Naivasha Updates

GREEPARK CHILDRENS’ PARTY

Christmas has come early for Green Park School.

The children received Christmas gifts and a huge cake was baked to celebrate it which the staff served to the kids.

ZEBRA UPDATE

Pili,  was born on 18 January 2012. Next month, he will be one year old.

He is still suckling although he is almost as big as his mother. This is not unusual because zebra foal suckle for 8 to 12 months. So by next month, Pili should no longer be suckling.

MOUNT LONGONOT CLIMBING

This is one of the best areas to climb/hike. One's advised to leave the hotel at 6:00 am so as to arrive at  the gate by 7:00 am. Once done with the formalities of paying, by 7:30am you are good to start climbing.

A walking stick helps with the trek, and be ready to get dusty. 

You will appreciate the sweat when you get to the top. Once up there, you have the option to walk around the rim.  If you do, try going anti-clockwise.

 Report by Daniel Kilonzo, Resident Naturalist at Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort. 

Heritage Hotels (Kenya) manages The Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf resort in Naivasha, just an hour an a half's drive from Nairobi. The lodge is famous for one the longest holes in Kenya - the par 5 -  17th ‘signature’ at 598 metres (654 yards)!
 ©Heritage Hotels Ltd, Kenya.

Baby Dik Dik Saved From Swimming Pool

Recently, as our guests were checking out in the morning, we heard loud noises around the pool followed by a big splash. Everyone ran to the pool to see what was happening.

To our astonishment, it was a baby dik dik in the pool. It had run this way to escape a troop of hungry baboons. Now in the swimming pool, it was drowning. Everyone was startled by the scene and some clients were actually in tears.

At that moment Lkaana Letipo, the Ostrich attendant sprung into action. He grabbed the pool sieve and managed to fish the dik dik out of the pool. The animal was not breathing because it had swallowed a lot of water.

Our remarkable Ostrich attendant immediately sucked the water out of the dik diks’ lungs – mouth to mouth - and resuscitated the animal.

The guests were impressed by the Ostrich attendant’s heroic actions that saved a tiny animal.

As the animal was very weak, our Ostrich man put it in the ostrich cage for a day to recuperate – and at night took the animal with him to bed to feed and keep it warm. The following morning the animal had recovered from its ordeal and was ready to be released.

 Heritage Hotels (Kenya) manages one luxury camp in Samburu National Reserve, the Samburu Intrepids Camp. A lush oasis on the banks of the great Uaso Nyiro River, this tented lodge is a delight to be in – deliciously cooled by the river breeze and the forest. Report and pictures by Richard Yoga (KSPGA Bronze Level Guide), Manager Samburu Intrepids Camp.  

©Heritage Hotels Ltd, Kenya. http://www.heritage-eastafrica.com/

A Solar Eclipse in Samburu – A Near Miss

It was an unlikely day for a solar eclipse in Samburu. It rained with no sun in the sky.

Normally it’s hot in Samburu with clear, blue skies. This was Murphy’s law- when it’s supposed to be the solar eclipse, it rains!

Many were doubtful that they would see the eclipse because of the grey sky.

Despite the odds stacked against us, we offered to take guests for a sundowner because this eclipse happens once every 40 years.

Using the computerized telescope (ordinary ones would damage the eyes beyond repair) to locate the sun and reflect it on paper, we watched the eclipse start at 1620hrs. Twenty-five minutes later, the moon had covered 60 per cent of the sun. Ten minutes, the clouds covered the sun.

And we celebrated with a toast to the eclipse.

A Rare Solar Eclipse

The rare solar eclipse in Northern Kenya was phenomenal. This solar eclipse was a rare “hybrid” of annular and total eclipses – meaning that the extent to which the moon blocked out the sun depended on where you were in the world.

I had to reflect the sun and the moon through the telescope on a paper.
Local Myths

The Samburu (my tribe) believe that when an eclipse occurs, it is God showing his power to people. He wants to show that he can create darkness during the day. Many of my tribesmen believed that it was the eclipse that had delayed the rains.

1700hrs - the moon had covered the sun this much. Notice the cloudy sky.
Some of the best sightings were in Turkana and Sibiloi in Marsabit where the total eclipse was observed for only 15 seconds. In Samburu Game Reserve we saw 86.3 per cent of the sun covered by the moon. 

Sky News
There will be a spectacular shower night on 16^th November at approximately 10 p.m.
On 12^th and 13^th December the stars Leonids and Geminids will appear respectively. It will be full moon and hence a lot of light but serious sky watchers will see 15 to 30 shooting stars at around 2 a.m.

Kids could watch the eclipse through the telescope fitted with a filter to protect the eyes.

Looking at the sun using a telescope will cause irreversible eye damage.

Mr Alex the camp engineer at Samburu Intrepids watching the eclipse using a pair of welding goggles. 

Everyone was excited during the eclipse, and they wanted to capture this event for posterity.

 Guests were satisfied with the eclipse and drank a toast to the eclipse.

Heritage Hotels (Kenya) manages one luxury camp in Samburu National Reserve - Samburu Intrepids Camp. A lush oasis on the banks of the great Uaso Nyiro River, this tented lodge is a delight to be in – deliciously cooled by the river breeze and the forest. Reports and pictures by Steven Tilas, Naturalist, Samburu Intrepids.  ©Heritage Hotels Ltd, Kenya. http://www.heritage-eastafrica.com/