organisatorisches

dieser blog ist 'verkehrt herum', also die ersten artikel sind eigentlich das ende des blogs.
die geschichten sind so enstanden, wie wir sie erlebt haben - es ist keine chronologische dokumentation von geschehenem, sondern einfach eine verbalisierung von eindrücken - genießen sie den blog.

los geht's eigentlich schon 2008, also ein jahr vor abreise, mit telefonaten mit hrn. nowak - hier geht's zum anfang des blogs.



___________________

ins mara bush-camp noch heuer, 2010 ?

nachdem ende oktober eine woche schulfrei ist, meine liebe frau arbeiten muss, eine marokko-reise mit kollegInnen nicht zustandekommt, schau ich mich nach einer alternative um - eigentlich jene, die ich vor der ins wasser gefallenen, bzw. auf sand gebauten ;-) marokko-reise schon geplant hatte:

eine safari mit
sunworldsafari der familie nowak
ist eine option.
diesmal aber nicht in lodges, sondern mitten im geschehen: ich hab einmal im auge, eine woche im mara-zelt-lager , offiziell mara bush camp - wie die bilder zeigen, von einem bush-zeltlager weit entfernt - zu verbringen.
details kommen, sobald das spruchreif wird.

samburu serena lodge - vorläufig geschlossen

"Nairobi - 05 March 2010 - Following the flash flooding that occurred on 4th March 2010 in Samburu National Park and Buffalo Springs National Reserve most of the lodges and camps in the area, including Samburu Serena Safari Lodge, suffered significant damage. Serena staff at the lodge and our Operations and Management team from Nairobi responded swiftly to assist all guests to move to safer areas and to then be evacuated out of the Samburu area and to their onward destinations. Despite the physical damage to the lodge, we can gladly report that there were no injuries or casualties amongst either guests or staff, and that everybody was evacuated out of the Samburu area, without incident.

Samburu Serena Safari Lodge is currently closed as we review the situation and assess the full extent of the damage. We shall provide further updates on the status of the lodge and our forward plans as we get a more concrete assessment of the situation.

We must extend our thanks and appreciation to all our staff at Samburu Serena for their courage and dedication in handling this crisis situation and ensuring the safety of all our guests and their colleagues.

We are in the process of contacting all those with existing bookings for Samburu Serena to propose alternatives for your safaris.

For further information, please contact our reservations staff
Email : cro@serena.co.ke
Tel : +254-20-2842333
Fax : +254-20-2718103
Samburu Serena Safari Lodge
P.O. Box 48690
Nairobi
Kenya

Telephone: (254 064) 30800
Fax: (254 064) 30759"


information von der samburu serena lodge homepage

samburu lodge - zerstört durch flut !

und das sah so idyllisch aus [clip] , als wir dort waren - und heute steht das wasser bis an die decke [clip] und die lodges am fluss sind zerstört.....


"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 parks 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 and Larson’s Camp got flooded.

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. The cost of replacements and rebuilding is estimated to run into millions of USD.

Some tourists, it was learned, were subsequently airlifted back to Nairobi to continue with their holiday in other parts of Kenya.

Kenya’s tourism crisis center 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.

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.

This correspondent recalls similar circumstances in the late 1980’s, when the Samburu Serena Lodge was under water and the relatively new Larson’s Camp was completely swept away. Then, just as now, the deforestation in and around the Aberdare Mountains was blamed for the flash floods, following torrential rains in the main water catchment areas, where the soil was unable to absorb the massive quantities of rain, leading eventually to the type of flash flooding now seen again.

However, during the dry spells the Ewaso Nyiro river often almost dries up, showing clearly the affect deforestation and encroachment of forests has, in Kenya and of course the entire region and that governments must act now to stem this trend.

This correspondent expresses his relief that no one came to harm and naturally regrets the loss of property and damage to those safari lodges and camps."

Quelle

lange kein regen - und dann massive überflutungen

"Massive Flood Devastates Samburu

Samburu has been hit by a massive flood [pics] which has destroyed six lodges and the Save The Elephants research camp. The wreckage is unbelievable. There have been no reports of casualties and the Ewaso Lions team is ok.

Around 5am this morning, a giant flashflood came down the Ewaso Nyiro river, washing away lodges and camps. Our friends at Elephant Watch and Save The Elephants managed to reach high ground, but the camps were wiped out.

Elsewhere, people were on treetops and roofs waiting for help. The British Army, Tropic Air, and others spent the day evacuating people out of the area.

Our camp is far enough from the river so that it survived. Several people from the reserve, who have nowhere else to go, have come to our camp for the night. I don’t know what will happen next.

What’s especially frightening is that a lot more rain is expected.

The drought was bad [headline august 10,2009], but this is truly devastating. Samburu will need a lot of help. Please keep watching the blog; we’ll post more soon. For more updates, see our Twitter page: http://twitter.com/EwasoLions "

[serena lodge clip]

manche safaris: gefährlich bis lebensgefährlich

wir hatten in den lodges vereinzelt auch das angebot, fußwanderungen, mit führer, durch die wildnis zu machen. wir haben das immer abgelehnt, da uns zu gefährlich. auch unser führer von sunworld-safaris hatte eine eher negative einstellung zu diesen unternehmungen, da auch für ihn gefährlich. man ist ja nicht wirklich im zoo, sondern mitten in der wildnis, leben pur.

aus bloomberg.com von 040110

"Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- An American tourist and her one-year- old daughter were trampled to death by an elephant in Kenya while they were walking near a lodge in a wildlife reserve in the center of the East African country, a park official said.

The woman and her baby were being accompanied by a tour guide, her husband and other tourists when the elephant attacked them about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) from Castle Lodge in Mount Kenya National Park, Senior Warden Godfrey Wakaba said by phone today. The incident took place on Jan. 4, he said.

“The tourists left the lodge for a casual walk when the incident happened,” Wakaba said.The victims’ bodies have been flown to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, he said, without providing further information. There was a similar accident in the area last year, Wakaba said."

die lodge wirbt auf ihrer seite für ausflüge in die unberührte natur:

"The hiking possibilities for day trips or short walks around the lodge are in fact unlimited. Guides and porters are available who have spent their whole live in the forest and can tell all about its mysteries.
There is a route to the top of Mount Kenya, which starts directly from the lodge. It is called the "Kamweti route" and is not frequently used, which makes it even more of an adventure to approach the summit from this side."

wir haben vereinzelt derartige kleingruppen auch gesehen, meilenweit entfernt von lodge und hilfe, unverständlich, wie man sich in diese gefahr begeben kann - und aus dem jeep darf man während der game-drives gar nicht aussteigen, und dann wandern die als mega kick sozusagen zu fuß durch das richtige afrikanische leben.......