To lion track for sure

Habari zu asubuhi,
Last morning here at Sweetwaters tented camp after a very very good night. I don’t think I woke up once and got woken up by the songs of some birds. What a way to wake up!
I quickely packed my bags and had them all ready to go but first I had something very exciting to look forward too 🙂 I don’t think I need to tell you what, right?
But you can’t hit the road without a good cup of hot coffee as it was pretty darn cold again. After yesterday morning’s drive I came prepared and put on two sweaters! No way was I going to be freezing again. Because of the winds I still was a bit cold though.
At the reception I was awaited by Samuel my driver and Djuma my tracker for the day, well morning anyway.
The fun part of being with the guys from the park itself is that you can go off-road 🙂 So we got to drive real close to a huge herd of buffalo!! They were still pretty dozed off as they didn’t seem to mind us being there at all.

Jackals all over the place as well. And those little creatures are always a fantastic sight to see, if you ask me.

Jackals having fun in the sand

Djuma told me there are a good 60 adult lions here at Ol Pejeta and a many more number of cubs. They don’t really count those as their number can vary so fast. Not many lion cubs live to the age of adultery, unfortunately. All the adults have names but no need to say the cubs aren’t named.
The tracking device was turned on so we could hopefully spot one or two of the colared lionesses.
But not long into the ride we came across our first lion sighting.

And who do you think it was? Yep, the three cubs we got to see last night but this time mum was with them!

Gorgeous Prudence!!

So she must have been out hunting when we spotted them last night. Two of the little ones were munching away on some left overs..it was obvious that it was a young zebra. Not much left though. Nearby were some jakals waiting for the lions to leave something behind.
Mum lioness was absolutely gorgeous. Her name is Prudence. I think they can recognise her fairly easely as she had one big black spot in her left eye.

One of the cubs munching away on what was left of a baby zebra…

I am sure this distinguishes her from many other lionesses. We spend some time with them giving me some time to photograph them before we head of, in search for the colared ones again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
We drove and drove but yet no luck…
All of a sudden, just in front of our car was a huge male lion crossing the street rather fast with a prey in his mouth. Wow!!

Nero, most likely running off with someone else’s kill, a baby eland!

What a beast! He quickely ran into the bushes and we followed him. He took shelter in of the many bushes there and we were able to get very close to him. He didn’t see us a treath at all. There he was lying in the shade, panting rather heavely. He didn’t start eating at all. Instead he just lay there, looking around? Becaus of this behaviour Djuma seemed to think that Nero, as he is called, didn’t chase and kill this baby eland but most likely stole it from either a cheetah or leopard.. He was being a true lion for sure 🙂
What a fantasic feeling to be able to get so close to a wild lion, with kill! He didn’t seem all the fearsful lying there. When in fact he was a huge 7 1/2 y old lion. One of the biggest around. I noticed that he hardly had any scars on his face. Very rare but Djuma told me that was because of the fact that he was the leader of this side of the terain and he had to fear no other lion. The only ones being able to give him the possible scar were the lionesses! I guess he’s a good behaving male, don’t you think so?

Someone is looking very suspicious, don’t you think so?

We let him in peace and moved on. Still no signal on the receiver though.
On the road we passed 4 black rhino again. I am telling you I have seen so many rhino here at Sweetwaters! Wonderful to see that they do seem to be protected from poachers over here. Fantastic!!
Either Djuma or Sam must have spotted a cheetah as we drove straight into the rough terain.. which resulted in a puncture!! Just our luck. We lost about 15 minutes because of this and what with the cheetah being so close , Djuma and Sam had to be very careful. I had to stay in the car of course.
When the puncture was fixed we drove towards the cheetah who was still sitting there and with cub as well! The cub was laying very still when all of a sudden Djuma asked if i had actually seen it move. And no, I hadn’t! Ohoh!! As Sam drove nearer to the cheetah we noticed we had been looking at a rock!! haha, I am glad that wasn’t just me. And when we got closer we could see a little face peep from behind mum’s back!!

Cuteness alert!!

There it was, very young indeed and all alone. There could have been more cubs but most likely they had been killed or died of pneumonia, which isn’t that rear Djuma told me. Mum and cub moved a bit further away and it was lovely to see the little once bounce behind mum 🙂

Did Nero run off with their breakfast kill???

This has been so wonderful!! Yes they do charge enough for 2 hours of lion tracking ($85) but I found it money well spend for sure. I hope that in the future I will get even more opportunities like this!!
Spending time outdoors in search for animals made me feel like this is what I want to do most!! Don’t get me wrong, I love my job back home but no office job can beat this! That’s for sure.
Time had come to end this tracking session as we had already been on the road for over 2 hours. Time sure flies when you are having fun.
When I got back to the tented camp it was definitely time for breakfast!! I was very hungry. Being outdoors sure makes me more hungry than at home!!
After breakfast I went to my tent to pick up my suitcase and rugsack and went back to reception to pay for my bill. I am sad to leave this place!
Yes, yesterday wasn’t really fun what with having to wait for nearly 3 hours to get the lion tracking sorted but it was sorted in the end and that’s the most important part!
Sweetwaters is such a gorgeous and amazing place. I can recommend it to anyone who’s coming to Kenya. Not only are the ‘tents’ very luxureous, the staff are extremely helpful and friendly!
There is an abundant amound of wildlife near the camp which makes its scenery unique to me. On the premices of Ol Pejeta you get to see so much wildlife, yet we weren’t lucky enough to see the Wild Dogs!! Bugger. My day will come that I do get to see some. It’s just a question of time, right?
Now I am back in the mini-bus on my way to Nairobi again.
Not much planned for the rest of the afternoon but I will be doing some calculating to see how much money there is still left for Mama Tunza. Tomorrow we’ll be picking up the schooluniforms, paying the carpenter who’s makeing the benches and tables, and we’ll be doing some more grocery shopping.

4 thoughts on “To lion track for sure”

  1. the lion tracking sounds amazing and the cheetah cub is too beautiful.. Enjoy Sylvie, and keep on giving wings to your dreams!

    1. Dank je Catherine! I could live this kind of life every day, that’s for sure. Getting so close to these amazing creatures is just one of the best feelings ever.
      Tomorrow the dream continues as I’ll be heading back to the children’s orphanage.. That will be tough in one way but satisfying in another..

  2. I’m going to need a lot of info from you when you get back/can – I think I need to add all the things you’ve done to my next trip! You’ll be my personal TripAdvisor! Hope all goes well in Nairobi and speak soon!

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