Shooting for the "Sokoke Slam" Arabuko Sokoke Forest 8 August 2016 (1 Viewer)

Jos Stratford · Sep 7, 2016

andyadcock said:
F***
were you hurt

Bone exposed on upper arm, thumb dangling, lesser cuts elsewhere. Needless to say, Sokoke did not follow in the days following as was originally planned ...and thus the nice gripping stuff in Mike's post. Not sure the owl was so 'easy' in those days anyhow (?).

Andy Adcock · Sep 7, 2016

Jos Stratford said:
Bone exposed on upper arm, thumb dangling, lesser cuts elsewhere. Needless to say, Sokoke did not follow in the days following as was originally planned ...and thus the nice gripping stuff in Mike's post. Not sure the owl was so 'easy' in those days anyhow (?).

I assume you resisted to receive such injuries? Not the best strategy in such circunstances but can't say I wouldn't do the same.

Andy

Jos Stratford · Sep 7, 2016

andyadcock said:
I assume you resisted to receive such injuries?

Nope, was a straight in attack by three guys, I merely had chance to back off as the assault started - the deepest cut in my arm was a machete aimed directly for my chest which I blocked with my arm.

Didn't stop my trip however - spent the next 2.5 months in Nairobi waiting for some movement to return to my hands, climbed Mount Kenya in the period with arm in sling, then continued overland to South Africa.

Andy Adcock · Sep 7, 2016

Jos Stratford said:
Nope, was a straight in attack by three guys, I merely had chance to back off as the assault started - the deepest cut in my arm was a machete aimed directly for my chest which I blocked with my arm.

Didn't stop my trip however - spent the next 2.5 months in Nairobi waiting for some movement to return to my hands, climbed Mount Kenya in the period with arm in sling, then continued overland to South Africa.

Good man....

A

thirudevaram · Sep 9, 2016

Stonking Place, birds and photos. Keep'em coming.
Also, now that you are back from your exile, let's get back to the roundabout as some eager folks are keen on the world famous patch.

thirudevaram · Sep 9, 2016

MKinHK said:
Hi Andy

Jonathan's costs of approx US $90/day included the car and fuel. His guiding fee is a bit less than half of this and is on a per day rather than a per person basis. This to me is great value for money, especially considering how much I saw.

Cheers,
Mike

Sounds like a fair deal, Mike. The price is very similar to the places where i hired local guides in Inner Mongolia minus guide fee per day but still it was a fair deal compared to the 275$/per day in Shanghai.

MKinHK · Sep 10, 2016

Very scary story Jos - sounds like you were fortunate to escape alive!

Thankfully no such misadventures on my trip.

It seems David Ngala is the key man for finding the owls, which were certainly pretty easy for us. Even my non-birding wife was deeply impressed, which was a good thing after the quarter of an hour's walk off the road and into the bush on ever vaguer pathways and animal tracks!

Many thanks Dev - there will be more to come when I get round to writing it.

Sadly the biddable areas of the Roundabout is shrinking fast as work commences on the third runway. the Golf course has all but gone and even the Tangles and the Northern Edge have works under way. I have done a bit of birding and will post on the Magic Roundabout thread shortly.

Cheers
Mike

Dave Williams · Sep 18, 2016

I can also vouch for Jonathan, lovely guy, excellent guide. His prices are very good. Entrance fees to the local Tsavo National Parks in Kenya are expensive at $80 pp per 24 hours but if you do go, get Jonathan to take you and enjoy the vehicle to yourselves.
Nice report Mike.

Andy Adcock · Sep 18, 2016

Dave Williams said:
I can also vouch for Jonathan, lovely guy, excellent guide. His prices are very good. Entrance fees to the local Tsavo National Parks in Kenya are expensive at $80 pp per 24 hours but if you do go, get Jonathan to take you and enjoy the vehicle to yourselves.
Nice report Mike.

Hi Dave,
$80 pppd plus a car fee plus a camera fee plus accomodation? Does your guide go in free or you have to pay for him too?

That's got to come in at c$400-500 per day as a couple for each day in Tsavo.

I need a lottery win!

Andy

Dave Williams · Sep 19, 2016

andyadcock said:
Hi Dave,
$80 pppd plus a car fee plus a camera fee plus accomodation? Does your guide go in free or you have to pay for him too?

That's got to come in at c$400-500 per day as a couple for each day in Tsavo.

I need a lottery win!

Andy

The guide gets in on local resident rate if I remember correctly. That is a fraction of the cost. Hotel accommodation is not cheap either but despite all the cost staying even for just a night in somewhere like the Serena hotel in Tsavo West is very memorable.
The high cost of entry is a double edged sword really. It restricts numbers and therefore disturbance but it also means revenues are threatened if they don't get the balance right. I think Kenya is still suffering from the effects of the war on terror and tourism has taken a big hit. I was interested to see Mike has been , no doubt he can give an up to date picture.
Me though, I have booked a trip to Namibia next year where entry to the NP's is only about £4pp per day. Sadly, I don't want to pay Kenyan prices either.

MKinHK · Sep 20, 2016

I was visiting long-time family friends living in Nairobi, Mombasa and further up the coast, who were all pretty phlegmatic about the security situation.

I was highly aware of the large number of armed police and army and the preponderance of locks on doors and windows and electric fences, but coming from Hong Kong , which is among the safest cities in the world, most places seem to have more serious issues.

Watamu was not full of tourists, but it certainly wasn't empty, and there were plenty of visitors to the Mara and the Aberdares.

My opinion on the likelihood of any future incidents is not worth the pixels it would be written with, so I'll pass on that.

Cheers
Mike

dandsblair · Oct 13, 2016

Great photo

Nice report Mike and really envious of Owl photo, been twice and missed it. Probably need to use a guide if we go again and the rate seems pretty reasonable.

MKinHK · Oct 15, 2016

Many thanks - the owls were the standout bird of the whole trip and I would never have seen them without Jonatahan and David's expertise. I cannot recommend the highly enough.

Cheers
Mike

Shooting for the "Sokoke Slam" Arabuko Sokoke Forest 8 August 2016 (1 Viewer)

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