Ol Pejeta Conservancy

Ol Pejeta is the full-day safari from Aberdare Corridor: roughly an hour north into Laikipia, then a landscape wide enough to hold the Big Five, the largest black rhino population in East Africa, and a conservation story the whole world is watching.

The conservancy covers about 400 square kilometres of grassland and acacia. All-day game drives are the classic way to see it — lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, and both black and southern white rhino, with time to stop, wait, and let the light change. It is also a working cattle ranch turned model for how wildlife, livestock, and neighbouring communities can share a landscape.

At the heart of Ol Pejeta live Najin and Fatu, the last two northern white rhinos on the planet. Neither can carry a calf, so scientists in the BioRescue programme are using assisted reproduction and southern white rhino surrogates in a last attempt to bring the subspecies back. A visit to their enclosure is not a zoo stop. It is a quiet hour with two animals on whom an entire lineage now depends.

Ol Pejeta is also the only place in Kenya where you can see chimpanzees, cared for at a sanctuary for animals rescued from the pet and bushmeat trades. Combine a chimpanzee visit with the rhino encounter and a long game drive, and the day is full.

We pack a picnic, arrange conservancy fees and a driver-guide, and bring you home in the evening. If you want one comprehensive safari from the resort, this is the one.