Ol Pejeta Conservancy - up close

Having visited Kenya in April 2013, it's time to revisit through our photographs. 

Acknowledgement: most of the photos were taken by Junior. Both of us are amateurs, we were armed with an entry level Canon DSLR and a Fuji Bridge camera that was bought just before trip to avoid 'camera fights'. 

This is a collection of close-ups, with a few landscapes thrown in for contrast. The views of the monsoon skies and clouds were amazing, indeed. 

We reached Nairobi via the Kenya Airways night flight from Mumbai. As you can probably guess, excitement was building up in anticipation, as we peered at the sun coming up slowly.

Little chirping Weaver birds welcomed us at the gate of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

 The Marabou Stork, resident at Serena Sweetwaters Tented Camp.

Blue Eared Glossy Starlings.

Lilac Breasted Roller, the national bird of Botswana and Kenya.

Tawny Eagle.

Why did the Helmeted Guinea Fowl cross the road?

Crowned Lapwing Plover.

Superb Starling.

Black Rhino.

Common Eland.

Oryx.

Common Zebra. The one on the right seems to be thinking 'boys will be boys'.

Oh, it's a lovely day, the sun is out in April!

Grevy's Zebra.

So, how's the weather down there?

An Impala Conference.

Thomson's Gazelle.

A Waterbuck baby has wandered into the camp. You can see the electric fence in the background. 

  
Gentle elle looking for food.

Thoughtfully concentrating on plucking branches.

Running for cover.

The regal, nonchalant Cheetah.

Magnificent late afternoon views of  the water hole and monsoon clouds at Serena Sweetwaters Camp, from the tea-coffee-cakes-drinks tent.

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Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya

About 4 hours from Nairobi, after a tea-coffee-rest-room break, a short dirt track off the highway led us to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

We were welcomed by smiling guards and chirping Weaver Birds that had built nests around the Solar panels. Our first bird sighting!

It was an opportunity to stretch while James sorted out the payments and receipts. Wow, what are we in for? The gates are the only areas inside the park where we can get off the vehicle. Do the famed Kenyan plains look like this? Someone should have told me, wait till you get to the Mara!

A brightly striped Zebra welcome committee greeted us barely a couple of hundred metres from the gate, including one Zebra with a strangely shaped, humped back. Our first animal sighting!

Sweetwaters Tented Camp turned out to be a wonderful, calm experience. I had requested for Tents #1 to #7, based on traveller feedback. We were allotted Tent #3. Right opposite us was the 'in-house' watering hole, where you can gaze at a constant flow of deer, antelopes, zebras and birds all day, and night.

The zebras appear extremely peaceful at night, as well. The tripod we had packed in our strolley came in handy for long, night exposures. The zebras stand still long enough. Junior's enthusiasm was infectious, it was unbridled joy for both of us.

Being 'off season', the occupancy was perhaps between 5 to 10 tents. A handful of tables would be occupied during lunch and dinner, while we used to be the only ones at breakfast at 6:30 AM, before our early morning game drives. Early to bed and early to rise.  No time to lose. Wake up early, watch sunrise over the watering hole across the electric fence and over Mount Kenya in the distance. Ah, what a life!

During game drives, it was just the two of us in the van, along with our teacher James. Not just that, we felt like we had the entire Conservancy to ourselves. A very, very private Safari!

Enough said. Please click on the link below for a glimpse of the Ol Pejeta area.

In summary, Ol Pejeta Conservancy and the Serena Sweetwaters Tented Camp turned out to be a wonderful introduction to the Kenyan safari world.

Please click here for Glimpses of Ol Pejeta Conservancy........


Here is a pleasant evening scene at the Lodge, inside the electric fence.

Here's a Video summary of the Ol Pejeta leg of our safari: 
2013-04 - ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya Slideshow 

Please click on the links below to follow us around our Kenya experience:

Kenya- Here we come!

Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Lake Nakuru

Lake Naivasha

Maasai Mara Wildlife and Landscapes

Sights, Signs and Thoughts along the way

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