Kenya: Kicheche Bush Camp, Olare Conservancy
Much like their sister camp, Kicheche Valley, we would be on a conservancy while at Kicheche Bush Camp. And the accommodations were just as lush and enjoyable. Although in this case, all six tents were occupied, which gave it a very different feel with lots of socializing at lunch and dinner.
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We were sad to say goodbye to our guide Mika when we got to Kicheche Bush Camp at the end of our walking safari. Not only because he was one of the best guides (let's be honest, he was the best guide) we’ve ever had, but also because it meant a new guide who had no idea what things we’ve already seen or what information we already knew.
So Dixon, our new guide, was starting out at a disadvantage. Add on that he was new to the camp and had never driven a manual safari vehicle—which can be hard to handle on bumpy bush “roads.” Well, let’s just say that we’re happy that we survived the first two game drives with him! Driving was definitely the scariest part of it, but there were a number of other “game drive 101” items that made those first two drives disappointing—like not turning the engine off when sitting observing animals and not paying attention to the lighting for the best viewing/photographing. Lucky for us, when we mentioned our concerns to the camp managers Darren and Emma, they pulled some string to bring in Jimmy from their sister camp. Honestly, if they hadn’t, we probably wouldn’t have done another safari while we were there—it was that bad. For a camp that touts itself as a high-end photographer's camp, I was really surprised they would have such an inexperienced guide.
But our new guide Jimmy clearly knew his way around a camera and the conservancy and saved the day!
Our first evening, we decided on sundowners under a lone tree. Three of us went “picking flowers” (a colorful euphemism, surely) under the tree and took in a windy sunset. Little did we know that the very next morning we would find two male cheetahs in that very same tree!
Sundowners under a scenic tree.
The same scenic tree 12 hours later at sun rise - this time with cheetahs!
By this point, you may be tired of my safari posts and animal pictures. But every game drive brought new excitement for us. Baby warthogs running with their mamas to get away from us, baby hyenas with their fuzzy coats, and more lion cubs chasing and playing with their siblings entertained us on our drives. You just never know what you're going to see. And somehow, you see something memorable on every drive.
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As our safari at Bush Camp came to an end, the ever-elusive leopard was the only “big-five” animal we hadn’t seen on this trip. Our leopard luck on this trip had been poor so far and we were prepared to leave without having seen one of these nocturnal cats. But, as I said, you never know what to expect on a game drive. As we headed to the airstrip to depart on our final morning, we got word that a leopard was hanging out in a tree near the river. Sure enough, we got our leopard sighting!
If that wasn’t good enough, we also saw some beautiful male lions not far from the leopard. And of course, plenty of wildebeest, elephant, and other critters.
(click on the picture to see the uncropped version)
We were sad to board the plane to Diani Beach and leave the animals behind. But were also ready to sleep in, sit on the white sand beach, and listen to the waves though!
INTERESTED IN DOING THIS?
We’ve had several people already asking us about our itinerary or how they can do something like this. For this trip, and all our prior African safari trips, we worked with our travel agent Casey at Mango African Safaris. She has always listened to what we want and put together an itinerary that suited us perfectly, so we highly recommend Mango.