Ol Donyo Wuas, Chyulu Hills, Kenya
2. Ol Donyo Wuas
Location: Chyulu Hills, Kenya
What's Cool: Sleeping with lions
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"What's that?" My alarmed wife nudged me awake as I slumbered in the bungalows in the Chyulu Hills. It was night but I could still see white-topped Mount Kilimanjaro looming across the plains. Somewhere close by, very close by, we could hear the rapid grunts of two lions mating. Why could we hear them so clearly? The front of our hut was wide open to the outside elements, including our feline companions. After a semi-sleepless night, we found the lions' tracks directly under the hut, making me grateful that the open side of our bedroom stood elevated on stilts.
A nocturnal visit by lions is not unusual in the pristine isolation of the Chyulu Hills. There are no roads to the Ol Donyo Wuas lodges; visitors arrive by propeller plane (this can be arranged through the lodge) after a stunning one-hour flight from Nairobi over countryside teeming with wildlife. The lodge's seclusion is helped by the lack of water in the area. Water is brought in by tractor from a well 30 kilometers away. But that doesn't detract from the luxurious amenities of this extraordinary place, where a day's safari on horseback or in a jeep is amply rewarded by gourmet meals next to the main lodge's enormous fireplace.
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