World Travel with Bob: Kenya (Part 3 of 4)

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

Lewa Downs Air Strip

After visiting Amboseli, we moved onto Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. Covering 62,000 acres, this area is home to endangered black rhino and Grevy's zebra, and also elephants, lions, giraffe and other Kenya wildlife species. The Conservancy is home to more than 490 species of birds.

A Safarilink Cessna Caravan, with 12 seats, flew us from Amboseli to the Lewa Downs air strip. Lewa Downs is about 160 miles north of Nairobi. The approximate 290 mile non-stop flight from Amboseli National park took about 70 minutes. From the Lewa Downs air strip, it was a short safari vehicle ride to our second safari camp, Sirikoi.

Sirikoi Safari Lodge

This camp was by far the most luxurious setting we experienced in Kenya. There were four large tents, a two bedroom cottage and a three bedroom house available for guests in Sirikoi. The three bedroom house had its own private pool, chef and wait staff. With only guests from four tents and the cottage in the common lounge and dining area, we immediately recognized this camp as a special environment.

The camp also had a heated in-ground pool for camp guests not staying in the house. Our full board stay included game drives, exclusive safari vehicle use, meals, drinks and a behind scene tour of the camp.

Our Sirikoi tent was well-appointed, and maintained, as the below photos will attest. Our very large tent actually had an attached second bedroom tent, with two twin beds. During our Kenya visit to three camps, our Sirikoi tent was the only one with a coal fireplace that was lit each evening. Our tent had a full-sized bathroom - with dual sinks, toilet, shower and tub, electricity, WIFI, and included several pitchers of purified water for drinking and teeth brushing. Each evening, a hot-water filled pad was placed under our bed covers to take the chill off the late night. This practice was followed in each of our three Kenya tent camps and at the House of Waine.

Caroline, the camp manager, was very welcoming and, during an introduction, described our stay and game drives while in camp. The camp accommodations were not surrounded by electrical fencing, so we alerted a camp escort when we walked in camp during the dark hours of early morning or after dinner. That said, we didn't see any dangerous wildlife near our tent but did see a somewhat resident giraffe on the camp grounds. This giraffe was rescued by the Sirikoi owners when very young.

The nearby monkeys required us to ensure our tent was fully zipped up if we left the tent and during the evenings and when we turned in for the night.

The food selections during breakfast, lunch and dinner were excellent. The meals were creative and varied from day to day.

Sirikoi has a strong focus on sustainability. The camp recycles used glass bottles into etched vases and crushed glass into construction material (single-use plastic items are banned by the Kenyan government in natural reserves and parks). An on-site woodworking area builds and repairs camp furniture and an expansive organic garden supplies the camp with fresh fruits and vegetables. A large solar array and storage batteries provide electricity to the camp (a backup generator exists, if needed). Sirikoi also has a building dedicated to sharing local cultural and camp historical information with camp guests. A gym and massage service is offered - though we didn't find time to try either as we were kept busy between early morning and late afternoon game drives, in-between downtime and meals.

At Sirikoi, we had a private game driver which made the visit feel even more customized and special. David, our Masai game guide and driver, was terrific at identifying wildlife and providing information on the animals, plants, trees and birds we viewed during our game drives.

During one evening, we joined Sirikoi's owner, Sue Roberts, at the campfire. Sue shared the long history of her family supporting wildlife preservation in Kenya, operating Kenyan bush camps and the site selection and building of Sirikoi. Her family also runs Richard's River Camp, in Masai Mara.

Coal Fireplace is on the Left

Interior of Tent #4

Largest Bathroom of Our Three Tents in Kenya

Comfortable Guest Lounge

Dining Inside Due to Rain

On Safari in Lewa Wildlife Conservancy

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy has many diverse habitats, including pristine forest, fertile grasslands, extensive springs and acacia woodland. The Conservancy was formed in 1995 from the joining of a rhino sanctuary, Ngare and Ndare Forest Reserve and private ranch lands. About 12 percent of the black rhinos in Kenya live in Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, along with about 350 endangered Grevy's zebras.