Category: Kathy Oakes

Ol Pejeta Conservancy – 90,000 acre private wildlife conservancy in Kenya’s Laikipia district with Mount Kenya in the background.  We were fortunate to be able to do a chimpanzee “behind the scenes” at their Chimp Sanctuary set up by Jane Goodall as a method of saving several Chimps that had been in captivity, as well as a special Rhino Encounter with the endangered white rhinos.

The Chimp sanctuary was established between Kenya Wildlife Service and the Jane Goodall Institute to provide refuge to orphaned and abused chimpanzees from West and Central Africa.  They now have 39 chimps that have been nursed back to health in 2 different family groups, each with very large territories of natural enclosures separated by the Ewaso Nyiro River.

After the Rhino Encounter we joined Zachary, one of their long time caregivers, for an educational visit to the rhino burial site for a somber look at where about 13 sites are marked for rhinos that either died of natural causes (such as Sudan) and sadly many others who died from poachers.  However, Ol Pejeta is doing a fantastic job with their anti-poaching and conservation efforts. They have grown their rhino population significantly and have kept their ecosystem intact with a wide variety of game.

Once I arrived in Nairobi, I met our partners Liz, Tenai, Geoff, and Albert.  We went out for a visit to the orphanage we help support, Eating Stone.  The kids are well fed, clothed, and are going to school – they are doing great work there.  We were impressed to hear the children’s little stories of what they would like to be when they grow up – we had some aspiring to be Doctors, Engineers, Pilots – the sky is the limit!  Next project will be to help them get access to a soccer field and some game type activities to keep them active and engaged.

Travelling through Tanzania with Lemala Safaris was the very best way to experience this wonderful and diverse country!  The Serengeti is aptly named, as it means “endless plains” which we certainly felt.  Miles and miles of vast tracks of land. I was able to experience top camps in wildlife rich areas and also get some excellent cultural experiences.  It was everything and more that I could hope for.  From Tarangire to Ngorongoro to Northern Serengeti – I got just a small taste of what Tanzania has to offer.

We had a great visit at a Samburu village outside Samburu National Park before continuing on a game drive. Liz and I were able to partake in a conversation with Joseph and Steven about their tribe – their struggles and their successes.  We were welcomed in with the ladies to their dance and song and a visit in one of their huts to see how they live.

They have very little but are pretty happy people – water seemed to be their main concern.  It is so hot and dry in Samburu – the river bed is dry right now, the rains should come soon but in the meantime, they rely on a water tank that was donated to them that they fill every couple of months for the whole village.   As they say “water is life” … so Liz and I were able to do a little donation to pay for their next water tank to be filled and they were extremely grateful.

Check out Steven with the Buffalo horn that they use when they are calling the tribe in for a meeting or if there is a warning of some sort.  They can hear it for up to 10 km!

We spent a morning in Ngorongoro Crater, the largest intact caldera in the world. Here you’ll find hippos taking mud baths, prides of lions lazing in the sun, and one of the highest density of hyenas in all of Africa’s parks.

After brunch on the crater floor we continued our game drive west to Ndutu, the southern area of the Serengeti Plains, translated as “endless plains” from the native Maasai language. Here special sightings are possible through off-road driving. I’ve seen almost everything except leopard and rhino 😊 there’s even a bit of the wildebeest migration going down into Ndutu.