An evening ride on the 24th to the Yellow Fever Camp on the Borana lugga – cantering up hills, spying on elephant and groping through the late twilight as the sun went down. The huge fire a welcome sight for both horses and riders.
Leaving after a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon on Christmas day, we wound our way through the Mokagodo Forest tripping up over steaming elephant droppings, greeting children and visiting the women who make paper from the elephant dung. We found our camp nestled into a glade at the top of the Sieku Valley in time for a long lazy lunch, followed by a forest walk in the evening accompanied by a small family of elephants. Christmas dinner was under the stars with lion roaring in the distance. The moon rose late.
The Boxing Day ride was an expedition that as far as I know has never been done on horseback! We followed the cattle trail over the ridge south of Oldonyo Lossos and down into Tassia. Great scenery all the way there, with plenty of encounters with the local tribesman bedecked in their full regalia of beads. Having made our way down into the Tassia lugga we gave the horses a free rein and galloped down the sandy riverbed into the lodge.
The ride back up to Borana was just as exciting meeting several bull elephant on the way as we followed their paths through the forest and back onto the ranch, where a delicious picnic was laid out under a grove of olive trees.
