had not been into it for a long time and the trip turned out to be
an exciting one. The best of the Samburu beauties came out to greet us along
the roads of the reserve.
I had my small family and a few other
children from the neighbourhood for company. Our lunch was already packed to
cut down costs. My camera was packed, the phones charged and we didn’t need a
gps. All the important reference points dotted the beautiful landscape
distinctively.
At around 1000 hours we drove out of
Archer’s Post town and headed to Samburu National Reserve main gate. A few
animal skulls ushered us into the huge gate building magnificently painted
brown with white stripes. From a distance a visitor peeping through the trees
would mistake it for a giraffe.
“Happy New Year!” A cheerful ranger greeted
us before inquiring about our mission. A brief question and answers session saw
us welcomed into the place where nature defies itself. The rangers’ quarters
lay to the right of the gate and we saw a whole senate of baboons strolling all
over the place.
One kilometre into the reserve we reached
Girgir hill. It is an historical feature with its ruined semi permanent huts on
the peak. A British commander named Archer lived there in the colonial years
and that is where our town got its name: Archer’s Post. Three hundred meters
past the knoll we came across some ostriches, gazelles and Beisa Oryxes. To our
left, samba lodge sat on the banks of Ewaso Nyiro River. A herd of Elephants
grazed between us and the river. The elephants’ Bedroom Camp camouflaged in a
visible dense bush along the river and that was one of the places of our
interest that morning.
A number of hares and squirrels kept
crossing our path every now and then exciting the children on board. A rangers
patrol van from one their camps in the reserve stopped us just before the
airstrip.
“Are you guys having a good time?” the
driver inquired.
“Oh yeah,” I answered. “Where can we find
some lions.”
A guy seated on the passenger seat rose and
climbed out of the van through the window. He craned his neck and pointed at a
tall tree way ahead of us. We could see a number of white cars moving slowly
around the place he was pointing at.
“There are several of them over there.” He
said and slither his way back into the van. We hurried towards the tall tree
hoping to set our eyes on the king of the jungle. A tall mature giraffe
gracefully marched along the airstrip undisturbed. Soon we inch slowly into the
scrubs with the white cars. A number of tourists perched on the car roofs busy
clicking away their cameras.
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| Photo courtesy of Chris Letur |
I push the car past the first vehicle we
meet and nearly hit a lioness’ head sticking out of a bush. I stop and fix my
eyes on it. Everyone else in the car sees it and the window motors start
working immediately. All the windows were shut in a split second. There was
grave silence and no movement. Looking around, I noted how tense everyone was
with streams of sweat starting their way down the faces. I picked the camera
and took the first photo. I took the second and heard someone else’s phone
clicking at the back. Soon we were all taking pics and whispering. We saw seven
lions there and drove away before we melted from the heat.
We meet a land cruiser and stop when its
driver signalled for us to do so. The driver, a well fed man, sat behind the
wheel.
“Umeona wapi masikio?” he asked. Masikio in
Swahili means ears and I was not aware of whose ears he was asking about. I
gave him an inquisitive look and he clarified his question. He was looking for
lions. We direct him and continue with our journey.
We took our time and enjoyed the serene
environment of the reserve. All the birds of Samburu filled the air with their
melodies. Every corner we turned led into a field of grazing or basking
wildlife. Warthogs, Zebras, more Giraffes, more Elephants, Monkeys, Waterbucks
or Hippos near the river.
Way past noon we arrived at the Westgate
exit. We briefly drive past the rangers’ quarters and head towards Ngutuk, a
few kilometres away. That was where we intended to take our lunch. There were a
number of gatherings, of both rangers and locals, taking their midday meals. I
saw quite a number of new buildings along the road that were never there the
last time I passed the place. I saw a dispensary and the school had new
buildings too. The sight of the dining residents started my hunger fires.
I press the accelerator further down and
the car kicked up more dust. We race the whole stretch without a hitch. The
road provided us with the excitement of tackling a rough terrain. Only once did
we come across a culvert bridge that was scary.
Ngutuk Ongiron primary school provided us
with the shade we needed. There were a number of pupils busy cooking their own
meal in the compound. A slaughtered goat hangs from a tree where they were; a
small crowd of young optimistic leaders of tomorrow. When I looked at the
mountains surrounding the school, I could not help to imagine their
determination to excel. The school had a number of classes, dormitories and
houses. Some of them were donations from various agencies operating in the
adjacent reserve. I spotted Safe The Elephants, The Gravy Zebras Trust, BATUK
and several other names on the walls. What other way can someone give back to a
community if not in support of the future generations. The children in that
remote end of the reserve are part of the Samburu Beauties to me.
After lunch we started our journey back
into the reserve. We had intended to pass by Loijuk water dam where we hoped to
see a large number of the endangered Gravy zebras. We decided to go straight to
the Elephants’ Bedroom Camp.
Just before our last turn towards the
tented camp we ran into a herd of elephants. I guess there were more than one
hundred of them. Both mountainous mud covered beasts and small playful calves
scattered all over the place. I could feel my heart beating like a drum as I
stopped the car. The creatures were on both sides of the road and there were
two bulls nudging each other in the middle of the road. I felt my instincts
urging me to turn around and drive away. The two bulls scraped past our car and
I took off to the camp after taking 3 snaps.
You should visit the camp and see it
yourself. The sand beach was just wonderful. The wind blew the cool breeze from
Ewaso Nyiro water right through the beach into the decked tents. I spotted an
idle crocodile on the other bank across the river. The benches around the camp
fire place provided a perfect comfort for the brief moments were stopped over.
When we drove out of the reserve later that
evening, I could not help than to appreciate the efforts of the conservationists
working therein. The wildlife population was quite impressive. Soon I want to
see the Samburu rhinos and the remaining beautiful sights across Kenya
thereafter.
