I’ve visited Kenya many times over the last decade. Each time, I’m reminded why this is one of my very favorite countries to visit in Africa. The people, the wildlife, the views – I’m always blown away.
A very special region in Kenya can be found about an hour’s flight north of the capital city of Nairobi. The conservancies surrounding Mount Kenya are amazing for a number of reasons. I love the stunning landscapes here, particularly the views of the mountain. They are also home to a vast amount of wildlife, including unique “northern” species that can only be found north of the equator – Grevy’s Zebra, Reticulated Giraffe, and more.
On my most recent trip, I spent a couple nights visiting the Borana Conservancy in this region, both at Borana Lodge and Lengishu House. The former is a family-run lodge, perfect for couples or families, and the latter is a stunning exclusive-use home. Game drives are your focus for animal viewing, as well as many unique activities like horseback riding and e-biking.
The big highlight for me, however, was rhino tracking on foot with a ranger in the conservancy. Rhinos were reintroduced into the Borana Conservancy in 2013. Every day, the rangers go out on foot to account for each rhino. As a guest when joining in this operation, your walk generally takes 1.5-2 hours.
While it’s not a guarantee that you’ll find the rhinos, there is a high likelihood you will. During our walk, we located one white rhino, as well as two black rhinos – a mom and her baby. The thrill of seeing these stunning creatures on foot is something I will always remember. We also saw a variety of other animals, including elephants and giraffe. You never know what you’ll find out in the bush and being on foot simply adds to the excitement.
When you’re rhino tracking, you may notice that the rhinos have notches in their ears. All Borana rhinos have notches in their ears in order to keep track of and identify the rhinos in this region. This diagram below shows rhino ear notching. For example, if a rhino has two notches in its right ear in the bottom two thirds (80) and two notches in his left ear in the top two thirds (4), this rhino’s number would be 84. Ear notching is a crucial element of rhino conservation, and it was fascinating to see it firsthand.
The Borana Conservancy is the only place in Kenya where you can go rhino tracking, so it’s truly an experience unique to the properties located here. With so few rhinos left in the world, I always feel lucky when I’m able to spot them. They are stunning creatures and I’m always counting down until my next African safari brings me back into their presence.
