[rockfowl]

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news...onal%20Park#cr

[xcellent]

The torrential rains presently sweeping the East African region have now found another ‘outlet’ to cause disaster. The Ewaso Nyiro River, which traverses the Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba National Reserves burst its banks and rose to what has been described as ‘unprecedented levels’ in a tsunami like wave of water. Safari lodges and safari camps like Samburu Serena Lodge, Samburu Lodge, Intrepids Camp, Sentrim Samburu Camp, Elephant Bedroom Camp, Elephant Watch Camp and Larson’s Camp got flooded or were submerged completely. The elephant research centre and an affiliated smaller camp were ‘under water' too, but at the onset of the fast rise of the river, staff in all locations alerted guests, evacuated them to higher grounds and rescued whatever could be carried away of the equipment, files and valuables from the affected properties. However, with tents, rooms, restaurants, shops and public areas submerged, enormous damage has been done to the owners and management companies. Various items - including beds, tents, computers and vital research documentation - were submerged while others were strewn on tree tops. The cost of replacements and rebuilding is estimated to run into millions of US-Dollars. Some tourists, it was learned, were subsequently airlifted back to Nairobi or Nanyuki to continue with their holiday in other parts of Kenya. Kenya’s tourism crisis centre immediately swung into action, coordinating the evacuation of tourists from the affected parks with the local and national authorities. The government also deployed rescue personnel immediately after the extent of the disaster became known. Up to date five people are said to be missing. A lot more rain is forecast as the usual rainy season looms. Having just suffered one of the worst droughts in living memory, these floods are truly devastating. Animals were affected as well with sightings of an elephant being carried away by the currents. Many Dik-diks drowned as small and young animals were unable to escape the flash floods, while many larger animals like elephants have disappeared; presumably they've gone up into the hills. Ewaso lions, a local wildlife charity, are very concerned for the lions, several of whom had young cubs and were last seen close to the river. Virtually no wildlife has been seen in the reserve since the floods. According to a source in Nairobi the river bridges were badly damaged as debris, including huge trees were swept up to the bridge pillars. It remains to be seen if safe crossing can be assured once the water subsides or whether repairs need to be carried out first. The only lodges unaffected at this time are the Sarova Shaba, Buffalo Springs Simba and Samburu Sopa Lodge as well as the luxury camp’s of Samburu Saruni, Sasaab and Joy’s.

New: Samburu Serena will built a new lodge - but smaller and luxurious.
Sentrim Samburu Camp will not open the camp again and is shifting to a site in Lake Nakuru National Park.

[Nicky mwangi]

This is what happens when the industry is driven by greed.What else did they expect when they put structures along rivers not to mention pollution.All hotels that are away from the River banks are safe.Eco-tourism should be more practical than just a concept.

"Nature protects and rewards"

[hollis_f]

Any update on the state of the park and the lodges affected? We're planning on visiting in two months.

[joseph mwangi]

Originally Posted by hollis_f

Any update on the state of the park and the lodges affected? We're planning on visiting in two months.

Dear Hollis,
great to hear your request on samburu. Already have been back from samburu birding and everything is back to normal. The only thing you need to be aware is that for you to cross in between Buffalo springs and Samburu Game reserve it is not possible and you have to go all round the other side as the bridge that was washed and used to connect this two reserves is not yet done and there are no good sign for soon repairs. Sambur Serena Lodge is yet to re-open as they will relocate the lodge expected to open by June 2011. Samburu Sentrim will not be back in operation any soon and they have shifted to Mara and Tsavo.
Hope you will enjoy your birding there.

rgds,
Joseph
www.natureswonderlandsafaris.com

[hollis_f]

Thanks Jospeh,

We're supposed to be staying at Samburu Lodge, which is right next to the river. It's a real shame about the bridge as the last time we were there we had better experiences in Buffalo Springs.

[hollis_f]

Got back this week and, apart from a few missing trees, you'd never believe anything had happened. On the whole it looked exactly the same as the last time I was there in 2007.

Jacob, the guy who does the excellent birding walks, said that the only reason lives weren't lost was because of the timing. The waters started rising at around 07:30 - so a lot of guests had left, new guests hadn't arrived and most were out on game drives. Jacob lost everything except the clothes he was wearing.