Kenya Off the Beaten Path

Lewa Wilderness is closed April-May and November. Other camps/lodges may be substituted during these closure times.

A typical day at Lewa Wilderness looks like this:

As the sun starts to rise, sit on your cottage verandah with your morning tea or coffee, listening to the sound of the river, and watching giraffe and zebra grazing peacefully in the valley below.

You can choose between varieties of escorted excursions: game viewing drives, bush walks or horseback riding. The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy comprises more than 60, 000 acres of beautiful and varied terrain, from open plains, rolling hills, valleys, escarpments and rivers, with the backdrop of snow-capped Mount Kenya. There is a very good chance of seeing all of the “Big Five” and Lewa is one of the only game parks where visitors are almost guaranteed to see the endangered black and white rhinos. It is also home to 20% of the world population of the critically endangered Grevy Zebra. Being a private game reserve, guests can enjoy these rich game viewing opportunities without the crowds.

Horseback riding is the perfect way to get right among the plains game, literally a few feet away from browsing giraffe, zebra and eland. The horses have given enormous pleasure to many who have never ridden before. The peace is remarkable, the only sounds being the plod of the horses’ hooves and the singing of birds. Just when you are starting to feel ready for breakfast, you turn a corner and find a beautiful breakfast spread set up under the shade of an acacia tree.

After a delicious bush breakfast, options include a camel ride to enjoy the stunning scenery from a great vantage point, a

game drive to watch animals drinking at the river, or a stroll down to the farm to see where much of our delicious food comes from. Or for those wanting a more relaxed pace, lying by the infinity pool with a good book is hard to beat!

Lunch in our open sided dining room is a sumptuous buffet including plenty of fresh vegetables from our garden. The hillside opposite provides fantastic game viewing opportunities with all of the “Big Five” having been spotted from our dining room!

Following afternoon tea on the verandah of the Craigs’ family home, head out with our experienced driver / guides for more game viewing. Enjoy sundowner drinks and the stunning vistas that Lewa provides before heading back to the lodge for pre-dinner drinks around the cozy sitting room fire. After dinner, sit out on the deck and marvel at the millions of bright stars twinkling in the clear African skies and reflect on a fabulous day in the bush.

Sarara Tented Camp is closed April-May and 15 Oct - 14 Dec. Other lodges or camps can be substituted during these closure times.

Early mornings at Sarara can only be described as truly spectacular! Tea or coffee and home baked cookies will be served on your veranda deck by staff from the local community as the sun rises … incredible hues of pink and crimson red pouring over the eastern horizon. This will be followed by a fascinating stroll along the wide, sandy Sarara ‘lugga’. Accompanied by armed local field scouts who were born and raised in the area, guests may hope to find elephant, gerenuk, reticulated giraffe, the elegant lesser kudu plus an enormous variety of birds before breakfast. A very special treat would be to encounter our resident pack of up to 70 African wild dogs who frequently den and hunt close to camp. A traditional safari breakfast cooked out in the middle of the bush sets the tone for the remainder of the morning.

At around 10:00 AM, guests will be eager to pay a visit to the famous ‘Sarara Singing Wells’ (dry season only). Every morning the Samburu warriors bring their cattle to the dry river bed near the camp. The warriors begin to dig deep wells which will provide drinking water for their cattle. Naked, the warriors sing as they dig. The singing creates a rhythm which synchronizes the team work as buckets are lifted from one warrior to the next as the well is dug. But the songs also have the additional function of calling each warrior’s cattle to his particular well. Sarara is the only place in the world where one can view this magical and timeless tribal tradition.

By mid-morning the sun is getting hot. A return to camp and a dive into the clear natural rock swimming pool to cool off. Then relax and enjoy a buffet lunch. With luck a number of elephant will come to mud bath in the waterhole just a few metres in front of your tents. While away the afternoon by taking a nap or writing up a memory-filled safari journal.

As the heat dissipates, it is time to venture out once more. This could be either a fascinating game drive in specially prepared 4x4 vehicles or a camel ride. Leopard abound in the area and frequently seen. Sarara has established itself as one of the ‘hot spots’ for quality leopard viewing in Africa and equally, for close-up sightings of the normally extremely shy lesser kudu antelope. The African wild dogs are frequently encountered in the Sarara valley too. Elephant, buffalo, giraffe, gerenuk, impala and warthogs are now regularly seen on our game drives and bush walks and are very much on the increase in numbers. Unusual sightings include striped hyena, aardwolf, civet cat, African wild cat, greater kudu, grevy zebra and cheetah.

As the sun sets, it is time for cocktails and an incredible bush dinner under the twinkling stars!

Additional activities include:

Mountain Hikes

Break out from the norm and climb on foot high into the Ol Donyo Lenkio Mountains which go as high as 8, 000 feet. You will find a dramatic change in flora and fauna as dry land turns into rainforest. This is a truly unique and wonderful experience. However, please note, that this is a strenuous walk and close encounters with wild animals are a very real possibility.

Bush Ponies

Access areas that are difficult to explore by car or on foot. Get in amongst the game on horseback or ride up into the mysterious mountains following elephant pathways. Due to the height of the ponies this is restricted to maximum of 80 kg/176 lbs. Have a morning ride out to a breakfast laid out in the bush or an evening back to a sun downer!

Extended Walking Safaris with Camels

If you are staying for several nights, you might want to spend one of those evenings under the stars, sleeping in your own mosquito-netting tent in the middle of a dry river bed, watching the stars in the clear sky above you and listening to the sounds of the leopards ‘sawing’ around you. Enjoy drinks around the campfire while dinner is prepared for you.

Other Cultural Experiences

Spend the afternoon with the Sarara Sabache Women’s Group being beaded or beading your favorite shirt or hat. This is a wonderful chance to sit amongst the Samburu women and learn the unique skills of their traditional beading. Il Konono Blacksmiths provide an insight into the men who pass down from generation to generation the skills of crafting spears, goat bells, knives and jewelry. Another vanishing tradition due to importing of cheap Chinese metal. Watch your very own bracelet being made before you! Enjoy an evening visit to an unspoiled and totally natural nearby local Samburu homestead and participate in their daily ritual of milking goats, corralling the cattle for the night and learning about their fascinating traditional customs. Out of respect for the community, we ask you to leave your cameras behind.

Game drives and activities are done within the Olare Motorogi Conservancy. Game drives within the Masai Mara National Reserve are optional and at additional cost (reserve fees).

Activities offered at Mara Plains Camp include:

Game drives (day & night) take place in some of the Mara’s most coveted vehicles. Each of the four Toyota Land Cruisers is open-sided, canopied and customized for photographers (fold-down screens, raised roofs, photographic bars, multi-plug invertors). With just four to six guests each, the Cruisers have fully-stocked fridges stocked with drinks and snacks.

No two days are the same on safari. Game drives typically start at sunrise, returning for lunch and depart again in the mid-afternoon before returning just after sunset. However, very often we will go out all day, deep into the Reserve or Conservancy with pack breakfast and lunch. Very often, our safaris will continue into the night, a possibility because of our location on a private conservancy. Night drives are particularly prolific in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy, and while they take patience, sightings commonly include lesser known nocturnal mammals and even lion and hyena hunts.

Hot air ballooning is available, but should be booked in advance and is subject to availability and additional cost. Departures are very early in the morning to allow time to transfer to the nearest launching point.

If a chance to learn about the Maasai is of interest, then cultural visits to a nearby Maasai village (locally known as an “enkang”) are also a highlight. Locally produced crafts are available for purchase at the camp, all proceeds of which go toward the community, and particularly the women’s groups and schools.