Wild about this amazing Kenyan safari

THIS playground of the rich and famous is home to many beautiful animals, too, writes Sheridan Rogers.

loisaba

THE sunburnt landscape and sandy dry riverbeds of eastern Kenya below remind me of the Australian interior.

The plane lands at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi, where we transfer to Wilson Airport to catch a Safarilink Cessna to Loisaba Lodge, a luxury safari lodge situated on a 24,500 hectare private game ranch. It's a 50-minute flight to Laikipia in Kenya's high country, a vast plateau stretching from the slopes of Mount Kenya to the rim of the Great Rift Valley and the arid deserts of the rugged Northern Frontier district. It was at Lewa Downs, one of Kenya's major private conservation successes that Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton. And it was on Mt Kenya in 1952 that Queen Elizabeth II went up a princess and came down a queen. Playground of the rich and famous and home to some of the most beautiful private ranches in Africa, Laikipia boasts more endangered species than anywhere in East Africa with wildlife densities ranking second only to the Masai Mara National Park in western Kenya. Today, cattle ranching has been largely replaced by "community tourism", a new concept in Kenyan tourism which involves co-operation between the local people and the old colonial ranchers who represent the new face of Kenyan "eco-tourism". As we exit Nairobi, I'm surprised by the pronounced change of colour and terrain from savanna brown to green hills dotted with tea plantations and market gardens. "This is the best time of year, just before the long rains, to see lots of wildlife," says Fatma Bashir, marketing manager of the Kenya Tourist Board. "They're out and about searching for water." The Cessna lands on a dusty airstrip where we are greeted by a couple of jeeps driven by Solomon and Tango Mike, two Samburu rangers who will be our guides during our safari at the lodge. They're decked out in Samburu costume with brightly coloured beaded necklaces and bracelets. Like the Masai, their relatives of the southern desert, they dress predominantly in red. After a bumpy ride through semi-arid savanna of acacias and cacti, we arrive at Loisaba Lodge. Perched high on the edge of the plateau and set in an oasis of green gardens, the view from the lodge is breathtaking, looking south to Mount Kenya and extending hundreds of kilometres to the Loldaiga Hills and the Mathews Ranges. The Ewaso Nyiro river snakes across its southern boundary. It's a setting little changed since the Great Rift Valley split Africa in two, creating the dramatic escarpment on which the lodge is built. It's late afternoon when we arrive and after being welcomed by our host with tea and freshly baked bikkies, we're informed about the ranch (larger than many of Kenya's principal national parks; haven for more than 260 species of birds and 50 species of wildlife) and invited on a game drive at dusk, finishing with candlelight dinner near a waterfall. This is it: my chance to see the Big Five: the elephant, lion, buffalo, leopard, and the rhino, the ultimate goal of any safari-goer to Kenya. At Loisaba, the animals move about freely and guests are permitted activities such as walking, cycling, horse riding and camel riding which are not allowed in the national parks. About 5.30pm we climb into an open jeep and head off through the Loisaba wilderness. Within minutes, a reticulated giraffe is blocking the path, staring intently at us through long lashes. She stands there, posing as if for a fashion shoot, then moves off elegantly into the scrub where we spot another six or seven giraffes, each with different length necks. Our guide Solomon explains that these ravishing creatures, with their rich reddish-brown markings and white basal skin, differ from those of the Masai giraffe which has two horns whereas the reticulated has a third horn on its forehead. Solomon moves off slowly and we rattle along in the jeep until we see a herd of elephants ahead. He turns off the engine while we watch them lumbering along, grazing on the long dry grass. A couple of baby elephants are waddling along beneath their mothers. Suddenly, from behind, we hear a loud bellow. It's an enormous elephant, ears flaring, and trumpeting with tusks thrust forward, threatening to charge us. Solomon quickly turns on the engine and we move off, only to be blocked by another elephant. Thankfully, he moves and we pull away. "He was just bluffing," says Solomon with a big smile. It is some minutes before the rest of us are able to laugh. "It's that sort of adrenalin charge that attracts people to go on safari," explains Fatma. In Swahili, the word safari means "to journey" and has become synonymous with a visit to Kenya's world-renowned national parks and reserves. We go out in the open jeep for a dawn and dusk safari each day while at Loisaba. The Big Five all wander freely around this reserve and I feel safe in the company of our skilled guide. One day at dusk we go on a camel safari. We see impalas, elands, Grevy's zebras, dik diks, hares and buzzards. But where are the lions? There are up to 25 at one time on Loisaba. Early one morning, Solomon drives us to their favourite haunt, stops the jeep, takes out an aerial attached to a radio handset and gets out of the jeep. He listens intently for 15-20 minutes, trying to track them, says they are close, but they remain hidden. Ah well, maybe on my next safari. One night I sleep in a star bed under the wide African sky. The beds are wheeled out onto a hand-crafted wooden raised platform, partially covered with a thatched roof, and overlook a waterhole. A homemade mukokoteni (a bed on wheels) is wheeled onto the open deck area at night and surrounded by "four-poster" insect netting. In the morning, I'm woken by the sounds of hippos in the waterhole below. As I walk up, alone, to breakfast in the camp kitchen, I'm mighty relieved those lions aren't anywhere nearby. But who knows where they might be hiding? The writer was a guest of the Kenya Tourist Board. Go2 - LOISABA Getting there: Air Mauritius flies via Mauritius to Nairobi from Sydney every Wednesday, with connecting flight Saturday. From Perth every Monday with same day connection to Nairobi. If no same day connection, Air Mauritius will pay for up to two nights of accommodation, meals and transfers. SafariLink, Wilson Airport, Nairobi offers daily flights to Loisaba. Staying there: Loisaba Lodge: Luxury safari lodge, Laikipia, northern Kenya: there are 14 bedrooms in the Lodge; three double rooms in The Cottage; one double and one twin en-suite in The House and four doubles at the Star Beds. Extra beds are provided for children under the age of 16. The cottage has its own dedicated staff and cook and offers total privacy and exclusivity. More: www.magicalkenya.com.   "Like" Escape.com.au on Facebook Follow @Escape_team on Twitter