The leopard yawned lazily, displaying an impressive set of lethally pointed teeth, before stretching and settling down to wash its paws. We’d been waiting hopefully at the foot of a tree, where two-thirds of an antelope carcass was securely wedged in the branches, waiting for its killer-owner to return — and our patience was about to be rewarded.
Ablutions over, the leopard gracefully scaled the trunk and settled happily down for meal number two of the unfortunate young eland’s remains. We’d only spent a few hours in the Naboisho Conservancy within Kenya’s Maasai Mara, and already we’d spotted more than I had ever managed on safari before.
As well as zebras and wildebeest galore, antelopes and gazelles of all shapes and sizes, our first game drive saw giraffes, jackals, hyenas, hippos, water buffalos, vultures, eagles and more, including the unexpectedly endearing “pumbaa”.
The Swahili for stupid — one of the few words and phrases I knew along with hakuna matata (no worries), courtesy of The Lion King — these warthogs will often forget why they’re running away from lions and stop. It is sometimes the last lapse of memory they ever have.
The following day brought lions — adult male and female and a playful group of cubs, looking for all the world like overgrown kittens, sneaking up and pouncing on each other before settling down for a nap — as well as elephants.
Elly Wild
Elephant (Photo: Hemingways Collection)
First, the conservancy’s oldest bull, a grumpy old man with impressive tusks, then a young calf stumping along after his mother, carefully watching her every move as he learned how to pull up grass with feet and trunk.
The list went on: apart from cheetahs, which proved unexpectedly elusive, our 48-hour stay featured pretty well every animal in this reserve, from dwarf mongoose to buffalo, and a wobbly one-hour-old baby giraffe, still learning how to control those famously long legs.
Spanning 145 square kilometres, the conservancy is the second largest in the Maasai Mara, with one of the highest concentrations of wildlife in the region. And with only nine safari camps and lodges, a stay here also means you’re not battling the crowds for a sight of its rarer inhabitants.
What’s more, you can hang around patiently waiting for leopards to emerge, rather than having to vacate the park at dusk.
Our own base was the luxurious Hemingways Ol Seki camp, which reopened after a major redesign last year, with four additional new tents due to open later this year, plus an open-air spa and an upgrade for the Simba family tent.
Part of the Hemingways Collection, our week-long trip included stays at three of the properties across Kenya, sandwiched between the capital, Nairobi, and Watamu on the Indian Ocean coast — ideal if you’re looking to get a taste of the whole country in a short time, or for families looking for a safari and beach escape.
DJI 0023 (1)
Hemingways Watamu (Photo: Hemingways Collection)
Shuttled from Nairobi to the Mara in one of the 12-seater Cessnas operated by Safarilink airlines, we quickly slipped into a laid-back routine — up at dawn for our first game drive, a chance to relax on the deck outside our tent or a lounger by the small infinity pool, then a post-lunch nap before a late- afternoon drive.
Apart from our few fellow guests, it quickly felt like we were far from the real world: our only other companions were furry little rock hyrax scampering along the camp’s paths and red-headed agama, quickly nicknamed the Spider-Man lizard for its blue and red scales, plus a soundtrack of wildebeest grunting and snorting to each other as hyena and jackals slunk past.
If escaping daily life entirely doesn’t tempt you, there’s surprisingly good wi-fi, along with solar-powered electricity to keep all devices charged. In between, a series of lavish meals filled the day, from a bush breakfast to a romantic firelit dinner at “the cave”, a rock overhang away from the relaxed main dining room and lounge. This mix of luxury and wildlife became something of a theme throughout our trip.
Starting in the capital, we had checked thankfully into Hemingways Nairobi after our long-haul flights. Its 45 suites all have their own individual twist: while the rooms themselves are the same (apart from two presidential suites), they’re themed on six topics, ranging from writers and world leaders to Africa.
Our Mandela suite had photos of the late South African president alongside images of some of the big beasts of the Maasai Mara, beds draped in floaty mosquito netting, a huge bathroom with giant tub and walk-in shower, and a TV that emerged soundlessly from a retro-style trunk.
The pool makes the ideal spot to get over jet lag too, followed by drinks with a sunset view at the bar or dinner al fresco: the perfectly seared tuna burger was a highlight, alongside plenty of vegetarian choices.
Hemingways Ol Seki-Game Drive with Masai Moran Guide-Kenya
Game drive at Hemingways Ol Seki (Photo: Hemingways Collection)
But it’s also a great location to explore. Set in the suburb of Karen, there’s plenty here for fans of Out of Africa, along with the chance to visit Nairobi’s own national park, to meet the elephants of the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust or to hand-feed endangered Rothschild giraffes at the nearby Giraffe Centre.
I wasn’t sorry to learn that you’re no longer allowed to “kiss” the giraffes by holding the pellets in your mouth. Given these beasts have tongues up to 18 inches long, I was happy to settle for having my hand very comprehensively licked by one.
After focusing on life on land for the first half of our trip, the second half was all about the country’s underwater highlights, with another short plane ride whisking us to Watamu on Kenya’s northern stretch of coast.
With a marine national park and reserve just off the beach, it couldn’t be much easier to discover what lies beneath the waves. At low tide, the rock pools hide a far more exotic array of creatures than the limpets of our temperate shores — a puffer fish in one, Moray eels in another, even an octopus sliding tentacle by tentacle slowly towards the sea.
Head back at high tide and there’s more to find, from blue-spotted ribbontail rays and lionfish to a technicolour swirl of reef fish. Or board one of the string of brightly coloured little boats to see dolphins — pods of both the bottlenose and humpback mammals live here — before cruising off to snorkel above some of the coral reefs elsewhere in the marine reserve.
Boat in Watamu
Dolphins at Watamu (Photo: Hemingways Collection)
If you’re lucky, you might even spy one of the green turtles that nest along this part of the coast. Sadly, both the marine life and the powdery white sand beaches are at risk from plastic pollution, but Watamu is home to several local initiatives aiming to help tackle the problem, as well as educating both tourists and locals.
Watamu Turtle Watch rescues hundreds of turtles each year, working closely with the local fishermen, before treating and releasing them, while EcoWorld Watamu takes a more direct approach to the mountains of single-use plastic that washes up.
As well as providing jobs for the local community recycling the different materials, there are projects to encourage locals to swap their trash for cash, educational programmes working with local schools, and even a creative recycling scheme turning plastic into simple interlocking bricks, which can be used to build a house in two days.
Hemingways Watamu is one of the project’s main supporters, and sustainability is a big focus throughout the resorts, from glass bottles in the rooms and restaurants right through to the use of solar power, bulbs designed to reduce light pollution and even eco-friendly methods to clean the resort’s salt-water swimming pools.
Elsewhere there are projects to replant the mangroves lining the banks of the creek in the protected reserve. You could hop into a kayak to paddle your way through, but for a less strenuous alternative, it’s hard to beat a sunset cruise in a traditional dhow boat.
Sailing along, cocktail in hand as eagles soared above the tree line, I felt as lazily contented as the big cats of the Mara. Hakuna matata indeed.
Getting There
Seven nights in Kenya costs from around £4,807 per adult and £3,100 per child including international flights, transfers, internal flights, most meals and activities, plus accommodation of one night at Hemingways Nairobi, three nights at Ol Seki in the Maasai Mara and three nights at Hemingways Watamu, booked with Africa specialists Far and Wild.
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