NI CK S O U T HGAT E & NI CK POW E L L SA FA R I
K E N YA 2 3 rd F EBRUARY - 1 s t MARCH 2 0 1 8
R E G I O N S
N I C K S O U T H G A T E A N D N I C K P O W E L L’ S S A FA R I I T I N E R A R Y THIS SHORT SAFARI IS DESIGNED TO HIGHLIGHT TWO CONSERVATION PROJECTS; TSAVO TRUST AND THE RETETI ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE.
D AY 1
NAIROBI
HOG HOUSE D AY S 2 - 4
T S AVO E A S T
Lake Logipi
KER & DOWNEY LIGHTWEIGHT CAMP D AY S 5 & 6
K E N YA’ S ARID NORTH SARARA
D AY 7
NAIROBI
HOG HOUSE
AFTER A NIGHT IN NAIROBI AT OUR HOME, HOG HOUSE WE WILL FLY SOUTHEAST TO OUR LARGEST NATIONAL PARK - TSAVO EAST. CAMP WILL HAVE BEEN SET UP JUST FOR YOU ON THE BANKS OF THE GALANA RIVER. IT IS IDEALLY LOCATED CLOSE TO LUGARD’S FALLS AIRSTRIP FROM WHERE WE CAN FLY WITH THE TSAVO TRUST SUPERCUB. WE HOPE TO WALK TOO AND LOCATE SOME OF THE SUPERTUSKERS, TSAVO’S GIANT ELEPHANTS CARRYING OVER 100LBS IVORY PER SIDE AND THE FOCUS OF THE TSAVO TRUST.
Lake Turkana
Lake Baringo
Ewaso Nyiro River
Samburu
Shaba
Lake Bogoria
Lake Victoria
Equator
Mt. Kenya
Lake Nakuru Masai Mara
Lake Naivasha Nairobi Tana River
Lake Magadi Amboseli
Ts a v o Watamu
Mombasa
Lamu
THIS IS FOLLOWED BY TWO NIGHTS AT SARARA, WHERE WE’LL SEE THE PROGRESS OF THE RETETI ELEPHANT ORPHANAGE LOCATED IN THE MATHEW’S RANGES IN KENYA’S FAR NORTH. ALL AIR CHARTERS WILL BE WITH PETE WHITE IN HIS C206. JAMES WILL BE YOUR GUIDE.
I T I N E R A R Y
O V E R V I E W
HOG HOUSE - K&D LIGHTWEIGHT CAMP - SARARA - HOG HOUSE N A I R O B I - T S A V O E A S T - K E N YA’ S A R I D N O R T H - N A I R O B I
2 3 rd F E B RUA RY 2 0 1 8 - NA I RO B I
You will be met on arrival at JKIA and transported to Hog House for one night.
2 4 t h - 2 6 t h F E B R UA RY 2 0 1 8 - T S AVO E A S T
After breakfast we will �ly by private charter with Pete White southeast to Tsavo East. We will be camping in our lightweight camp on the banks of the Galana River for three nights.
2 7 t h & 2 8 t h F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8 - K E N YA’ S A R I D N O R T H
We will �ly north, again with Pete, past Mt. Kenya and on to Namunyak. We will have two nights at Sarara.
1 s t M A R C H 2 0 1 8 - T R A V E L D AY / N A I R O B I
We will �ly back to Nairobi with Pete, and you’ll have time back in Hog House before we transfer you to the airport for your �light home.
K E N YA
‘ S A FA R I ’ i s t h e S w a h i l i w o r d f o r ‘ a j o u r n e y ’ a n d K e n y a e v o k e s n o s t a l g i a f o r t h e e a r l i e s t o r i g i n s
of the African safari. Romance and adventure are plentiful in the classic stories told in ‘Out of Africa’ a n d ‘ B o r n F r e e ’, i l l u s t r a t i n g K e n y a ’ s s c e n e r y, w i l d l i f e a n d p e o p l e , w h i c h h a v e e n d u r i n g a p p e a l .
Kenya is a sovereign state achieving political independence from the British in 1963. Since, anxious times have been de�ied, mainly due to its dynamic people who are amongst the most colourful in East Africa. Friendly and hospitable, the Kenyan people rely heavily on tourism.
Located on the east coast of Africa, the Equator bisects the country resulting in a tropical climate, although diverse geography provokes wide variations in temperature, rainfall and humidity. In relation to size, the assorted landscape is unparalleled and the multitude of national parks and reserves all have their own unique attractions. Marine reserves boast coral reef gardens with palm fringed beaches and turquoise oceans, while the savannah grasslands exhibit quintessential depictions of imagined Africa, harsh trackless expanses, solitary �lat - topped acacias and incredible concentrations of plains game.
Kenya remains one of the best places in Africa to see great wildlife – lions, elephants, leopards and of course the annual ‘wildebeest migration’ streaming into the Masai Mara from Tanzania. The East African Rift Valley runs through the country from top to bottom and provides stunning landscapes of giant volcanoes, hot springs and �lamingo sprinkled lakes.
Dominated by Lake Turkana, the ancient source of the Nile, the Rift Valley lakes are some of the most picturesque in Africa. The formation of the Rift created Mt Kenya, the second highest peak in Africa, some three millions years ago. “The spiritual home of safari, Kenya is where it all began. From the big cats of the Mara to the elephants of Amboseli, combined with traditional tribes, real tented camps and an unparalleled physical diversity, Kenya has it all. ”
Uganda
KENYA Lake Victoria Rwanda Burundi
Tanzania
Zanzibar
“A c o n t i n e n t i n o n e c o u n t r y ” Sandor Carter
H O G
H O U S E
Hidden in the 130 acre Giraffe Sanctuary in Langata, Hog House is a private home with incredible views across to the Ngong Hills. Serene and peaceful you would hardly believe you are in one of Africa’s largest capital cities.
Located close to both Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, and Wilson Airport, this unusual family home is an ideal place to begin or end your safari. Its rustic décor and the fact that it is surrounded by wildlife will help to ease you in, and out, of your time here on safari. The straw bale construction uses plantation cedar and fallen African olive and blends with the wooded sanctuary perfectly. The house itself comprises 2 double bedrooms and a triple, all ensuite. There are a further 2 cottages outside in the garden for larger groups. Hog House is only available for exclusive use. The large open plan sitting/dining is cosy with a warm �ireplace and lots of seating for all to congregate. Daytime meals we normally take outside in the shade of the Euclea trees in the garden, and a beautiful horizon pool beckons on hot afternoons. Walking in the sanctuary is the perfect way to loosen up stiff joints from long intercontinental �lights and you have
every chance of seeing Rothschild’s giraffe, warthog, dik dik, bushbuck, suni and Syke’s monkeys. Birds of every colour throng around the bird table and hyrax will doubtless entertain you at night! The Giraffe Centre, Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, Karen Blixen Museum, and many craft centres are all within a stone’s throw of Hog House.
“It is a privilege to stay in this unusual and
beautiful home within the G I R A F F E S A N C T U A R Y,
so close and convenient to all the classic
Nairobi attractions, and yet quietly tucked away in your o w n h a v e n o f s e r e n i t y.”
T S A V O
E A S T
Ts a v o i s h o m e t o s o m e o f t h e l a r g e s t e l e p h a n t o n t h e p l a n e t - t h e s e “ s u p e r t u s k e r s ” c a r r y o v e r 100 pounds of ivory each side. There are thought to be about 15 remaining on the African continent. 1 0 o f t h e m l i v e i n Ts a v o . C a t c h i n g a g l i m p s e o f o n e o f t h e g i a n t s i s a p r i v i l e g e . Tsavo East National Park is by far the biggest of Kenya’s parks. At close to 3.4 million acres, it is nine times larger than the Masai Mara National Reserve and consists mostly of dry, �lat thorn bush scrub, occasionally broken by the verdant vegetation of seasonal rivers. Tsavo East is most famous for its huge herds of elephants, more than 10,000 of them bulldoze their way around this vast �lat plain of sandy soil, split by the shallow trough of the Galana River. The �ine ochre soils give the Tsavo elephants a red tinge as they bathe in the dust in this dry arid expanse. Tsavo East has another big draw: you can set off on a game drive across the seemingly empty wilderness and return to camp 3 hours later without having seen a single other vehicle. The Galana, is one of Kenya’s biggest rivers. Its valley – rocky in much of its western course, sandy and doum-palm fringed further east – is one of Tsavo East National Park’s de�ining physical features. The Yatta Plateau is a 300 kilometre ancient lava �low that stretches along the east and north bank of the Athi-Galana. Its geomagnetic qualities are believed to play a role in guiding migratory birds and large numbers of Palearctic migrants can be seen in the area. Lugard Falls are a series of short falls and steep rapids on the Galana River
where relatively harder rock has created a bottleneck in the valley and impedes the river’s progress. Crocodile Point, where the big reptiles can often be seen basking in the sun, is just downstream from here. The immense park encourages complete immersion into its enormous animal kingdom proffering opportunities to see lesser kudu and fringe-eared oryx as well as buffalo, zebra, giraffe, lion, cheetah, leopard and wild dog. Lake Turkana
Laikipia Lake Victoria
Mt. Kenya N.P
Masai Mara
Nairobi Amboseli N.P
Kilimanjaro N.P
TSAVO N.P
T S A V O
M O B I L E
C A M P
Ts a v o E a s t N a t i o n a l P a r k i s o n e o f t h e o l d e s t a n d l a r g e s t p a r k s i n K e n y a a n d c o v e r s around 13,747 square kilometres. Situated in a semi-arid area previously known a s t h e Ta r u D e s e r t i t o p e n e d i n A p r i l 1 9 4 8 .
Tsavo East is located near the town of Voi in the Taita-Taveta County of the former Coast Province. The park is divided into east and west sections by the main Nairobi-Mombasa highway and the railway. Taking its name from the Tsavo River, which �lows west to east through the national park, it borders the Chyulu Hills National Park and the Mkomazi Game Reserve in Tanzania. Most of the park consists of semi-arid grasslands and savanna. Differing from all other parks in Kenya, Tsavo offers the chance to see a multitude of elephant bathing in the mighty Galana River, or wandering along its banks. Although elusive, the famous 'big �ive' consisting of lion, black rhino, buffalo, elephant and leopard can be seen but it is the abundance of elephant, birdlife and the diverse landscape, that make Tsavo an unforgettable destination. The slightly larger Tsavo East is generally �lat, with dry plains across which the Galana River �lows. Other features include the Yatta Plateau and Lugards Falls.
Tsavo West National Park is more mountainous and wetter than its counterpart, with swamps, Lake Jipe and the Mzima Springs.
It is known for birdlife and for its large mammals. It is also home to a black rhino sanctuary.
The famous Maneaters of Tsavo story started in March 1898 when the British started building a railway bridge over the Tsavo River in Kenya. During the next 9 months of construction, 2 maneless, male Tsavo lions stalked the campsite, dragging Indian workers from their tents at night and devouring them. After repeated unsuccessful endeavours, the �irst lion was shot on 9 December 1898 and 28 days later, the second lion was found and killed. The �irst lion killed measured 3 metres from nose to tip of tail, and took eight men to carry the carcass back to camp.
“Perhaps the biggest draw o f Ts a v o E a s t , h o w e v e r, i s i t s e x c l u s i v i t y,
at almost 9 times bigger t h a n t h e M a s a i M a r a .”
T S A V O
T R U S T
Ts a v o T r u s t i s a n a c t i o n o r i e n t a t e d , � i e l d - b a s e d , K e n y a n n o t - f o r - p r o � i t c o n s e r v a t i o n o r g a n i s a t i o n t h a t w o r k s t o g i v e t h e w i l d l i f e a n d p e o p l e o f Ts a v o t h e r i g h t t o a f u t u r e .
Tsavo is the best place in the world to see the super tuskers - bull elephants with enormous ivory. Not only do these huge animals derive from an important “large ivory” gene pool, but they also determine the future of both wildlife and people in the wider Tsavo region. These giants among giants represent a signi�icant economic asset to Tsavo and to Kenya, and the ultimate goal of the Tsavo Trust team is to help ensure the survival, security, ecological integrity and revenue-earning potential of this ecosystem for generations to come.
CEO, Richard Moller, formerly of Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, runs the Big Tusker Project, with a particular focus on the area’s famous ‘hundred pounders’ – huge bull elephants, bearing ivory weighing in excess of 45kg (100lbs) per tusk. Richard’s day starts before dawn to ensure a �irst-light take-off, casting its benevolent shadow over Tsavo, �lying alongside Kenya Wildlife Service on their biodiversity protection and research and monitoring missions. Early successes of the project include poachers being apprehended, �irearms recovered, and locating carcasses of elephants dead from natural causes, thereby enabling KWS to recover the ivory before passing poachers gained an easy prize. Where KWS takes a lead role in Wildlife Conservation
in the area, Tsavo Trust provides support through meaningful engagement with communities in the wider Tsavo region, including their Wildlife Conservation Program, Community Conservancy Program, and Animal Welfare Program. By supporting the development of a network of community owned, community managed conservancies, that bene�it local people, using wildlife conservation as the catalyst for increased security and economic stability, it is a game-changer.
Between 2013 - 2017, the Trust played a signi�icant role alongside KWS in reducing elephant poaching by over 50% in the Tsavo Conservation Area. In 2017 alone, 867 hours were �lown by Tsavo Trust, covering 103,777 km. Supported by 4 joint Tsavo Trust/KWS ground teams, this accounted for: 241 tusks recovered (nearly all natural causes of death). Big bull named elephants observed 150 times, cows 73 times. 43 fresh and recent poacher’s camps found, 101 arrests made, several of these were ivory dealers and poachers, others bushmeat, illegal livestock, charcoaling etc. 1,008 snares recovered – 41 for big game, 208 for medium and 759 for small game and 8 responses to assist KWS in armed contacts.
K E N YA’ S
A RID
NO RT H
S a m b u r u , B u f f a l o S p r i n g s , M e r u a n d S h a b a a r e a l l w i l d l i f e r e s e r ve s w h i c h l i e i n a va s t a r e a o f o p e n , t h o r n b u s h c o u n t r y a n d d e s e r t t h a t s t r e t c h e s n o r t h f r o m M t . Ke n ya t o S u d a n a n d E t h i o p i a . I t i s t h e s t a r k c o n t r a s t between emptiness, wilderness and rising mountains that makes this area such a spectacular destination. The lifeblood of the North is the Ewaso Nyiro River and the crystal clear springs that empty into it. Its banks shaded by graceful doum palms, poplars and Acacia elatior trees, the Ewaso Nyiro attracts more and more wildlife as the dry season lengthens from June to October, although it is beautiful at any time of year.
Here you will �ind animals like the Grevy zebra, Beisa oryx, the Somali ostrich, reticulated giraffe, gerenuk and the tiny dik-dik; all species of northern Kenya which have adapted to the harsh arid conditions of the Northern Frontier District. With luck you will also �ind the 'big cats' staking out the favourite drinking places of their prey along the lovely palm-fringed banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River. Wherever you look mountains rise out of the plains in the blue distance, the conical ash cones of the Nyambenis to the south, Lolokwe and the rugged Mathews Range in the east and to the north the granite towers of Bodich, Kamanga and Tumtu that impose above the Ewaso Nyiro.
Samburu, Pokot, Turkana, Rendille, Gabbra – these are the tribes of the north. All are proud and tough. The Samburu are related to the Masai although they live just north of the equator where the foothills of Mount Kenya merge into the northern desert and slightly south of Lake Turkana in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. The purported
bene�its of modern life are often undesirable to the Samburu. They remain much more traditional in life and attitude than their Maasai cousins. The Turkana, like the Samburu and Maasai, still maintain their undiluted traditional way of life. They are distinguished as being great survivors, living in harsh and inhospitable terrain. As with all other pastoralist tribes in Kenya, livestock, especially cattle, are at the core of Turkana culture, they live a nomadic life, always moving from one place to another depending on the availability of pasture and water for their animals. Lake Turkana
K E N YA’ S ARID NORTH Ewaso Nyiro River Equator
Lake Victoria Masai Mara
Mt. Kenya N.P Nairobi Amboseli N.P
Tana River Ts a v o N.P
S A R A R A
Within a cluster of mountains and hills known as the Mathews Range, north of the Samburu Game Reserve, the vicinity is characterised by valleys, ridges and several springs, its lush vegetation standing in contrast to the semi-arid bush in the greater area. Sarara Camp is located on the 185,300 acre Namunyak Community Group Ranch at the base of Kenya’s Northern Frontier District.
The 6 spacious tents, shaded by thorny acacias, each boast a veranda with comfortable table and chairs for savouring morning tea. Although the bathroom is separate to the tent, some facilities are still ensuite. The decor is an amalgamation of earthy simplicity and 1920’s safari Africa, embodied in the romanticised feel of the high ceilings, heavy wooden trunks and Persian carpets. Dining is �lexible and served at the whim of the guests, alfresco in a dry riverbed as a picnic or indoors amid decadent surroundings.
Sarara’s guests enjoy highly exclusive activities ranging from a private �light over the Mathews Range, a helicopter ride up Mount Kenya or a �ly camping experience with the stars as the ceiling. Bush walks and game drives offer the opportunity to view buffalo, leopard and elephant (now numbering 4000 in the Mathews Range), or
a relaxing afternoon spent in the rim �low pool frequently lends to sightings of herds which come to drink and spray themselves with water. Prey activity includes both the Greater and Lesser kudu and endemic species such as gerenuk and Reticulated giraffe.
The Singing Wells at Sarara allow guests to witness a timeless Samburu tradition. Naked warriors chant as they dig wells in the sand river passing buckets hand over hand to the surface where they �ill hand hewn troughs. They sing their stock in to drink. This intimate ritual is an absolute highlight.
“A d e e p l y p e r s o n a l a n d unique tented camp
experience, Sarara Camp displays the heart of A f r i c a .”
R E T E T I
S A N C T U A R Y
The Reteti Elephant Sanctuary is situated in the remote Mathews Range, among Kenya's second largest elephant population.
Reteti lies within a 975,000 acre swath of thorny scrubland in northern Kenya known as the Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust—part of the ancestral homeland of the Samburu people. It is the �irst community owned elephant orphanage in Africa, of�icially opened in 2016. It takes in orphaned and abandoned elephant calves with an aim to release them back into the wild herds adjoining the Sanctuary. The region includes the Turkana, Rendille, Borana, and Somali, as well as the Samburu—ethnic groups that have fought to the death over the land and its resources. Now they’re working together to strengthen their communities and protect the estimated 6,000 elephants they live, sometimes uneasily, alongside. The need for elephant orphanages like Reteti is a sad result of the decimation of herds by ivory poachers in recent decades, a pattern playing out widely in sub-Saharan Africa. Other causes for an orphaned or abandoned elephant include man made wells, drought, human-wildlife con�lict and natural mortality.
It is estimated between 5 and 10 elephant calves are rescued in North Kenya each year. The Sanctuary was established in response to demands from the local community, who recognise wildlife as an opportunity to improve livelihoods.
The elephant keepers all recruited from within the Conservancy, have perfected the skill of returning lost calves back to their family herds. The primary aim of the Sanctuary is to not hand raise any individuals – with elephants only being taken into care as a last resort. Feeding is a big part of the day’s work for the handlers. Half-gallon-size bottles of special formula are given every 3 hours around the clock, and drinking is a noisy, slurpy affair. Afterward the elephants fall into a deep stupor. By visiting the sanctuary you are helping these iconic animals and the communities that care for them.
“ Wa r r i o r s w h o o n c e fe a re d
e l e p h a n t s , n o w p r o t e c t t h e m .”
K E R
&
D O W N E Y
“ S o m e t h i n k t h e b e s t l a r g e - s c a l e o p e r a t i o n a f t e r t h e w a r…
was the one launched over a drink or two on the veranda of the Imperial Hotel in Addis Ababa” – Bartle Bull, Safari: A Chronicle of Adventure, 1
Like so many great ventures, Ker & Downey Safaris was born from a chance encounter. Donald Ker and Syd Downey, two big game hunters from Kenya, had been �ighting with the British in Ethiopia shortly before the fall of Addis Ababa in 1941. Syd had just been released by the Italians and was celebrating at a local hotel when he bumped into Donald Ker. With one car and a lot of bravura, the pair made a plan to establish “the best safari company the world has ever known”.
and 70’s, the company continued to grow – extending its reach across southern Africa, east to the jungles of Congo, and north into the deserts of Ethiopia and Sudan. By 1977, when hunting was of�icially banned in Kenya, K&D had transformed itself into the leading provider of customised mobile photographic safaris in Africa.
In 1962, shortly before Kenya’s Independence, Ker & Downey spread its wings to Botswana, with Harry Selby and a couple of other guides offering safaris in this ‘new’, uncharted corner of Africa. Through the 60’s
“Because we’ve been doing
It was not until January 1946 that Syd and Donald, newly discharged from the army, took out their �irst safari. They were hired to run a camp in the Maasai Mara for the production of “The Macomber Affair”, the United Artists blockbuster starring Gregory Peck and Joan Bennett. It was the beginning of a long love affair with Hollywood, which would see “K&D” out�it some of the biggest �ilms ever to come out of Africa.
Today, Ker & Downey is celebrated as the longest-existing safari out�itter in the world, and the standard-bearer for unsurpassed luxury in some of its last great wild places. So successful has the “K&D” name been that it has been brazenly borrowed by a number of copycat companies in Africa and the West. Yet to this day, no one has come close to emulating the luxurious standards, the rich experiences, or the peerless guiding of “The Original Ker & Downey Safaris”.
t h i s f o r 7 0 y e a r s . . .”
J A M E S
R O B E R T S O N
T h i r t y - � i v e y e a r s a f t e r l e a d i n g h i s � i r s t e x p e d i t i o n , J a m e s i s c h a i r m a n o f t h e b o a r d a t K e r & D o w n e y, and an in�luential leader of the new movement in community-led conservation.
Like the safari industry itself, James Robertson was born and raised in Kenya, where his appetite for adventure has earned him a reputation as one of the modern pioneers of the global safari business.
James’ dependability for never following the same itinerary twice, and for continually searching out new experiences for his clients, has won him admirers across the industry, as well as an army of repeat guests (including two families who have each travelled with him 26 times!). Among his long-standing Kenyan crew, he’s known as “Ndorobo” after the fabled hunter-gathers of northern Kenya – a tribe renowned for their resourceful bushcraft, and their complete absence of fear for wild animals. Although James’ �irst love and main base is Kenya, he is an “all-Africa guide” and just as likely to be found travelling through the game-rich parks, reserves and conservancies of eastern and southern Africa. In recent years, he has been supporting a number of Maasai and Samburu communities that have turned part of their grazing lands over to conservation – giving guests a chance to see some rarer wildlife species, and to experience an absolutely authentic immersion in two of the world’s oldest tribal cultures. In 2001, James was a founder of The Mara Conservancy, a ground-breaking and widely-admired partnership between conservationists and the county government, which established a new public-private template to protect the critical wildlife dispersal areas north of the Maasai Mara Reserve. He sits on the board of the (removed the MMWCT) Kenya Wildlife Trust , and his unrivalled contacts enable his guests to meet some of the leading conservationists and wildlife researchers in the world.
Having been raised on the edge of Kenya's largest National Park, Tsavo is close to James’ heart. His most recent focus is on protecting the last remaining Great Tuskers of which there are around 10 bulls each carrying in excess of 100lbs of ivory per side. He is working closely with the Tsavo Trust to protect these valuable elephants.
James and Abigail live within a wildlife sanctuary on the outskirts of Nairobi, where they host most of their guests personally. They work together as much as possible out on safari where their shared passions are apparent to anyone travelling with them.
TEL: +254 (0)720 911 143 EMAIL: INFO@JAMESROBERTSON.CO.KE S K Y P E : J R S A FA R I S W W W. K E R D O W N E Y S A FA R I S . C O M