Nicola has just come back from a wonderful weekend of horse riding in the Kenyan Chyulu Hills. “Wow, wow, wow!!” After living there for 8 years, this seems to be the most beautiful year of all! Over 3 inches of rain in recent weeks means it is green everywhere, with wildflowers in bloom, young zebra [...]

 Rain has been falling almost daily at ol Donyo Lodge for six weeks. The dark clouds usually start floating in around mid-morning from ol Donyo Hill behind the lodge or the twin peaks of El Mau facing the lodge. The smell of rain fills the air, a grey sheet comes racing along and in minutes [...]

We are extremely excited announce that Zarafa Camp in Botswana AND ol Donyo Lodge in Kenya, have been chosen by The Robb Report to be included in their prestigious and exclusive 2012 Top 100 Resort Awards ! According the The Robb Report team these awards are result is a one-of-a-kind compendium of resorts that they [...]

We would like to show you our guides out with Mark Gunn on an early morning game drive. One photo has our magical mountain (Mount Kilimanjaro) in the back ground. Mark and the ol Donyo Lodge guides are brushing up on past safari guiding techniques, as well as learning a lot of new interesting information [...]

The month of March is traditionally hot, dry and dusty around ol Donyo Lodge and it has been no exception this year. The Chyulu Hills are beautiful, slowly changing from their bright emerald colors as the hot sun shines down on us to ones of soft browns, greys and creams. The plains are spectacular in [...]

The iBrochure of ol Donyo Lodge in Kenya is now available to download for you to look at. Let us know what you think! ol Donyo Lodge, Kenya iBrochure

It has been a hot month in the Chyulu Hills, especially as the air has been thick and heavy with the promise of rain. This promise was delivered near the end of the month, when a strong shower came through and cooled us all off. Since then, we have had quite a few showers, which [...]

These stunning photographs were taken at the end of our February Amboseli horse safari. Mount Kilimanjaro is amazing in the background.

Meet some our team of chefs, who create amazing food every day for our guests here at ol Donyo Lodge in Kenya.

We are technically between the “short” and “long” rains at the moment and so we expect it to be dry. However, yesterday as we were eating lunch overlooking the elephants at the waterhole, a spectacular thunder storm rolled in towards us and we had rain on and off until the early evening. As we reported [...]

Now that the area around ol Donyo Lodge in Kenya is drying out after the good rains we had in November and December, water is scarce for the large number of elephants we have. The guests of the lodge are still recycling their water to fill the lodge waterholes and we have even given them [...]

Mara Plains Camp and ol Donyo Lodge are included in this Travel and Leisure guide on how to plan your African Safari to Kenya Mara Plains Camp and ol Donyo Lodge in the Travel and Leisure Safari Planning Guide

Our guests often tell us that one of their favourite things about ol Donyo Lodge is the attention to detail and the luxurious comfort of the rooms… Here’s a little taste. Thank you again Sandra Luken for your lovely pictures!    

Over the Christmas period we hosted ol Donyo Lodge and Ride Kenya Horse Safari veteran Jodi McMurray, who brought along her friend Sandra Luken, to experience the magic of Kenya’s Chyulu Hills. Check out all the different species they saw and what they got up to in just 4 nights. Thank you so much Sandra [...]

A truly amazing leopard sighting at ol Donyo Lodge last night! Patrick, Manager of the Ride Kenya Horse Safaris had just returned from a week-long ride in Amboseli and was enjoying a well-deserved soak in a bath in one of the lodge guest rooms. He noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye [...]

Fantastic cheetah sightings over the last few weeks here at ol Donyo Lodge! In the past few days we have seen cheetah every day – a female on a kill on Friday 17th Feb and since then up to five different individuals regularly spotted on most game drives. Our resident female with her two fully-grown [...]

This slightly funny-looking antelope is not, as you may think, the offspring of an impala and a goat… it is in fact a Gerenuk, or Giraffe-Necked Antelope. Only found in parts of East Africa, these animals are not always easily spotted on safari, but here at ol Donyo Lodge we see them often. Standing on [...]

In January the Chyulus and surrounding ecosystem have started their bi-annual transition back into the dry season. Though this means we lose the beautiful green grasses on the plains, the dry season is not with out its advantages. For starters, the Acacia trees are just starting to burst into beautiful blossom, attracting all kinds of [...]

Temperatures have started to rise here in the Chyulu Hills but this has come along with crystal clear views of Kilimanjaro. This has provided the perfect conditions for our guests to enjoy the awe-inspiring vista from the coolness of their plunge pools, or take a flight for a closer look with Richard Bonham in his [...]

We are very proud of the team at ol Donyo Lodge for being recognized in this year’s Travel and Leisure edition of the World’s Top Hotels The web link can be found here    

Bike. Hike. Ride. View but not climb them! These activities are commonly shared with giraffes while at ol Donyo Lodge. What fun!    

December has surprised us with regular rainstorms throughout the month which has kept everything green and lush.   We normally expect to have around 100mm of rain anytime between mid-October to early December but this year we have had a whopping 245mm! This is even more amazing when you think that this is very nearly [...]

We’re already feeling all festive here at ol Donyo Lodge. Check out our beautiful local version of a Christmas tree, complete with natural baubles!    

If you had visited us a month ago, you would not recognize the Chyulu Hills as they are now. The short rains have been extremely good so far and the daily showers we have been receiving show no sign of abating any time soon. The amber plains that we normally see from ol Donyo Lodge [...]

It’s not only the guests who enjoy regular delicious feasts at ol Donyo Lodge in Kenya’s Chyulu Hills – check out this female Agama Lizard, who has bitten off more than she can chew with this beautiful moth. She’s also got a very fat belly this breeding season, so we’ll soon be seeing lots of [...]

The door is now open to our new natural museum, displaying artifacts and natural curiosities from the local area that surround ol Donyo Lodge in the Chyulu Hills of Kenya. The objects have mostly been found by guides and guests of the lodge and so far include a weaver bird nest, some zebra teeth and [...]

October has been a great month for cheetah and lion encounters at Ol Donyo Lodge and Ride Kenya. The increase in the plains game population (recovering well from our drought in 2009) has brought predators in higher numbers to the area, and most days our guides are finding big cats. Two male cheetah are back [...]