Lewa Wildlife Conservancy was our first safari stop and also proved to be our favorite. When we were planning the trip, we felt strongly about staying in conservancies instead of national parks/reserves. It seemed like hopefully our tourist dollars would be more likely to make it to local communities if we visited private conservancies as opposed to parks run by the government. Conservancies also have different regulations that allow off road viewing of animals, bush walks, and nighttime game drives. And they tend to have fewer lodges and therefore, fewer visitors and vehicles, all things we thought would align better with our interests.
We started the day on an itty bitty Cessna for the hour-long flight from Wilson Airport in Nairobi to Lewa Downs, the dirt airstrip serving the Conservancy. On the short drive to our lodge
Kifaru House we saw our first glimpses of wildlife - impalas, zebras, elephants, rare tortoise, ostrich, and monkeys. We were in awe. Already.
Kifaru House was sublime. A beautiful property with just 5 cottages looking out across the savanna. I call it a savanna, but Lewa's landscape was surprising. Lush and green rolling hills with vast valleys and even some mountainous areas. It initially reminded us of parts of Patagonia, which shocked me. It was stunningly beautiful.
Our first official game drive the afternoon we arrived included up close and personal time with cape buffalo, rhinos, birds (so many birds, none of which we'd ever seen), a runaway giraffe, gazelle, a lioness with her cub, and both Grevy's and common zebras (check out
this article on the endangered Grevy's zebras). That was just our
first game drive! Unreal.
The next day, our first full day in Lewa, our morning game drive featured getting so thoroughly stuck in the mud while searching for a leopard that we had to get transported back to Kifaru in a replacement vehicle while our guide Phillip dug out the jeep.
But that afternoon's drive was sublime with an educational stop at Lewa's headquarters to learn about their successful rangers program (they also have 6 women rangers!!) that are still in constant battle with poachers and other threats. It was great to meet the head ranger Abraham and gain a slight understanding of the magnitude of the operation required to preserve the land and its endangered creatures. Also made me think about the roles of race, gender, and culture in places very different from my home. More on that later.
We concluded the drive with our very first "sundowner" of the trip. Phillip pulled up onto an enormous overlook just as the sun started to sink. No one else in sight and vast vistas in every direction. Cocktails, wine, and snacks emerged and we enjoyed one of the most breathtaking, peaceful, and surreal sunsets I've ever witnessed. No words for the experience and the day. I was hooked on Kenya.
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