THE LODGE

The main homestead at Olerai House opens a window into what life was once like for the old Rift Valley farmers. Back then, a pepper tree with widespread branches was often planted beside the building to shade the house. On the other side lay a courtyard leading to a smoky wood-stove kitchen. Baskets and bowls for the dogs sat on the stone floor and meat hung in the outdoor meat safe. Small, netted windows fitted into the thick walls to keep heat, dust and bugs out, and a diesel generator puffed away in the evenings to provide electricity. Nearby sat a large metal drum perched over a fire and roughly plumbed into the house to provide hot water. Self-sufficiency was highly prized as it was the norm to live off the land.

Since those days, Olerai has been opened up and modernised into a lovely rambling country lodge. Creepers tumble off the roof, scenting the air with flowers, a big ‘piazza’ courtyard leads to a modern kitchen, there is electric light, freezers and refrigerators, an efficient hot water stove, and a little generator that switches on automatically to cover for the odd power cut. Instead of cows mooing at night, what you will hear are buffalos and hippos grunting just outside your room as they pull up the succulent green grass, owls hooting in the acacia trees, and an hyaena howling in the distance.