Kenya with SkySafari by Elewana , May 2017

A trip to Africa is near the top of most people’s bucket list and for good reason. Africa truly is a magical place. The landscape, the animals, the people, the culture, there is so much to experience on this, the second largest continent on earth. More people live in Africa than in the US and Europe combined. There are a number of countries to choose from when planning a trip to Africa: Botswana, Tanzania, South Africa, and many others, for this trip we chose Kenya.  Kenya boasts a variety of terrain from rocky, tree-covered mountains to wide open grasslands, and everything in between. Our trip included the bustling city of Nairobi, as well as three tented safari camps in different parts of the country.  All of this connected with flights on the beautiful Elewana Sky Safari plane. We made great friends, experienced morning and evening game drives, guided bush walks, incredible animal sightings, luxurious accommodations, delicious food, and so much more. 

We chose Hemingways for our two nights in Nairobi and could not have been happier. This beautiful hotel is only about a 40 minute drive from Nairobi’s international airport where we arrived, and only about 20 minutes from Wilson airport where we would start and end our safari. We could have stayed at an airport hotel the first night, but it’s so much nicer to wake up in this beautiful setting. The 45-room boutique hotel is gorgeous with all of the suites located along one side of the gardens. In addition to the spacious rooms, the refreshing pool, fitness center, and wonderful included breakfast made this the perfect place for our short stay. The staff was amazing, our first taste of Kenyan hospitality, and took care of our every need, including driving us to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust to visit Karisa, the baby elephant that we are fostering :-)

Our first day in Kenya was spent at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. What an incredible place this is. They rescue abandoned and orphaned elephants and then raise them until they're about two or three years old at the sanctuary. The vast majority of these gentle animals are successfully released back into the wild. You can visit three times a day, in the morning it's open to the public and that's the most crowded time. In the early afternoon there's a private hands-on experience you can arrange but it fills up very fast, and then in the evening, if you are a foster parent, you can come back and see these adorable animals being put to bed for the night. This evening visit fills up quickly as well, but not nearly as fast as the afternoon session. Once in their pens, one of the caring handlers sleeps with each elephant the entire night and wakes up every 2 to 3 hours to feed them. They are doing great work here and I encourage everybody to support them.

 https://www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org/ 

I’ve been fortunate enough to have experienced an African Safari prior to this trip.  It made me want to go back; beautiful accommodations, great game viewing, etc.  But…..Sky Safari by Elewana takes it to a whole different level!  This truly is The Ultimate African Adventure.  Peter the pilot was “our guy” the entire trip.  It makes you feel so special that he knows you, and you know the plane.  Don’t even get me started on the plane…wow!!  So much room, so comfortable and luxurious, and so much smoother and quieter than my bush flights in the past.  It’s amazing that a plane of this caliber can land on the dirt runways that are used to access the luxury camps that we visited (more on the camps below). After this trip, I felt that my previous bush flights in Africa were in a taxi, these were stretch limo all the way!  There are currently three preset Sky Safari itineraries, two in Kenya, and one in Tanzania, and extensions are available for all three.

http://www.skysafari.com/

After landing, we were greeted by Solomon and Peter, our guides for the next two days.  As we would soon learn, everyone here is so friendly and genuinely happy to see you.  Cold towels, fresh fruit, and our refillable water bottles were waiting for us.  We set off for the drive to camp, every drive is a game drive, and we saw a number of animals along the way. 

 Upon our arrival at camp, our bags were whisked away to our tents and we went to the lounge to check-in and then off to the adjacent dining area for our first meal on safari.  We were not disappointed.  As we would discover over for the rest of the week, all of the meals were delicious.  Whether served in the restaurant, or a pop-up breakfast or lunch out in the bush, every meal was an experience not to be missed. I don't think I was ever hungry the entire time! Loisaba Tented Camp sits on top of a hill with amazing views of the Loisaba Conservancy.  Just below camp is a watering hole that attracted a variety of animals that could easily be seen while relaxing in the infinity pool (there are actually two pools) or from the comfort of our private deck. In addition to the morning and afternoon game drives, Loisaba also offers horseback riding, camel-trekking, guided bush walks, fishing and even mountain biking. 

 http://www.elewanacollection.com/loisaba-tented-camp 

Such a moving visit with the beautiful Samburu people in the village of Koija about an hour from our camp. There is no way that the 266 pictures I took can convey the range of emotions that wash over you when visiting these amazing men, women and children. They have little more than the clothes on their backs yet are happily celebrating the recent rains. When we left after our far too short 2 hour visit, they were still dancing.

In Africa, the big five refers to the African lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, African leopard, and rhinoceros. The term "Big Five" comes from big-game hunters and refers to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot. While many people go to Africa in search of the "Big Five" there is so much more to see. Herds of elephant, giraffe, hippos, impala, wildebeest, cheetah, the list goes on and on. At one point I said to our group, "how many different species do you think we've seen?" We stopped counting at about 50....and those were just the ones whose names we could remember. I love rounding a bend or cresting a hill and seeing numerous species sharing the same space. I've decided that my favorite animal viewing is sitting in the quiet stillness, watching, and listening, to elephants eating grass while simultaneously caring for their young. I could do that for hours on end.

Picture Mufasa holding up Simba at the edge of Pride Rock in the movie The Lion King. That’s the feeling you have after a sunrise hike to the top of Mughwango hill at Elsa's Kopje. 

Elsa’s Kopje is a beautiful camp with 6 cottage suites, 3 honeymoon suites, and a private house. Each of these is unique due to the fact that the rooms themselves are actually built into the mountain. In addition to a king sized four-poster bed, full living area with desk and chair, an additional seating area, and a completely private outdoor tub down a short path from the bathroom, our room had a number of large boulders as part of the décor. These are not put in the room, rather the rooms are built around them. Ours was beautiful with sweeping views of the 215,000 acre Meru National Park. In addition to a welcoming bar, open-air restaurant, and even a massage room, Elsa’s has a gorgeous infinity pool offering the same sweeping views of the national park, making it easy to spot a variety of animals while relaxing with a drink between game drives.

http://www.elewanacollection.com/elsa-s-kopje-meru

Our final camp of the trip was Sand River Masai Mara. I think I’m running out of adjectives. This place is beautiful. While not set on the top of a hill like Loisaba or Elsa’s, it sits right on the Sand River which is gorgeous. The Sand River is very unique in that it can fill with water when it rains miles away, and then be dry again the next day. We saw it both ways. 

Our welcome from Douglas could not have been better! He is so enthusiastic and you can tell that he, and all of the staff.....Phillip, Collins, and more, are genuinely happy to see you. The 16 tents (I still have a hard time calling them tents) are far nicer than most hotel rooms. The king sized bed is huge. I was told that unlike in the states where a king is basically two twins, at this camp it's actually two doubles! I could go on and on about the tent, but I think the pictures give you a good idea! The one thing you don’t see in the pictures is the outdoor shower with views of the river. It’s not just the "rooms" here that have that wow factor, there is a “game tent” with a pool table and a number of other tents on the property that are set up as lounges. Comfy couches, coffee tables, etc. Another unique feature of this camp is a second restaurant at the far end of the property. So, when occupancy warrants, meals are served at both restaurants, so it never feels crowded and you never have to walk too far.

I think I could live here :-)

http://www.elewanacollection.com/sand-river-masai-mara

The majority of Kenyans who live in the tribal villages do not speak English, but their faces tell so much about them. From the wonder in the eyes of a baby who has yet to see what the future holds, to the faces of the young men who walk miles and miles every day to bring their cows out to graze, only to turn around at the end of a long day and walk them all the way back home, to the knowing expression of an older woman who has seen it all and passes her culture and traditions down through the generations. These are amazing people with a strong sense of community who celebrate life every chance they get.

Our Masai guide Dennis (Akiba, our other guide, was taking the picture) from Sand River Masai Mara. Our gracious hosts George and Theresa, and their son Chris from Elsa’s. Simon and John, also from Elsa’s. And Solomon, our first guide of the trip, along with Peter. Solomon is actually from the Samburu village of Koija where we spent an afternoon one day. You could not find a more friendly, welcoming group of people if you tried. From the moment we met each of them, we felt like family. So comfortable in their presence, the relationships we formed made the entire experience that much more meaningful. Thank you to all of the wonderful souls that made this experience so memorable.

Shoot an email to: doug@plazatravel.com if you have any questions or want more details about this, or any of my other trips!