“Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in it’s beauty” Albert Einstein Happy Easter to you from the team on the plains of the Masai Mara and Kenya, where the elections and appeals have gone smoothly and peacefully.   [...]

A Visit to Ol Donyo Lodge (full text and images here) So I just came back from a week in Kenya. I initially planned the trip because of a friend’s wedding and because of a Fashion Designers without Borders trip that I planned with Chrissie Lam the Founder of The Supply Change. The trip was [...]

Safari Architects’ Brad reviews the wonders of Selinda Explorers Camp on a Private Safari Day 1 My guests and I had been waiting for this trip for the last 6 months! After a lot of banter and excitement, the day had finally arrived when we would be leaving for our Selinda adventure.  Both myself and [...]

SWEET-TOOTHED GIANTS   Elephant reaching up for marula fruit (Sclerocarya birrea) near oL Donyo Lodge, Kenya.

On 22nd February, Ride Kenya assisted a vet from the David Sheldrick foundation in darting and treating an elephant with an arrow wound wandering near ol Donyo Lodge and the Ride Kenya stables.                   Ride Kenya managers Paddy and Kim were on hand to track the elephant and follow it [...]

Pictured is a frequent visitor to the camp, loving the lush green leaves on the trees at this time of year.  5 tonnes of mass, he is incredibly tactile in camp. Stepping over obstacles in order not to break them.  One amazing site is watching him breathe in so that he can squeeze through a [...]

Recent guest Di from Adelaide, Australia, encapsulates what is just so special abotu Selinda Explorer’s Camp: “What a treat. We were able to do day paddles, & bypass the hippos and elephants from the water. No ticking off the Big Five by truck, just the absolute privilege of walking quietly through the bush, following footprints [...]

Let’s transport you to another vision, where you are floating on the HBS Zib in the middle of Zibadianja Lagoon in Botswana’s Selinda Reserve. And get this, you are on a massage bed. Yes, it’s true. “There is always a bowl of water with an orchid in it whenever I go to a spa, so [...]

The plan was to have a suprise sundowner for our guests at Starpan, so we loaded up the vehicle with everything we needed and set off with plenty of time to spare, an easy evening drive I said. We were busy driving down a road, that had not been used in a number of weeks, [...]

January has been a month full of fun activities at ol Donyo Lodge! Activities coordinator Scott Dyson and children’s program guide Elijah Morintat have been helping guests document their Chyulu Hills experience through art. Whether painting at the lodge or out on the plains, guests have been treated to dramatic  views of Mt Kilimanjaro and [...]

You don’t have to travel far in Duba Plains Camp before you see something lively.  Whether it is a herd of 1000 Buffalo, or the occasional Lions following them, or the local herd of Kudu pictured, you can immerse yourself very quickly by just stepping out of your tent. Then you can look up and [...]

BREAKING NEWS….Mara Plains & Mara Toto status report from Richard and Lorna: We’ve done it. Mara Toto is now a fully functional seasonal camp running 100% on solar power, with no negative discharge into the environment (thanks to Biorock sewage treatment system), 5000 litres of rainwater catchment off the solar panel bank so far, all [...]

The most exciting thing happened last night when a couple of our guests along with Seki our head guide stumbled upon our well known local lion! It’s always a treat to get a sighting of a species which has been so heavily persecuted in this region. Small conservation steps matter. Today, all of the birds [...]

Each year, Mr. Harper chooses favorite properties that he has visited over the past 12 months to comprise this prestigious Grand Award list. To be considered for the annual awards, properties must be relatively small in size, possess strong individual personalities, offer relaxing atmospheres and demonstrate a consistent devotion to personal service. We are of [...]

December at ol Donyo was certainly eventful! Ample late season rains continued to nourish green grasses for the plains game, making for lovely photo opportunities. Mt Kilimanjaro was also frequently visible, and made for a stunning backdrop to a variety of bush activities, gatherings, and celebrations. The Christmas spirit was certainly visible as well at [...]

December 2012, Zarafa Camp. Babies! It’s annual “baby-time” again around Zarafa Camp. All the animals are waiting for the first rains in order to deliver their young in times of plenty. With these delightful rains, fresh grasses and leaves emerge everywhere and the mothers agree that this is a safe and bountiful time for birth. [...]

Duba’s December Delights December is an exciting month all around the world and no less so at Duba Plains. We received big rains in the first week of December and within days the bush became alive and green again. Many birds started breeding so the sky is filled with bright and beautiful colours while the [...]

All too often in the world of conservation, we are peppered with tragic stories. De-horned rhino here, speared lion there, but today we bring to you a conservation story which might just give you great hope for 2013 and beyond. Sure, you might say, “but it’s just a set of games, who cares, what’s that [...]

Yesterday, after a huge maintenance day we went on a short game drive/ boat cruise with the entire staff. Kathy made Christmas pudding and we had small (Dutch) presents for everyone. We had our X-mas sundowners in front of the camp. We toasted on a very successful 2012 year and and the anticipation of a [...]

“To see ten thousand animals untamed and not branded with the symbols of human commerce is like scaling an unconquered mountain for the first time, or like finding a forest without roads or footpaths, or the blemish of an axe. You know then what you had always been told — that the world once lived [...]

November’s sometimes stormy skies have provided gorgeous backdrops for photography and the plains game have been plentiful. The forest areas at the base of the Chyulu Hills are fully green, and green is spreading across the plains and up the El Mau Hills. Wildlife has grown fat and happy in the midst of all the [...]

Underneath the Mangosteen… We have this huge Mangosteen tree right in front of Zarafa. And every year in November it gives us very tasteful orange fruits. The birds like them, the squirrels, the warthogs, the elephants and the housekeepers. So the battle of the fruits has started. Since we like our animals in camp it [...]

October heat has carried onto November, temperatures reaching the maximum of 42 degrees flushing away the hopes of rains. This has been an amazingly dry season with the wilderness covered with a brown blanket of dying grass and leafless trees. This was a perfect game-viewing time of the year, also a disheartening time to watch [...]

We still have not received any rainfall save for the showers that we had mid November. It looks like the rainy season is delayed but the sky is always filled with rain-pregnant clouds and anytime we might get a down pour. All our game drive areas are accessible as the area is dry. Game viewing [...]

Lara Logan of CBS 60 Minutes profiles “The Last Lions” filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert on location at their Great Plains Conservation Camps in Botswana Scheduled to air Sunday November 25, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT Lara Logan and a team from CBS 60 Minutes profiled filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert at their Great Plains [...]

Today, CNN featured both Ride Kenya and Selinda Canoe Trail in its article titled “9 Ways to Travel Africa in Style”. We are honored to be part of this adventurous round-up of authentic African experiences which slough off the glitz & glam and get real in the bush. Come join us soon.

November’s abundant rainfall has filled the ol Donyo waterhole, and elephant visitors have been numerous. With the pressure to find water lessened, we’ve been seeing lots of interesting interactions, and joyous splashing and bathing. Green season has certainly brought elephant action, and it can all be experienced close range from the lodge hide!

Our friend and fan, Dan Achber of Trufflepig, crafted this entertaining and informative video of the Selinda Canoe Trail. It’s a must-see, if for no other reason then to know what to do when you face a pod of hippos be it in in Botswana, or elsewhere in your life. Glad you enjoyed it, Dan! [...]

I just don’t know where to begin when it comes to the animal sightings we’ve been having in October. Elephants everywhere, several prides of Lion, Leopards hunting and a total of 33 Wild Dogs, divided over 3 different packs. And this is all happening just in and around camp ! Throw in large herds of [...]

After the huge build-up of clouds and heat over the past week the rain finally arrived on the afternoon of the 27th, in a very big way. Coinciding with the month-end and a beautiful full moon (when we can see it), the thousands of wildebeest visible from the camp seem to have finally had enough [...]