My stay at Olelek Ranch was out of this world.
My exit from south Rift was crowned with a two night stay in what I would call a heavenly place in kajiado county. Deep inside loodokilani on a conflux of two seasonal rivers is this rustic log cabin in a 16-acre private ranch. We approached this area from Kajiado – Namanga road and branched off to the left before we got to Bullseye the google coordinates are quite accurate and madam google didn’t loose us this time lol .
The road is quite rough but manageable although a four-wheel drive is recommended just in case it rains as most river beds we crossed don’t have bridges otherwise any hardy vehicle with high ground clearance will do just fine. But then again this is the joy of getting to this secluded space.
We got there late afternoon probably 40 Mins after kajiado town. Let me just say by the time we got here I was a bit anxious. One, Mr.Patrick our host, had pulled a first one on me ‘’Rosebell don’t complement my house until you get there just in-case it doesn’t look like the images “as a frequent traveler I understand this phrase from experience of buying from a brochure only to be confronted by a totally different scenario. Well, while descending to the ranch, my mind was like since it’s a storley building it must be visible from a distance right? Shockingly it’s not, actually you only see the roof when you are at the gate, now you can imagine why his statement would have made me anxious haha!
But when you pull into the drive way, my, my, ooh my ! the house comes to live. It was right there just as it is from the exterior images, two floors up with a flight of stairs to the top. This rustic property is built in harmony with nature on top of a rock overlooking the rivers below. Evans the chef was there to receive us and check us in and am sure he wasn’t a stranger to the awe on our faces.
He ushered us in to The living area on the top floor which also has an open kitchen and the main access to the whole house. And just as you enter, there this tree right in the middle The views that welcome you over and beyond as its all glass, are breath-taking. Now fathom this, it was late afternoon the sun was beginning to set, all reflections on the wooden deck reflecting it rays on the huge windows and the plunge pool was just inviting, now imagine taking a deep in it watching the sun set with a glass of. …
Just by checking in this house all the exhaustion, the dust across south rift was forgotten in an instant just then Chef Evans reminded us we needed to select our rooms and discuss diner so that by the time we are done freshening up we can have diner and Patrick had called he was on the way.
The rooms also have scenic views of the kopjes, the river down below and the surrounding semiarid forest in Karero hills. The house has five double rooms one twin room and one room with double deckers.Unlike the ground and first floor The top floor has an open bathroom.
By the time we all had settled down for diner we were truly impressed and the chef was on point with his cooking he made us the most delicious beef stew ever.
There is no television here and Patrick explained it was intentional to encourage interactions there are indoor games already and for music lovers carry your own speakers and power as the house is fully operational on solar. However, you can charge mobile phones and small portable speakers. Appliances that require a lot of energy won’t work here word of advice carry crease free clothes. As the night ebbed away enjoying the quiet vicinity with mother nature entertaining us we didn’t realize how late it was and everyone decided to call it a night.
I woke up the following day at 10:00hrs I thought everyone had already woken up but it seems our biological alarm was the same. It was the most peaceful night ever I wasn’t even sorry I missed the sunrise we all assembled for breakfast before embarking on tour of the property which can only best be defined with images.
Ropes challenge for outdoor enthusiasts
For the rock climbers there are quite a lot of challenges that you will encounter during the nature walk For the swimmers there quite a number of pools one can swim safely and play around with pebbles at the back of the house.
So how did this lovely home came to be? Patrick a finance professional was constructing a family getaway house and his choice of location left many wondering why would someone buy land in such a rugged ground but he had a plan in place, though he did confess the house paved some of the plans along the way together with his contractor the house ended up being 7bedroom. And one day he decided to list it on Air BNB and as they say the rest is history. They opened doors to sharing this special place to others looking for getaways. This ranch has also created employment to the locals and he’s quite engaged in supporting the local community in a sustainable way. The ranch also has Goats so if you love mbuzi choma all you have to do is call and order and it shall be ready by the time you get there.
As our time comes to an end on the third day it surely felt like we had just arrived. This are just one of those places you would want to stay longer. Peace of advice come fully stocked time just seems to lapse soo fast we thought we would sample the surroundings but we just didn’t want to leave… and we didn’t! Olelek was just enough..
Patrick is a super host.
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