Day 1 — Ol Pejeta Conservancy
Depart Nairobi early morning for a 3-hour drive to Ol Pejeta Conservancy, home to the world's last two northern white rhinos and Africa's largest black rhino sanctuary. Morning game drive in the open savannah, visiting the chimpanzee sanctuary and the rhino enclosures. Picnic lunch inside the conservancy. Afternoon game drive before the drive back to Nairobi, arriving early evening.
Game drive circuits across Ol Pejeta Conservancy covering the rhino sanctuary, Ewaso Ng'iro River, open savannah and chimpanzee sanctuary.
Full day on the conservancy; approx. 4–5 hours of driving across two sessions
Ol Pejeta Conservancy is one of East Africa's most important private wildlife sanctuaries — a 90,000-acre conservancy on the equator in the shadow of Mount Kenya that combines Kenya's most compelling wildlife experiences with outstanding conservation work. This is the only place in the world where you can see the last two northern white rhinos on Earth — Sudan's daughters Najin and Fatu — in a protected boma under 24-hour armed guard, and arguably no safari experience in Kenya is more emotionally powerful. Your morning game drive departs at 06:00 into the open savannah and acacia woodland that covers much of the conservancy. Ol Pejeta hosts the highest density of black rhino in East Africa, and your guide will navigate the network of well-maintained roads to locate these prehistoric animals in the cool of the morning. White rhino are also present in large numbers — the southern white rhino population is thriving under the conservancy's protection. Beyond rhino, Ol Pejeta is home to a full complement of Big Five: lion prides are regularly encountered on the Ewaso Ng'iro River floodplain, leopard inhabit the riverine forest, buffalo herds move across the open grassland in the hundreds, and elephant families are present throughout. The conservancy also runs one of Africa's most successful chimpanzee sanctuary and rescue programmes — the Jane Goodall Institute's Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary — where rescued chimps can be observed in a large natural enclosure. The equator runs directly through the conservancy, and the equator marker is a classic photo stop.
The afternoon drive continues the rhino focus with visits to the black rhino sanctuary and the boma housing the northern white rhinos. The chance to stand just metres from what may be the last living members of a subspecies, knowing their fate hangs in the balance of advanced IVF research, is one of the most affecting wildlife encounters in Africa. The Ewaso Ng'iro River forms the conservancy's western boundary and the afternoon drive along the river circuit delivers hippo, crocodile, waterbuck, and often lion or leopard. The conservancy's resident cheetah coalition — three males — patrols the open areas to the south and is frequently encountered in the late afternoon.
Sundowners at the conservancy's viewpoint overlooking the Ewaso Ng'iro River and Mount Kenya, then dinner at your lodge or tented camp. The proximity to Mount Kenya means clear evenings are spectacular — the mountain's twin peaks of Batian and Nelion are silhouetted against a star-filled sky.
