Who knew travelling would become so hard to do in the New Year? I had been taking being able to take a weekend away or a few nights for granted, that too not too far out from Nairobi. The past few months, before they opened up the counties, we were all stuck in our homes. During this time I was going through all the trips I had done last year and realised how many beautiful places I got to visit just here in Kenya!

Now that they’ve opened counties I decided to tell you all about an amazing weekend away I had in Nanyuki last year. Maybe it’s somewhere you can go to give yourself a break during these unpredictable times. I chose to write this to give you an idea or some hope about being able to go away for a little time, away from the city and take in some peace and fresh air…so here goes!

Around September last year I was invited for an event by one of my clients which was located in Nanyuki, it was a one night event but obviously I decided to make it a weekend away and took a break from the stressful months I had before that.

The favourite part of that trip was the place we stayed at, Ole Samara Guest Suites. I found out about it through Booking.com when I was looking for a place to stay at.  It is located just off the Nyeri-Nanyuki highway, 13km south from Nanyuki Town.

It has about 6 guest rooms, each with its own private entry. Two of the suites have their own kitchen while the rest have access to a fully equipped kitchen. It has both options, completely self-catering i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner or Bed & Breakfast. We chose the Bed and Breakfast option.

Each room is decorated beautifully and the toiletries are handmade natural organic from Cinnabar Green. The service was impeccable and the whole area was so clean and well looked after.

The outside is filled with vast greenery and colourful flowers. Different picnic sites around there and also a common sitting area on the deck with a fireplace which can usually be put on at night if you want. Two of the suites (the bigger ones) have their own little balcony where guests can relax and take in the sun with no disturbance.

Left Nairobi at about 7:00am from Nairobi and reached Ole Samara at about 10:00am. After checking in and unpacking and getting settled, the owner took us down for a walk to the river, it was about 2km down from the guest suites and they have few more picnic sites by the river if you want to have a private lunch/picnic yourself. I was quite peaceful and quiet, all we could hear was the river. On the way down we met a few cows though… haha.

It’s a hill so the walk up is a little tiring but so worth the view from the top. Sometimes if you’re lucky you are able to see Mt. Kenya, depending on the weather. When we got there it was so hot and bright, such lovely weather. Looking at the photos makes me want to go back

By the time we got back up it was about 12pm and our stomachs were definitely growling! On that day we chose to have lunch at the other famous restaurant, Barneys. We had a piping hot pizza, a cold, cold beer while we watched the planes land and take off. The perfect lunch before we made our way to Ol Pejeta Conservancy.

We went to Ol Pejeta specifically to see the well-known blind rhino, Baraka and of course the two Northern White Rhinos left there. However, before we did that we were welcomed by some gorgeous Ellies, I mean who wouldn’t stop to watch them? We also came across the Chimpanzee Sanctuary, to be honest I knew nothing about before this.

It was such a surprising visit, the conservancy is home to orphaned and abused Chimpanzees to help heal them and giving them a second chance. Some of the stories we heard were horrific and sad to believe. I can’t believe humans are this inhumane. But… it was lovely to see them recovering.

In all honesty, I had no idea how smart Chimpanzees are, I mean I’ve heard about it and read about it but this was the first time I saw it for myself. It’s definitely a place to go visit because there’s a lot to learn about Chimpanzees.

After all of that we finally got to the Rhinos. Before anything we had booked a horse ride in the wild which was a really cool and different experience. We rode with the rhinos not too far from us, watching antelopes and zebras as we rode along. I mean I’ve done horse riding on the beach, on the road and now finally in the wild!

Baraka is the cutest Rhino on the planet, even though he’s blind and can’t see he was such a happy and playful rhino. His hearing skills were definitely on point. We fed him a few leaves and got to give him some of our love too. Watching him manoeuvre in his space, which is carefully watched over because of his inability to see, was a heartwarming view. The way the rangers took care of him was like taking care of their own little baby. His happiness made me feel so content and at peace for some reason. Took all the stress away! Doesn’t it sound wonderful just to go and visit this stunning soul?

That was the end to the perfect first day, on the way back we picked up some takeaway from Nanyuki Mall for dinner. Spent some time outdoors in the common area by the fire place before we decided to call it a night. It was freezing but you could see some stars despite the fairly cloudy sky. There is very little light noise around the area which made it so possible to enjoy the starry sky.

The next morning we were served a huge portion of English breakfast with a hot cup of Filtered Coffee and Yogurt too. Sitting outside with the gorgeous view was so serene. I wish I could always enjoy my breakfast with a view like that.

By the time we finished up with breakfast it was already 11:00am. Took in a little bit of the sun while walking around the garden area and taking in all the greenery. Had a bit of a walk again around the guest suites, taking all the fresh air in.

With all the walking around, the working and the chilling… haha, we started to get a little hungry! For this day we had lunch at Tree Trout. The funniest thing was I had to fish out the beer from one of the ponds because it’s the best way to keep them cold. It was so cool to pull up the beers from a tree. The restaurant itself is built on an enormous Fig tree and around the tree barks.

It is a unique experience for those who eat Fish because they farm the fish there itself and bring those to the table. The vegetarian food was good too, I had a Margarita Pizza (yes I LOVE pizza).  It was definitely something different. In front of us we could see all the fish ponds where the farming takes place. It’s a wonderful open air dining experience.

That was the end of the trip because once we were done with lunch we went back to the room and got ready for the event. After the event we got back, slept. Had a good big breakfast before we were back on the road to Nairobi the next day.

Doesn’t Ole Samara sound dreamy for a 2 night break, away from the noise, away from the chaos and away from the traffic?