Three Private Conservancies in Kenya

Tuesday at 01:37 PM

I. Introduction :

Usually I prefer to go on safari in more remote areas in Africa but for my wife Anne's 60th birthday we had planned to visit Kenya for the first time with my two sons ; Willem , the youngest , as some of you might know has been with us in Ruaha NP Tanzania , the Kafue and that unforgettable private safari in Mana Pools during covid ; it took some time though to persuade Hendrik , my oldest , to accompany us but he finally agreed and he certainly didn't regret it ! As he knew his dad to be a passionate birder he even bought him the latest edition of the Collins "Birds of the World " for his birthday the 4th of August , the day before we left .

The least I can say is that everything didn't go exactly as planned and that's putting it mildly : two weeks before departure the early flight from Brussels to Frankfurt with Lufthansa was cancelled and the next one didn't give us enough time for the connection to Nairobi so we decided to take the 6.23 train instead which would arrive in Frankfurt at 9.25 , two hours before departure to Nairobi .

On the 5th of August we went to the Gare du Midi in Brussels and immediately noticed the train wasn't announced on the main timetable but didn't panic because that sometimes happens with international trains ; a few minutes later after asking around the unthinkable became reality : our train was simply cancelled without any clear reason so our safari plans suddenly looked very uncertain ! The only thing we could do was find a taxi who would drive us all the way to Frankfurt some 400 km further ; outside the station a big black car was our only chance and the guy who was just ending his night job was willing to do so but for 900 euro or more than double the price of the train !

In three hours and twenty minutes we covered the distance (highway from start to finish) and made it on time and arrived in Nairobi at 21.30 local time ; we had already our visa but the whole procedure to get out of the airport still took more than 1h30 minutes ( high season ) and it was after 11.30 when we arrived in Tamarind Tree Hotel , our first stop and if I remember well the same hotel as @pault, who also wasn't very lucky with his flights . The night was short but the prospect of the next day made it

As usual before starting here are some teaser pictures to give you an idea of our trip ; for those who can't wait to see the birds I already posted them in my second Big Year :

Tuesday at 01:50 PM

Good to hear from you @BRACQUENE your pictures are getting better and better

Tuesday at 03:19 PM

Great photos there, Peter. The colour on the first White Rhino photo with Mt Kenya is Wow !

Tuesday at 05:34 PM

You had quite the adventure just getting to your plane @BRACQUENE! I'm looking forward to reading more, hopefully the rest of the trip went smoothly.

Tuesday at 06:05 PM

Beautiful photos Peter, sorry to hear about your travel problems, always a nightmare when something like that happens.

2023-09-21T09:56:06Z

II. Ol Pejeta Conservancy Laikipia :

When going with @Tony Busangato Gonarezhou last year I asked him to organize this safari and as always it was done to perfection ; after leaving Tamarind Tree Hotel we went to Wilson Airport for the domestic flight to the Kamok airstrip right in the heart of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy close to our first camp Kicheche Laikipia instead of landing at the main Nanyuki Airport 3 km north of the equator and starting point for the Mount Kenya's expeditions .

There was some delay in the departure of our Air Kenya flight , which seems to be usual at this time of the year and Wilson was very busy , something I had never experienced in my previous safaris but the flight after a stop at Nanyuku for those heading to Samburu went smoothly and Peter our first guide for the next four days was waiting for us :

Though lying on the equator it wasn't exactly a tropical arrival at 1947 meters altitude and te weather was rather cold and very windy indeed which would be the key factor for the following days in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Driving to camp we had some nice first sightings :

Grant's Gazelle

Reticulated Giraffe

Black Rhinoceros

Cape Buffalo

African Pipit

Plain's or Burchell's Zebra

One of the most fascinating things about the Kicheche camps is that they are so well hidden that you can't see them until the last moment and the welcome we had from former member , the South-African camp manager and her team was warm and we felt at home immediately when looking at the main area , the waterhole and our family tent Lenana.

Welcome party

Main area

Dining tent

Willem , Anne and your servant : Hendrik taking the picture

The tent was in fact divided into three parts ; two separate bedrooms with each their ensuite bathroom and a central area were we could sit and meet and most importantly charge our electronic devices : It was absolutely fantastic and very comfortable !

Another Kicheche special I loved was the daily board with Lunch and Dinner announced especially with the delicious food we had :

My sons enjoying their first lunch

There is in principal no communal dining in the Kicheche Camps but of course you could ask to sit with other people ; it is not what I am used to in most of my past safaris remembering for instance our first safari in the Remote Camps in Zambia's South Luangwa where we met our good friends Judy and Ian from London around the table ; On our drives in Kenya as we were a party of four we had a car of our own , so no other guests either which has certain advantages of course especially as a birder !

It was a delight to see a nest of Wire-tailed Swallows in the dining tent with mum and dad feeding all the time !!

A view of the waterhole from the tent with Hendrik socializing with Latifi and ... a few Great White Pelicans

And after a rest and cake and tea we had our afternoon drive with this time perfect weather conditions and some more nice sightings :

Defassa Waterbuck

Black Rhinoceros

Hyena and Thompson's Gazelle

Thompson's in the mood

A splendid Kori Bustard

And a member of the family , the White-bellied ..

Black-backed Jackal on the move

And Coke's Hartebeest grazing

A Senegal Lapwing mourning

Weaver's nests

The top of Mount Kenya showing suddenly in late sunshine

And a lonely Rhino as sundowner

To be continued ...

2023-09-21T11:43:38Z

Lovely to see Kicheche Laikipia. Excellent photos.

We really enjoyed staying there. Interesting about the dining arrangements as when we went to their camps (all four but pre Covid) shared dining was normal.

I am looking forward to the rest of your report

2023-09-21T11:49:16Z

When reading my text again I see that it says “ former member “ for the camp manager at Kicheche Laikipia ; I have no idea how that arrived because I am sure I wrote former member which is what it should be

2023-09-21T11:53:34Z

Strange there we go again :angry: is this a bug ?

2023-09-21T11:58:46Z

Thanks Tony ; I didn’t know that and they didn’t mention it either but for me it is something I missed

2023-09-21T15:36:17Z

3 hours ago, BRACQUENE said:

Strange there we go again is this a bug ?

And we still don't know what you were trying to tell us

2023-09-21T16:31:16Z

@AfricIan

I asked Matt what was happening and in fact this was implemented to prevent discussions about former members so the name of the lady must be a former member I suppose ; Matt will rectify it soon

2023-09-21T16:54:16Z

5 hours ago, TonyQ said:

We really enjoyed staying there. Interesting about the dining arrangements as when we went to their camps (all four but pre Covid) shared dining was normal.

And for us last year at Bush and Mara....

2023-09-21T19:48:23Z

I love the rhino with the setting sun.

2023-09-22T13:18:43Z

When leaving camp on the second day at 6 it was still dark and unlike Zambia and Zimbabwe for instance the sun only rises at 7 and in the evening you have an extra hour ; so we went with Peter to the same place we had our sundowner last night and admired Mount Kenya just before sunrise on a cold and crisp morning .

We then witnessed an incredible scene especially with that magnificent scenery in front of the mountain ,one of the highlights of this safari even more so than the "killings"

and the spectacular fights between lions and hyena we would see in the Mara later

Next the video my son Willem made of the event :

Nearby hyena's were eating the leftover's from a night kill

After meeting a large herd of buffalo

And an other Kicheche Land Cruiser

There was our first Southern white rhino : Ol Pejeta conservancy has 44 southern whites. The first animals were introduced into Ol Pejeta in 2005. It is in fact the only place

on earth where you can see Black, Southern white and the last two remaining Northern white rhinos .

And some birds

T

Tawny Eagle

Grey crowned Crane

Red-cheeked cordon bleu

We then visited the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary The chimpanzees’ natural home range spans from Senegal on the West African coast, through the central forested belt of Africa, to Uganda. They are not native to Kenya, but when a rescue centre in Burundi had to be closed due to the civil war outbreak in 1993 – Ol Pejeta opened its doors.

The Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary was established with an agreement between the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the Jane Goodall Institute. The aim is to provide lifelong refuge to orphaned and abused chimpanzees from West and Central Africa. Over the last decade, Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary has been compelled to keep accepting chimpanzees rescued from traumatic situations - bringing the total number of chimpanzees in the Sanctuary to 35. Many are confiscated from cramped and unnatural living conditions, and many arrive with horrific injuries sustained from abuse at the hands of humans.

At Sweetwaters, they get a chance to start over.