Monday 22 Aug
In theory we have now finished mammal watching. We are off to a posh resort down the coast at Diani Beach for 3 days of rest and relaxation. So of course we asked Shem if we can have one more visit to Arabuko-Sokoke this morning, just for a short walk in the forest to try again for the golden-rumped elephant shrew. And it was worth it! We finally spotted one before he spotted us, and by standing completely still we had him trot right past us on the trail. My monster camera lens was actually too big for the job, which made it hard to get a brilliant photo. Never mind, the experience was enough. Check out the video: https://youtu.be/X0CqBEifIiY
Oh, and of course the posh resort we have chosen – Sands at Nomad – is set in 20 acres of forest and there might be some nice mammals to see here. We’ll have to see whether “relax” or “mammals” wins the day!
We said goodbye to Shem, who has been a brilliant guide around Kenya: an excellent driver, always perfectly organised, thoughtful and kind, and happy to give us our space or have a chat depending. I really liked how he would give small gifts to people as we travelled: a couple of spare juice cartons to two girls leading their water-laden donkeys past us while we lunched by the roadside, a bottle of water to a herder leading a trio of camels through the barren scrub near Tana River. Small gifts but probably really appreciated.
Once we were checked-in and given our room, our very next encounter was with a wild mammal. The first thing I did in our room was to open the balcony doors, then while I was in the bathroom and Maureen was unpacking the suitcase a cheeky Syke’s monkey ran in from the balcony, grabbed up the sugar sachets from beside the kettle, and took off again with Maureen in pursuit. Clearly terrified, he dropped most of the sachets in the flowerbed! Here’s a video showing another favourite monkey activity: poking into any belongings left at poolside loungers, looking for snacks… https://youtu.be/KS6sB6sCInA
The Syke’s monkeys are all over, so are vervet monkeys, and they try the same kind of tricks in the restaurant. I feel sorry for the security guard with a catapult whose only job appears to be keeping the monkeys at bay. It’s an impossible task and the bread roll or banana is already long gone by the time he gets to fire a nut at the fleeing culprit.
For today, relaxation won and we didn’t do very much except getting used to being able to order nice drinks whenever we fancy and having delicious food that isn’t self-served from a buffet. But we have plans for tomorrow and they don’t include flopping by the pool…
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