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.

The Wildebeest Migration Is On!

It’s cloudy with cold showers late in the evening. The grass is moist and relished by the elephants and buffaloes. The Masai blankets are indispensable on the morning game drives. The impala males are rutting; the elephant females are in estrous and the hippos are mowing the grass along the Olare Orok River. It’s a very active season in the Mara.
  

WILDEBEEST MIGRATION

The long awaited migration of the wildebeest is on. The plains are rich with zebras, gazelles and many species of birds. There are endless lines of the wildebeest streaming to the Sand River to cross into the Mara game reserve from the bordering Serengeti in Tanzania. Without wasting time around the river, the wildebeest spread in the tall green red oat grass. According to the grazing succession, thousands of zebras lead the way.

They then branch into two groups. One goes up north and the other group moves west towards the Mara River, by the Lookout hill, which is 18 kilometers south of Mara Intrepids Camp.

We hope to see the first crossing at this point in two or three days. There are small groups at Posse and Olkiombo Plains but they look confused as to which way to proceed. The lions and hyenas are having a good time hunting them.

The Loita Plain migration is pressing in from the north towards the Olkiombo Plain.    

   

PREDATORS SIGHTINGS

Lions

The prides have started to group and position themselves at their favorite strategic points along the rivers where the migration crosses. They are very alert, hiding in the tall grass.

Notch’s boys have not been seen for almost a week. Notch is busy with the four lionesses from the Olkiombo Pride near Maji ya Fisi.

The Olkeju Ronkai pride has moved further south towards Lookout Hill. They could be waiting for the migration or pushed out by the Ridge Pride.

The Ridge Pride has moved to the south of Mara Intrepids Camp to await the wildebeest.

Leopards

After Olive killed the water buck in front of Mara Explorer Camp, she has gone to her hideout area. She will re-emerge when hungry again. She was last spotted by Smelly Crossing, west of the Olkiombo airstrip with her cub.

Another friendly leopard at Shamarta was seen once with an impala kill in a tree and another time looking very relaxed with a Thomson gazelle.

Cheetahs

Malaika (seen above with with her two cubs recently) is around Olkiombo Plain near Mara Intrepids Camp. Unfortunately she has lost one cub to the hyenas and remains with just one.

Heritage Hotels (Kenya) manages two luxury camps in the Masai Mara - Mara Explorer and Mara Intrepids - in the confluence of the four game viewing areas of the Masai Mara. The camps are on the banks of the Talek River, with most tents spread along the banks.  Report and pictures by John Parmasau,  Mara Explorer & Mara Intrepids Camp ©Heritage Hotels Ltd, Kenya. http://www.heritage-eastafrica.com/

Mount Longonot

The majestic mountain seen from the Great Rift Valley Lodge and Golf Resort stands at 2,785m above sea level. It has one of the largest calderas in Kenya.

The name Longonot is derived from the Maasai word Oloonong’ot meaning ‘’Mountain of many spurs’’ or ‘’steep ridges’’ created by rivers of molten lava.

Longonot is a Stratovocano/composite volcano built up of many layers (strata) of hardened lava, tephra, pumice and volcano ash.

The excursion to Longonot from the lodge is a day trip. The drive to Mount Longonot National Park is 45 minutes and the hike from the foothill to the rim is 3.5 kilometers long. The walk around the rim is 7.1 kilometers.

It’s possible to climb down the crater but very challenging.

From the mountain it’s possible to spot the Burchell’s zebra (Equus burchellii), elands (Taurotragus oryx), Thomson gazelles (Eudorcas thomsonii), Grants gazelles (Nanger grantii), Maasai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis), the rarely seen Klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus), Coke’s hartebeest/Kongoni (Alcelaphus buselaphus), Steinbuck (Raphicerus campestris) and Kirk’s dik dik (Madaqua kirkii).

Being a very young volcano in Kenya that last erupted in 1863, there is a lot to learn about the geology. It is dormant volcano and the water a few thousand metres below the surface is 300°c - one of the hottest temperatures on earth.

Report By: Daniel Kilonzo, Senior Naturalist, 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)!

 Report and pictures by Daniel Kilonzo, Resident Naturalist at GRVL ©Heritage Hotels Ltd, Kenya.http://www.heritage-eastafrica.com/