I spent the first night in Nairobi at The Fairmont - Norfolk Hotel, a hotel with many lives. It has been the place to stay in Nairobi for years. Once I entered the lobby I felt like I had entered a movie set from a bygone era.
The décor of the bar and the softly playing melody coming from a piano were welcoming the guests to the lobby, and the restaurant was busy with tourists and businessmen. The rooms are discrete in their décor, some of them facing the green courtyard where you can see robust tall trees, tropical bushes and flowerbeds. The attention was superb with a warm welcome from the staff, all with beautiful smiles that made me feel at home.
The next day I departed from Wilson airport to KichecheLaikipia camp located within the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, about 45 minute flight from Nairobi. The guide was waiting for me outside of the airport. We drove about and 1 hour through villages and herds of cattle and goats.
The décor of the bar and the softly playing melody coming from a piano were welcoming the guests to the lobby, and the restaurant was busy with tourists and businessmen. The rooms are discrete in their décor, some of them facing the green courtyard where you can see robust tall trees, tropical bushes and flowerbeds. The attention was superb with a warm welcome from the staff, all with beautiful smiles that made me feel at home.
The next day I departed from Wilson airport to KichecheLaikipia camp located within the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, about 45 minute flight from Nairobi. The guide was waiting for me outside of the airport. We drove about and 1 hour through villages and herds of cattle and goats.
The Conservancy is open grassland at the feet of Mount Kenya. Laikipia is located in one of the loveliest lands in Africa, with an Acacia forest and Thorn Whistle trees. The tents are located on vast grasslands, where the wind moves free without barriers, sweeping the plains, and carrying away numerous sounds and voices that rant the air. From the moment you enter the conservatory you can see all kinds of game; herds of elephants, families of giraffe and rhino, the most endangered species in the world!
The guides were good quality, with great knowledge of the wild life, and rich with stories of their land. Andy, the manager of Laikipia camp was a great host, and the food was amazing, thanks to his wife Sonia, whose cookbooks have had to be reprinted several times, because everyone wants to buy one. They run out of copies quickly once you arrive at the Camp’s store.
In Laikipia I did an evening safari and I saw lots of nocturnal animals, like the white tailed mongoose and many nocturnal birds.
The guides were good quality, with great knowledge of the wild life, and rich with stories of their land. Andy, the manager of Laikipia camp was a great host, and the food was amazing, thanks to his wife Sonia, whose cookbooks have had to be reprinted several times, because everyone wants to buy one. They run out of copies quickly once you arrive at the Camp’s store.
In Laikipia I did an evening safari and I saw lots of nocturnal animals, like the white tailed mongoose and many nocturnal birds.
Then I flew to the Maasai Mara national reserve.
The Mara covers 1,510 sq km (583 sq miles) in South Western Kenya, and is situated in the heart of East Africa rift.
I visited 3 of the Kicheche camps.
The first camp, Kicheche Valley Camp, within the Naboisho conservancy, has an amazing ecosystem, beautiful views, and plenty of wild animals. The tents are opulently put together above granite. The camp has a Spa, which helps after a long walking safari in the morning. I was able to visit my guide’s village, and he introduced me to his children and family. It was a great experience being able to see where and how they live; they were beautiful, unique, and welcoming people.
The second camp was the Kicheche Bush, within the Olare Orok Conservancy. Emma and Davren, the camp managers, are a delightful couple. They ran the camp with fun and Joi de vivre, as they prepared pizzas and cooked Indian food for the guests. They are great storytellers and treat the guests as friends.
The Mara covers 1,510 sq km (583 sq miles) in South Western Kenya, and is situated in the heart of East Africa rift.
I visited 3 of the Kicheche camps.
The first camp, Kicheche Valley Camp, within the Naboisho conservancy, has an amazing ecosystem, beautiful views, and plenty of wild animals. The tents are opulently put together above granite. The camp has a Spa, which helps after a long walking safari in the morning. I was able to visit my guide’s village, and he introduced me to his children and family. It was a great experience being able to see where and how they live; they were beautiful, unique, and welcoming people.
The second camp was the Kicheche Bush, within the Olare Orok Conservancy. Emma and Davren, the camp managers, are a delightful couple. They ran the camp with fun and Joi de vivre, as they prepared pizzas and cooked Indian food for the guests. They are great storytellers and treat the guests as friends.
The landscape there is opulent and diverse in habitat, with high numbers of species to entertain guests. It is called also “the photographers camp” and the camp was full of them, both amateurs and professionals. Some of them have returned to the same camp for over 10 years. Their published pictorial books are on the coffee tables of the camp for us to look at it and enjoy the magnificent photographs.
The tents are of a great quality, comfortable and well served by the staff. In this camp, I saw all the big fives.
The last camp was the Kicheche Mara Camp, eight luxury tents above a spring-fed stream, in the heart of Mara North Conservancy. It is considered the most beautiful site in the Mara, if not in all of Africa, by Brian Jackman, a veteran Africa journalist. The tents are very spacious and beautiful, decorated with colorful textile. At night you can hear the calm, soft water stream in front of your tent. I had a wonderful sunset safari. I sat by the guide, at a well put together table, with all kind of hors d’ouvres and drinks, and watched the most spectacular sunset move down, like a fireball illuminating the sky and the grassland.
Peter Cadot, the manager, was quite a character, with a great sense of humor and smile. He was always ready to help.
The conservancies were not only breathtaking, but inspiring as well.
The camps were great, and Kenya’s plains and forests were teeming with game!
John Rios, Century Travel
Peter Cadot, the manager, was quite a character, with a great sense of humor and smile. He was always ready to help.
The conservancies were not only breathtaking, but inspiring as well.
The camps were great, and Kenya’s plains and forests were teeming with game!
John Rios, Century Travel
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