Samburu Beauties

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.

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.