Lions, Waterfalls, and Sheep on Motorbikes

On Wednesday, Leo-Ferdinand and Wenzel finally arrived.

The children had prepared a welcome poster and were incredibly excited to see them again.

Just like in Kilifi, everybody immediately started talking at once, eager to share everything they had experienced so far.

This time, however, the stories were all about wildlife and it was nice to see how much they learned in the last weeks and it seems they already became little wildlife experts.

“Did you know an impala can jump ten metres?” Assunta announced proudly.

“And did you know an elephant has to eat 150–300 kg of food per day?” Polyxena added.

Julius could hardly wait for his turn.

“And there are two different types of zebras! Look, that is the Grévy’s zebra, which is an endangered species!”

After a quick lunch, we headed straight into the Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

The landscape was as beautiful as ever. First, we visited Baraka, the blind rhino, before driving across vast, open plains filled with elephants, giraffes, impalas, gazelles, buffaloes, and antelopes.

Then, towards the end of the day, we saw something completely new for all of us.

Spotted hyenas.

Not just one, but two.

The next day we embarged early in the morning  and returned to the conservancy to experience the awaiking of the wildlife of Ol Pajeta.

During our trip we also visited the chimpanzee sanctuary.

The chimpanzees seemed especially lively that day, calling loudly, throwing sticks, and banging their fists against the ground. . There was threatening, jumping, screaming, and chasing. Our guide explained that one of them was trying to provoke the others into a fight.

But in the end, nothing happened.

One by one, they disappeared back into the forest.

Nearby, a huge group of baboons wandered through the area, equally fascinating to watch.

But the true highlight of the day came later.

Lions.

A whole group of them.

We were able to get surprisingly close, quietly watching them stretched out in the bushes.

Their sheer size alone was impressive.

Leo-Ferdinand stared at them silently for a long moment before finally saying:

“They are much bigger than I imagined.”

And he was right.

Even from inside the car, their presence felt enormous. Calm, powerful, and completely unbothered by us.

We could easily have spent the entire afternoon simply sitting there watching them.

Meanwhile, Charles, our wonderful help at the house, continued spoiling us with delicious meals whenever we returned home tired and overwhelmed with impressions from the day.

Today, we took Leo-Ferdinand back to the forest and waterfalls while Wenzel had to work.

But before we even reached the forest, Kenya once again provided its own entertainment.

“Look!” Leo-Ferdinand suddenly shouted. “There are two sheep on the back of that motorbike!”

And indeed, there they were, somehow tied onto a flat platform attached to the motorcycle as it rattled down the road.

Later, we saw even more impressive variations: two people transporting two goats on a single motorbike, and another bike stacked impossibly high with boxes and sacks.

We were all amazed by the drivers’ balancing skills.

At this point, nothing in Kenya traffic surprises us anymore.

In the forest, we crossed the hanging bridge, suspended high above the trees.

This time, apart from the dizzying height and the beautiful forest around us, we did not spot any animals. Still, simply walking through the forest felt peaceful after the excitement of the game drives.

Afterwards, we returned to the waterfalls and once again enjoyed the freezing cold water.

This time we visited a different spot where the children could jump from rocks three to five metres high into the river below.

It was exciting to watch, although I must admit I was secretly relieved that the cold water naturally limited the number of jumps.

The children were just as happy splashing through the river and climbing across the rocks anyway.

Along the roads, we once again spotted giraffes, rhinos, monkeys, gazelles, and zebras.

At one point, Leo-Ferdinand said:

“I could imagine living here. Or at least spending every holiday here.”

But strangely enough, the highlight for all of us turned out to be the ostriches.

They are not found in Ol Pejeta, and until now we had only seen them in Nairobi National Park. Seeing them here near Mount Kenya somehow felt unexpectedly exciting.

Now, tired but very happy, we are falling into bed feeling grateful that we could share all these animals, landscapes, and adventures with Leo-Ferdinand and Wenzel.

And tomorrow, another adventure awaits us.

Our final weekend in Kenya will take us further northeast, to Shaba National Reserve.