We share a van with Kath and Jimmy down to Wilson Airport in Nairobi…..not the big international one…….this is the busiest small airport in the world………little planes running around like it’s the parking lot at Costco, dumping people on the tarmac, and more loading up and taking off all at the same time……..organized chaos but it works. Jutta and I thought we would be on the same schedule as K+J as they are doing Sasaab/ Solio, but it turns out we are doing Solio/Sasaab, so we say our goodbyes and should have dinner together somewhere when we cross paths again in the next couple of days.
Dr Livingstone I presume…….sorry, forgot to do this a couple of posts ago, so throwing it in now
Our driver meets us at the airstrip…….Amos, and his spotter, Blackie……..wonder how he chose that name? It is a quick drive to the property which Amos explains is a private game reserve, totally fenced for 45,000acres, and we access through the manned/armed gate and begin to drive down a seven foot high electrified fence line………well this is something we haven’t seen before. The discussion begins, and it has been going on ever since, about rhino poaching, elephant poaching……..really terrible stuff that we should all learn about………the story is actually disgusting to say the least. Just like at Giraffe Manor, the history here begins with a couple who wanted to save the rhino, and acquired this land to do just that. Their son now continues this quest, and Safari Collection has come into the picture, leasing land for their facility where we will stay tonight
On the way to the lodge, we first run into a couple of buffalo kill sites with vultures galore picking through the remains, and then it happens……..check that box…….rhino. Incredibly calm, not charging the truck, white rhinos in numbers for us to view. The lodge is not far away, and we are most impressed when we arrive……..just gorgeous.
Some photos of the main lodge and the grounds…….only six suites here, and you guessed it, we are in #6, as far away from the lodge as possible, but turns out to be the family suite……huge, and gorgeous, worth the walk……..score.
Amos arranges for an afternoon game drive. We will be in search of the elusive black rhino (whites in the pics above), a pride of lions that has been missing for a few days now, and just whatever else happens along the way. Amos was voted #2 guide in all of Kenya last year…….I asked him what happened?…….lol, he is fantastic, and a set of eyes you wouldn’t believe. Blackie doesn’t say much but is constantly checking tracks and pointing things out. It doesn’t take long, and we are spotting all kinds of wildlife. I guess the 45,000 acres is confining by African standards, and the game is relatively easy to find……..still no lions and black rhino though.
Apparently the lions have strayed from the property, sorry the dug under the fence and went out in search of some easy prey. Solio is also a cattle ranch but the cows are separated from the wild animals by the fence. From all reports, it appears 6-10 head of cattle have been lost to the lions, so the game wardens employ an interesting strategy, sending out a fake lion call announcing a kill to the strays, in the hope this will attract them back into the reserve. We hope it has worked.
Following a small river which runs through the property, Amos and Blackie are finding tracks to follow, and it is not long before we find a couple of young males resting in an open grassy field. We do the usual getting close thing and park it………cameras shooting at blazing speed.
Amos knows there are nine young males that hang together, and he hopes the others will show up soon to join their brothers………..one by one they appear……..coming from a nearby bushy hillside, and walking across the field greeting their buddy’s as they go.
Before long we have all nine, now drinking at the river, and taking turns crossing over to the other side. It is getting dark, and the pictures are getting blurry, but we are sure something is going on across the river……..we make a b-line for the bridge downstream so we can cross, and now with headlights on, we are trying to find the boys again. We round a corner, and low and behold, the entire pride is in front of us in the headlights. Amos figures 28 total in this group. What a way to wrap the evening.
One of the big daddys.
HUGEBLOGSITE 
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