BUSH HOMES

• DESERT ROSE
  Located in the extremely remote, fantastically wild northern Kenya, in 25 hectares of indigenous forest on the slopes of Mt. Nyiru near the southern end of Lake Turkana, Desert Rose is a unique and luxurious lodge of five houses carved out of living rock. In this remote area there are no man made noises or signs of human habitation.
  Each of the five individual houses have been designed around natural features of the area. Each house has been built with local rocks and timber, with the assistance of the local Samburu community. Each house has flush toilets and an open-air bathroom ensuring total privacy with a majestic view of Africa.
  The main lounge, dining room and library are hand crafted in locally quarried slate and finely finished in cedar and olive wood. They are situated to provide panoramic views of the landscape, with a welcoming swimming pool to cool you down after a hot day.
  Take short or long bush walks accompanied by your hosts and the Samburu warriors through the forests, and when it gets hot take a plunge in the cool streams and pools. There are over 150 species of bird species which can be viewed in the area.
  
• IL MORAN CAMP (GOVERNOR'S)
  The camp for those who want that extra bit of luxury. Governors' Ilmoran Camp has been kept as small as possible, with added touches that make this the top of the range safari.
  The atmosphere of the original hunting camps has been recreated. Hidden under ancient trees, deep in the forest, are just 10 tents. They line the winding banks of the Mara River.
  You'll be the personal guest of our manager, who'll look after all your needs. Game drives and game walks are included in the rate and complimentary wine is served with dinner.
  Each room is furnished to a superior standard. Beds are handmade from specially selected wood taken from ancient olive trees. Bathrooms have flush toilets, double showers filled to order with piping-hot water, where you can soap the day's dust away.
  Every tent has an extended veranda. They're designed so you can take dinner in private at your tent if you wish. Or just relax and enjoy the sights and sounds. Birds and butterflies abound, elephant wander through the camp, at night leopard call nearby. Each room is furnished to a superior standard. Beds are handmade from specially selected wood taken from ancient olive trees. Bathrooms have flush toilets, double showers filled to order with piping-hot water, where you can soap the day's dust away.
  During the day meals are served under the giant trees. There are fresh fruits, cereals and hot-baked breads together with a cooked breakfast barbecued before your eyes. For lunch, a buffet that'll satisfy the hungriest appetites. Deep in the bush, our cordon-bleu dinners by candlelight are a truly unforgettable experience. Nowhere else can you get so far from civilisation, yet stay in such style.
  
• MUTAMAIYU HOUSE
  Mutamaiyu House is on Mugie Ranch situated at the northern end of the Laikipia plateau in northern Kenya. It is a magnificent family owned house built in a grove of ancient, twisting olive trees.
  Mugie Ranch is a forty-nine thousand acre working ranch that rolls out across the Laikipia plains on the edge of the Great Rift Valley.
  There is a generator. Standard voltage is 220-240V AC throughout (bring adaptor plugs, square-pin, English standard).

  Activities include guided bushwalks, day and night gamedrives, painting and sketching, swimming, bush breakfasts, picnic lunches, sundowners, clay pigeon shooting, camel and donkey treks.
  The ranch has two airstrips. Private charter flights are readily available from Nairobi to the Mutamaiyu airstrip. AirKenya flies daily to Nanyuki. Road or air transfers can be arranged from Nanyuki to Mutamaiyu. You will have the use of a vehicle once you arrive at Mutamaiyu and the ranch roads are well maintained
  Mutamaiyu House is the "3rd most luxurious place in the World" as voted at the World Travel Market, November 2001 in Olympia, London.

  
• Ol Donyo Wuas
  The lodge is set in the foothills of the Chyulu range, overlooking Mount Kilimanjaro, the largest freestanding mountain in the world and is the overlap of the Amboseli and Tsavo ecosystems. This all creates a unique setting for an incredibly high bio-diversity of flora and fauna and some of the most spectacular and dramatic scenery East Africa has to offer.
  Seven individual cottages and a central mess area, built with local materials form Ol Donyo Wuas, sleeping a maximum of 16 guests. Each cottage has an en-suite bathroom and open fronted veranda with spectacular panoramic views across undulating grass plains to the majestic snow-capped peaks of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
  Guests can plan their day choosing from a wide range of guided activities such as game drives in open 4x4 Land Rovers, walking safaris, horse riding, hiking in the mountain range or cultural exposure to traditional living Maasai. After dark, a night game drive can be arranged to show you a more elusive nocturnal wildlife.
  Walks in the woodland, open plains or mountains can vary from a couple of hours to all day and is always a favourite for not only is there the chance to experience the thrill of a stalk but also the opportunity to get closer to learn about the nature around you which is so often missed whilst driving in a vehicle.
  Also available at Ol Donyo Wuas is horse riding. The lodge has eight horses of different temperaments and sizes. Riding in the African bush has an exhilarating freedom about it. Often enabling the rider to get much closer to the plains game such as giraffe and wildebeest than you can in a vehicle or on foot.
  From Ol Donyo Wuas you have the chance to experience a piece of Africa that has retained its integrity-Lion that still growl if you approach too close, vista's that go on to a distant horizon undisturbed and the luxury of experiencing it all to yourself !
  
  SABUK LODGE
  Sabuk Lodge, home to Professional Safari Guide, Simon Evans, is a stunning wilderness destination, perched on the high banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River in the Northern Frontier District, overlooking the Laikipia Plateau and Samburu land.
  The lodge has 5 rondavels (open sided cottages) with verandah, shower and toilet, each with its own fabulous view. Sabuk was fashioned out of the local landscape, built with local materials, the hillside, flora, twisted wood and stone boulders incorporated into the architecture. Open walls and private verandahs face out over the river gorge 150 feet below. This hilly area with dense acacia bush is host to a lot of game which varies according to the season: Greater Kudu, reticulated Giraffe, Buffalo, Impala, Elephant, Warthog, Klipspringer, Zebra, Eland, DikDik, Waterbuck, Lion, Leopard, good bird watching and incredible scenery.
  For clients spending 3 or more days this is the perfect start and finish to a camel assisted walking safari. Walk with a professional safari guide and a team of trained Laikipiak Maasai warriors as your guides through completely deserted tracts of wilderness: no other tourists, no roads or vehicles, only wildlife and their tracks, breathtaking scenery, the sounds of the bush, just Africa… Each trip is tailor-made to suit the group, the distance planned and the time available. These safaris are ideal for children, they can ride a camel or walk, play and swim in the river or fish from the banks, special bushcraft skills are a delight for children on safari here: an ideal and relaxing family holiday.
  
  
  LOISABA LODGE
  After only a few hours here, guests see the world anew. Thinking more clearly about the basics of life brings everything else into focus. Loisaba is not just a holiday destination of peerless beauty and infinite variety; It is a practical project in sustainable land-use. This basic premise infiltrates every part of the ranch.
  The property is untamed bush but also a working cattle farm; it conducts important wildlife research and - crucially - works closely with the community who have defended this land for generations. Guests see Africa as it was before fences were invented. Here there are no game park rules, no caged animals and none of the constraints of western life. Like the wildlife we nurture, you can do whatever you want, whenever you want.
  Bush-buck, cattle and buffalo share the same water-holes in a symbiotic relationship whereby the dividends from ranching and tourism pay for the protection of the wider environment and its often endangered inhabitants. The local Samburu and Maasai tribes are full partners in the project so your visit not only conserves the environment but also pays for the education and welfare of the people who call this remote and magnificent region home.
  Constructed from stone, local timber and thatch, the lodge is perched high on the edge of the plateau looking south towards Mount Kenya.
  Each room has large French windows that open onto a private deck cantilevered off the escarpment. The views are legendary, and a water hole a few hundred feet below draws continuous wildlife.
  All the furniture in the lodge is handmade at Loisaba. The lodge has a swimming pool, tennis court, bocce court and croquet lawn. The spa offers massage and beauty treatment and a romantic open-air bubble bath, all with a tranquil view of the unspoilt Karissia Hills.
  
• WILDERNESS TRAILS
  Situated in the wildlife-rich Eastern corner of the Lewa Conservancy is the Craig family home, Wilderness Trails, where guests have been entertained in luxury for the past 30 years.

  The house sleeps 16 people in 8 beautifully decorated cottages, featuring fireplaces and verandas.
  
  Guests can relax by the fire in Will and Emma's cosy sitting room and share meals around a long banquet table in the open-air dining room. Natural springs,
  home-raised livestock, and a 5-acre organic garden are transformed by skilled chefs into healthy and delicious fare.
  The salt-water pool is refreshing, the stables are full of horses for guests to ride, and the clay tennis court comes equipped with both raquets and balls.
  A professional guiding team leads guests on customized daily safaris and educates them about flora, fauna, animal behaviour, conservation, Lewa history, and more.
  Activities available at Wilderness Trails include: day and night game drives, bush walks with a professional tracker, horse rides, hiking with a Maasai warrior, visiting Lewa's ancient archaeological site, visiting a Maasai cultural boma amongst others.
  
  MFANGANO
  Lapped by the waters of Lake Victoria, shaded by giant fig trees, and lost to the world, Mfangano Island Camp is an oasis of tranquillity, an ideal retreat from the hustle and bustle of modern life.
  The island has just one road and no other hotels to disturb the peace.
  The only way to reach Mfangano Island is by light aircraft, an adventure in itself. You land on a dusty airstrip, then it’s a short ride by speedboat to the camp.
  Your first view is of beautiful gardens set on a secluded bay. Lawns hug the waterline, flowerbeds and rock gardens surround the camp. Enormous boulders sit at the water’s edge, a perch for cormorants or giant monitor lizards to sun themselves.
  All the buildings are in the local Luo tribal style, walls of smoothed mud and clay, rooves of thatch and banana leaf - cool and airy. The dining room and lounge are fanned by breezes from the lake.
  There are just six rooms. Each set close to the waters edge, decorated with local handicrafts. Bathrooms with modern fittings are finished in local stone. At night the sound of waves will lull you to sleep.
  
  If all you desire is to laze in the sunshine, each room has it’s own private veranda with sunbeds. Or there are plenty of activities to keep you occupied.
  The food’s as fresh as can be, fished from the lake (hopefully by you!) or picked fresh from the island’s vegetable gardens and orchards.
  
  ELSA’s KOPJE
  Located within Meru National Park - northeast of Nairobi (7 miles north of the Equator) the lodge has been named Elsa's Kopje - after Elsa, the orphaned lioness reared by George and Joy Adamson and returned to the wild in Meru, and Kopje (meaning hill in Africaans) for the rocky outcropping it sits on.
  There are 8 stone and thatched cottages- 2 with twin beds, 6 with king-sized beds. From your cottage, tucked into the rocks and forms of the hill, enjoy a 270 degree view of this beautiful, wild park.. The landscape and vegetation is fascinating, tracing the lines of ancient landforms created by the series of lava flows off the Nyambene Hills towards the Tana River many millions of years ago. The different soil ages have created distinct patterns of vegetation from lush thick bush to sparse arid sections, a unique and eyecatching eco-system now crisscrossed by 13 tree lined rivers.
  Activities include game drives, bush walks and visits to the Tharaka tribal village.
  The food is traditional Northern Italian cuisine blended with a selection of local and international dishes and locally grown vegetables..
  
  BORANA LODGE
  Borana was home to one of Kenya’s very early settlers who came to the area on horseback in the 1920’s. 75 years ago they built Borana. Today Borana is a byword for luxury, exclusivity and freedom; freedom to explore this spectacular part of Africa in unrivalled style and comfort.
  
  Borana is set on the edge of a valley at the Northern foot of Mount Kenya, 16 miles from the equator and adjacent to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. The 35,000 acre ranch with its rich and diverse flora is home to an abundance of wildlife and birdlife. Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard, many Antelope and Colobus Monkeys live within its protected environs.
  
  The 6 individual guest rooms, one luxurious cottage with two twin rooms and en-suite bathrooms, are luxurious and built in “Kenyan up-country style”, using locally quarried stone and natural timber from the farm.
  Meals are farm fresh with most of the fruit and vegetables being home produced and organically grown; honey from the hives, beef and mutton from Borana’s prize-winning livestock. Meals are prepared when and where you want them, whether it is picnics on the ranch or lunch by the swimming pool or dinner on your private veranda. There is an open bar and dining room with views over a water hole and salt lick, regularly visited by game, particularly elephants who frequently swim in the lake.

  There are several activities ranging from game drives during the day, night game
  drives, game walks with experienced guides, horse riding and visits to a nearby Masai
  Manyatta (Village).
  
  NGONG HOUSE
  Ngong House is a unique experience. Although you will be staying in 'treehouses' you will enjoy a very high degree of luxury. Four poster beds, crisp linen and exquisite, gourmet food are just the beginning. The main house and each treehouse have fully stocked bars. Built entirely from wood the treehouses are on two levels with a bedroom area upstairs and a living area on the lower floor. They are raised 15 ft from the ground to gain an uninterrupted view of the Ngong Hills over unspoiled bush. They have grass roofs made in the traditional African way. They are designed with extreme comfort in mind, yet the interiors have a decidedly rustic feel. The talents of regional artists and artisans add many of the finishing touches, such as hand woven rugs, bedcovers, lamps and stained glass.

  The evenings start with sundowners on your verandah at tree level, from where you can watch the breathtaking sunsets over the Ngongs Hills. Nature lovers can enjoy a large variety of birds feeding from the birdfeeder hanging in front of each treehouse.

  After sunset, before dinner, drinks will continue with the other guests around the camp fire under an acacia tree nearby the swimming pool.

  HIPPO POINT NAIVASHA
  Hippo Point is a 600 acre estate, with two very different settings on a strip of land between Lake Naivasha and overlooking Lake Olodiden.

  Hippo Point House is furnished with turn of the century English and French furniture. The rooms are spacious with ensuite bathrooms. The house has two dining rooms, including an outdoor one with a view to the Lake, a drawing room where lectures can be presented, a sitting room and library with a great selection of African and contemporary books, and a video room.

  The meals are specially prepared by our French manager who is passionate about cooking. The menus are designed according to our guests' preferences, with a detail that will always surprise you. We grow our own organic vegetables and find a selected variety of produce from the neighboring farms. Meals can be arranged anywhere anytime, from Champagne breakfast by the Lake, picnics up on the hill, buffets at the swimming pool to a very formal and private dinner at the tower.

  Not far from the house stands a 20 meters swimming pool and a jetty on each Lake; one with a Classic Molinari Boat and a ski-boat, a perfect setting for fishing and water sports, the other on the small lake, with a 4.5 metres sailing boat ideal for sundowners. The farm is not fenced and shares boundaries with a game reserve; therefore it is abundant with wildlife, and has at least 4 resident families of hippos.
  Activities include Game walks, night walks or game drives, Bird-watching (over 300 species), sailing (4.5 metres clinker) Lake Olodiden, Visits to nearby Hells Gate Park, Elsamere Conservation Centre and Crescent Island.

  LOLDIA HOUSE
  Loldia House, built in the Second World War, nestles under ancient Acacia trees. Lush lawns run down to the shores of Lake Naivasha, the Great Rift Valley’s highest and purest lake. Indigenous plants and flowers fill the gardens.
  There are beautiful views of the dormant volcano, Mount Longonot. Wild animals roam free on the farm. Small antelope wander through the gardens. In the evenings hippo munch quietly by the waterside.
  The original character of the house has been retained: comfy chairs surround a huge fireplace; paintings by an artist who lives on the farm hang on the walls; a deep and shady veranda to relax on and sunbeds in the garden.
  In the main house there’s a choice of four en-suite double rooms, with original furniture. And three more rooms in the specially-built Loldia cottage which has it’s own sitting-room, fire and panoramic lake-views.
  Mouth-watering meals, with fish and shrimp from the lake, are served under the trees or in the old dining room.
  
  REKERO COTTAGES
  Situated in the Masai Mara Conservation area, at the foot of Kipeleo hill in the Lemek Valley at an altitude of 6,200 feet.
  The Cottages - three double and one family with two double rooms, are built almost entirely from local materials and combine rustic charm with home comfort. All cottages are ensuite and look onto the infamous Rekero waterhole, the scene of many dramatic wildlife incidents. The Cottages run on a 220 volt generator from 6am to 7am and again from 6pm to 11pm.
  The kitchen produces appetising 'farmhouse' meals, which utilise skillful blends of flavours and cuisine from both East and West. Special dietary requirements are also catered for.
  Wildlife viewing and bird watching can be done on foot with experienced Il Dorobo and Masai guides, or in custom-built four-wheel drive vehicles which allow intimate yet unobtrusive access to the animals. Night drives, cultural visits, bush picnics and visits to local trading centres also feature.
  The cottages are open all year round except April, May and November when we close for the rains.
  The temperature never exceeds 30C during the day and rarely drops below 15C at night. The warmest time of year is December, January and the coolest is June, July.
  
  REKERO TENTED CAMP
  Located inside the Masai Mara Game Reserve at an altitude of 4,800 feet, very close to the confluence of the Mara and Talek rivers.
  The camp, with six spacious double tents all ensuite, including flush loos, nestles in riverine forest on the banks of the Talek river. Solar lanterns and Kerosene lamps are provided in each tent
  The chef produces appetising 'farmhouse' meals, which utilise skillful blends of flavours and cuisine from both East and West. Special dietary requirements are catered for.
  Wildlife viewing and bird watching can be done on foot with experienced Il Dorobo and Masai guides, or in custom-built four-wheel drive vehicles which allow intimate yet unobtrusive access to the animals. Picnics in the bush and sun downers also feature.
  We are open all year round except April, May and November when we close for the rains. The temperature never exceeds 85F/30C during the day and rarely drops below 60F/15C at night. The warmest time of year is December, January and the coolest is June, July.
  An inverter is available to charge video camera batteries and a satellite phone can be provided when given 24 hours notice.