A Tale of Two Lakes: Lakes Baringo and Bogoria (1 Viewer)

[Steve G]

KENYA: A Tale of Two Lakes: Lakes Baringo and Bogoria

PART 1


Rather than a full trip report this is really about our brief experience of these two lakes in 2010 and why we felt we needed to return in 2011.

Though not without its problems there are few countries in Africa that can match the range of scenic splendours found in Kenya. From snow-capped mountain peaks to arid semi-desert, from lush rain forest to endless open savannah, from cool sweet-water streams to hot caustic lakes; Kenya has got the lot! Such diversity of habitats supports a riot of life which includes most of the large mammals familiar to safari-goers. For those whose interests extend beyond the big beasts there is a huge supporting cast of birds, reptiles and smaller mammals –some of which are unique to this part of East Africa.
Inevitably it is places like the Mara, Samburu or Amboseli that attract the greatest interest. An extended road-based safari may also take in Nakuru, Mount Kenya Serena lodge or one of the Aberdares lodges whilst beach-loving tourists often undertake short safaris to Tsavo or the Shimba Hills; however, there are other hidden gems that have something different to offer. In the west Kakamega forest remains as a last lonely outpost of the long lost eastern extension of the Congo basin rain forest. In the east the Arabuko-Sokoke forest is the last large remnant of a once mighty coastal forest that extended from Somalia to Mozambique. To the north the lonely Marsabit plateau rises as a lofty green oasis from the parched dry-lands waiting patiently for the return of more peaceful times. On the Ugandan border stands Mount Elgon famous for a cave network created by elephants “mining” for salt, whilst the nearby Saiwa Swamp still supports a good population of Sitatunga. Slicing through the heart of Kenya is Africa’s Great Rift Valley, a massive geological icon characterised by mountains, escarpments, plateaus, quiescent volcanic cones and a string of lakes on the valley floor –all of which have their own identity. This is our experience of two such lakes: Baringo and Bogoria.

In July 2010 myself, my wife and our teenage daughter embarked upon a 16 day road safari travelling from Nairobi to Mount Kenya, then on to Samburu returning via Ol Pejeta from where we travelled to Baringo, then down to Nakuru and on to the Masai Mara before returning to Nairobi. We made all our arrangements through a local company called Eastern and Southern Safaris who arranged our accommodation and park entry fees as well as providing us with a 4x4 mini-bus (a much-maligned vehicle that we came to love!) and a driver/guide (the one and only Mr Benard Gitari).


This is not a full report of our trip being more a note of our experiences at Baringo in 2010 and why we felt compelled to return in 2011. That said it is worth mentioning that our time spent at Samburu, Nakuru and the Mara was particularly productive with countless lions; leopard sightings at Mount Kenya, Samburu and Nakuru; and Black Rhino seen at Ol Pejeta, Nakuru and the Mara with cheetahs also seen in the Mara.

We left Sweetwaters camp after breakfast facing the long dusty road to Baringo. As we drove to the gate to leave Ol Pejeta Conservancy we passed a small group of Jackson's Hartebeest which looked bonny in the early morning sun. On leaving Ol Pejeta we hit the open road heading west. We passed a couple of colonies of Speke's Weaver and saw numerous Cape Rooks but we had a long drive ahead with little scope for unscheduled stops. Ben did however stop by a large roadside patch of Leonotis -a weedy flower which attracts sunbirds. We saw five species including Eastern Double-collared, Variable, Bronze, Golden-winged and Malachite (these last three looking particularly impressive). I was allowed to snatch a few images before we moved on.

.......to be continued.

 

[Steve G]

PART 2

About 40 minutes drive past Nanyuki our vehicle hit a deep pothole following which there was a sickening shudder as the front nearside wheel arch partially collapsed. As a result even a slight turn of the left front wheel resulted in it rubbing hard against the collapsed wheel-arch. Ben, our driver, managed to effect a laborious 15-point turn and we slowly limped back into town. Nanyuki is a small market-town and this being a Sunday the local folk were dressed in their best and many were heading off to church. Ben phoned his company only to discover that there was no replacement vehicle available until the following day and so we had no option but to get a temporary repair done. All of the local businesses were closed and as the heat of midday began to take effect I became more and more irritable. Ben had pulled a guy out of the passing crowd and after a brief discussion the man disappeared to exchange his Sunday best for a boiler-suit. He arrived with three other men and a donkey-cart on the back of which was an oxy-acetylene torch kit. We decanted from the vehicle and the men bodily raised the front of the minivan whilst a supporting rock-pile was quickly built underneath the front axle. A sheet was laid out by the roadside and the front wheel-arch was dismantled. By this point numerous nuts, bolts, brackets, etc were lying out on the sheet and eventually a large bracket (which had sheared in half) was removed. The plan was clearly to weld this broken bracket together however our street mechanic announced that the oxy-acetylene torch wouldn’t be hot enough to weld the hefty bracket. By this time I was far from happy and pointed out that any welding job would have to produce a strong and robust join or I would not accept it. The bracket was therefore taken away to a nearby workshop to be arc-welded. About 90 minutes later our mechanic returned with the bracket solidly welded and with an additional support plate bolted to the back. Clearly this repair was very robust but I had my doubts that this bulkier bracket could now fit back into place and I envisaged a small pile of nuts and bolts being left over after the wheel-arch was re-assembled. I need not have worried as everything fitted back in place and the vehicle was again road-worthy. Ben paid the mechanic $25 (in Kenyan shillings) for his work. I have to admit that we were so impressed by the man’s ingenuity and workmanship that we paid him an additional $40 for which he told us that he, his wife and his children were most grateful! It was a slightly humbling experience and it reminded me that in Africa the best mechanics in the World can be found on every street corner!


We had by now lost almost five hours. Our original plans included a rendezvous with Paul Muriithi Kibuthu to see and hopefully photograph the spectacular MacKinder’s Eagle Owl whilst en-route to Baringo. Sadly we didn’t have time to walk down to the cliff-face where the owls roosted however Paul still met us by the main road where he had set up a telescope allowing some distant views of a roosting bird.

After this brief stop we headed on westward making reasonable progress until the road north beyond Nakuru where the road conditions degenerated. There had been flash-floods earlier in the year which had washed away sections of the road making progress slow and problematic (these were the same rains which had led to the flooding responsible for washing away many of the riverside camps in Samburu). As a result we arrived at Lake Baringo Country Club at dusk. This totally scuppered our plans for an evening boat-trip on the lake and for a short walk to see some of the local night-birds (whose roost-sites are known to the local bird guides). Our itinerary only allowed for one night at Baringo and there was clearly insufficient time to undertake all of the activities I had planned. I must admit I was disappointed as it was clearly apparent that Baringo is a great place for birds as well as having some interesting scenery.

That night we were the only people staying at the lodge. My wife and daughter decided to have an early night but I stayed up as the World Cup final between Spain & the Nederlands was being shown live on TV at the lodge bar (an open-sided mosquito paradise!). I was joined by Ben and the lodge’s night-staff. We had a few beers (okay, many beers) and the good-hearted company raised my spirits. I picked up the staff’s drinks bill and also paid the “bar tab” for a large number of Lake Baringo’s mosquitoes! After the game I was walked back to my room by one of the ground-staff who had a large stick to fend off any aggressive hippos (aye, like that would do it!).


The following morning I rose (with great difficulty and a modest hangover) before dawn and went with Ben to pick up a local bird guide –Francis Cherutich before travelling to nearby Baringo cliffs via a Nightjar roost site. The plan was to see and hopefully photograph the rather scarce and local Hemprich’s Hornbill. What ensued was three hours of some of the best birding I have ever experienced. We saw a number of birds including the hornbills however it was a pair of Verreaux’s Eagles that stole the show. Africa’s Black Eagle is a formidable bird of prey being somewhat larger than the Golden Eagle and equally impressive. We observed a pair displaying and mating as well as being mobbed by the local Lanner Falcons. At one point the female eagle was struck hard on the back of her head by the female Lanner and she clearly got a sore one. The Lanner then gained height to stoop a second time and just before the Lanner struck the eagle flipped on her back and tried to grab the Lanner -amazing stuff to witness.

Following this we also witnessed a near-miss hunt with a lucky Rock Hyrax escaping by the skin of its teeth. The female eagle was soaring out in full view of the cliffs but the male seemed to have disappeared. The hyrax were watching the female eagle when the male suddenly appeared from over the lip of the escarpment above and shot down towards a prominent ledge where he just missed out on a very lucky hyrax.

It was a real struggle to pull myself away from the cliffs which, in the early morning sun appeared to be made of burnished copper but unfortunately time was not on our side. Other birds seen in this area included Fan-tailed Raven, Bristle-crowned and Red-winged Starlings, Mouse-coloured Penduline Tit, Brown-tailed Rock Thrush, Spotted Thick-knee and Striped Kingfisher.

I returned to the lodge for a late breakfast and to pick up the girls.

 

[StuartReeves]

Excellent account so far Steve, with some superb action shots of the raptors!

 

[TheThing]

Fantastic write up and superb pictures. Thank you fir sharing your adventures with us.

 

[Steve G]

PART 3

At breakfast I noted a number of birds coming to a nearby feeding area including various breeding plumage weavers. We saw Little, Village, Lesser Masked, Northern Masked and Jackson's Golden-backed Weavers as well as White-billed Buffalo Weaver and White-browed Sparrow Weaver. Other birds included Red and Yellow Barbet and Jackson's Hornbill whilst both Ruppell's long-tailed and Superb Starlings boldly approached to help themselves to unguarded plates!

After breakfast we took a boat trip on Lake Baringo. There were close encounters with hippos but again it was the range and numbers of birds which stole the show.

In 2010 the water level of Lake Baringo was the highest it has been for a number of years and a group of flooded trees had become a large mixed nesting colony which included Cattle and Great Egrets, White-bellied and Reed Cormorants, African Darters, Squacco, Purple and Night Herons. Our boatman on realising our interest in birds seemed hell-bent on accessing the centre of the colony. The overhead sun was very intense and many of the smaller chicks could quickly have cooked without the shade provided by an attending adult so I had to caution him on a few occasions not to approach too close. The strong light, whilst creating some harsh shadows allowed me to use a very high shutter speed so I was able to hand-hold my 500mm lens + 1.4x TC whilst standing up in the boat giving decent images but avoiding any disturbance in the process. It was a great experience and I would happily have stayed there all day but my wife and daughter were getting increasingly bored and of course we were all melting in the intense sun!

Apart from the herons, egrets and darters we also saw numerous Fish Eagles, Malachite, Pied and Giant Kingfishers as well as Madagascar and Northern Carmine Bee-eaters. The papyrus beds also held some weavers and displaying male Yellow Bishops whilst overflying birds included African Spoonbill, Sacred Ibis, Yellow-billed Stork and a massive Goliath heron which briefly darkened our boat as it flew low over us before landing conveniently on a mat of floating vegetation barely 12 metres away.

We also had some close encounters with a couple of pods of hippos, which given their reputation was perhaps not too clever though our boatman assured us that these hippos were his friends!

On return to the lodge our disembarkation was delayed by a croc which had hauled up on the concrete jetty and was not predisposed to move.

We had to then pack up and vacate our rooms as it was time to move on. As I was settling my bill at reception a Fish Eagle flew in to a large tree adjacent to the restaurant -I commented on this but the cashier just laughed and led me out to stand by the base of the tree. I looked up to see that the bird had a nest in the tree which was surrounded by Buffalo weaver nests. Buffalo weavers are about the size of an Eurasian Starling but they were dwarfed next to the eagle. Strangely the eagles seem to totally ignore their neighbours and vice-versa. To think I had breakfast underneath an active Fish Eagle nest and never knew it!!!

All too soon we had to leave Baringo and as we knew that the south-bound road was in very poor condition and the trip would take longer than our initial itinerary allowed for we had little time for any stops.

Our original itinerary included a stop at Lake Bogoria but unfortunately time was short. As we had already paid Eastern and Southern Safaris for entry to Bogoria National Park we decided to pay a short visit anyway –this proved inspirational. Lake Bogoria was truly stunning and spectacular. I think it was at this point that we agreed that we would have to return to Kenya in 2011 and would most definitely need to spend a few nights at Baringo with a proper day trip to Lake Bogoria!

..........to be continued.

 

[Steve G]

Some birds from the lodge grounds:

 

[Steve G]

The Baringo boat trip:

 

[Steve G]

A few more images from the lake and the lodge grounds:

 

[Steve G]

A brief view of Lake Bogoria and the reason why we had to return:
.......to be continued

 

[Edward]

Brilliant stuff, Steve and some superb shots. Envious of the Verreaux's Eagles which were not around in 2006. Baringo is one of the best places I've ever been and I bitterly regret only being able to spend a night there.

 

[wolfbirder]

Wow! Great report and some of the best photography i have seen.

 

[Steve G]

PART 4

Fast-forward to July 2011; we returned to Kenya having again organised an itinerary with Eastern and Southern Safaris with Ben as our driver/guide. Picking up the narrative part way into our trip we spent a couple of days in the Aberdares before driving on to Lake Baringo for three nights, a journey of about five hours duration. The Aberdares felt almost like home with the high moorland resembling the hills of Scotland with Waterbuck instead of Red Deer and Jackson's Francolin replacing the Red Grouse! It was actually quite cold in the evenings and our room had a log fire which was lit at night. We also had a family of Bushbabys living in the wall cavity next to our shower. For about 30 mins each evening at around 6pm they started to rouse with a cacophony of screams that sounded like a cross between the cry of a human baby and the distressed caterwaul of a deranged cat!

Heading off to Baringo owls once again featured en-route when we stopped for 20 minutes to watch a rather distant pair of Marsh Owls hunting over grassland on the northern edge of the Aberdare range.
This time our trip was without any major mishap en-route. However, we did have to briefly stop on three separate occasions for Leopard Tortoises on the road -including a massive male which I lifted off the centre of the highway. He demonstrated his appreciation for my help by relieving himself down my trouser-leg, much to the amusement of my co-travellers. I wanted a few images of this big guy and had the bright idea of photographing him with my wristwatch placed on his shell to demonstrate scale.
I was however somewhat distracted by the need to clean offensive “substances” off my trousers and behind my back he headed off at remarkable speed. It was just my luck to stumble upon a kleptomaniac chelonian who, as well as being a time-piece bandit was also a tortoise 100 metre sprint champion! Fortunately my watch slipped off his shell just before he reached a patch of dense scrub! I reclaimed my watch and we headed off.

On approaching Lake Baringo, near the village of Kampi Ya Samaki there is a barrier and a small kiosk where tourist community fees are charged –two hundred Ksh per person per day (+150Ksh per day for vehicle with driver). Within a further ten minutes we had arrived at Lake Baringo Country Club and as it was not late we took a walk along the lake shore seeing crocs, hippos and numerous water-birds before returning to the "Club" for a cool beer.
We watched a young Hippo playing on a concrete jetty from the lodge bar -he was leaping into the water and then clambering back out only to repeat the action again. I thought it would make a good image so I grabbed my gear and made my way down to the lake but Mum decided I was a risk to junior and with a loud snort from Mum he stopped the play and appeared rather dejected as he slowly trundled back into the lake. I felt quite guilty for spoiling the fun!

The rooms at Baringo Country Club (http://www.imagineaf...untry_Club.html) are in small “cottages” arranged in an arc parallel to the lake shore. There is an extensive lawn which is kept short by “grass-cutters” that only work at night (or so we were told)! The rooms are clean and adequate with mosquito-nets and an en-suite with reliable hot water. There is an open-sided bar and separate restaurant; the food was simple with no frills and a fairly limited choice but was quite satisfactory whilst the kitchen staff were happy to prepare breakfast/lunch boxes for day-trips. The extensive grounds of the lodge comprise of open lakeside woodland which extends into the neighbouring Robert’s Camp. There is a reasonable sized swimming pool and a discrete kids’ play area (but we never did see any kids, though the local hippo calf played nearby!).

Apparently the lodge can organise horse-riding and boat-trips as well as securing the services of local bird guides.
Alternative accommodation is available at Robert’s Camp where there are some bandas and family cottages as well as the campsite itself: http://www.imagineaf....asp?PageID=130 .
Luxury accommodation is available at Samatian Island Lodge: http://samatianislandlodge.com/ and it is possible to fly in to Baringo from Nairobi (a three-seater light aircraft can be hired for about $400 per hour at current rates –probably well worth it for the privilege of seeing Lake Bogoria from the air en-route).

 

[Steve G]

Some more images:

 

[Steve G]

PART 5

Predictably my wife and daughter elected to have a late lie so I headed off with Ben to the base of the Baringo cliffs. The base of the cliffs comprises of a flat area of thorn-scrub which abuts on the bottom of the cliffs. There are scattered piles of rock rubble and some deep fissures in the cliff face which is otherwise vertical and cannot be easily negotiated.

Apart from an early calling Speckled Pigeon our first bird was one of the local Lanners which circled the cliff face before heading off towards the lake. Shortly after a group of Red-winged Starlings seemed to appear out of a small cave well up the cliff face, closer scrutiny also revealed a couple of Bristle-crowned Starlings. Nearby a pair of Fan-tailed Ravens launched themselves into the air with some raucous calls.
A pair of Jackson's Hornbills were courtship feeding in a large Acacia at the base of the cliff -large locusts were clearly the dish of the day! It is difficult not to be impressed by the fine control these birds have over that over-sized bill (red in the male and black in the female).
Whilst watching the Jackson's Hornbills a loud and incessant piping calll anounced the arrival of a pair of Hemprich's Hornbills -this is one of the target species for birders visiting Baringo and it is usually easy to see here. Hemprich's Hornbill is a bird of dry rocky country with thornscrub. It nests in rock fissures rather than tree-holes and though fairly widespread through the very north-east of Uganda into Southern Sudan, north-west Kenya, parts of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia most of these areas are bandit-country or rather difficult to get to. The Hemprich's were also courtship feeding but it was small berry-like fruits that were being passed around.
Adult Hemprich's appear rather scruffy birds with a large darkish red slightly serrated edged bill. I mention this as we also stumbled on a very clean-plumaged sub-adult which appeared much better turned-out but had a noticeably smaller dark bill.

Moving on we came across a pair of hyperactive Pygmy Batis which wouldn't sit still for a photo. I had the same problem with Mouse-coloured Penduline Tit which holds the distinction of being Africa's smallest bird. Other small passerines in the area included Red-faced Crombec, Brown-tailed Rock Chat, Yellow-spotted Petronia and Pin-tailed Wydah. By this time the air was warming up rapidly so we returned to the lodge for a late breakfast.

Breakfast at Baringo can be a rather protracted affair -not a reflection of the table service but as a consequence of the numerous good birds visible from the restaurant. The Fish Eagles were quite active calling loudly right over our heads whilst White-bellied Go-Away birds swore at us from a nearby fruiting tree. The feeders and scattered cooked rice grains attracted a wide range of weavers, Superb Starlings, African Mourning Doves and Red and Yellow Barbet whilst a pair of Fork-tailed Drongos were picking off large bugs on the lawn.

We had arranged an afternoon boat-trip with a local guide called Wilson. We headed off from the jetty but had only travelled about 70 metres before we came across the local pod of Hippos most of which were snoozing! We moved on to an area of flooded trees which were supporting some nesting weavers where we found some displaying Northern Masked Weavers, Jackson's Golden-backed Weavers and Lesser Masked Weavers. An adjacent reedbed held Malachite Kingfisher, Yellow-crowned Bishop and Crimson-rumped Waxbills. Meanwhile there was a procession of waterbirds in the air with Little, Great and Cattle Egrets, Squacco, Grey, Purple, Striated and Goliath Herons, Yellow-billed and Marabou Storks, African Spoonbill and Sacred Ibis. Shallow marginal areas with mats of floating vegetation held African Jacana and a single Long-toed Plover whilst there seemed to be dragonflies everywhere. The dragonflies were clearly a draw for Bee-eaters and periodically we came a cross small groups of both Madagascar Bee-eater and the spectacular Northern Carmine Bee-eater.

There seemed to be Fish Eagles everywhere and like some lakes elsewhere in the Rift Valley the Fish Eagles at Baringo are attracted to the tourist camera by free handouts of fish. We therefore bought some small Tilapia from a local Njemps fisherman who had also caught a large lungfish. His boat was made of numerous lengths of a woody material lashed together –we were told that the wood is from a small local tree that resembles a cross between Balsam and giant papyrus (???) and is apparently very cork-like in its properties. The fisherman straddles the boat and uses hand-paddles to propel it; a seemingly precarious set-up given that the lake is full of crocs and hippos! The local fishermen are more than happy to sell some of their catch for hard currency and as part of the service they gut the fish and slide a “balsam” float into the body cavity so that when the fish is thrown out to attract a Fish Eagle it doesn’t sink (the eagles rip the caught fish apart and discard the “float”). Having purchased some “prepared” fish we motored on to a nearby Fish Eagle nest. Weighing up the influence of the prevailing wind and the position of the sun our boatman carefully choreographed the placing of our “bait-fish” in full view of the Fish Eagle. He whistled to attract the bird but unfortunately this eagle hadn’t read the script! In an effort to attract the bird a second fish was pitched over beside the first but our eagle pretended not to notice and continued its look of regal disdain. By this point we were drifting slightly and the sun was no longer in the perfect position for photography. My daughter also noticed that one of the bait-fish appeared to be moving and on closer inspection we realised that it was being nibbled by a catfish (we could clearly see the whiskers!). This was the prompt our eagle had needed and it took to the wing before descending rapidly at a shallow angle to snatch not our bait-fish but the thieving catfish which wriggled wildly as it was lifted upon high.
With the show complete we headed back to the lodge for some late afternoon birding around the camp.

 

[Steve G]

Some images from the boat trip:

 

[Steve G]

More from the boat trip:

 

[Steve G]

Fish Eagle hunting sequence:

 

[Steve G]

The stroll around the lodge grounds turned into a bit of an owl fest though initially we were distracted by a nice white morph male Paradise Flycatcher. The Black morph Gabar Goshawk revealed itself again whilst other raptors included Black-shouldered Kite and Shikra.
Wilson led us behind the staff quarters where an African Scops Owl was roosting. The bird was used to passers-by and gave good views. Following this we came across a Pearl-spotted owlet being mobbed in the carpark by bulbuls and a pair of Beautiful Sunbirds. We made our way into the grounds of the adjacent Roberts Camp to watch a pair of Red & Yellow Barbets feeding young in a nesthole within a large termite mound. It took a while however before we managed to get good views of a calling Grey-headed Bush-Shrike and whilst on the shrike theme Brubru and Northern White-crowned Shrike put in appearances whilst a Red-faced Crombec feeding on the grass was a little unexpected.
To complete the owl hat-trick Wilson took us to a roosting pair of Verreaux's Eagle Owls -the birds are long term residents of Roberts Camp being very effective in controlling troublesome rodents!
Red-chested Cuckoos seemed to be calling everywhere but getting good views was surprisingly difficult and Diederik Cuckoo seen here was the only one of the trip. As we headed back into the grounds of the Baringo Country Club we disturbed a nice male Bearded Woodpecker which was feeding on a dead stump whilst a Woodland Kingfisher was perched up on thorn-bush by the lakeside.

 

[Steve G]

A few more birds from the lodge grounds:

 

[markgrubb]

Fantastic report and pictures, Steve-really enjoying it