Sosian Ranch's main house was built in the 1920's when the land was granted to a Major Gerald Edwards after World War One. Long story short: after the Major died in 1977 the property suffered from neglect and overgrazing and was eventually abandonded altogether. Droughts in the late 1990's put the cap on things--barely a blade of grass was left.
But in 2001 a group of shareholders bought the 24000 acre property, restored both the buildings and the ecology and now it is a working cattle ranch as well as a terrific ecotourism/safari spot.
The house had us at hello--high ceilings, wide verandahs, ample comfy furniture. We almost felt like we back in the 1920's ourselves.
We learned that the area cools rapidly as soon as the sun goes down--it was nice to have a fire and cocktails waiting after the evening game drive.
Staff members David and Isaac show Bud to the dining room, where another fire has been laid and a truly gourmet meal was waiting for us.
Tea was often served on the verandah...as well as breakfast. Donna always joined us to make sure our plans for the day were all set.
Accomodations are in stone cottages placed around the property--all outfitted with 4-poster beds with mosquito netting. The honeymoon cottage has a killer bathroom.
I could go on and on, the place was so relaxing and charming. We even met a couple up from Nairobi for a getaway weekend, Richard and Claire--a British couple who settled in Kenya 10 years ago and were wonderful fun to share dinner and cocktails with. They made our time at Sosian even more memorable--and, lucky them, they got to see the wild dogs too.
But back to the animals...I finally talked Bud into a camel "walk" and it was terrific. Like on our bush walk, Joseph and his spear were right with us, and Peter spotted us from a good distance. You would be surprised how smooth the ride is, once you are on--and how high you are. It's quite the view.
These are just two of the many camels on the ranch. They are raised for meat and milk--which is supposed to be very good for diabetics.
My view...you can see a long ways away.
There were also some great-looking light grey burrows. They often were grazing on the lawns or wandering the roads in he evening and I thought they were just for fun...but no. Their job is to haul firewood, and when their work is done, they're let loose for a snack.
Snakes were not the highest on my "scared of" list, but we did hear stories about the puff adder, a large rattle-snake-looking snake that our guides said was so posionous that if one bites you "that's the end of it." I guess there is no effective serum--the poison is double-acting (heart and blood) and deadly. I figured we'd never see one, but Peter shrieked the Land Cruiser to a halt at the and of our evening drive and, jeez--there was one right on the side of the road.
The concept of danger was kind of "out there" until I saw this guy. I did learn that the puff adder is slow, and won't go after you...it's mostly a problem when you step on them by mistake in the dark. This all happened on the way to a romantic candle-light dinner out in the bush.
We enjoyed the dinner (the stars are amazing) but decided not to linger.
We also had a treat one day--the Sosian/Offbeat owners, Tristan and Piers stopped by for lunch...in Tristan's single-engine plane. Sosian (like many ranches in the bush) has it's own airstrip--rough though it is.
Seems that one of Tristan's main interest's is horseback riding, and he particularly was interested in Sosian to be able to offer riding safaris--which Sosian is well-known for. Sadly, Bud and I didn't qualify in terms of expertise. You have to be very confident galloping in order to do a safari ride in the bush--something about getting away from a charging elephant or lion. Hence the camels for me and Bud.
The Sosian stables have sleek-looking Thoroughbreds and some fascinating black Somalian ponies--extremely hardy, I was told.
Bud and I both loved the sheer variety of life around the ranch, aside from the wildlife--sleek horses, working burros, camels, dogs galore (including a cheerful 3-legged fellow who lost one of his front legs to an unfortunately-placed kick from a horse). Even this pair of crested cranes seemed to belong.
We could have stayed for a lot longer, but our schedule called for a tented camp in the Masai Mara, and a scheduled flight on an airline called SafariLink from what we thought was an airport on a nearby ranch in Loisaba. This is what the airport looked like.
That's right...a dirt strip. If you look carefully behind Bud's head you can see a windsock--that's the only "equipment" or facility there. That's our plane. It turned out to be a great flight--our seat mates were from Sydney, Australia and the fellow also had a Canon 7D (and a lot more experience/expertise). They had been on an extended tour and had seen the gorillas in Uganda (oops, maybe Ruanda) and he showed me some of his amazing shots and spent the flight setting up my camera for better results, including video.
Serendipity...and just in time for our major lion and cheetah experience in the Mara!
I am writing this from home...we made it in fine fashion and were so glad be greeted by Maggie and Millie.
Tomorrow and Sunday I will write about the Mara and post some pix of lions, cheetah and more--and hope to get video up as well.
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