When a bush guru of William Wanyika pedigree says ‘that was the best morning game drive I’ve ever guided,’ it means something: wilderness currency of the hardest variety.
It started with a rudely early wake-up call, sweetened by half an hour of watching the false dawn morph from midnight blue to peachy salmon, the thrill amplified by an elephant posing under the jagged sentinel of Mount Kenya for most of the blushing daybreak. This, however dramatic, was just the organically sourced hors d’oeuvre.
Rhinos are a huge success in Ol Pejeta; there is nowhere better to photograph them in the world. Fact. It doesn’t matter if they’re black or white; there are many more of these noble ungulates than lions. However, a small outcast pride of young lions decided to take on a huge mother and calf. Were they successful? Of course not; their eyes were way bigger than tawny tummies, but the drama!
Facts: Open plains, two black rhinos, four lions, half an hour of primordial theatre, three vehicles only. Kicheche ones. Thanks, maestro Julius, for spotting the cats almost in Somalia; thanks, PK, for getting there so quickly and of course the same to Mchawi Wanyika. The whole morning drama played out under the mountain’s watchful eye; this is what happens when you start at 5am (five).
Vintage Kicheche Laikipia is revelled in by the seven-strong Boulton family. When you arrive for your safari here at 1900 m, we’ll let William tell you all about it.
