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DECEMBER NEWS and a wonderful gallery

December month has created a great opportunity of photography, especially the beautiful clouds before and after the rain with the sun rays sticking out behind a rain cloud. The paradise of Duba was flourishing with newly born red lechwes and the faint colored young tsessebes. The plains of Duba looked stunning green and for many giving them that imagination of “the last remains of the Biblical Eden” as described by one of our guests.

 ‘View from our plunge pool onto the majestic Kilimanjaro….’

Wow, what a month December was at ol Donyo!!

It is strange to think that we are into a new year already as December seems but a blur. The rains blessed us, a little late, but blessed us they did. We now stare out onto lush, emerald green plains as far as the eye can see, all towered over by Kilimanjaro herself, which at this time of year is amazing, clear and almost a guaranteed view in the morning and during the sunset.

‘Are there young men and women in Kenya who are willing to raise their voices when mine is carried away in the wind?’ George Adamson

A belated ‘Merry Christmas’ and a pre-emptive ‘happy new year’ to you all from the central plains of the Masai Mara.

“And I dream of the vast deserts, the forests, and all of the wilderness of our continent; wild places that we should protect as a precious heritage for our children and for our children’s children. We must never forget it is our duty to protect this environment” (Nelson Mandela)

A pair of cheeky visitors to the ol Donyo pool! (Photo: Laurence Claerhout)

November has been an extraordinary month. We started it on tenterhooks: will the short rains that we so desperately need come? With the clouds building expectantly, it made for wonderful lighting, and we were treated to spectacular views of Mount Kilimanjaro!

November is the beginning of the rainy season for us and as such this past month has delivered fantastic cloud formations, the most amazing sunsets and eventually the first rain as well. Our guests have certainly enjoyed the beautiful light offered up at this time of the year together with the many accompanying photographic opportunities.

As we write this, there are dark clouds eerily suspended above the lodge and we all look up in great anticipation as it has been over 5 months since the last green season.
Yesterday, we had our first real rainfall since May and the smell of the rain hitting the sun baked lava sand and guest areas of the lodge is definitely something that we have missed and as soon as the very brief rain stopped, the birds and the butterflies came out in full force filling the view from the mess with flashes of colour and the air with beautiful bird calls celebrating the rain.