One morning as I saw a
seriously big male baboon.
He emerged out of the bushes – saw me come out of the toilet block – then sped back into cover again.
The thing was huge. I felt a shiver of fear when viewing him; he looked like a troop leader. I walked over to the blockhouse where the boys were cooking breakfast and pointed out what I had seen. They were dismissive "Oh they come for the rubbish" – but I was still in shock. He was the biggest baboon I had ever seen. I made doubly sure that my tent was zipped up when we went out on safari.
The ‘Riverside’ campsite gets lots of visitors both human and animal. Its rather small containing only about twelve tents but its proximity to the Talek Gate means that it is in constant use. It is literally metres from the gate which has no boundary fence and only a bubbling brook between it and the game on the plains.
The campsite is crewed by a four man team – two cooks, a worker and a 28 year old Maasai warrior called John. John was quite a sight decked out in traditional Maasai garb with bald head, red cloak, stretched earlobes, bare feet and of course a Maasai spear. Each of the boys was exceptionally eager to help us and proved to be good company. Most of the tents are small one-man tents which are arranged around a cabana with toilet block and "restaurant" not far away. It costs about $25 a night for one of these tents and for me they were part of a package arranged by these people www.bestcampingkenya.com.
He emerged out of the bushes – saw me come out of the toilet block – then sped back into cover again.
The thing was huge. I felt a shiver of fear when viewing him; he looked like a troop leader. I walked over to the blockhouse where the boys were cooking breakfast and pointed out what I had seen. They were dismissive "Oh they come for the rubbish" – but I was still in shock. He was the biggest baboon I had ever seen. I made doubly sure that my tent was zipped up when we went out on safari.
The ‘Riverside’ campsite gets lots of visitors both human and animal. Its rather small containing only about twelve tents but its proximity to the Talek Gate means that it is in constant use. It is literally metres from the gate which has no boundary fence and only a bubbling brook between it and the game on the plains.
The campsite is crewed by a four man team – two cooks, a worker and a 28 year old Maasai warrior called John. John was quite a sight decked out in traditional Maasai garb with bald head, red cloak, stretched earlobes, bare feet and of course a Maasai spear. Each of the boys was exceptionally eager to help us and proved to be good company. Most of the tents are small one-man tents which are arranged around a cabana with toilet block and "restaurant" not far away. It costs about $25 a night for one of these tents and for me they were part of a package arranged by these people www.bestcampingkenya.com.
The company runs campsites and tours to Samburu and Amboseli national parks not just the Mara. The kitchen boys do "tours of duty" at each of these campsites. This does alleviate the worry about leaving your belongings behind when you head out on safari as the boys will be there to chase off any baboons. And as one of them told me the baboons up at Samburu had worked out how to unfasten tents to get at the belongings inside.
While not on safari it is actually a delightful place to relax and to have a post safari siesta. The only company is small blue weaver birds making a racket. Its open bush here. Beyond the tents is savannah where anything could wander through. One lazy afternoon the jangling of cow bells mixed with the sound of small Maasai boys shouting came from the back of my tent. An entire herd of Maasai cattle and boy shepherds started to graze in the middle of the campsite. The whacking of their tails against the canvas woke my travelling companions up.
The food is served in the concrete kitchen area lit by kerosene lamps at night. The food is excellent – fried fish, pasta and even buffalo stew generally accompanied by a cold beer. They stoke up a fire in the evening and you can sit outside. John the curious Maasai will join you there. About nine o’clock the animals sounds begin in earnest but I felt safer with a Maasai guarding us.
It’s quite an experience having a Maasai guard your tent all night by the flickering flames of a campfire. Very Africa.
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