What IS This Thing?
Our driver picked us up at 8:00 to drive us the 25 minutes to the regional airport. This drive took us through a completely different part of Nairobi- an authentic working neighborhood that demonstrated a far more challenging life than the ritzy Karen neighborhood we were in yesterday. named after Karen Blixen the author of “Out of Africa.”
Our flight on the 12 passenger Cessna Caravan turned out to have a stop north of our designated stop. The first 50 minute leg gave a great overview of Nairobi and its spread.
As we were coming in to the dirt airstrip we saw our first animals- elephants off the left for Jenny and giraffes off the right for me- Billy in the middle got to see both!
After a quick stop to drop off and then pick up passengers we were on our way to our stop. The airstrip we were originally scheduled to use went under construction a few days back so we had to use a different one that was just over an hour away. That turned out OK as we saw a lot more of the area and local life.
It was really cool because we drove over the equator but our guide Peter said we would stop when we crossed back over it again once inside the conservancy.
Our destination for the next two nights is the Ol Pejeta conservancy in the Laikipia area of Kenya. This area is known for having the best rhino spotting in all of Kenya. The conservancy is home to African Black rhino and Southern White rhino; it is also home to the last two Northern White rhinos left on Earth.
The conservancy is 90,000 acres, completely fenced in except for a corridor that animals can freely use to migrate – all except rhinos. They are kept here to protect them from poaching and to end up with same fate as the Northern White rhinos. Apparently rhinos have terrible eyesight and won’t cross the specially designed barrier installed just for them, while all the other species walk/hop over it.
We made it as far as through the gate when we spotted common zebras and impalas – members of the antelope family with gorgeous twisted horns.
We quickly came upon the equator again and stopped to take pictures. Billy’s watch read latitude 0°0’.0” – so wild. We crossed into the northern hemisphere and made our way down bumpy dirt roads.
We saw rhinos, giraffes (which I love) and cape buffaloes before we even turned into Kicheche Laikipia and were warmly greeted with smiling faces and big waves.
The short list of rules were gone over – no walking anywhere in camp after dark – period- you must have an escort…even though the camp has an electric fence around it, there is still a small opening across the driveway.
Our tent was fantastic- a very authentic feeling set up with all the comforts we needed without being over the top or bougie. It had a central living area flanked by a bedroom and bathroom on each side with a long front covered deck that overlooked the watering hole. It was perfect!
Since it was later than we had originally been expected to arrive we were taken straight to the dining area where we were served an amazing three course lunch.
Billy and Jenny went for a nap afterwards and I sat on our deck working on my blog. Not even 30 minutes later, a herd of elephants came over the dam and started drinking water at the watering hole. There were eight of them plus two babies! They are so remarkable sucking up to 8 liters at a time through their trunks then pouring it in their mouths.
We met Peter at 4:00 to start the afternoon game drive. We headed out and immediately came upon large herds of zebras, impalas, Grant’s and Thompson’s gazelles, a few cape buffalo and finally a herd of elephants- which is what Billy wanted to see (since he missed them earlier). It was unreal how close to us they came!
It was a docile herd with a few babies, the youngest about 3 months old. We spent at least an hour with them as we just couldn’t get enough of the baby – it was like it was asking, “What is this thing?” as it was trying so hard to figure out its trunk!
The next sighting was some waterbuck and a few rhinoceroses- including an old one that was looking pretty haggard.
We then found a spot to enjoy our sundowners- a perfect location alongside a bull elephant. A hyena came near by seemingly on his way to something he smelled,
The culmination of the evening, at this point with almost no light left, was a match between two Grant’s gazelles locking horns until the dominant one emerged.
Back at camp we enjoyed drinks around the firepit, followed by a gourmet 3 course meal and nightcaps by the indoor fireplace and a few games of backgammon for Billy and Jenny.
A half a day in and we had already seen three of the big five. Billy just kept looking at me in astonishment and saying how unreal the day had already been. It already truly exceeded expectations.
Wandering Amerrickans 