Sunday August 1st

Day 5 - Samburu - Outspan - Treetops

After getting up at 5:30am on day 4, the 8:00am start on day 5 was something of a lie in.

After a last look at the crocodiles and birds around the hotel, we were in the van, this time with the top closed and on the drive back along the 60 or so kilometres of dirt track to Isiolo and the start of the tarmac.

There was plenty of opportunity to see Kenyan life "in the raw". The majority of the "hotels" were a far cry from the places we were staying in.

We stopped after more than 3 hours just South of the equator at the inevitable curio shop.

Outspan Hotel

We were staying overnight at Treetops, which had very little in the way of facilities. We actually checked in at the Outspan Hotel, a converted British Polo Club, where we had lunch and left most of our luggage.

When we got to our room in Treetops we understood this arrangement. The bedrooms are very basic, with just enough room for the beds and certainly no room for a suitcase.

Adjoining Outspan Hotel is a cottage, PAXTU, where the founder of the Boy Scouts, Lord Robert Baden Powell spent the last few years of his life and where he died. He is buried in the local churchyard. 

After lunch we had the opportunity for another tribal dancing display. We decided instead to relax and enjoy the gardens and birds of Outspan, like these Hadada Ibis.

Treetops is world famous as the tree house in which Princess Elizabeth heard about the death of George VI and her accession to the throne. At that time it was a small, exclusive lodge overlooking a secluded water hole in the middle of the forest.

It has changed somewhat since that time. The original treetops was burnt down and a new, bigger version more geared to mass tourism built on the other side of the water hole. Salt put down each evening attracts many animals, but has resulted in the destruction of much of the natural cover. This in turn means that sightings of unusual animals is much less frequent than in the past.

Although the variety of wildlife is disappointing, a night at Treetops is still an experience with having. There is a variety of viewing points, and open terrace at the top level, an enclosed lounge one level down and a ground level "hide" with open slots in the wall.

Despite being almost on the equator, the altitude means that the weather is predictably cold. Blankets are provided to keep guests warm during late night game viewing. 

Treetops is just inside the Aberdare Mountains National Reserve, about a 40 minute bus ride from Outspan. When conditions are right, the last few hundred yards is done on foot, accompanied by an armed guard. When we visited it had recently rained, so we were taken to the door on the rather decrepit hotel bus.

It is built on stilts between two water holes, one of which was dry when we were there. The water is surrounded by well worn tracks to the water and there is a small island in the middle inhabited by birds.

Birds at Treetops

The main focus of Treetops is of course, the large animals that visit the waterhole, but there are interesting birds to see, including

• Marabou Stork on the island

• Sacred Ibis at the edge of the water

• African Mourning Dove making a lot of noise perched on the roof and balcony

Elephants

The stars of our visit were the elephants. Just before dusk, two elephants appeared on the skyline and walked all round the pool before finishing up at the salt patches just below the lodge. They kept us entertained by pushing each other around and then wandered off only to reappear about half an hour later.

One in particular terrorised a herd of buffalo and chased them at full speed down the hill pictured in the photo at the top left. 

The two were joined by others as the night progressed and were still around at 3am.

The most numerous animal at Treetops was the African buffalo. Initially two appeared at the far side of the pool, and then a whole herd started to walk down the hill, only to be stampeded by one o the elephants.

Some of the buffalo were around all evening, but there were clearly wary of the elephants who kept the upper hand throughout.

Apart from a couple of Warthogs on the road up to the Lodge, the rather timid Common Waterbuck were the first animals we saw. Several groups came down to the water but they were wary and kept their distance.

Dinner was an interesting event in a communal dining hall with long tables and benches. Floodlights allowed us to continue watching the game as long as we wanted.

The elephants and buffalo stayed around after dark, together with mongooses. 

We switched on the buzzers in our room to be wakened if any interesting animals approached the waterhole and slept dressed, partly so that we would be ready and partly because it was so cold. We got a good night's rest without a single buzz.