Rekero News Archive 2004

Rekero Camp Mara Diary – October 27th 2004

As the season comes to a close we are still seeing some amazing sights. For all of you panicked by the news in the last newsletter that the young lion cub in our camp pride may have died, you can breath a sigh of relief as all is well with the youngster and he now has some younger cousins to play with! In a strange pattern of breeding two other lionesses have also given birth to just one male cub so the camp pride now has 4 cubs, all single, all male and all very healthy and mischievous.

The Cheetah cub spotted that was also mentioned in the last newsletter is thriving. Never a more playful cub has been seen, we are all greatly impressed by his mothers patience as he mercilessly pulls at her ears and tail. They are surprisingly well fed, I say surprising as every time we have seen her begin to hunt her cub has playfully gone running ahead and scared all the Gazelles away!

The camp hosted another extraordinary and unbelievable scene last week. Just after sunrise a small group of wildebeest crossed the Talek river in front of camp, when all of a sudden two lionesses cornered one wildebeest on a sand bank in the river. There was a lioness on the right bank and one on the left who were clearly not working together. The lioness on the right came down for the kill and the plucky wildebeest dug his heels in, put his horns down and fought for all he was worth, surprised and threatened the lioness backed off. She tried once more but the wildebeest fought again and again she slunk away. The lioness on the left was now stalking on the bank but seemed disinclined to cross the shallow water. As soon as she went back up the bank the wildebeest made his run for freedom and made it back to the herd – just three hours late! Luckily there were many witnesses to this so we can’t be accused of making up stories!

Our guides are all doing well and looking forward to seeing their families during the November break. Two of our guides are especially looking forward to going home, William has just gotten married to his beautiful bride and Daniel is going to be married this November to his lovely lady so will come back a happily married man – this apparently only leaves our storeman Martin as the only bachelor amongst the team! But not for long he tells us.

So it is goodbye for a month as everyone takes a well-earned break and we will be back in December looking forward to more jaw dropping wildlife activity.

From Pennie, extended camp guest.

Rekero Camp Mara Diary – October 10th 2004

The plains of the Mara are slowly emptying as the wildebeest leave for another season. The camp has been witness to some amazing, huge and violent crossings. There was one day where at least 10,000 wildebeest crossed right in front of us. The last big one in camp saw a wildebeest grabbed by a crocodile and an amazing struggle between the 2 animals followed which resulted in the wildebeest actually freeing itself from the crocodile, unfortunately it’s 2 back legs were broken by that time and it couldn’t manage to get out of the water. Mercifully the next day it had died and the crocodile got what it wanted in the end.

Recently we have spotted a young cheetah mother with a very new and playful cheetah cub by her side. We believe the mother has lost all other cubs so we are watching the progress of this cub fearfully. It is just over two months old, very cute and bears the distinct fluff that makes it appear like a honey badger. It has become an instant camp favourite and the site of mother and cub running around termite mounds for fun, will live long in our memories.

One of our camp pride lioness’ has finally given birth, we have been waiting and watching for a couple of weeks now and finally we spotted her with the cub. We only sighted one, very precious, very tiny cub, so we are unsure if that is all she produced or if the others have already been taken by other predators. On that same pride a guest has just now informed me of some possible sad news. It appears that the very small cub from our camp pride has been taken or killed in the night. There was a lot of action close to camp in the small hours of the morning with lion roars and hyena cackles so possibly there was a fight and little Solo as we named him has been lost. It may be too early to tell so we will keep you updated.

A strong reminder about the capability of buffaloes was given to two of our guests recently. They were photographing the buffalo who was sitting serenely in the grass, posing nicely, when in a flash he took insult to their attentions and charged the car placing a very nice dent in the front panel through the bull bar and giving himself a cracker of a headache at the same time. Needless to say our guide, Tari, didn’t hang around long enough to find out if the buffalo would repeat the action and quickly sped off.

We have been very spoilt with Black Rhino viewings over the last 2 weeks. One guest who was in camp for 6 days saw, an unheard of, 7 Black rhino – 2 lifetimes worth for most people in the Mara. Guides Tari, Fred, Jimmy and James have all done an excellent job of hunting out these rare animals.

Glancing over next years bookings and we have realised that August is already virtually full and September is rapidly filling up, so it seems booking early is the way to go for catching the migration at Rekero Camp.

Rekero Mara Diary – September 20th 2004

A thriving landscape, with masses of animals have kept Rekero guests and staff happily busy over the last few weeks. The Wildebeest show no signs of leaving the Mara and why would they? Early rains have resulted in long, fresh grasses providing more than enough food for the wildebeest. Of course in turn this is providing more than enough food for the predators with many sightings of the cats looking extremely fat and very lazy.

Wildebeest crossings have proven to be both splendid and frustrating for all. We have had quite a few large crossings in camp and often well timed by the Wildebeest to cross just as lunch is finishing. There have been some spectacular crossings further down river with thousands of beasts, crocodile kills and sadly, a few broken legs. In between these crossings have been some agonizing waits for guests as the beasts all milled around seeming to go round in circles before making the decision either to cross or more frustratingly to go back the way they came! Many a lunch has been put on hold as those in camp held their breath waiting for these wildebeest to make up their collective minds.

Recently some guests and I had an exciting sighting of the increasingly rare Black Rhino. Out for a game drive with guide James Sengeny near the Tanzanian border, looking for cheetah we saw a mother and her calf in the most unlikely of places and then 20 minutes later saw a young male in prime condition, and as we were down wind we had a great opportunity to view him. The luck stayed with James and I when we had an extremely good sighting of a
Caracal only 5 minutes from camp and he informed me that it was only the 2nd one he has seen this year.

Our local camp pride is doing very well. For any of you that have meet the young 6-week-old cub in the pride we are happy to report that he is doing well and getting increasingly brave and mischievous. Two of the other lionesses are heavily pregnant and due to give birth any day now so we will keep you all updated on the progress with their cubs.

Just when you think you've seen it all, Jackson comes home last night with a story about a zebra chasing lion. The camp was buzzing with awe (and a small amount of disbelief!) at Jackson's description of full grown lioness who grabbed a baby zebra right in front of the car and then the mother zebra jumped onto the lions back biting it and kicking it, so that the lion is so stunned it releases the baby and it shoots off with Mum close behind. Jackson swears it is the truth and he says that when driving away the lioness still looked confused!

Half way through September and we are still knocking bookings back. There is practically no free tent space between now and the end of the October. December is also filling up so those of you wanting a warm festive season, make your booking now!

Pennie Ginn, extended camp guest (September and October)

Rekero Mara Diary - September 2nd 2004

The Migration has well and truly arrived in The Mara. Wildebeest and Zebra are regularly crossing The Mara River. Consequently the cats are being well fed and numerous kills have occurred only 100 metres from the camp. Two large male buffalo have set up residence in the vicinity, joining the particularly "vocal" Hippo pods that occupy the Rekero section of The Talek River. On 27th August 2004 a well-known Cheetah - Keke - very casually wandered through camp, only 30 metres from the mess tent. She then took up a familiar pose on a nearby anthill surveying the area for prey.

A number of "crossings" have been witnessed within camp, both Zebra and Wildebeest nervously congregating at different points along the Talek and taking the risky plunge and scramble to safety at the other side. Even Buffalo have taken the opportunity to cool off, albeit adopting a more casual approach to their crossings seen from the breakfast table in camp.

The Guides are working incredibly hard and having regular successful sightings of a whole host of rare animals - including Caracal and Serval. The abundance of Lion has enabled guests to view some spectacular events. The pride known as The Rongai Pride (due to it's territory on The Rongai River) has been seen daily. On 28th August a group of 8 lionesses were seen in the beautiful morning sunlight creating havoc within two vast herds of Wildebeest as they crossed The Rongai River. Unfortunately they were unsuccessful in several attempts, however, two lionesses' later made a "double kill" - a thrilling encounter.

James found himself having to provide a "helping hand" to nature. After stopping in the vicinity of a newborn Zebra he found that it had taken a shine to his nice new Land cruiser. Unfortunately it got a little confused and took up shelter next to the vehicle believing it to be his mother! Even after trying to drive away the infant continued to follow. Fortunately James provided a "friendly" shove in the right direction and mother and baby were reunited after it's confusing escapade!

Jackson continues to impress with his ever-reliable knowledge. He has had a young apprentice in tow, namely his 11-year-old daughter on her school holidays - Damaris. She has been keen to learn as much as possible from her experienced Dad. After sighting 8 Cheetah in total on her stay, she was keen to see an elusive leopard (as of course are most people). Although "Leopard on Demand" is not something anyone should come to expect, Jackson is always going to be first choice when it comes to such a request - and he
didn't disappoint. Contrary to what might be believed, an optimum time for sighting a leopard is in the heat of the afternoon - from 2pm onwards. This is when leopards will climb trees to relax in any cooling breezes before starting their early evening hunt for food. A good start to the afternoon's proceedings was brought about when William and Rakita spotted a shy male leopard at a distance of about 400m in a tree near the Ol Kiombo airstrip. After being able to observe the animal for several minutes it climbed down and wandered off into the bush. Even though this was a good sighting in
bright sunshine, Jackson was clearly on a bit of a mission and set off in search of more. After only a further 30 minutes of following the Talek River a group of Wildebeest and Zebra were seen to run out from a gully ahead of the vehicle, appearing to be startled by something. After manoeuvring ahead to a suitable vantage point, an exciting sequence of events was to unfold. In a very picturesque part of the river, where a large tree overhangs it's full width sat a female leopard with a tight grip on a young Wildebeest. (It turns out that this was "Bella" - made famous by the BBC's Big Cat Diary) Watching "Mum" from the tree above was one well-grown male cub. The action was not to end here. Wildebeest are not known for having particularly good short-term memories. This was confirmed when a group returned to the bottom of the gully having just left after a
member of their herd in Bella's clutches. Nervously they began to jump over the rocks to the bank at the other side, inches away from Bella. Not one to miss an opportunity Bella sprang into action again. She darted across into the path of the Wildebeest and shot up the embankment after them. She missed a second kill by a whisker. An enchanting 45 minutes followed with a clear unobstructed view of Bella and her cub interacting and playing in bright sunshine.

Another successful feline mother has been a cheetah with 3 cubs currently spending time by the Musiara Marsh. After making 2 successful kills within 1 ½ hours, the future for this particular cheetah and cubs is looking very rosy at the minute.

The ever-abundant Elephants have been a little scarce on the ground in recent weeks. Fortunately, those that are around are regularly spending time around camp during the day and night.

After an action-packed August there is much anticipation about what
September has to offer in The Mara and for visitors to Rekero.

Rob Stowers (Camp Guest - 23rd August to 10th September)

Migration Madness

11th August 2004

The migration never fails to impress or surprise! The Serengeti wildebeest have been arriving in the Mara now for over six weeks and they still keep coming!! After an incredibly hot week the heavens have opened and we have had over two inches of rain this afternoon which will have a dramatic effect on the ecosystem during the next few days. It will also bring on more wildebeest and we are fortunate to still have plenty of grass, so lots of action to come.

The recent highlight was a few days ago when James Sengeny found a ten foot python that had just caught a male Thomson's gazelle. Our camp guests then spent most of the afternoon watching the python slowly but surely swallow the animal whole before slipping into a termite mound. To witness this really is a once in a life time event and there was a lot of excitement amongst the camp residents that evening.

Lions are nearly as common as wildebeest at the moment! It is has not been unusual for our three local prides to make at least two kills a night. The 'camp pride' has a new member - a three week old cub so they have been resident on chui lugga for a while now. The cheetah are also in their element as a large portion of the paradise plain was burn't last month and now has the new growth and with it thousands of 'tommies'. A female with three nine month old cubs has taken up residence there and we've have been lucky enough to witness several kills as well as the cubs having hunting lessons. Leopard had been few and far between until the 3rd when five different leopard were sighted in one day, three by Jimmy in the valley around the Cottages and a mating pair in Camp which we were able to view from the dinner table!!

We have had no black rhino sightings since June which is not uncommon at this time of year. The rhino don't seem to enjoy the company of the wildebeest and remain in the forests until later in the year when the wildebeest move on. Elephant and Buffalo are frequently being seen around camp and in good numbers.

With the rain in the area and the plentiful grass it looks as though the wildebeest will be with us for for at least another month, and hopefully as late as October if the rain continues for a few more days. It really is an exciting time of year in the Mara, plenty of predator action at any time of day, crossings and a symphony of nocturnal voices. With barely a tent free until late October it will be a challenge to accommodate any last minute trips so any of you who are interested in witnessing the eighth wonder of the world, don't leave it too late for next year.

The wildebeest are arriving!

June 22nd, 2004

Over the last five days we have seen the first wildebeest front runners arriving and needless to say the lions are as happy as we are! Small groups of less than a hundred have crossed the Mara and Sand rivers and are now in the Rekero Camp area, with larger groups of about five hundred seen crossing the Sand River yesterday whilst we were on a scenic flight.

Rekero Camp opened three weeks ago and it already feels as though we never left! The lone bull hippo is back in front on Camp, as are the three buffalo brigadiers. The Camp lion pride was also back in residence over the last few days and is now a male, eight females and a six month old cub. Even with the incredibly long grass, the game viewing has been excellent.

Keke (the female cheetah who along with her three cubs stars in the BBC's 'Big Cat Diary') welcomed the first group of guests of the season by jumping straight onto the bonnet of their car and then calling all three cubs up. That was ten minutes after they landed! Within the last week Keke has left her cubs and was last seen in the Rhino ridge area, the cubs have headed out south and have been seen regularly on the Ol Keju Rongai. Their hunting techniques are by no means perfect, quite entertaining at times, but they seems to be managing and like their mother seem to have learnt that the best vantage point to select the next meal is on top of the Landcrusier!! Also in the Rongai area is a young female cheetah with her first two cubs, they are now about six weeks old so have a long rocky road.

Further afield we have been seeing the plenty of hungry lions, the Ol Kiombo pride, Ridge pride and River prides are all in their usual territories. With the grass being so long most animals had moved north to the short grass plains of the Conservation area so it's been tough for the lions and they have had to adapt by living off bigger animals such as hippo and buffalo.

On the Leopard front, sightings have been frequent but often fleeting. A BBC crew is back in the area trying do a follow up episode on Bella and her cubs, but they two have been struggling with only three sightings of her in two weeks and none as yet of her cubs. She has moved nearly a mile into a new territory on the double crossing and it seems that her old spot has been filled by another female who has one cub. Jackson recently spotted the big camp male leopard up a tree on our Talek crossing with the remains of a warthog which you don't see too often.

Elephant and Buffalo numbers are incredibly high in the Ol kiombo area and the smaller grazers are beginning to move their way back in as the Loita zebra migration works their way through the longer grass.

Other Camp News is that we were one of a handful of Camps and Lodges to be awarded a Bronze rating by the Eco- tourism Society of Kenya. We will now be amoungst the first to be assessed for the Silver rating when it is introduced later in the year. Our Rekero Community Conservation Fund is now being administered by John and Fran Loveland who are concentrating initially on making fund collection in both the UK and US easier and less costly by opening accounts there. For more information and news on this please see our Conservation page

On the guiding front the big news is that William Santian achieved his Silver Level and has paved the way for the rest of the guiding team in November, so big congratulations to him! We will shortly be receiving two brand new customised Landcrusiers, one with a safari body and the other an open body which we are all very excited about.

Long Rains 2004

A year on almost to the day that the British and U.S Governments issued a travel ban on Kenya with other governments following suit, and things could not look more positive! We finished up the 2003/4 season only 5 % down on the previous record year and look to be far exceeding all bednight figures with the season ahead.

We have had tremendous long rains so plenty of grass for the wildebeest arrival in July and the Mara right now is looking like the garden of Eden. There seems to be change in the weather which we have been hoping for as we will begin to mobilize the Camp this week to be in place for June 1st. We are all anxious to get back down on the Talek river and to see what has happened to all our wildlife neighbours in the two months while we have been away.

We have been based at the Cottages during the long rains and have had frequent sightings of the big male leopard at the waterhole. Surprisingly with so much rain the waterhole continues to buzz daily with smaller game, the buffalo herd still visiting most evenings and the elephants have been sighted predominantly in the Northern end of the valley towards the Olangapori forest. Most nights we have had lions roaring close by and have seen the resident males fairly regularly, Larna and her cubs seem to been living on Kipeleo hill so are not sighted that often at the moment.

Jackson, Rainee and Gerard will be heading the Camp crew again this season and Ron and Pauline will be hosting at the Cottages during July, August and September. They have then decided to retire from Rekero after sixteen seasons to focus more on their expeditions and the ongoing Koyaiki / Lemek guiding school. With the rest of us being so heavily committed at the Camp we feel that management would not do our product justice and so will be closing the Cottages for good. Ron and Pauline will continue to use them as their base, as will Gerard and Rainee and there are ideas of building a couple of self contained houses in place of the Cottages for use by those regular travelers that would like to spend 'weeks' in the Mara rather than 'days'. We will keep you posted.

Looking ahead to next season we would like to position a second smaller camp in the conservation area next July for the Summer season. The camp will be placed near Sobeya’s gorge (one hour north of Rekero Camp) which is a cultural pristine area with wonderful walking that we know intimately. The Cottage / Camp combination has always worked so well and we would like to be able to offer a similar experience next year so guests can spend at least five days enjoying the contrasting aspects of the Mara, perhaps even with a flying camping option. More on this later in the year.

A very successful ‘silver level guides course’ led by Phil West was held at the Cottages in late April for the Rekero guides and exam results were very pleasing. Jackson, John and William will attempt their Kenya Professional Safari Guides Association Silver Level exam on the 20th May so we wish them luck.

Once we are established back in Camp we will send out news of the big cats and try and get an idea from our neighbours across the border of the migration timings. In the meantime we look forward to hearing your news.

Salaams, Gerard and the Rekero Team.