The Wazee Head to Solio in Search of Rhino

In the Samburu community of north central Kenya, the elders of the villages are known as Wazee.

Within the community, they are the leaders, and the decisions made by the respected Wazee are often upheld more so than those made by other demographics within the community.

It is for this reason that the Westgate Community have identified the Wazee as potential agents for positive change, making them key potential allies in addressing problems such as human-wildlife conflict in the Westgate community.

On Saturday, 23rd August The Safari Collection partnered with the Ewaso Lions Wazee Watch program and the Solio Conservancy to facilitate an exposure tour for the Wazee.

Rhino’s disappeared off the landscape in Samburu in 1975 and so some members of the Ewaso Lions team have never seen a rhino and for most of the Wazee they would not have seen rhino since they were school children. This tour was a valuable lesson in conservation and the importance of protecting and caring for the wildlife still remaining in Samburu.

The Ewaso Lions team spent the night in Archers Post on Friday night, in order to make it to Solio and back to Samburu in a day. We met early on Saturday morning in Nanyuki and Ava, the Solio manager, very kindly arranged for one of her guides to meet us and join us on our game drive.

We saw our first rhino before 9am and by the time we reached the lodge for a short tour at midday, we had seen over 30 different individuals, including both black and white rhino. The team was buzzing.

We spent a short time at the lodge looking at the rooms. All the Wazee were fascinated with the differences between Sasaab Samburu, which they know well, and Solio Lodge.

Thank you very much to Ava from Solio Lodge for arranging all our logistics and to Edward and Landy Parfet of Solio Ranch who waived the conservancy fees for this group. The day was a massive success and the Wazee learned a huge amount from the experience.