January 2014 News – ol Donyo Lodge, Kenya
The start of the traditional Maasai Wedding ceremony of our staff member Jackson…. Where the January celebration began.
The entrance in to 2014 has been an eventful, rewarding and celebratory one!
We are delighted to say that our resident Thompson’s Gazelle is doing amazingly well, last month he was brought to us barely breathing and only 2 days old. Bahati was found on the airstrip and luckily for us, our store man Dan had a Thompson’s Gazelle growing up so he immediately jumped at the chance to try and save Bahati (the name came quickly seeing how Bahati in Swahili means Luck).
Dan giving Bahati its daily dose of ol Donyo TLC
In the beginning Dan housed Bahati in his room and started feeding him with milk from a Sprite bottle with a teat improvised from an old tyre inner tube! Bahati now guzzles down the milk and is starting to graze, he does however not reside in Dan’s room throughout the night but is currently guarding our new chicken coop whilst we put on the finishing touches.
We love Bahati’s daily office visits!
He is a regular sight roaming around the back of house area (and loves to ‘pop’ into the office for visits) and really enjoys a good neck scratch. Our guests have loved getting up close and personal to this very special addition to the ol Donyo family.
The Chyulu Hills Hen House!
The coop itself has been a fun project to watch from the beginning and it is now awaiting the arrival of 15 very lucky chickens who will be hopefully supplying our guests with fresh eggs daily and we are sure they will love the colour of their new home!
Breaking Water Records at ol Donyo with our legendary bulls!
With the rains long gone, the Elephants are back in droves and we actually broke the waterhole record the other day as we had 16 there over lunch for our guests to enjoy. It is great to see them all back and the hide has seen its fair share of action with guests in there all day long, just a few meters away from the Bulls themselves fascinated by the subtle interactions and of course observing the definite hierarchy amongst them.
Our exciting Nosi Noni lion sighting…. Getting closer every day.
Annie our stables manager has had some amazing lion sightings this month just up the road from the lodge. Resident lioness Nosi Noni and her sister seen enjoying the sun and long grass with 4 cubs, we have also heard some great lion activity close at night with the low grunts reverbing off of the lodge and the Chyulu hills, we are hoping that February brings a few more sightings.
The Cheetahs have also been spotted numerous times during game drives and even once on foot during one of our amazing morning walks. It was the first time that we have spotted them whilst hiking so that was extremely exciting, something to celebrate and not to mention, heart racing.
The ol Donyo Team with Jackson celebrating his wedding day!
Another reason to celebrate this month is the wedding of one of our employees, Jackson Salonka and his new wife, Faith.
The wedding was a display of colour, culture, love and support. The ceremony starts with the couple walking to the main tent area, the ladies in front and the men behind in a large parade that is so festive with traditional songs being chanted by everybody and of course a decent amount of dancing to go with! Once at the tent, before the speeches….more amazing song and dance.
Maasai Warriors danced into the night celebrating wedding ceremony with the dramatic chanting and jumping.
The whole day from the parade in, to the junior warriors chanting and moving in a rhythmic chant was magical and we hope that everyone gets to someday be a part of something so moving even if it is on a slightly smaller scale visiting one of the local Maasai villages whilst visiting us at ol Donyo, Congratulations Jackson & Faith.
Newly married—Jackson and Faith! We are all so happy for you
February is looking to be a hot month with the herds of zebra, wildebeest and gazelles moving back closer to the lodge which is very exciting as they have been away lapping up the last of the water from the rains and the last tasty patches of green grass, so soon our guests will be able to hike, drive, horse ride or walk amongst the plains surrounded by animals with the Chyulu hills and Kilimanjaro as a back drop!
Biking amongst the giraffes on the plains is an experience unlike no other at ol Donyo.
