Mount Kenya Wildlife Estate adds colour to Laikipia jungle

Construction has begun on a new luxury housing estate at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a private wildlife sanctuary located in Laikipia County.

Dubbed Mount Kenya Wildlife Estate, the development is set on a 1,000-acre parcel of land on the eastern boundary of the 90,000-acre animal sanctuary, some 10km west of Nanyuki town.

The estate will comprise 100 single-storey 3-5 bedroom luxury houses available for sale to both local and foreign buyers at Sh29.9 million and Sh33 million for the 3-bedroom and 5-bedroom respectively.

The homes, which are designed to function both as holiday homes for rental and long-term residences, are concentrated around salt licks and waterholes with spectacular views of Mount Kenya, Aberdare Ranges and Laikipia plains.

“The design of the development and all planned activities will be wildlife-friendly, and there will be no internal fences, allowing game to roam at will,” Ol Pejeta says on its website.

According to Johnson Denge of Ryden International, the selling agent, over 50 homes have already been sold off-plan – an indication of the high demand for luxury homes in the country.

“We have already sold over 50 homes, and now with the show-house coming up we expect the rate of sales to increase,” Mr Denge said.

Richard Vigne, CEO Ol Pejeta Conservancy, says that the sale of Mount Kenya Wildlife Estate will help the firm to do more to achieve its objectives both in terms of conservation and empowering local communities.

“Every house sold will enable us to do more to achieve our goals at Ol Pejeta both in terms of wildlife conservation and in supporting local communities,” Mr Vigne says on Ol Pejeta’s website.

The estate will hold a dedicated club house and swimming pool area for the residents, since no private swimming pools are allowed due to the policy to conserve water in the often dry area.

Mount Kenya Wildlife Estate has a build-time of 18 months, meaning it will be ready for occupation by March 2014.

Explainer:

1.) Ol Pejeta is owned by the American-based Fauna and Flora International, a not-for-profit organisation.

2.) The ranch has a huge concentration of wildlife including all the Big 5 and plains game such as zebra, gazelle and giraffe.

3.) Ol Pejeta has the largest population of black rhinos in East Africa and it hosts the only chimpanzee sanctuary in Kenya.

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