Nairobi, Kenya - Think of Kenya, and wildlife comes sharply into focus, especially the annual migration of hundreds of thousands of wildebeest through the world-renowned Masai Mara Game Reserve which borders the Serengeti in Tanzania.
Tales of animals plunging into the crocodile-infested Mara River to fulfil an instinctive urge to reach greener pastures are legendary.
Our original intention had been to go to Mara during the height of the migration in August, but a combination of the reserve being overrun with overseas tourists, access roads being in a poor condition and the exorbitant costs involved changed our minds.
We chose rather to go west to the lesser-travelled areas around Mount Kenya and the Great Rift Valley.
Putting shaky faith in Suzie, our hired skedonk, my wife and I headed out of Nairobi in high spirits on a excellent freeway, newly built by the Chinese, towards our first stop – the Serena Sweetwaters Tented Camp in the 350km2 Ol Pejeta Conservancy near the mountain town of Nanyuki.
The 220km trip was punctuated by a momentous occasion – crossing the equator. It was cause for great celebration, which we did in fine style with a mug of rooibos tea and a bran rusk (we had brought our own private stash from Durban).
Set against the backdrop of Mount Kenya, the Sweetwaters camp has luxury tents, each with a veranda, nestled around a floodlit waterhole providing superb views of a variety of wildlife including waterbuck, zebra, giraffe and occasionally elephant attracted to the area. The conservancy boasts all the Big Five and a lot more.
Mount Kenya, Africa’s second highest mountain, stayed hidden from view during our road journey because of cloud cover. Recollections of our visit to Tanzania last year when Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, never revealed itself through the mist came flooding back. Surely Mount Kenya wouldn’t cause the same angst?
The Ol Pejeta Conservancy, once a sprawling cattle ranch but now owned by the Fauna and Flora organisation based in England, boasts the largest black rhino sanctuary in Kenya, hosts the country’s only chimpanzee sanctuary and shelters a variety of rare and endangered species including Grevy’s Zebra and Jackson’s Hartebeest. The conservancy’s 300 elephant move in and out of the area according to seasonal migration patterns.
The 50 luxury tents at Sweetwaters provide comfortable en-suite accommodation – 48 are doubles with the remainder being spacious family units. One of the tents has facilities for the physically challenged.
Currently under construction are a new lounge, coffee bar, restaurant and reception area which should all be completed by early next year.
The camp offers game drives including a choice of two night drives: 7pm-9pm or 9pm-11pm. There are also camel rides, guided bird walks, lion tracking ventures and dining in the bush.
The facilities offered, plus the large area of the camp protected by electrified fencing make it an excellent destination for families with young children, who have plenty of space to romp in.
On our first morning, we unzipped our tent and there she stood, stripped of her shrouds, her peaks exposed: Mount Kenya in glorious technicolour.
That set the tone for our two days at Sweetwaters. We saw three lion cubs cavorting with their mother in the moonlight and just after dawn. We marvelled at the dexterity of giraffes drinking at a waterhole in front of our tent, and clucked over the amazing birdlife in the camp.
We also visited the nearby chimpanzee and rhino sanctuaries. More than 40 orphaned chimps are cared for at the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary run by the Jane Goodall Institute and Kenya Wildlife Services.
No fee is charged for a visit, which includes a walk through the impressively large wooded area where the animals live in their own houses.
An electric fence separates visitors from the chimps who, although they look relatively calm and often display human mannerisms, still need to be treated with respect for the wild animals they are.
The chimps cannot be returned to the wild and need constant care, which they get from the dedicated group of knowledgeable rangers who conduct the tours.
There are 620 black rhino in Kenya, about 85 of them at the conservancy. The rhino sanctuary was set up to maximise breeding and stock new areas.
Latest additions are four of the world's last remaining eight northern white rhino from a zoo in the Czech Republic. The animals have adapted well and now roam free in a 3 925ha protected area.
Baraka, a black rhino who lost an eye in a fight and later got a cataract in his other eye, leaving him blind, is in a small enclosure. He allowed us to feed him and scratch behind his ears.
Being up so close brings home the enormity of the magnificent animal as well as heightened frustration at the numbers being killed by poachers in Africa.
After two refreshing days at Sweetwaters, we packed up and set off on the “high road” through the Aberdare mountain range to our next destination – the flamingo- and pelican-filled Lake Elmenteita in the volcano-studded Rift Valley.
l Serena Sweetwaters Tented Camp, phone 011 021 2607 or visit www.serenahotels.com or e-mail [email protected] - Sunday Tribune