Serena Sweetwaters Camp at Ol Pejeta is our first tented camp on this Safari and I was especially interested to compare their tents to our Yurts .  After a quick check in the porters carried our safari bags to our Tent.  The tent itself was somewhat comparable to our Yurts.  It had a comfy bed with luxury linens, full bath, complimentary coffee, electricity and wifi.  And although it did not have heat and air, the porters would always turn our bed down in the evening and put a hot water bottle in the bed to keep us toasty warm as we slept.  

The big difference between Sky Ridge and Sweetwaters is the view.  At Sky Ridge Yurts we have beautiful views of the mountains but here at Sweetwaters we had a perfect view from our tent of the watering hole.  When we were not out on game drives we could just sit and watch all the animals come to drink or maybe even roll in the mud.

We arrived our first day just in time for lunch and a quick break so I had to start taking photos of all the animals as they entertained us at the watering hole. It was amazing how many different animals came to cool off.

Sweetwaters Camp is located inside the Reserve so as soon as we exited the gate of the camp we began to see many different animals such as this herd of Impalas.  It has been a bit challenging to me to remember the difference between the speices of the antelope family.  The impalas are larger and have the MacDonald’s arches on their behind. The males have magnificent horns that curve backwards and then upwards and have a marking on their faces .  The females do not have horns at all.  A dominate male herds all the females while the bachelor herd travels close by hoping for their chances. Below is a herd of females and the dominate male.

The Thompson’s Gazelle is smaller in size and can be easily recognized by the stripe on the side of their bellies.

However, Ol Pajetta is best known for the Rhinos.  The White Rhino is the world’s second largest land mammal with the elephant being the largest.  Its name has nothing to do with the color but has to do with the African word weit which means wide.   The white rhino has a very wide mouth and carries two horns.   The British pronounced “weit” as white thus the rhinos have since been called White Rhinos

The rhinos are beautiful animals and I must admit that it angered me greatly to learn why the poachers are killing the animals.  Rhino horns are similar in structure to our fingernails but there is a big market for these horns in Traditional Chinese Medicine and it has become increasingly common as a status symbol to display success and wealth.

We did see elephants here at Ol Pejeta but they were in much smaller families than we had seen at Amboseli.  But here at Ol Pejeta we were delighted to see the Rothchild giraffe.  We had seen the masai giraffe at Nairobi National Park so I’ve posted the pic of the Masi giraffe so you can see the difference between the two speices.

The Rothchild giraffe is above and the Masai giraffe is below is the Masai Giraffe. Can you see the difference in their markings? I personally like the Rothchild better.

Except for their distinct horns, Cape buffalos would remind you of cattle and are in great abundance here at the reserve.   Here is a momma and baby buffalo.

I realize that I have not mentioned the lions yet.  We saw these brothers sleeping during our first game drive when we arrived at Ol Pejeta.  Our safari truck was only feet away from this brother and two sister lions and although we sat there watching them for over half an hour they barley moved at all.  I did my best to catch a picture of them everytime they would raise their heads or just begin to play as a “kitty cat” would.

The next time we would see the lions this one was standing on top of a hill.  She must have been sitting here for some time in the hot sun because she decided to end our viewing by walking down the hill to join her sister before moving out of sight to rest in the shade.  

The guides talk to each other via radio while we are out on game drives so when Mowk, our guide, heard there were lions resting above the river he rushed our safari vehicle through the river crossing to make sure we could see them.

As we left the lions to cross the river again we had to give way to this hyena first.

When we first arrived At the resort we signed up to do a night drive the last night of our stay here.  The resort had a special liscense that allowed them to take us off the road to spot animals at night.  They used spot lights to catch the glimpse of the animal’s eyes then they would take us out into the bush to see them.  Of course we saw the antelopes and zebras sleeping but we really were trying to see the nocturneal animals such as the hunting lion.  First we spotted this very big male lion.  Our guide Kennedy told us he had moved out of the preserve when they were doing some repair on the fence and now he was waiting for the opportunity to get back inside.  He had spotted some lionesses and wanted to come in to join them.  

Our driver took us back into the bush and here we found four lions feasting on a baby zebra.  We did not see the kill but being as close to them as we were was quite an experience.  You could hear the crunching of bones and the howls of the hyenas trying to get their share of the spoils. These photos were taken with nothing more than a spot light on the lion but we still could get the pic because the lion was sitting right beside our safari vehicle. Soon the howls of the hyenas started and they came to see if they could get a share.

I wasn’t sure how I would react to seeing this but I did okay. I just had to realize this is the circle of life in the African wild.

To close this post on a more positive note I’ll leave you with some family shots from Ol Pejeta. This African Safari has certainly exceeded our expectations and we are having the time of our life.

Caroline and Sara with Joe and MaryAnn behind them in our Safari Vehicle.

Me in my Safari wear trying to capture pictures of the animals.

Joe and MaryAnn spotting wildlife.

William in his Safari Hat using binoculars for a better view of the animals.