Honeymoon Safari – Kenya Part 1

On the heels of our unforgettably magical wedding last month, Jacqi and I had just two short weeks to pack our bags for our first vacation together as a married couple. Most newlyweds choose to spend their honeymoon relaxing on an idyllic beach at some tropical island getaway or exploring the romantic and historic streets of a celebrated European city. True to form, the two of us had a more unorthodox destination in mind. When we first started dating back in 2020, in the early days of pandemic-induced lockdowns, we spent a lot of time discussing the various places we hoped to one day visit. Kenya quickly emerged as a shared frontrunner on our wish lists. Jacqi’s lifelong love of all things Giraffe meant that she had a strong desire to observe these iconic megafauna in their natural habitat, and Kenya is noteworthy for being the only country in the world where 3 of the 4 proposed Giraffe species can be found in the wild. For my part, I had narrowly missed out on the opportunity to join a field ecology course in Kenya during my undergrad days, and after hearing multiple friends gush about the experience I vowed to one day find my own way there. The stars finally aligned when we began planning for our honeymoon, and with some expert assistance from Kensington Tours we were able to make our dream vacation a reality at long last.

After a long day in the air, broken up by a brief layover in Paris, Jacqi and I arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi. Our first guide, Ali, met us promptly outside customs and whisked us away to Hemingways Nairobi, the hotel where we would be spending the first leg of the trip. It had been 5 long years since my last trip outside the borders of the United States, so I was particularly eager to start picking up some international wildlife. The coveted title of “first bird in Kenya” went to a Crowned Lapwing that I spotted lurking in the gloom along the shoulder of the road, and I was delighted to hear the quavering whistles of a Montane Nightjar singing just outside our hotel room as we settled in for the night. The next morning, I was greeted by a spectacle of unfamiliar sights and sounds when I stepped through the door to survey the resort grounds. Hadada Ibis trumpeted in the distance, an elegant African Paradise-Flycatcher flitted through the treetops, and a dazzling array of sunbirds danced about in the flowering ornamental plants surrounding the building. On our way to breakfast, Jacqi pointed out a pair of Kikuyu White-eyes foraging amidst the blossoms, the only endemic Kenyan bird that we were fortunate enough to encounter during this trip!

After finishing our meal, we departed with Ali for the world-renowned Giraffe Centre, where we had a standing appointment with the resident herd of “Rothschild’s” Northern Giraffes. Although the Centre is most famous for its highly exclusive Giraffe Manor hotel, it is also a hub for important conservation work with a longstanding breeding program focused on bolstering Giraffe populations across Kenya. In the interest of offering a memorable hands-on experience to deepen guest’s investment in the plight of these imperiled creatures, visitors to the property are provided with a coconut shell full of nutritious food pellets, which the Giraffes eagerly slurp up with their lengthy tongues. At long last, Jacqi had the opportunity to stand eye-to-eye with her favorite animal in the world and feed them by hand. To say she was thrilled would be an understatement!

After a brief visit to the Sheldrick Elephant Orphanage, where we witnessed a bottle feeding for a number of rehabbed baby Elephants and Rhinos, Ali offered to take us for an impromptu game drive in neighboring Nairobi National Park. We jumped at the opportunity to get our first taste of proper safari action, and despite its proximity to the capital city the park still delivered the excitement. The headliners of this mini-expedition were groups of Common Hippopotamus and Nile Crocodile that we spotted loafing around the fringes of a pond, and we also crossed paths with a lone Olive Baboon, a handful of Impala, and a troop of Vervet Monkeys. Birds of note included a family group of Gray Crowned-Cranes strolling across the plains in the distance, a quartet of Helmeted Guineafowl scurrying through the grass, a close flyby African Fish-Eagle, and some cooperative Little Bee-eaters perched right alongside to the road.

The remainder of the day was filled with more subdued cultural activities, including visits to the Kobe Tough beads and leather workshop, a local art gallery, and the Karen Blixen House, a museum dedicated to the life of the Danish author best known from the 1985 film Out of Africa, which was based on her memoirs. Jacqi and I picked up a handful of interesting birds around the gardens and roadways along the way, including Hartlaub’s Turaco, Speckled Mousebird, and Lesser Honeyguide. All three of these species, along with the Red-billed Oxpeckers we had spotted at the Giraffe Centre, represented new taxonomic families for me, highlighting just how evolutionarily distinct the African avifauna is compared to the birds I had encountered during my previous travels. We closed out our evening with a relaxing spa treatment and a lovely dinner back at Hemingways, making a point to get to bed early so we could rest up for the next leg of our grand adventure.

Bright and early the next morning, we set off for Wilson Airport, the primary gateway to the various safari destinations scattered across the Kenyan countryside. We bid farewell to Ali and loaded our gear onto a propeller plane bound for the Laikipia Plateau, a region of expansive, elevated plains situated directly on the Equator. Many of the former ranches in this part of Kenya have been converted to conservancies over the years, and the county is widely considered a major up-and-comer in the world of safaris. Jacqi and I were eager to see what surprises awaited us in this corner of the country. Our flight to the Loisaba airstrip took just under an hour, and upon our landing we received a warm welcome from our new guide, Solomon. As we began our journey east towards the hills of Ol Lentille, Solomon swiftly began pointing out birds and mammals of interest. Within a few minutes of setting out aboard the Land Cruiser, we had already stumbled upon one of our mostly highly desired species: a loose herd of half a dozen Reticulated Giraffes. Widely considered to be the most striking and visually distinct variety of Giraffe, this endangered species is reliably found only in northeastern Kenya, with isolated populations believed to persist in parts of Ethiopia and Somalia. The awe-inspiring sight of these paving stone-patterned giants majestically striding across the landscape and feasting on acacia leaves was a genuine privilege to behold!

The rest of our drive through Loisaba Conservancy proved to be remarkably productive. Our first herd of Plains Zebras dazzled us with their iconic monochrome stripes, and we were arguably even more impressed when we later encountered a mother and foal Grévy’s Zebra, yet another northern Kenya specialty. We also spotted our first Günther’s Dik-diks, tiny antelope with prominent proboscises, scampering around in the undergrowth. Impala, Thomson’s Gazelle, and a few distant African Bush Elephants rounded out the list of mammals for the morning. The bird list, on the other hand, was considerably more expansive. White-rumped Shrike, Namaqua Dove, Chestnut-bellied Sandgrouse, and an impressive suite of barbets, weavers, and starlings made for a solid first checklist in Laikipia, but the true stars of the show were the large flocks of Vulturine Guineafowl that we encountered along the road. These spectacular wild chickens had ranked especially highly on my most wanted list for the trip, and their astonishingly intricate patterns of spots and stripes absolutely exceeded my already high expectations. 

We finally reached Ol Lentille in the early afternoon, receiving an enthusiastic reception from the onsite employees. The manager, Vincent, introduced us to our assigned team; William the host, housekeeper Christine, and Peter the night guard. We were shown to our private villa, the Carissa house, where we quickly got acquainted with the the local Bush and Rock Hyraxes lounging around on the rocky outcroppings surrounding our patio. These bizarre and brazen little critters proved to be a constant presence throughout our stay at the lodge, every bit as much an inextricable component of the Ol Lentille experience as the stunning vistas and the marvelously accommodating staff. Though not as obviously impressive as the top-billed beasties that safaris are best known for, the hyraxes still had a fascinatingly unique charm all their own, and we greatly appreciated their company. It was like having a pack of chill, quiet dogs accompanying us everywhere we went, if those dogs most closely resembled overgrown hamsters and were secretly related to elephants and manatees. Hyraxes are weird, but they are awesome!

It quickly became apparent that Ol Lentille was a truly special place. The lodge is owned and operated by the local Maasai and Samburu communities whose lands make up the conservancy, and all of the activities at the property are closely integrated with the surrounding landscape and people. In addition to traditional game drives, we also took part in a camel safari and a walking tour at a nearby dam. Solomon proved to be an incredibly knowledgeable and obliging guide, and we thoroughly enjoyed the time that we spent exploring the region with him. We were particularly grateful for the opportunity to connect with our temporary neighbors in much more meaningful ways than we originally anticipated. A trip to a nearby secondary school was eye-opening and productive, and I was even invited to teach a brief lesson for the local biology class once they learned that I was a teacher. Jacqi and I were also honored to visit a local manyatta, where we were welcomed by the community to join a lengthy and in-depth discussion around the fire, trading questions and stories about our respective lives and homes. These experiences helped to make our time in Kenya feel like more than a simple surface level safari, and we are beyond thankful to all of the people of the Ol Lentille family who made us feel so welcome during our stay. The customizability of our schedule and the hospitable demeanor of the team were genuinely unparalleled, to say nothing of the delicious personalized menu on offer each day!

As far as wildlife was concerned, the Ol Lentille Conservancy delivered a positively marvelous buffet of birds and beasts for us to enjoy! A pair of Verreaux’s Eagles, clad in high contrast black and white plumage, could often be seen patrolling the ridgelines near our villa, prompting panic in the local hyrax population whenever they passed overhead. White-bellied Go-away-birds, Fan-tailed Ravens, and Little Rock-Thrushes were conspicuous residents of the lodge’s immediate surroundings, and I also picked up my first batises, crombecs, and tinkerbirds during this leg of the trip. Flocks of Mottled and Little Swifts swirled in the skies overhead, while the songs of Mocking Cliff-Chats and Slate-colored Boubous echoed across the hillsides at dawn and dusk. After dark, the cries of Donaldson Smith’s and Freckled Nightjars took over as the primary components of the soundscape, occasionally punctuated by the alarm calls of disturbed hyraxes or the strangely melodious whoops of distant Spotted Hyenas. Our forays away from the property turned up a number of interesting surprises as well, including an African Spoonbill resting at the shore of a nearby dam, a Lanner Falcon posted up on a prominent perch, and a flyover African Harrier-Hawk scanning the brush for prey. 

We observed a number of interesting non-avian critters during our drives to and from our various extracurricular activities. Dik-diks were abundant and conspicuous, and we regularly saw herds of Zebras grazing near the roads or visiting the waterhole for a drink. Baboons and Elephants were also observed with some regularity, though most frequently from a distance. Klipspringers were encountered on several occasions, nimbly springing across the boulders with their specially adapted tiptoe hooves. Near the opposite end of the antelope size spectrum were the conservancy’s resident Greater Kudu, with the males bearing spectacularly spiraled horns. Kenyan Rock Agamas and African Five-lined Skinks were also fairly common on the outcrops surrounding the lodge, scurrying off to sheltered crevices whenever humans or hyraxes disrupted their sunbathing.

We had the good fortune to partake in two night drives at Ol Lentille, one unofficial effort on our way back from a scenic sundowner and another dedicated search with proper equipment in tow. Highlights of these nocturnal safaris included multiple Three-banded Coursers flushing from the road, a pair of White-tailed Mongoose prowling for prey, and a Buff-crested Bustard that I first spotted on my thermal scope. The infrared camera also proved to be especially helpful for picking out mammals in the undergrowth, netting us a Common Genet, a number of African Savanna Hares, and a few Dik-diks that we would have otherwise missed. The most unexpected encounter of our after hours exploration was a pair of Elephants that served as a mighty impressive roadblock on our way back to the lodge, and we were greatly relieved that they eventually let us pass by unscathed! 

On our last full day at Ol Lentille, Solomon and the rest of the crew pulled out all the stops to deliver an unforgettable expedition. Knowing that I had expressed an interest in Somali Ostrich, a regional specialty that does not inhabit the conservancy but can be found close by, the team decided to undertake a dedicated quest to search for these stately giant birds. Distinguished from their Common cousins by their paler eyes and the male’s bluish neck, Somali Ostriches occur in arid thornscrub across a range only slightly more expansive than that of Reticulated Giraffe. I knew that visiting this region of Kenya presented my best chance to add the species to my life list, so I was grateful for the special consideration by the staff to make my wish come true. Yet another glowing example of the dedication and adaptability of the Ol Lentille team!

After enjoying a hearty breakfast, we set out for the north, driving off the Laikipia Plateau into the drier, brushier lowlands of Isiolo and Samburu Counties. As we descended from the highlands, the shift in the ecosystem was most apparent in the dramatically different cast of birds we observed. Stunningly beautiful Golden-breasted Starlings and Lilac-breasted Rollers suddenly became reliable roadside attractions, and we started to see Von der Decken’s, Northern Red-billed, and Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbills much more regularly. We later found an adult and immature Bateleur feasting on roadkill, and Solomon was particularly surprised to see a pair of Hooded Vultures hanging around a tree where the leftovers of some butchered livestock had been hung. As we patrolled a stretch of scrubland where ostriches had been sighted in the past, Solomon pulled over to ask a passing elder for more updated intel. The man recommended we turn back the way we came, explaining that the birds had recently relocated across a dry riverbed. We gave him a lift as a show of thanks, and within minutes of dropping him off we finally found a mother Somali Ostrich and her nearly full-grown chicks in the precise area he had described. When it comes to seeking out wildlife, nothing compares to local knowledge! We celebrated our success with a relaxing lunch out in the bush, spending the rest of the day slowly meandering through the dusty countryside before gradually making our way back up into the heights of the Ol Lentille Conservancy. 

Our last morning at Ol Lentille was a bit of a bittersweet affair. We had enjoyed so many incredible experiences over the course of our 4 night stay, and we were beyond excited for the next portion of our honeymoon in the Maasai Mara, but it was still hard to pry ourselves away from the scenic vistas, remarkable wildlife, and incredible people of Laikipia. We exchanged contact information with Solomon, who bid us farewell and good luck as our transport arrived to ferry us to the airstrip. We said our goodbyes to all of the staff at the lodge who we had come to know so well, reaffirming that we hope to be so lucky as to one day return. Even the local animals seemed to come out to see us off, with the resident hyraxes, Zebras, and Elephants all showing nicely as we departed from the conservancy. We picked up a handful of new species on our journey back to Loisaba, highlighted by an impressively beefy Kori Bustard strutting along the shoulder of the road. 

When we arrived at the Loisaba airfield, we discovered that there had been an unforeseen minor adjustment with our flight plan. It was unclear to us whether the plane was delayed or if we had arrived too late for our scheduled boarding window, but the staff assured us that we would still be on a flight within the hour. The only snag was that we would now need to first divert to Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, a short distance out of the way to the east, rather than continuing straight to the Maasai Mara. Even this minor bump in the road proved to be a blessing in disguise, as we were seen off in Lewa by a handsome adult male Reticulated Giraffe ambling along the outskirts of the runway. What a fantastically fitting capstone for our marvelous stay in the Laikipia region! 

Jacqi and I never would have imagined that we would someday watch a Giraffe through our airplane windows during takeoff, but Kenya is full of wonderful surprises! As we were soon to discover, however, there were plenty of other unexpected treats awaiting us in the Maasai Mara. Our honeymoon adventures were only just getting started!