Report-back video for Olkoroi Camp

An exciting new video by Swiss friends Matthias Niederer, Michael Bolli and David Bachoven shows you exactly what you can experience when you visit the Olkoroi Camp.

Click on the picture above to open Video.

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Olkoroi Camp’s new wildlife camera traps.

Overjoyed, is an understatement for how the Walking with Maasai team felt when they received their new set of wildlife camera traps donated by Kim De Witt and her amazing team of medical volunteers from Global Village Ministries who come and stay at camp every year while they  come and serve the Olorte community with their medical expertise.

Already we’ve managed to capture images of our resident leopard who lives around the camp! We also captured stunning images of buffalo drinking at the camps waterhole at night, including images of lots of other animal activity. Have a look at our Facebook album: Olkoroi Camp Camera Trap Pictures 

We are excited about the prospects of being able to monitor and study the African Wild Dog population in the area to create awareness of their endangered status and value to the community.

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The eye of the river

The “eye of the river” is what the Maasai call the source of a life giving river. The eye, a part of the body so sensitive, that if injured or damaged, would disrupt the whole being of a person and leave man blind and without hope. We are greatly excited and deeply amazed at the extraordinary wisdom of the Maasai elders of the Olorte Community Development Trust  and other community leaders who recognized the importance of conserving the Olkeju Arus River and the ancient Elephant Corridor that link the Naimina Enkiyio Forest(Forest of the Lost Child) with the world renowned Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.

The community based Olkoroi Camp is located on a small hill, curiously enough shaped in the shape of an eye (aerial picture right). The camp lay snug on the edge of this bio-diverse wildlife corridor and water catchment area. It features breathtaking views over the Loita Hills, the surrounding woodland and the bordering Olkeju Arus river gorge. This is also the area that the Maasai elders of the Olorte region of Loita recognize as the source of the Olkeju Arus river and the Olmotonyie Wetland. The “Eye Of The River”.

The year 2014 gave the Walking with Maasai team new hope as we’ve searched through great difficulty for ways in which the Olorte community could buy into the idea of conserving this all important wildlife corridor. We are extremely glad and thankful for the efforts of Joyce Poole and Petter Granli from Elephant Voices and Dickson Ole Kaelo and Daniel Sopia from the Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association who visited us to advise and assess the area and who sponsored a visit for some of our Community Trust and other members of the Olorte community to visit some of the very successful community based conservancies in the Maasai Mara area. The exposure of such field trips to other successful community conservation projects does a lot to stimulate vision and interest into conservation activities from community members.

Along with the challenges of mobilizing a remote community such as Olorte into considering conservation as an option, there is a huge need for leadership training and skills development. In 2014 our team together with community trust members attended a conference in Nairobi on Sustainable Development hosted by the Boulder Foundation, this conference together with the Work 4 a Living training course has given us the tools to begin training with key role players. Skills training together with field visits to other community conservation projects and creating awareness through village training workshops  within the community is key to the success of establishing a community based conservation project.

Tourism in Kenya was greatly affected by the Ebola outbreak in West Africa as well as travel warnings due to terrorism activities in other parts of Kenya. This had a very negative effect on the whole country and many tourist camps and lodges had to close their doors and thousands of people lost their jobs. Thanks to the commitment and dedication of the Olkoroi Camp staff and management, the camp stayed operational throughout 2014 and we managed to get some good reviews on BizzNews.com and on the Walking with Maasai FaceBook page.

We are very grateful to all our supporters and friends who keep on encouraging us. We thank you for your support and faith in this project and we wish all a prosperous 2015!

Olkoroi Camp

The Olkoroi Camp is located in the Loita Hills of Southern Kenya. The camp is situated on the edge of a wildlife corridor linking the Naimina Enkiyio (Forest of the Lost Child) with the world famous Maasai Mara eco-system. This  community based eco-camp was established by Walking with Maasai and offers unique and profound experience for all who wish to experience both culture and wilderness off the beaten track. Read this blog to find out more about what we are all about.

Starting afresh

Dear Friend,

You might have noticed that the Olkoroi Camp’s Blog page has not been updated for quite some time. Walking with Maasai is working at putting the right infrastructure in place for our Website, Facebook page and Camp Blog to work together so we can be more consistent and effective with our updates and information. We have also experienced some problems with our internet connection and we are working towards having this restored. Our new website has a page just for Olkoroi Camp and interested people will be able to do booking inquiries through the web page. From here on we will do more regular postings about the camp and all the other activities of Walking with Maasai.

We thank everybody who has contributed towards setting up a better infrastructure that enable us to share our own vision and activities with people.

More updates will come soon!

His name is “Barsilinga”

By Rodge More O’Ferrall

The traumatized Barsilinga during his rescue.

When I was in Nairobi this August I decided to visit the Elephant Orphanage after reading the blog entry “What are we going to do?” I was so moved by the experience that I have decided to ‘foster’ a male baby elephant called Barsilinga – rescued earlier this year.

I was struck by the impact that poaching has on elephants in the area around Olkoroi camp. At least the orphanage is doing something constructive by rescuing the very young offspring of poached adult females. I will have a chance to visit him on my next trip in November. Elephants are such majestic and intelligent animals that have been walking the area very near the camp for many hundreds of years. It would be great if the community can come to recognise their value and become involved in protecting them.

infinite gentleness needed for a steady journey of recovery and rehabilitation. Barsilinga with his Maasai blanket.

The David Sheldrick Wildlife fund is doing something constructive about this on a worldwide basis. Here below is Barsilinga’s story:

Gunshots were heard during the evening of 13th April 2012 by the community of the Lpus-La-Mpasion area near Wamba in the Samburu tribal area of Northern Kenya. The next morning (14th) a severely wounded female Elephant with a calf at foot was spotted in the area, bullet wounds in the chest area and front legs had rendered her barely able to even move. Yet another victim of the ivory trade, and a grizzly reminder of the suffering attached to each piece of ivory that is sold and bought. Her end was a painful one, full of suffering, and her calf would have been a victim too had he not been one of the lucky few rescued… Read the rest of the story and more about the wonderful work the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is doing –  http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/updates/updates.asp?ID=422#.UFYgYNNhjRw.email

Buffalo!

By Haddon Davies and Anna Pearson

I stir just as dawn is breaking – the dense Kenyan night will soon melt away. Silence- I can no longer hear the rhythmic sound of grazing that punctured the darkness. Three lean horses found their way to the camp and have been free to roam.
Anna is already awake, propped up on one elbow, peering intently through the mess window by her bed.
‘Quiet, something’s out there,’ she whispers. I strain to hear faint snap of twigs in the undergrowth, and again, the crunch of dry leaves. Anna is off the bed now and gazing into the gloom through the window in the door flap, as desperate for the loo as for a better sighting of the zebra, first glimpsed some mornings earlier.
‘There’s a blurry shape down the hill – probably one of the horses – or just a bush. Still too dark to see.’ She bends to open the zip. I’m behind her now, staring at the shape in the half-light. Anna stretches a leg out of the tent, just as the ‘horse’ moves, raises its head and proudly displays a magnificent pair of horns – a silhouette that is unmistakeably buffalo!
All body parts nimbly retracted, but tent left boldly unzipped, we peer out awe-struck as the cow and calf also emerge from the thicket to join the bull. Unaware of their audience, the family move slowly to the right until hidden from view. We stay rooted to the spot as the bull reappears to the right of our terrace, moving back up the hill towards us and closer than before. We watch him approach through the gap in the tent flaps. Although grazing, the bull is on full alert to the slightest noise. At every sound, he freezes, staring in the direction of the threat. I move a cramped foot, the ground sheet crackles and we are suddenly the focus of a full-on suspicious glare. Time stands still as the two beady eyes stare deep into our souls. The blood pounds in my ears
as finally, the head lowers to continue grazing, we move to watch trough the mess window. Direct eye-contact with such a huge wild animal, free in its native habitat is too intimidating. The bull continues to advance, so close now I feel a sense of mounting terror. Calf and cow are also in the clearing behind the bull, but he has our individual attention. Halting at the very edge of our terrace, he lifts his massive head and delicately whips off the tips of the tall saplings growing by the steps. Close enough now to count the huge folds of hide at his neck, hear the tongue rasping away the leaves, we fully appreciate a sweep of horns that can toss a lion twenty feet with ease.
Suddenly something spooks the calf and cow, sending them back down the hill and into the bush. Our bull is unmoved and munches on. Decades pass before his head lowers and turn, he noiselessly directs his bulk down the hill, into the daylight and out of sight.
We have been imprisoned for almost an hour. Cautiously, I pace the distance from the buffalo’s hoof-prints – a mere twenty-five feet! With danger now at a distance, we rejoice in the thrill of such a close and personal encounter – more especially that we live to tell the tale!

Warmest gratitude to Andre and his wonderful team, who succeeded, in only ten days, to converting two ‘rookies’ from the UK into mini-adventurers, able to apply the first principles of self-preservation: To be invisible, stand still, shut up and don’t point!

A story about a waterhole

We planted some of them in the buffalo footprints. The soil was moist and soft from recent rains and the huge hoofprints around the new waterhole was just the right depth. The spacing of the depressions in the soft mud could not be more perfect. It was just wild grass seeds and cuttings we planted to stabilise and rehabilitate the slopes on the newly dug wildlife waterhole at the camp, but for me – they were symbols of healing, hope and new life in a threatened and dying wilderness. In the weeks to come, each seed and grass cutting that took and each new tadpole in the water or fresh animal prints in the mud around the waterhole every morning gave me new inspiration and it made me smile.

One of my Maasai friends asked me why I was so excited about this hole in the ground. “Life,” I told him. “It brings new life…”     Read more below…

At the top – Leudi and Kashu planting grass cuttings on the slope. Centre – Mposioro, Andre and Don Richards planting reeds. Bottom – Nooltuka weaving a wicker barrier to prevent erosion around the inlet.

Over a span of less than one year the bare soil around the waterhole is completely covered by different indigenous grasses.

A pair of Cinnamon-chested Bee-Eaters (Merops oreobates) has started nesting in a steep bank at the waterhole.

The team was overjoyed when one of our camp visitors last year decided to fund the entire waterhole project! This meant that we were able to plan and implement the waterhole project without the daunting question of – “Will we have enough funds to do this?” hanging over our heads. As the once ugly red-brown scar in the earth where the new waterhole was dug was steadily healing as the bare soil got covered by grasses and water plants, so our hopes and vision for the success of the camp grew and strengthened.

Now that the waterhole has naturalised to a large extent, it is ready for the next stage of landscaping and the building of an educational hide up in the trees.

Nairimu, the camp’s orphan bushbuck investigating the drainage ditch that prevent erosion and carry rainwater to the waterhole

Here educational groups and visitors to the camp will be able to view birds and wild animals in silence as they come to feed, drink  and wallow.

The waterhole project provides a valuable opportunity for community members and school children to learn about erosion control and water harvesting techniques. It also provide an opportunity for viewing wildlife and do water studies with children on environmental outings.

The aim is for the waterhole to look like this eventually – hippos included…

“These animals can pay for our medicines…”

One evening in March 2007 during a stakeholders meeting between community elders and Walking with Maasai supporters and friends, Peter Ole Nyarket, camp committee and Community Trust chairman addressed the gathering around a bonfire and said the following:

”  We all know the problems we have with these wild animals – the elephants raid our maize plantations, the hyenas, leopards and wild dogs finish our goats and yet we have no benefit from them. They are ours, but the government will not allow us to kill them, we can also not sell them like cows, but they are still ours and if we are clever enough, we should use them! These animals can pay for our medicines and they can provide a way for our children to go to school. If we can make the Olkoroi Camp work, it will help the community…”

Peter addressing the meeting

In 2009 the much-needed and long-awaited mobile clinic vehicle finally arrived in the community. Sponsored by Starfish Clinic Project International it was agreed that money generated through the Olkoroi Wilderness Camp will subsidise the cost of medicine to make it more affordable for community members to attend the clinic.

The mobile clinic visits 3 remote Maasai villages every week with our trained nurse and driver Florence and Daniel.

The mobile unit goes to the outer reaches of the community, fully stocked with meds, vaccinations and emergency equipment.

Florence and Daniel also visit the local schools and provides training on basic hygiene, HIV/Aids education and general healthcare. Read more about the Clinic project here: http://www.scpinternational.org/index.php/scpi/background/

Last year one of our guests at the camp made a very generous donation of £5000 towards the clinic project and plans are on the way to construct a desperately needed clinic building. But more about that later…

More great news is that the Olkoroi Wilderness Camp recently hosted a whole group of doctors and medical volunteers who came to assist the community with health checks and dental care. We are very grateful to Kim de Wit and her amazing team from the States who provided their services free of charge to the community. In July, over a period of two days more that 700 community members received expert health checks and dental care!

Dr. Guild on his way to go and see an elderly patient in a village

Waiting in line to be seen by a doctor

See more here:

http://globalvillageministries.blogspot.com/2012/07/sunday-on-road-to-olorte.html

http://globalvillageministries.blogspot.com/2012/07/monday-in-enairebuk.html

http://globalvillageministries.blogspot.com/2012/07/tuesday-we-spent-in-another-little.html

Song of the whales

We heard them long before we saw them. Their snorts, blows and bellowing reminded me of elephants having a mud bath. When we reached the ocean after two days of walking we saw them from the jagged cliffs high above the sea. Far below in the cold blue water they were rolling,  jumping and playing. The whales come to this protected marine reserve with sheltered shores every year to calve and nurse their young. Their presence was as enormous as they were.

The fundraising hike went really well. We had the best weather possible for this time of year and the experience of being out in the wild with people who loved it as much as I did was deeply satisfying.

We did not raise that much money with this undertaking, only £275 this far. But this hike did something to my spirit that no amount of money for my project could ever do. I am not sure what it was that touched me so. Perhaps it was the whales, or perhaps the ocean spray and the sense of wild freedom. Or maybe it was the leopard prints I found on the beach in the morning? I don’t know, but a voice in the wilderness spoke to me and told me to be strong and to have courage.

I suppose, more than funding, one needs to have a strong vision and a hope. If the Walking with Maasai project could save only one more life out of hundreds saved so far through the mobile clinic project, or if it could only give one more Maasai child the prospects of a better future through education, or if the Olkoroi Wilderness Camp could secure the life of only one elephant or wild dog, it would be worth the effort – every step of the way.

The JustGiving fundraising page will remain open if anybody would still like to make a contribution. See some pictures below of the Whale Trail hike. Special thanks to Wessel and Christna Steyn who made it possible for me to undertake this venture.

Eight of the twelve hikers; the trail along the coast and Protea neriifolia

Gone swimming; tidal pool and the whales

Purple Dewflowers(Vygie); on trail and view from a cave

Whales blowing; the hut at Vaalkrans and leopard footprints on the beach

Purple Sea Urchin; thunderous waves on the rocks and a jumping whale

Lost Maasai on the dune and the view from Vaalkrans hut