The 2022 Africa Journals, Chapter 20: Some Miscellany about the Guides and Camps

 Chapter 20:

Some Miscellany about the Guides and Camps

Life's a journey, not a destination.

(NOTE:   There is no story attached to the evening game drive, so I'll write about other stuff and insert some photos.)

We landed at the busy Keekorok airstrip in southeastern Maasai Mara.   Though there is a long line of Land Rovers waiting, they were not all for us.   This airstrip services many camps in the area.   That said, one would expect to be overwhelmed with safari-goers near our camp.

 

The truth is we rarely see other vehicles at this camp.   The exception being, of course, when leopards or cheetahs are spotted, then every Land Rover in Africa swarms to the sighting.   Farther north into the Mara, that is a daily occurrence.   Where we are, we can go days and only see vehicles from our camp.    That is safari-going at its best.

Common area tent on the left, and dining tent on the right.   Enkewa Camp

 

The guides share information among themselves and with some guides from other camps.   During their down times, guides will go out seeking animals for us to photograph.   That is what earns them tips of $10 USD to $15 USD or more, per day per person, with $10 being the norm.  Sometimes a photographer will tip a guide extra.

 

Depending on their configuration, the vehicles have two seats abreast with two or three rows.  Sometimes the “shotgun” seat next to the driver is available.  Regular safaris try to fill all those seats, or fill them with members from the same group.

 

By the way, these Land Rovers are driven from the right front seat as Kenya, once a British colony, adheres to the British system.

Totally cool bridge to my tent.

One of the tents at Enkewa

Tent I shared with Marg.

Photographers like to have a whole row for themselves and their gear.   That enables them to switch from side to side depending on where the photo subject is and not have to shoot over someone’s shoulder.  They pay extra for that whole row.   Likewise, the photographers in a group buy an extra seat in a plane to accommodate the extra weight of our gear.  The airline can still sell that seat, but there is no charge for our excess baggage.

 

When it comes to tipping guides, the discrepancy is apparent.  The more people, the larger the guide’s tips.   That is why photographers pay larger tips.   Also figured into the tip are the guide’s knowledge and his ability to place photographers in the ideal spot for photo composition.

 

This addition on our tent could be another bedroom.   We put our luggage in there to keep it out of the way.

Guide Dominick was able to arrange for another desk for our room.

I had a tent to myself for the first three nights at Enkewa and then moved to Marg's tent to make room for an arriving guest.

The extra room in my private tent.

King sized bed that can be separated into two twins.

Bathroom with show open right.

Front deck of tent.

As for the camp staff, they pool their tips and divide them at intervals.   The average tip we pay is $10 USD per day, per person.  This figure, of course, is subject to change, depending upon the experience and service.

Dining tent:

You might have noticed that there are two spellings of Maasai/Masai.   The name of the semi-nomadic people is correctly spelled Maasai.    Their language is Maa.   Most also speak Swahili.

It is theorized that the English anglicized Maasai to Masai, to conform with English spellings.   

For this, and other reasons, I prefer to keep the original spelling of Maasai, whose land this is.

 

 And every morning, at o-dark-fifteen, tea and cookies delivered to our tent.   Or coffee.

 

 

 

 Some shots from the afternoon game drive:

 

Immature martial eagle, the largest eagle in Kenya.

Immature martial eagle.

Auger buzzard.

 

 These lions are from the Black Rock pride.

 

Juvenile lion and lioness.

 

 

 

 

 

Abdim's stork

Abdim's stork and catch.

Southern ground hornbill.

Look at the long eyelashes.

A juvenile male.

Note the faint rainbow.

No, no, no!    A). That's your sister.    B).  You're too young.   C).  You shouldn't have to cover her eyes.

Marg and Shelly in Dominick's truck.

A serval.   Though a cat, it is not considered when speaking of the Big Cats of the Maasai Mara--the leopard, lions, and cheetahs.   They are slender, long-limbed cats up to 40 inches long with tail, and can weigh 33 lbs.

The 2021 Africa Journals, Ch. 27: In Which I Summon All My Courage and Call a Halt

 

Chapter 27:

In Which I Summon All My Courage and Call a Halt 

Haraka haraka haina baraka—Kiswhahili proverb

(Hurry hurry has no blessings)

At o-dark-o'clock the Ferraris are at the starting line and you better be onboard.

And they're off!    Racing across the Mara with photographers bouncing ping pong balls in the rear seats.   

Yes, I'm exaggerating, but only a wee bit.   The guides have heard about a serval cat with three young cubs and  they are anxious to get us there before the light becomes too harsh for good photos.   It's an hour away, along the bumpy rutted trails of the savannah.

(I interject into the story a note about safari parlance:   a "Ferrari safari" is a humorous term for driving  much faster than normal.   It usually does not allow for photos along the way.)

I'm sitting in the back row and get the worst of the bumps.  Think of crack the whip.   If you're on the end, you get the most of the generated force.   That might not be the best analogy, but you get the idea.

There were no sonic booms, as in the whip, just some "ohs" and  "ows."   I brace myself as best I can with my feet against the seat legs in front of me and hang onto the window frame or the steel bar above the window.  Because the vehicle has no window coverings, my right ear gets so cold in the morning chill that it gives me a headache.

All of which means  that by the time we reach the area near the servals, I am beaten to a pulp, cold, and not in a good frame of mind.   And I am left to wonder if I would feel differently if I were twenty or thirty years younger.

However, there are so many things to photograph, I put aside my discomfort and concentrate on those animals and birds, 

No idea what these vultures are up to.

A marabou stork joins them.

Griffon vulture.

Close up of the marabou stork.

We are now in a part of Kenya's Maasai Mara that Marg calls Downtown Mara because of how busy it is with safari vehicles.   It is close to many camps and provides easy access to many things the tourists want to see.  

Because of that, it is not unusual to see ten or more vehicles on a particularly interesting animal.

Below, while zebra graze in the background, a giraffe with a new calf pause on the side of the road.   This particular road is in very good condition, thankfully.

In Alaska, where I live, when you see a moose on the side of the highway, you can bet it will  want to be on the other side.   This giraffe apparently feels the same.

With her very young calf.   Both have red-billed oxpeckers cleaning them of insects.

A little farther along, we come upon a cheetah doing her morning yoga.

On the other side of us, a Thompson's gazelle decides he will not hang around for the cheetah to give chase.

Then, a bit farther along, we reach the place where the servals are.   There are other vehicles there already so we move into position with them.   At first, it is difficult to see the cubs as  they are hunkered down in the grass.  

Slowly, they emerge and start moving around, giving us opportunities to photograph them    They come quite near the vehicles, sometimes going underneath them.

Marg and Laura and a visitor.

I began to wonder why the serval cubs were under the vehicles.   Was it shade?   Or were they trying to hide from all the vehicles surrounding them?

Servals are small wild cats native to Africa.   The largest weigh about 26 lbs.   Their long legs and long necks enable them to see above the grasses of the savannah.

From the African Widlife Association site:   Servals eat a great variety of prey, including rodents, birds, reptiles, frogs, and insects. They catch much of their prey by leaping high into the air and pouncing. They have also been seen using their long forelimbs to reach into burrows or to hook fish out of the water. They are quite successful hunters and seldom eat carrion.

Cub with a mouse.

Hiding.   No doubt.

There are at least eight vehicles in a semi-circle around the serval cubs, with more arriving and some leaving.   Whenever the cubs move, the vehicles follow.  It is almost a mad house and I am not liking it.

I look directly down and less than three feet from the tire is a cub that has tunneled into the overlying grasses from two clumps.   I do not take a photo.

Instead, I put my camera down  and tell the guides what I have done.    "These cubs are being harassed," I say.   "I am not photographing then anymore.  I think we should leave them alone."

In moments, our three vehicles leave the scene.   Whether it is my words or the fact that it is ten AM and time for breakfast, I don't know, but I am glad we are leaving.

Someone spots a tortoise near our breakfast spot and out come the cameras.

Black-shouldered kite.

After eating, it's time for a relatively-leisurely trip back to camp, but our route takes us past the servals again.   The mother has returned and only two of the cubs are with her.

She moves from area to area, calling for her missing cubs.   Once again, the servals are pursued by safari vehicles.   Though the vehicle engines are turned off when they stop (to eliminate vibration in photos), the cats move frequently so it's start and stop, start and stop.

The cubs, now reunited with their mother, go about their fun.   This one appears to have caught a rat.

Shade?

The mother appears stressed.   She cannot find nor hear her missing cub.

Finally, I am once again emboldened and tell the guides that I think we should leave.   "She's stressed.   If she had the third cub, it would be okay to stay.   But not like this."

We leave.  

Another safari vehicle.

We stop for various birds and animals on the way back to camp.

Lilac-breasted roller, the national bird of Kenya.

 

 

 

Superb Starling

 

 

 

Yellow-billed stork

  

 

 

These zebra wanted to go down to the water but were not sure about our vehicle.

 

 

So, we left.

 

 

Later in the day, Enkewa owner Jose talks to us about the servals.   The missing cub was located, he says.   Apparently it was in a burrow.    Jose was under the impression that some of us were afraid the third cub had been run over.   We assured him that while we didn't think that, it was certainly a possibility if the number of vehicles increased.

We told Jose that it  was the obvious stress of the mother that made us want to leave her alone.   Marg, a veterinarian, described the cat's symptoms that indicated stress.

All in all, there were simply too many vehicles there for an enjoyable experience, one of the greatest problems in Downtown Mara.   I think we are also spoiled by the remote area our camp is in because we rarely see vehicles from other camps.

 

Next:   I don't know yet what I'll show you next.   I am far too caught up in the Russian war against Ukraine and have the TV on all day.    Uploading photos with the TV on is exceptionally difficult and takes far longer than I have the patience for.