A last chat round the campfire, then bed.  On Saturday morning, we’re rearing to go…

light day packs with plenty of water, light first aid kits, lunch, and our guides Francis and James

Our first two and half hours were spent marveling at these incredible forests, and spotting unbelievably brightly coloured sulphur breasted and grey headed bush shrikes, firsts for Jonathan and I.

After saying good-byes to John and family that morning, we then drove East and upwards into the Loitas, to start our five day walk to Lake Magadi.

Away from the plains game, we were driving towards the Loita Maasia’s scared forests, of Enaimina enkiyio – “the forest of the lost child”.  the story is of a child lost in the forests that the maasai still hear calling to them.  I was given the family name of the people who had suffered the tragedy, ole Kiok, who still live in the area.  Onward for our first glimpse of the forest, and camping on its edge, making preparations for a big walk.

While we out game driving, a honey guide came through the camp calling.  John said, this either means something good or something bad – lets follow it and see.

It was something very good – a sweet honey (asali) hive courtesy of a swarm of ground bees

Our Maasai guides provided smoke by igniting some elephant dung, and despite  a few stings, were soon tucking into delicious dripping wild honey

That night I was awoken at three in the morning by the most incredibly loud rasping screeching roar, as a leopard, attracted by the nyama choma (roast meat), engaged in a ten minute stand off with the hyenas.

John started looking intently into the river line - knowing the leopard was close by

It was impossible to sleep through – it sounded like a screaming banshee, repeatedly screeching enraged as the hyenas cackled and giggled in response

the analogy of the leopard’s roar as a bow saw going through wood was there, yet it ended in such a high pitched screech it sounded like the rage and fury of the damned in an ear splitting noise that went right through everyone in the camp

the askaris stayed vigilant and after the stand off, the noises subsided again back into the hub-bub of bush crickets and chirping of distant frogs, leaving me rather quivering with the pulse and energy of it all

so if we count leopard identified by its waking us all up – we have come across all of the big 5 today – lion, leopard, buffalo, elephant and rhino

that night we ate our sheep nyama choma (roast meat) as a stew, plus a few ribs to gnaw on,

and were then joined by an eighty year old mzee (respected elder) called ole Njabbit, and an elderly midwide, called Pere, the mother of a neighbour of John’s.

Ole Njabbitt’s father had been part of the Maasai moves from northern Laikipia as part of the 1911 agreement with the British.  The mzee told us his father had been quite sanguine about the move, accpeting the new place as a good country with water and grazing for animals.  We chatted into the evening about the changes facing the Maasai community.  Ole Njabbit felt that while many of the changes were good, four things were important in the future:

respect:  that the young should respect the elders, and the blessings that come with this would ensure a long life

livestock keeping, as their father’s had always been maintained by this

land sub-division (into individual plots), as an elder he did not praise this, as it creates a lot of eminity, quarralling and practical difficulties

circumcision of children, all children should be circumcised at home and not in hospital, while the celebration ceremonies that go with this should be completed properly  (a reference to the importance of the age set rites and initiation ceremonies that have been so central to Maassai life for generations).  

These ceremonies are dying away under the influence of the westen church religions.  The confirmation of an adult male in the ceremony of the bull (Orkiteng) for example, and which preceeds the married man’s own initiation of his children to be circumcised, is not being undertaken by John, as he is a member of the local Anglican church community.

Plenty of time for offering the wazee (elders) beer and food and for open and honest discussion comparing our lives and our stresses with that of our hosts, all done via translation with John into the late hours.  Stars twinkling, insects chirping, the hubbub of maasai conversation, gentle and reaffirming, and old friendships being strenthened and new ones formed

a group of wildebeeste, startled by us in the twilight, snorting and cavorting away from us

zebra, sedately plodding away from us

warthog, down on knees, grubbing for supper

babbons, not Jonathan’s favourite animal. 

However with our maasai guides, armed with spears and bows, I never once felt nervous, and was was super relaxed as our camp-fires welcomed us back at sun-down

as fresh as can be had, our sheep was dipatched for us to eat earlier that evening by John and co.

While John and Alex prepared a rice, ugali (maize meal), greens and salads to go with it

While all this was going on, we practiced some maasai archery, and then went for a lovely work along the Ol Merroi river line adjacent to the camp, to where a leopard had killed an impala earlier that day.  John became somewhat agitated and called for another askari.  We walked very slowly and carefully, with two Maasai guards with bows drawn at several points, where they suspected they may have been close to the leopard lying up

We were first at the gate at 6.30 am., and game driving through the Mara for the rest of the morning.

We were lucky with the early morning light, the migration, lions replete with the plentiful take away on their door step,

We were also lucky with a female rhino and calf, pictured in amongst the migration, a rare sight these days.

We also took in elephant and buffalo – making it four of the big five – as well as plenty of side stripped jackels, giraffe, zebras, topi, hartebeeste.  In between we also started to drive our bird tally up

That night we were woken by hyenas whooping around the campsite – obviously enraged by the rain that had come our way that evening, and probably also wondering what five tents and assorted vehicles and askaris (guards) were doing next to their patch.

We also heard a distant lion, and wondered how fresh the elephant dropping seen earlier that night had been !

John greeted us, and after a tiring drive down (lets fly next time!),  a cold tusker beer under the shady umbrella went down well, we then were taken out for a practical demonstration of Maasai firelighting – without matches or cigarette lighter,

John showed us just how close the wildlife is to our campsite, the hyena dens are only a couple of hundred yards away, with multiple entrences like super – charged badger setts.

John predicted they would be “very angry that night” due to the rain,  which maked them prone to be aggressive – interesting how he speaks of them in a detatched observational way – despite the damage they can do to his livestock