5. VALLEY SOMAK

When on a Somak safari
On a Somak safari, vehicles are driven by expert driver/guides. All Somak safaris in Kenya including our coastal overnight safaris are with a guaranteed window seat. Somak are the only company to offer this. Somak microbuses are equipped with a cool box to store your drinks. 4-wheel drive vehicles are available on request at a supplement. These hardy vehicles seat up to 5 adults (all with window seats) and have game viewing roof hatches. Game drives normally take place in the cool of the day i.e. early morning or evening when the animals are most active. They are usually around 1 to 2 hours in duration. In the game parks, as throughout Kenya as a whole, road conditions vary considerably. Surfaces can be rough and bumpy and may be dusty or muddy. Despite skillful driving, heavy rains may cause a vehicle to get stuck in the mud and you may be called upon to give a helping hand. At some of the Lake lodges, game drives are not included but optional excursions are available which can be purchased locally.

The Safari Experience

6:00 AM - The dawn call from the wild awakened me from a deep slumber. Kennedy our driver/guide was spot on time for our morning game drive and ensured the safari bus was ready to go sharp at 6am. It was still dark as we pulled away from the lodge, descending the ridge and heading out on to the Mara plains. A solitary Buffalo mused at our departure whilst chewing the cud. The air was a little fresh yet filled with the heavy scent of moisture. Kennedy paused briefly at the fork in the track, his eyes scanned the horizon. He reached for his binoculars which were hanging loosely around his neck and I could see the concentration in his jet black eyes. Later he explained his thinking: ‘shall we do the Mara Triangle Circuit’ had that quiet assured confidence and was humming to himself as we headed up the track and along for about 2 km. All eyes were peeled; the six of us were covering every direction, but apart from the morning cries of birdlife and mistaking several faraway trees for animals there was nothing.

6:45 AM - The dawn was steadily giving way to sunrise. Within its beam the grasslands were aglow, yet into the shadow and we could see only gloom. We welcomed its strong rays as it heated up the air and appeared to switch everything on, but for Kennedy the challenge was to locate some action before the full power of the sun switched certain predators off. He located a higher point to reassess the scene and focused hard though his binoculars. Within 30 seconds he said quite calmly ‘Look Lions at 11 O’clock, you see them?’ Ralph had his telephoto trained for at least a minute before he admitted ‘Can’t see anything’. Others in the party were checking with the binoculars when Kennedy said ‘we must move in or we will miss it’. The bus peeled off the track in a short-cut to a more direct path. ‘There are about 6’ he said. ‘Look can you see, they have something, they are going for it.’ Two females created a pincer movement and a third pounced and brought the adult warthog swiftly to a stop. Within seconds she had smothered him and he was dead meat, but the question was for whom? As the majestic black-maned male moved in, the females withdrew and allowed him to tuck in. Apparently warthog is a Lions delicacy.

7:02 - 8:55AM - The beauty for us was not in the kill but in spending the next 2 hours in their company, seeing the comings and goings of the pride; and a minor dispute as 2 intruder lions approached and were warded off. Just across a mixed herd of Antelope and Zebra seemed oblivious to the potential danger, but the females did not regroup ‘for a second bite of something else.’ Apart from one, they lay there apparently contented, though doubtless hungry. The young female was engaged in game of bluff with the male. As he chewed and was getting ever more in to the full flavor of his apperative she gingerly nudged ever closer inch by inch until they were just a lions width apart, as his head turned to gnaw on the bone he caught sight of her, roused himself and pounced, roaring his disapproval at her cramping his style; she yelped, backed off and turned on her back in submission. This happened twice more, but to no avail. There appeared nothing left over but some stained grass which for the moment had to satisfy the pride. Whilst this occurred, in a separate dispute we saw a sudden rush of activity as another intruding female got into a tussle with the pride. At the critical moment the Black male left his meal, and legged into the affray to investigate. He had a slight limp and was satisfied with the result so decided to return to his kill. First he paused and awaited the return of his pride and as they came alongside one by one noses touched in a tender display of attention. It suddenly occurred to us that we might ourselves miss breakfast unless we broke away. But we could not leave. The final determining factor was not hunger but lack of film. We had finished off all that we had brought out.