MASAI MARA NATIONAL RESERVE The Masai Mara is one of the best known and most popular reserves in the whole of Africa. At times and in certain places it can get a little overrun with tourist minibuses, but there is something so special about it that it tempts you back time and again. Seasoned safari travellers, travel writers, documentary makers and researchers often admit that the Masai Mara is one of their favourite places. So why is that? Perhaps it is because of the ‘big skies’, the open savannahs, the romance of films like ‘Out of Africa’ and certainly because of the annual wildebeest migration, the density of game, the variety of birdlife and the chance of a hot air balloon ride. Also because of the tall red-robed Masai people whose lifestyle is completely at odds with western practices, and from whom one learns to question certain western values. A combination of all these things plus something to do with the spirit of the place – which is hard to put into words – is what attracts people to the Mara over and over. The Masai Mara lies in the Great Rift Valley, which is a fault line some 3,500 miles (5,600km) long, from Ethiopia’s Red Sea through Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi and into Mozambique. Here the valley is wide and a towering escarpment can be seen in the hazy distance. Most of the game viewing activities occur on the valley floor, but some lodges conduct walking tours outside the park boundaries in the hills of the Oloololo Escarpment. The animals are also at liberty to move outside the park into huge areas known as ‘dispersal areas’. There can be as much wildlife roaming outside the park as inside. Many Masai villages are located in the ‘dispersal areas’ and they have, over centuries, developed a synergetic relationship with the wildlife. There are four main types of topography in the Mara: Ngama Hills to the east with sandy soil and leafy bushes liked by black rhino; Oloololo Escarpment forming the western boundary and rising to a magnificent plateau; Mara Triangle bordering the Mara River with lush grassland and acacia woodlands supporting masses of game especially migrating wildebeest; Central Plains forming the largest part of the reserve, with scattered bushes and boulders on rolling grasslands favoured by the plains game.
ANIMALS & BIRDS In a short stay during the wildebeest migration you could see thousands of animals, at other times there are still hundreds. The plains are full of wildebeest, zebra, impala, topi, giraffe, Thomson’s gazelle. Also regularly seen are leopards, lions, hyenas, cheetah, jackal and bat-eared foxes. Black rhino are a little shy and hard to spot but are often seen at a distance. Hippos are abundant in the Mara River as are very large Nile crocodiles, who lay in wait for a meal as the wildebeest cross on their annual quest to find new pastures. Every July (or sometimes August), the wildebeest travel over 600 miles (960km) from Tanzania’s Serengeti plains, northwards to the Masai Mara and the Mara River is the final obstacle. In October or November, once they have feasted and the grass has all but gone, they turn around and go back the other way. The Mara birds come in every size and colour including common but beautiful ones like the lilac breasted roller and plenty of large species like eagles, vultures and storks. There are 53 different birds of prey.
SEASONS Altitude is 4,875-7,052 feet (1,500-2,170 metres) above sea level, which yields a climate somewhat milder and damper than other regions. The daytime rarely exceeds 85°F (30°C) during the day and hardly ever drops below 60°F (15°C) at night. Rainy Season: It rains in April and May and again November and this can cause some areas of the Mara to be inaccessible due to the sticky ‘black cotton’ mud. Dry Season: July to October is dry and the grass is long and lush after the rains. This is a good time to come and see the huge herds of migratory herbivores. Hottest time: The warmest time of year is December and January. Coldest Time: June and July are the coldest months.
SPECIALITIES · Wildebeest Migration · Hot Air Ballooning · Huge savannahs of golden grasslands · Big skies · Rift Valley escarpment · Lion sightings
SAMBURU NATIONAL RESERVE Samburu National Reserve lies in the Northern part of Kenya. Count Telekis Companion Von Holnel, visited the area in the early 1860s and described it as teeming with game especially buffalos and rhinos. The Waso Nyiro became renowned early this century as “big game country” and attracted such famous hunters as Arthur Neumann who set up a camp on the site where Samburu lodge now stands. Samburu National Reserve is one of the 56 protected areas in Kenya. It is famous North of the equator because of the richness of flora and fauna; it can be reached through Nairobi-Isiolo-Marsabit road and Maralal-Wamba-Isolo road. Lying on the flood plains and bottom land of Waso Nyiro drainage system in the Great Rift Valley. It rises to an altitude of 2785 ft above sea level and covers an area of 390 km2.Samburu National Reserve was established in 1948 as part of the enormous Marsabit National Reserve under the national park ordinance. Marsabit National Reserve was gazetted in 1961 and the Senior Game Warden of Samburu District Rodney Elliott suggested to the Samburu County Council that an area north of the river be set aside as a game reserve. It became a reality due to foresight of the County Council and generous assistance given by several individuals and foundations. In 1962 with the financial help from Elsa Trust, Samburu Game Reserve was formed. In January 1963 the Minister for Local Government recommended Samburu National Reserve to be administered by the African District Council of Samburu. The climate for Samburu is hot dry with cool nights with an average annual maximum temperature of 30ºc (86F) and minimum annual temperature of 20ºc (68F). Rainfall Samburu National Reserve receives 350mm (14 inches) during peak rainfall in April and November (Variable). Long rains are expected in early April to the end of May and short rains from mid October to mid December. Dry conditions usually prevail from June to early October and from January to March. Vegetation Botanist have identified more than 2 dozen plants communities, but thorny scrubs cover much of the reserve and the most common are Acacia elator, Acacia tortolise, Salvadora pesica and the Down palms. Animals There are over 50 species of wild animals in the reserve including unique species of Gravy Zebra, Reticulated Giraffe, Besia Oryx, Grater and Lesser Kudu, Gerenuk, Somali ostrich, pancake tortoise and others. There are over 450 species of birds identified and aquatic species in the Waso Nyiro River. Communities The neighbouring communities to the reserve are the Samburu tribe a clan of the Maasai. They play a major role as part of tourist attraction in the area due to their unique cultural experiences by tourist through traditional ceremonies, food, dances and sale of traditional crafts. Major attractions Its home to the big five Elephant Lion Rhino Leopard Buffalo Other animals of interest are: Gerenuk Reticulated Giraffe Somali Ostrich Gravy Zebra Besia Oryx Wild Dog- Endangered Pun cake Tortoise – Endangered It contains over 450 species of indigenous bird There are variety of reptiles and aquatic species in the Waso Nyiro River in Samburu National Reserve Plants – botanist have identified 2 dozens of plants species The dominant ones are acacia elator salva dora pesica Down palms. In the 1960s and 1970s more than 160 fossil remains of early man including Homo Habilis and Homo Erectus were discovered, putting man’s origins back three million years. More than 4,000 fossil specimens of mammal and stone age artefacts have been discovered here. The major Topographical features include The spectacular great Rift valley Lake lokipi hot spring the breeding site of flamingo and home to various reptiles. Lake Turkana (known as the Jade sea) Largest indigenous forest in Kenya is located here The amazing escarpments – Lolokwe, Ndoto, Nyiro (Mathew ranges) Waso Ngiro River meanders through the rugged landscape and provides the only source of water in Samburu national reserve and Visitors may stay either in: Lodges in SNR – Samburu Lodge (120beds), Samburu Heritage (54 beds), Larsen’s Luxurious tented camp (34 bed) Campsite in SNR – There are public & private camps Outside the Samburu Reserve there are other nearby facilities such as: Maralal Safari Lodges Yare Safari Lodge Desert rose Sarara camp Kitich camp Umoja campsite Access is simple– by Air and Road Through the Isiolo – Marsabit A2 main road Nairobi to SNR 347 km Maralal to SNR 222 km The access infrastructure is fairly complete. Good and controlled game drive road network in the reserve. Cultural and community attractions Unique cultural experience of the Samburu (the butterfly people) by visitors They have cultural villages where they sell their traditional craft They dance traditional songs They can provide traditional food They accommodate visitors in their traditional huts and community campsites. The communities around the reserve have started community wildlife conservancies for wildlife conservation outside the reserve. The communities around the reserve receives revenue sharing which they put back toward uplifting their livelihood and conservation, through employing, training and equipping community game scouts to conserve wildlife in their area. Through the revenue sharing they are encouraged to open up the corridors for the migratory species Since the area is small it also encourage the communities to enlarge the dispersal areas for wildlife
Lake Bogoria National Reserve: Hot Springs and Geysers In Lake Bogoria the geysers and hot springs are the major attractions which are at the central basin of the lake. It has the temperature of close to boiling point and highly mineralized and is believe to be sourced from… Avian Over 373 species of birds have been recorded in the area including over 50 migratory species making it one of the richest birdlife areas in Kenya Important Bird Areas (IBA). The Lake holds huge congregations of lesser flamingo that feed on high production of… Wildlife MAMMALS Animal found are the common mammalian like Greater Kudu, Burchell’s Zebra warthogs, Forest hog Impala, Klipspringers, Cape buffalo, Patas Monkeys among others. Predators include genet, serval cat, cite and white tailed mongoose cheetah. REPTILES There are several reptiles including… Flora It has over 210 plant species (53 plant families) in the reserve, which some of the vegetation type area medicinal plants, shrines and sacred site…. Culture The viewpoint offers a panoramic view of the area including the Kiborgoch swamp. Traditional dances and dishes are available at the center on request. The Endorois Community Cultural Center is located near the Reserve head office at Loboi and similarly… Scenery The Siracho Escarpment that is an extension of the upper catchment’s Laikipa escarpment on the eastern part of the lake with its various gorges and vegetation types is of peculiar aesthetic value. The various rock outcrops hosting the numerous roc ACCOMMODATION IN THE RESERVE: There are three campsites inside the reserve:
- Acacia campsite –about 6km beyond the hot springs.
- Riverside campsite
- Fig tree campsite
- Lake Bogoria dry land environmental educational center campsite
CAMPSITES: There are three campsites outside the reserve:
- Loboi river camp and picnic site next to Loboi River Bridge
- Netbon camping site
- Emsos community camp site
ACCOMODATION OUTSIDE THE RESERVE:
This is a 3star hotel with private cottages and seminar facilities. The hotel has a natural health spa and normal cold- water swimming pool. Papyrus inn and Zakayo’s Hotel:
The Ol Pejeta Conservancy is situated within an area considered to be semi-arid. Traditionally areas of this sort, being unsuitable for rain-fed agriculture, have been used for cattle ranching. As such, prior to the 1970’s, Ol Pejeta was a highly developed and very productive cattle ranch. It was fully paddocked with an extensive fencing and water supply system. Importantly, wildlife was not tolerated, seen as providing grazing and disease competition for cattle. During the 1970’s increasing human settlement to the south, increasing elephant poaching to the north and a ban on wildlife hunting caused elephant herds to begin taking up more permanent residence on Ol Pejeta and overall game numbers to increase. This resulted in all internal fences being lost (it is not possible to maintain normal ranch fencing in the presence of large elephant populations) and the livestock management system becoming similar to that used by pastoralists such as the Maasai – cattle were now herded to grazing during the day and kept in night enclosures, or “bomas” at night.
While burgeoning wildlife populations thus caused the cattle ranching activity to become less productive, it forced the Ol Pejeta management to find innovative ways of accommodating wildlife. For example pipelines now had to be buried and night guards posted on “bomas”. Over time, in response to increasing demand for wildlife tourism, management began to see wildlife as an asset to be utilized for financial gain.
The development of the Sweetwaters Game Reserve in the 1980s was management’s response. Initially cattle were excluded from the Sweetwaters Game Reserve principally because it was felt that their presence was incompatible with the presence of fee-paying visitors. However, we have to come realize that provided cattle are kept discreetly and in sustainable numbers, their presence is acceptable to visitors wishing to see wildlife – indeed we on the Ol Pejeta Conservancy are now finding that many of our visitors are so interested in the cattle operation that we organize “ranching tours”!
Furthermore new scientific evidence – much of it developed on Ol Pejeta – shows that cattle can be used as an “ecological tool” to manage the rangelands, maintaining heterogeneity and maximizing biodiversity. These findings are now gaining credence across East Africa with the result that other private conservancies and the state-run national parks are beginning to explore the idea of setting up their own managed livestock systems to improve wildlife “productivity” on their land. Thus Ol Pejeta runs an integrated wildlife/livestock operation that aims to maximize the productivity of the land while allowing us to be financially “self sustaining” in the first instance and make “profit” in the second.
By virtue of our company constitution, all “profit” must be reinvested into further wildlife conservation and community outreach and cannot be disbursed as a dividend or in the form of director’s benefits. The shareholders and Board of Ol Pejeta work in an entirely philanthropic and voluntary manner, and Ol Pejeta can be considered a “not-for-profit” organization. Financial “self-sustainability” does not preclude the development of donor funding; our community outreach programme and external conservation programmes have raised and disbursed over USD 1,000,000 in the last three years, reflecting our aim to become a real engine for development across the district now and in the future.
The Ol Pejeta Conservancy model is increasingly recognized and used by donors as a means to achieve effective community and poverty alleviation – the Conservancy is engaged in a long-term manner with surrounding communities and wilderness areas, is able to identify opportunities for assistance and ensure proper and effective use of donated funds in a manner that is entirely accountable. In summary, over the next few years Ol Pejeta Conservancy will aim to develop as a financially self-sustaining and innovative model that achieves conservation in a manner that produces tangible social benefit at both a local and national level. We are well on course to achieving those aims.