Ol Pejeta
We decided that it would be good to frontload the game drive part of the trip on the first full day we were in Nanyuki. It’s the highlight for me. Anything that happens besides that is a bonus.
For starters, the “Ol” of Ol Pejeta is not the affectionate contraction as in “my ol’ truck”. Apparently, the name means “place of burning”. Hundreds of years ago, the pastoralist communities allegedly gave it the name because of the practice of burning the grass to kill ticks. I don’t know if that’s really the case but, since I don’t have any theory to challenge it, we’ll go with that.
As to whether it is old, it isn’t – at least not in the form of a conservancy. The area has had wildlife for centuries, but it’s path to becoming an area of protected animals apparently began after decades of cattle ranching by English settlers. I mentioned Lord Delamere in the previous post. His family apparently owned the land as Kenya transitioned to becoming an independent country in 1963. The ranch rangeland (shared by wildlife and livestock) had several owners until it first became a game reserve in 1988.
Interestingly, in those ranch years there was an owner by the name of Adnan Khashoggi. If that name sounds familiar, that’s because it is (unless you never read the news). Khashoggi was a billionaire arms dealer and businessman considered one of the richest men in the world in the early 1980s. He was also the uncle of Dodi Fayed, the boyfriend of Lady Di, who died with her in the fiery car accident in 1997. Adnan was also paternal uncle to Jamal Khashoggi, the murdered journalist. And yet another noteworthy fact about is that his yacht, The Nabila, was the largest in the world for a while and was used in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again. Needless to say, with his eventful life I’m guessing he didn’t spend much time on his land in Kenya – if he ever even went there. Though he did apparently frequent the Mt. Kenya Safari Club (which I'll mention below)
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The conservancy isn’t huge, but it is about three times the size of Nairobi National Park. It has a good collection of wildlife for its size, but it’s most famous for its rhinos – the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa. It’s also home to the last two northern white rhinos, Najin and Fatu, both of which are female. Sadly, this makes the subspecies functionally extinct.
After a short drive into the conservancy, you cross the equator. Thus, most of the time we were in the park, we were in winter. By late afternoon when we exited the park, it was back to summer again.* * *
The day began overcast but by the time we reached the park it was clear and sunny. Driving without a guide, in a park that I’m not familiar with, makes for more of a challenge. If you’re familiar with a park, you tend to have a better idea where the animals hang out. In this case, I sort of had to just feel my way around, guessing which way to go.
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| a topi with a couple of warthogs in the background |
At one point while we were sitting at a fork in the road, a guy on a motorcycle pulled up alongside and asked how the morning was going. Upon closer inspection, I realized that he worked for the conservancy. He mentioned that he had seen a cheetah a few kilometers to the west of us. I more or less felt like I understood his directions, and off we went.
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| one of the coolest animals - the cape buffalo |
After about a half dozen lefts and rights, I could see, across the savanna, a small grouping of vehicles. I was beginning to feel as though I’d understood the nice motorcyclist’s directions correctly.
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The cheetah wasn’t easy to see. In fact we had to ask someone in an adjacent vehicle where he was. We could just barely see his head about the level of the top of the grass. You’re required to stay on the roads so there’s no barreling across the grass to get a closer look.
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| scouting out his potential lunch |
To the east there was a herd of impalas (with a couple of gazelles hanging out with them) and the cheetah seemed to maintain a near constant gaze in their direction. That, and a few other clues, led us to believe that this was an early stage of a hunt. There was a breeze blowing gently in the direction of the cheetah which is a second indication that he was positioning himself for an attack. The breeze would prevent the impalas from catching his scent.
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| making his move |
These things can sometimes take hours so we weren’t sure whether or not this would culminate in a kill. But after waiting for about twenty minutes, the cheetah began inching his way in the direction of the herd. There was a growing sense that something might happen.
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| thinking through his strategy |
In the meantime, several other vehicles joined and now we were approaching twenty altogether. Word was out.
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| shielded by the vehicles - what a beautiful animal |
Soon the cheetah veered to his right, in our direction, rather than straight towards the herd. At first it was hard to tell what his strategy was but very quickly we realized he was going to use the throng of vehicles as cover and approach them from behind. Moving from left to right in front of us, as he came around the last vehicle, he was now very close to a young impala visible on the other side. It was only seconds before he made his move.
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| impalas in the distance |
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| the victim, unaware, on the left; the cheetah bolted just after this photo |
Just as he bolted, the throng of vehicles began to shift position to catch a better view of the attack. Our view was suddenly blocked. I started the vehicle and we shifted forward with the others. By the time we saw the cheetah again, the impala was in its jaws. The hunt was successful. It’s not a given, however. Cheetah’s often fail for various reasons, including the fact that impalas, even young ones, are lighting quick. They also have more endurance than a cheetah, so if the it doesn’t succeed early, it doesn’t succeed at all.
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| mission accomplished |
Almost immediately he began looking both for shade and privacy. In this competitive world, if a lion in the area were to be privy to this event, the cheetah would more than likely have his meal stolen.
Before long we decided to move on. It was an exciting event and we were happy to have been able to be a part of it, but we had more to see.
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I felt my way back across the park. I had a general idea where I wanted to go, mostly using a basic map the conservancy had provided at the entrance as well as some landmarks. Soon we were heading out across the wide-open savanna. Even if there were no animals, it’s a beautiful part of Kenya. On a clear day you can see Mt. Kenya, Africa’s second highest mountain, and the Aberderes Mountains, both of which were obscured by clouds on this day.
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| the latest in impala fashion |
As we made our way along the dirt road, I noticed some conservancy rangers walking in our direction way off in the distance. It appeared to me that one of them motioned for us to stop. You never know what these guys want. My first thought was that they were going to say we were someplace we shouldn’t be, an idea that popped into my head also due to the fact that there were no other vehicles in sight. It turned out, however, that they were desperately thirsty. They were out in the middle of nowhere without any water bottles. I’m not sure what they were thinking. Fortunately, we had plenty of water. I emptied the cold coffee dregs from my Contigo, rinsed it out and they each chugged their fill of water.
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| like being in the presence of dinosaurs |
We then carried on and soon we spotted four rhinos near the road. I have to say, they are such cool looking creatures. We spent some time in the quiet watching them, listening to them munch on grass and enjoying the fact that we had them to ourselves.
We would later see many more. It’s exciting to see that they are repopulating in the face of continued threats of poaching. I probably should have given those rangers more than just water.
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We stopped for a late lunch at a small place within the conservancy and then decided to make one more stop before heading back to our B&B. Ol Pejeta hosts a chimpanzee sanctuary, a place for chimps who don’t have any other options but to reside under protection. Many are orphans and/or have some sort of injury or some other reason that would doom them if left in the wild. As sanctuaries go, it’s quite nice. It’s massive and allows them a tremendous amount of freedom to roam. It does make viewing them more of a challenge since there is only a small area where they are visible to visitors. Thankfully, they generally are curious and seeing people on the other side of the fence is an attraction for them – or at least some of them.
It was a bit weird given that Priya and I have seen them in the wild. I even got to know Jane Goodall many years ago on a flight to Kigoma in western Tanzania. It was tough knowing that as good as these creatures have it here, there is no way that they can be re-introduced into the wild. But it does prolong their lives in a comfortable way, and it provides people with opportunities to see them and for researchers to study them.
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| the divide between two clans of chimps |
After visiting the chimps, we needed to get back to the B&B. We stopped on the way out for a quick photo as we crossed over into the Southern Hemisphere. Summer and winter felt about the same.
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The Animal Orphanage
One other activity was a visit to the Fairmont Mt. Kenya Safari Club and the adjacent wildlife sanctuary. The Fairmont is an amazing hotel nestled at the foot of Mt. Kenya. I had stayed there many years ago for some regional meetings so I had already explored the place. But I thought it would be fun for the family to see it.
Adjacent to the hotel is a massive, tarmac airstrip that apparently facilitates the arrival of the rich and famous.
We began by visiting the orphanage. Much like the chimps we had seen in Ol Pejeta, most of these animals had been victims of some sort of trauma that necessitated them being in protection, trauma that would prevent most of them from ever being re-introduced into the wild. For some of them, the impact of their trauma was evident just by looking at them. For others, not so much. But it’s a strange collection of creatures, either because of their rarity or because they are animals you don’t normally see in this part of Africa. In the case of the llama, you don’t normally see them in Africa at all.
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| what are you looking at? |
It was interesting and somewhat sad at the same time. We’re spoiled, being able to see animals in the wild for so many years. I will never be able to visit zoos or places like this in the same way.
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| abandoned lion cub |
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The Mt. Kenya Safari Club
From the orphanage, we walked the short distance to the hotel. The Mt. Kenya Safari Club has a storied past. Allegedly, the property changed ownership a few times over the years before, in the 1950s, winding up in the hands of a guy named Ray Ryan. Ryan was an oil millionaire and notorious gambler with ties to the Chicago mafia. By 1959, after renovations and expansion, he and partners William Holden, the famous actor (I’m a fan; Bridge on the River Kwai, Sunset Boulevard), and Swiss financier Carl Hirschmann opened the club. Access to the club was reserved only for members and their guests. Charter members included Sir Winston Churchill, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, Neil Armstrong, the Saudi Arabian royal family, US President Lydon Johnson, Conrad Hilton, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, etc.
The orphanage was apparently William Holden’s idea. Although he was an avid hunter, he understood the need for conservation and it became a big priority for him over the years.
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| the bar/lounge area |
Ryan provided club access to notorious members of the Chicago Mafia. It’s a long way to go to hide out but it apparently worked for a while. When the FBI found that that Mafia kingpins were provided free membership to the club, they began investigating. Ray ended up destroying the membership records and was indicted at a Los Angeles court for criminal contempt. Hirschmann was also indicted, but the popular actor avoided any implication in the scandal.
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| photo of my room when I stayed there ten years ago |
When I stayed at the hotel in 2014, I had no idea how nice it would be. In addition to a massive room with a separate sitting area, the suite provided a fireplace linking the two rooms. There was a small sign on the mantle that, when laid down, would indicate to hotel staff to build the fire in the fireplace while you were away at dinner. There was a view of the national park from the windows. I didn’t see a lot of wildlife (a waterbuck and an occasional impala) since I was at meetings during most of the daylight hours, but it was nice nonetheless.
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| the labyrinth |
With the family, we would only be stopping in to walk the ground, enjoy the hedge maze, and have a drink on the terrace. Such a beautiful place.
