Warthog in the Chyulu Hills

In the Chyulu Hills, huge downfalls of rain have turned the countryside into a sea of green. The herbivores have moved away from the base of the hills and onto the savannah, exploring further across the plains and getting slowly fatter. They’ve been leaving the security of the lodge’s permanent watering holes due to the abundance of water and green grass.

The elephants, however, are slowly beginning to congregate at the lodge. They caused a huge ruckus a few nights ago when they trumpeted their greetings loudly at one another.

Mount Kilimanjaro in the foggy silence of dawn

The complete and utter silence of the Chyulu Hillss always pleasantly astounds our guests; no car horns blaring or engines rumbling. The silence, almost echoing in its quietness, is broken only by the humming of insects at night and the early morning bird song. Such are all sounds that we at ol Donyo Lodge can happily embrace over the hustle and bustle of city life.

Recently we have had some spectacular sunsets at the pool, followed by romantic lantern-lit dinners under a sea of stars.

Aqua sunset at ol Donyo Lodge

Our friendly genet cat visits us every night at dinnertime, waiting expectantly for the left overs she knows will come. Assistant lodge manager, Paul, first noticed her at the beginning of the May and followed her, discovering her four young kittens. This of course gave him the perfect excuse to allow her some leftovers, “…just this once,” which has turned into a new friendship between the two, and morsels on most nights.

Nemaois, our resident lioness and proud mother of two young cubs, was spotted the night hunting by guests who were on a night drive. The youngsters were not seen, but we expect her to soon be teaching them to hunt, which will be exciting for us all to witness.

Helmeted Guinea fowl

The staff here waits eagerly for the new high season to begin, having just gone through a two-week revamp of all the rooms and dining area. The views from the lodge are even more spectacular: lush green rolling hills looking fresh and revitalized after the heavy May rains.

June inevitably has brought a cool breeze during the day, which is happily welcomed as a respite against the sun as it beats down in the midday hours. The colder nights are making the camp fire a frequent necessity.

Greetings from all the staff at Ol Donyo lodge. We look forward to hosting you in this very beautiful, exclusive part of Kenya.