Day 4 Morning Game Drive

Our day started again with a game drive at 6 AM. It was very cold and a bit misty. The camp provided heavy-duty ponchos that kept us warm and dry. They also had hot water bottles for us every morning.

Our main goal in the morning was to try to find the lion pride that lives in the conservancy. Lion prides are led by a dominant male or a coalition of two or three brother lions. The pride at Ol Pejeta is led by three male lions. Lions usually hunt at night or early/late in the day when it is cooler. Then they typically rest in the shade during the day.

Our guide drove to an area where he expected the pride might have been hunting the night before. He looked at the behavior of other animals as a signal that the lions might be near. When prey animals think lions might be near, they stop grazing and stare intensely in the direction of the pride. Our driver saw this behavior and told us that the lions were close by. He drove into the brush and we soon came upon them.

Breakfast and Chimpanzee Rescue

Instead of the usual packed breakfast, the camp surprised us with a hot breakfast that they cooked out in a field in the conservancy. They set up a table with a tablecloth, place settings, and silverware. The camp chef cooked eggs to order on a grill. There was also a small buffet with hot and cold options including sausages, bacon, granola, yogurt, fruit, baked beans, and “Kenyan donuts.”

After breakfast we proceeded to the chimpanzee rescue facility within the conservancy. This facility is connected to Jane Goodall and takes in chimps from across Africa. Most of the chimps were raised as pets but then abandoned when they grew into adults and became dangerous to be around humans. The chimps are in a large fenced area. They also have an indoor area where they are able to sleep. We only saw a few chimps during our visit, but we learned a lot about their conservation efforts.

Evening Drive and the Equator

We returned to camp, had lunch, and rested. Then we left for our evening game drive. During the drive we stopped at a point where the equator is marked. The kids really enjoyed hopping back and forth between the northern and southern hemispheres. This was when Malia realized this trip was the first time she had been south of the equator.

On the way back, right outside of our camp, we came across a large group of elephants right next to the road. One of the elephants was playing with a large plastic culvert (pipe) that was waiting to be installed under the road. One of the small elephants put its trunk into another truck with our group.

Night Drive

We also went on a night drive from 8 to 10 PM in the hopes of seeing some nocturnal animals. We had our normal driver and a spotter who scanned back and forth with a spotlight looking for the reflection from animals’ eyes. They told us that sometimes you see a lot of animals and sometimes you don’t see much. We did not see much. We saw a hare, a mongoose, and a striped hyena. The drive was pretty cold and relatively uneventful. Both of us had a hard time staying awake.