Kenya: Nairobi To Samburu National Reserve

After our introduction to Kenya at Giraffe Manor we, loaded up the Toyota and headed off on our 345 km journey to Samburu and Elephant Watch Safari Camp where we would make our home for the next four nights.  It was late afternoon when we arrived in Samburu and made our way to our camp.  I found it quite fitting that the first animal we saw was an ele (elephant) since we were staying at Elephant Watch Safari Camp, home to founders of Save the Elephants and our hosts, Ian and Oria Douglas-Hamilton who have dedicated their lives to saving the elephants…

Nikon D4, AF-S 70-200mm 2.8 VR II

We also spotted a Cheetah hunting in the grasses and made a few images before moving on…

Nikon D4, AF-S 70-200mm 2.8 VR II With TC 20E III

One shouldn’t spend too much time chasing a cat on the hunt as it may interfere with a successful kill depriving the animal of a meal.  I trusted Patrick’s experience and knowledge about when an animal was approachable and when to leave them alone.  I was more than willing to miss a shot if it was in the animals best interest that we move on.

We arrived at Elephant Watch Safari Camp and were greeted with smiles, warm wash clothes to freshen up and a glass of fresh juice.  What a wonderful welcome!  We were shown to our tents to settle in before dinner.  Each tent was covered with a large structure with thatch roof to protect it from the rain and included an outdoor seating area to enjoy the beauty of our camp along the bank of the Ewaso Ngiro River…

Nikon D4, AF 16mm 2.8D Fisheye

Inside view of my tent with all hand made furniture and framing for the tent from local logs and branches found along the river banks…

Nikon D4, AF 16mm 2.8D Fisheye

Each tent offered an outdoor bathroom adds to the flavor of enjoying the great outdoors of Samburu National Reserve.  Water is solar heated in black jugs during the day and ready to be poured into buckets for a shower upon returning from our afternoon game drives.  The eco friendly environment encouraged me to conserve water by trying to use as little as possible and yet still have a satisfying shower.  It’s amazing how little water we really need…

Nikon D4, AF 16mm 2.8D Fisheye

Monkeys were regular visitors to my tent and I would arrive to find them swinging from the rafters, lining the window in my bathroom and everywhere in between.  I enjoyed watching their antics immensely.  My first night at Elephant Watch Safari Camp I listened to a big elephant crash it’s way past my tent mere yards away.  My heart raced with the thrill of the close encounter in the night.  I lay awake waiting for morning and our first game drive in Samburu.

My experience in Kenya was very heartfelt and emotional for me and I have taken the liberty to add creative touches to some of the images to better express my impressions.  The image of the cheetah was converted to B&W using NIK Silver Efex Pro 2.0 and then painting the cheetah back in color to emphasize it’s markings and color.  The images of my tents are three exposure HDR images converted to an old time, nostalgic theme using NIK Silver Efects Pro 2

A recent visit by China’s former basketball hero,Yao Ming, visited Samburu to film a special bringing public awareness to the rise in poaching and the senseless slaughter of elephants for their ivory tusks.