Dear Grazia,
I’ve never been a big camper; my idea of roughing it is room service at a Four Seasons hotel, but when I was promised a ‘luxury safari camp’ experience in Kenya, I couldn’t resist!
To get in the mood, I rented Out of Africa, the 1985 Oscar-winning Meryl Streep/Robert Redford movie that takes place in Kenya and immediately romanticized my destination, so I was excited when I arrived at Nairobi’s classic New Stanley Hotel and discovered I was staying in the Karen Blixen suite (Meryl’s character), decorated with black and white photos of the woman herself. My friend Nana Gecaga, who runs the luxury travel service Bora Ubora (Swahili for Nothing but the Best), took me to lunch at Muthaiga Country Club, the oldest private club in Kenya, where they shot the New Years Eve party scene in Out of Africa. I left without a twirl from Redford, but very happy with my civilized colonial lunch of stir-fried ostrich and some entertainment from wild monkeys dancing on the lawn.
Next, a visit to the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, where I fell in love with Chuylu, a rescued orphaned baby elephant, and I signed up to sponsor him, before heading off to a touristy but fun dinner at Carnivore restaurant, where a selection of exotic meats are served on a skewer to meat lovers right at the table.
Flying into Maasai Mara Game Reserve, I was completely delirious at the sight of my first elephant casually strolling alongside the road. After a few days, you get used to the idea that it’s their turf, and you’re just visiting. There are 452 species of wildlife in this 580-square-mile grassland but most visitors only care about ‘the Big Five’, safari lingo for: lion, elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros and leopard. I was greeted at Sarova Mara Game Camp by a Maasai tribe who did a traditional song and offered refreshments before I heading off on my first game drive in an open four-wheel drive, ready to start checking them all off the list.
When it was over, I had to settle for four out of five on my list, all the more reason to come back some day and find that elusive rhino!
The luxury tented cabins here are fenced in, so when I later retired for a cup of tea on my deck, I held my breath when I suddenly noticed a herd of elephants sauntering past, even though I knew they couldn’t get any closer. At my second stop, the super exclusive Mara Explorer, there are no fences at all – only walkie-talkies in your room so you can call for an escort after dark when you want to head to the common area for dinner. When I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of some very loud growling, I had no intention of unzipping the tent to find out what it was! There are only ten tents to ensure plenty of privacy and pampering here, and I wonder if mine was the place Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz hid out when they were dating. I have a full bathroom and king-size bed in the large tent, and a four-legged bathtub on the deck overlooking the Talek River - complete with a friendly hippo taking a swim in it! My Maasai guide Vincent, who is taller than Michael Jordan, took us out before breakfast for an exhilarating game drive before we headed back to camp in time for chef Sammy to whip us up some eggs benedict and smoked salmon for breakfast! The adrenaline that comes from driving around the wilds of Africa in an open jeep is addictive, but I also felt like paparazzi when we joined a slew of other jeeps all photographing the same pride of lions munching on an impala they’d just killed. Britney and Lindsay would feel right at home!
As much as I loved my luxury camping experience, after all that dust I was ready for a real resort and headed to Diani Reef Beach Hotel & Spa on the east coast of Kenya, where I could dip my toe in the warm, opal-blue waters of the Indian ocean and swim with Whale sharks and turtles at the nearby protected Kisite Marine National Park. The hotel is built around an old African balboa tree and has a transparent lobby floor with koi fish swimming under your feet, but the big attraction is the world-class Nirvana Health and Wellness Spa. My husband and I checked out the Twin Bliss couples treatment and after finishing our side-by-side massages and sharing an herbal spa cocktail in the flower-strewn bath for two, I wondered why anyone would want to get out of Africa!
Jennyx
HYPERLINK "mailto:nanagecaga@boraubora.com" nanagecaga@boraubora.com
UK cell: +44-7792381682
Kenya cell: +254-727777046
New Stanley Hotel, Nairobi,
Sarova Mara Game Camp
HYPERLINK "http://www.sarovahotels.com" www.sarovahotels.com
HYPERLINK "http://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org" www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org
Mara Explorer
HYPERLINK "http://www.heritage-eastafrica.com" www.heritage-eastafrica.com
Diana Reef Beach Resort & Spa
HYPERLINK "http://www.dianireef.com" www.dianireef.com
