General
We had 10 days of heavy and sustained rain amounting to nearly 200 mm. We have several days when the sun didn’t shine, overcast and drizzle most of the day and rain all night. This type of rain is very hard on the roads – they never get a chance to dry out and traffic causes severe damage. One overnight storm near Oloololo flooded the Sabaringo water course, causing considerable damage.
We held our Board meeting on the 17th and ratified the lease for the Ekishui campsite to WE Safaris and Photography Ltd. We also agreed to fast-track the amendment to our Collaboration Agreement and sign a Contract with Void Studios, after the inclusion of a clause on Indemnity.
Collaboration Agreement
We have had several meetings to discuss the scope of work to be done under the Collaboration Agreement and hope to have an amended agreement in early February. This will more clearly define the scope and budget.
We have returned some machinery to the County, including a roller, shovel and loader. We are working on a grader and tipper to be returned as well. This will streamline the road team and enable us to concentrate on repairs to the existing roads.
We held our quarterly planning meeting on the 29th at Sarova. There is no let-up on the amount of work that is needed in the Reserve and we foresee a very busy and expensive few months ahead.
We resurfaced, graded and rolled the Ol Kiombo airstrip.
We continue with work at the GSU camp in Angata and have been asked to supply four additional uni-huts. There is still a lot of work to be done and we expect to complete it in March.
We were asked to repair sections of the road between Musiara and Governor’s Camp, we have been hampered by the rain but work is continuing.
Staff
We conducted our routine staff transfers on the 15th, they went off without a hitch.
The Board approved a gratuity package for Ms Margeret Mumbi and Dr Asuka Takita – both will be leaving us later in the year.
The Board also approved a Bonus, equivalent to two week’s salary for all staff in recognition of an excellent year.
We held a meeting of our enforcement teams and Alpha Scouts on the 29th to discuss expectations for this year.
Wildlife
Dr A Takita treated a lioness with a septic foot on the 7th, she cleaned up the wound and injected antibiotics.
On the 8th she treated a zebra with an arrow wound near Kawai and then treated an injured giraffe..
A lioness was speared and treated for the second time at Bila Shaka, near Musiara in the Main Reserve. It is one of a pride that killed seven cattle in the Reserve at night on the 17th. Another male lion was treated on 26th which buffalo injured.
Tourism
We had a total of 129,410 visitors to the Triangle in 2024, lower than 2018, 2019 and the high in 2023 of 171,478 – 25% down on 2023. We had a total of 76,905 Non-resident adult visitors in 2024, down from 94,901 in 2023 – a 19% reduction (see graphs below). We still have an issue with non-paying visitors – those resident in the Triangle, drivers/guides, local school children, Kichwa clients and those from the Main Mara – 62,739 people, 49% were classified as non-paying.
Security
Thirteen people were arrested in the Lemai Wedge for poaching and three more were arrested for illegal entry into the Triangle. A total of 48 snares were recovered. We found signs of several hippo being poached and where numerous Thompson’s gazelle, a buffalo and topi had been killed. The lower sections of the Mara River in the Serengeti have been virtually cleared of hippo – the only concentrations remaining are in the Mara Reserve and close to the Kenya border.
A routine ambush on the night of the 2nd watched as dozens of people were hunting Thompson’s gazelle with dogs in the Lemai Wedge. Two people approached the border and one of them was arrested. It is not known but several gazelle had been killed.
A patrol found where poachers had hunted a hippo, just downstream from Mara Bridge on the 5th.
The Ngiro-are rangers set an ambush at Oldonyo ol Paek, on the border on the 9th and managed to arrest two people at 3.00 am, they were on their way into the Triangle to set snares – 20 were recovered.
The Iseiya team arrested two people on the 13th, near Masanja in the Lemai Wedge. They had been camping for three days and had killed a buffalo and a topi. The rangers returned the following day and recovered 28 snares.
The rangers returned to the Lemai on the 16th and managed to arrest one more person near Saina’s crossing. He was part of a group of five people who had come across the river from Machechwe. Three days later a routine day patrol in the Lemai came across three people openly hunting hippo at 10.00 am. Two were arrested, one escaped.
One more person was arrested on the night of the 20th, as he and his three companions were hunting gazelle with dogs near Masanja. We had cleared areas such as Masanja and Saina years ago and there had been no recorded poaching there for ten years or more. It is a little distressing to see that poaching had expanded considerably in the few months that we had not been patrolling.
The Senior Warden met with his counterpart from Lemai and it was agreed that we would resume assisting them in the Lemai Wedge, when requested.
We received a report on the 26th that three poachers had crossed into the Lemai Wedge from Machechwe and were hunting hippo along the Mara river. The rangers went and managed to arrest one of them before he was able to escape across the river. That same evening the TANAPA rangers from Kenyangaga reported that a group of poachers were seen heading towards the Ngiro-are swamp, our rangers from Ngiro-are joined forces and managed to arrest three people.
The following day the rangers arrested three people who were prospecting for gold inside the Triangle, along the escarpment. They were taken to the KWS office in Lolgorien.
Revenue and Accounts
We did a calculation on the total revenue collected in 2024 and it amounted to Ksh 1.9 billion (see Table below).
When we look at the Management Accounts for the past six months – when the fee was at the high-season rate, we see that Totalrevenue for the period was Ksh 1,283,423,347, or 67% of the total collections for 2024. This gives us a good indication of what we can expect for the remainder of this financial year – roughly Ksh 650 million. Totalling almost exactly the same as last year – slightly under Ksh 2 billion or US$ 15,000,000 (Fifteen million) at today’s exchange rate.
Once we had removed the County their share (Ksh 705 million) and paid KAPS their commission for revenue collection our management accounts showed that we had a Net of Ksh 475,416,738, of which we spent Ksh 243,845,903 on recurrent expenditure.
Report on focus for January
We completed surfacing the new road around Paradise plain, below Serena and then worked on patching damaged sections on the main and secondary roads.
We installed new signs to replace some of the old ones, they look much smarter.
We have nearly completed the new deck at Hippo Pool, it should be ready by mid-February.
We replaced most of the bushes and wear strips on the Cat 140K grader.
We have started constructing new housing, mess and kitchen at Mara Bridge. We will then demolish one line of uni-huts.
Focus for February 2025
· Host architects meeting on the 4th ;
· Complete hippo viewing point;
· Construct simple toilet at Hippo Pools;
· Continue with new housing at Mara Bridge; and
· Repair roads where necessary.
Work on Collaboration Agreement
· Sign Deed of Variation for Collaboration Agreement;
· Continue with GSU camp at Angata;
· Repair borehole at Sand River;
· Start work on house at Sand River;
· Possibly start renovations at Keekorok; and
· Work on roads between Keekorok, Talek and Mara Bridge.