JANUARY 2006
“We have had a perfect holiday in a perfect place – this really is a piece of heaven!” Philip, Lucy, Tom, Archie and Will, UK
A very Happy New Year from all at Ol Seki! We opened for the new season with a full camp – 22 Mexicans helped us to celebrate Ol Seki's first Christmas with a wonderful mix of western and Maasai cultures. Our Maasai staff performed traditional dancing in front of the library tent and then the guests sang ‘Merry Christmas' in return! New Year's Eve was also celebrated in the traditional way and the new year was ‘seen in' at midnight for Kenya , 2am for Holland and 3am for the UK - hardly surprising that our English guests were rather jaded the next morning!
The lack of rain in Kenya has not adversely affected the game viewing at Ol Seki but we were thankful to receive rain recently. Already the first flush of bright green has attracted more wildlife, and in greater numbers. Our resident bachelor group of four magnificent lions were determined to keep us all awake by coming into camp on three consecutive nights and roaring spectacularly at 4am. When we opened the camp for the new season, we were delighted to see that the ‘Airstrip Pride' of lion have blossomed and grown in our absence – many guests have had hours of fun watching the four new cubs that are now just over 3 months old. It is fascinating to observe the ‘real' and natural behaviour of an un-habituated mother and her young.
The wonder of new life is everywhere to be seen around Ol Seki – baby wildebeest, Thomsons gazelle, impala, giraffe and zebra to name but a few. It was most exciting to watch a cheetah and her four month old cubs gorge themselves on their ‘Tommy' kill just above camp – and our guests had only been with us for half an hour! Other ‘old friends' remain near to camp. ‘Broken Tusks' the enormous bull elephant and his four companions, whose magnificent tusks are in sharp contrast to his comrade's ivory, can still be seen on a daily basis.