ERVANCY S N O C A T E J E OL P
R O F N E V A H A VITA L D N A O N I H R K C BL A S E I C E P S Y E K OT H E R
T
he Ol Pejeta Conservancy is a notfor-profit wildlife conservancy located west of Nanyuki, between the foothills of the Aberdares and Mount Kenya.
Colonial times In colonial times, the Laikipia Plateau was used extensively for cattle ranching. In those days, landowners attached little value to wildlife. John and Jane Kenyon took over the management of Ol Pejeta in 1949 when it was owned by Lord Delamere and spent the next 15 years developing the ranch. John Kenyon was joined by Marcus WickhamBoynton, a school friend and business partner of Lord Delamere. Together they organised the 57,000-acre ranch into a successful beef producing company and expanded the farm to about 90,000 acres. Since the Kenyons retired, the ranch has been owned by various entrepreneurs. In 2004 it was purchased by Fauna & Flora International, a UK-based conservation organisation. The Sweetwaters Game Reserve has now been extended to encompass the whole ranch area to
create the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa. Its aim is to generate profit from wildlife tourism and complementary activities, including cattle, for reinvestment into community development in the local area.
Local community In addition to black rhino, the conservancy is a haven for great apes and contains many other animals including the Big Five. It also operates a successful cattle programme that is integrated with the local wildlife. The conservancy aims to assist the local community in areas like health, education, water, roads, provision of agriculture and livestock extension services and the development of community-based conservation tourism ventures.
FACT FILE Area: 90,000 acres (360 sq km) in the Laikipia District of central Kenya. Convenience: Ol Pejeta Conservancy is one
of the nearest safari venues to Nairobi.
Birds: Over 300 bird species in the conservancy. Accommodation: Five places to stay within the boundary: Sweetwaters Tented Camp, Ol Pejeta House, Ol Pejeta Bush Camp, Porini Rhino Camp and Kicheche Laikipia Camp.
There is also a research facility where groups or individuals can stay while studying the flora and fauna. Gates: Entry fees (per day) as of July 2009: Overseas visitors (day trippers): adult $55, child (three to 12 years old) $28. Overseas visitors (overnight stays): adult $47, child $24. Non-citizen Kenya residents (day trippers): adult $26 or KES 2,000, child $13 or KES 1,000. Non-citizen Kenya residents (overnight stays): adult $24 or KES 1,800, child $12 or KES 900. East African citizens (day trippers and overnight stays): adult KES 600, child KES 300.
All animals are free to come and go by way of specially constructed ‘game corridors’ that only restrict the movement of rhinos. This involves putting knee-high posts in the ground, close together, so that rhinos cannot move out of the conservancy. This helps to protect them from poachers.
13