LEWA HOUSE – LEWA WILDLIFE CONSERVANCY – CENTRAL KENYA
Lewa House is set on a hill with wonderful panoramic views of the rolling landscape of the Conservancy and overlooks the luggas and hills with the Mathews range and the sacred mountain of the Samburu – Ol Lolokwe – in the far distance.
The lodge is family owned and run with a very relaxed and imitate style – dinners are usually hosted by owners Calum and Sophie around a large family dining table. The cottage style rooms are spread out along the hillside all looking to the expanse of wilderness to the north – there are 3 of the original thatched family cottages and 4 recently added single room cottages which are built with sustainable, ecological principles in mind whilst still being exceptionally comfortable and spacious.
Activities here are varied and include night and day game drives with sundowners, guided game walks, visits to the conservancy and local community, a visit to the falls, a canopy walk, local archaeological remains and horse/camel riding.
LOCATION
Lewa Lodge is located on the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in northern Kenya. Access is via a light aircraft flight to Lewa Downs Airstrip where you are met and transferred to the lodge which is around 15 – 20 minutes’ drive.
LODGE
The accommodation at Lewa House is in the form of cottage style rooms which are spread out along the hillside with wonderful views.
There are 3 family Cottages – if you’re traveling as a family and want to be close to each other – a thatched family cottage is perfect for you and are part of the original house. They are built using the traditional Lewa architecture of rough stone walls and thatched roofs and are furnished with beautiful rough-hewn hardwood furniture.
The cottages have both a double and twin room – each with an ensuite bathroom – and adjoining the two bedrooms is a large veranda where you and your family can sit and enjoy early-morning biscuits and coffees before heading out into the Conservancy.
The latest additions to Lewa House are four rooms (or earth pods.) Their novel architecture is designed to disappear into the landscape, collect and store rainwater and maintain an even temperature. They have a simple, elegant décor that compliments their views over the Northern Frontier of Kenya.
The heart of Lewa House is a large, elegant building with an open fireplace at one end where you can relax during the day and mingle with a drink before dinner, and at the other is a large family dining table where the evening meals are served, hosted by Calum and Sophie Macfarlane.
There is a large, shaded veranda extending away from the main house with a comfortable seating area from which you can enjoy a cool afternoon drink and soak in the very special atmosphere of Lewa House.
Beautiful, shaded gardens surround the house and breakfast or lunch is often served on the lawn. The house also has a large swimming pool which overlooks a waterhole providing some of the best game viewing on Lewa!
ACTIVITIES AND WILDLIFE
Sundowners – enjoy gorgeous views over the Conservancy whilst enjoying a sundowner and nibbles.
Day and Night Game Drives – a team of fully qualified driver guides are on hand for vehicle safaris across the conservancy. The specially adapted open vehicles allow for excellent viewing of the game and all the main safari predators, the rare Grevy’s zebra, elephants and even wild dogs and rhino can be viewed in on the conservancy. You can explore the conservancy by night using spotlight and the full moon when it obliges.
Guided Game Walks – enjoy game walks with Calum, a FGASA qualified Trails Guide, which we hope will open up the landscape and let you appreciate the smaller (or sometimes very large) animals as well as the tracks, trails, signs, sights, sounds and smells of the wilderness – something you often miss from the car.
Conservancy Activities – visit the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy headquarters to find out more about their pioneering conservation and community work such as a visit to the anti-poaching tracker dogs or a visit to the LWC sponsored local school or other community projects.
Ngare Ndare Canopy Walk – a 40 ft high aerial bridge of wire mesh and cables meandering through the tree canopy and extending 450 metres long. The walkway ends at a wooden platform 30ft high where you can relax and enjoy a view of the river from this elevated vantage point. Elephants and buffaloes frequently come here to drink and wallow and you can enjoy a drink or a meal at the lofty leafy deck.
Ngare Ndare Waterfalls – visit the beautiful Ngare Ndare azure waterfalls and perhaps jump into the cool clear water.
Pre-historic Site Visit – archaeological remains of much earlier occupation of the area are found at Lewa and are some of Kenya’s best archaeological sites outside the Rift Valley. The hill on which Lewa House is built is home to warrior graves many thousands of years old. They were a tall race who communicated with rock gongs. Later people developed these gongs into a game that’s now played all over Africa.
Il Ngwesi Cultural Boma – the Il N’gwesi people (Northern Masai) to the north have a fascinating history and culture. Visiting them is an engaging experience.
Horse and Camel rides can be arranged – as can a fly camp with prior notice.
GIVING BACK
Lewa House supports and contributes to Lewa Wildlife Conservancy’s world class education and community support programme and Conservancy fees from the Lewa properties covers nearly 40% of the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy’s running costs. Some of the projects include schools, bursaries, conservation education, healthcare, women’s micro credit schemes, clean water, agriculture, agro forestry and the Ngare Ndare Forest Trust.
LEWA HOUSE IS OPEN ALL YEAR ROUND
THE LODGE POSITIVELY WELCOMES FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN OF ALL AGES AND IS ONE OF THE BEST PLACES TO STAY IN LAIKIPIA WITH CHILDREN – THE OWNER’S CHILDREN LIVE HERE AND SOPHIE GREW UP HERE
LEWA HOUSE HAS 4 FAMILY ROOMS AND THERE ARE CHILD FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES OFFERED
THE LODGE IS FENCED
Call +44 1984 667420 or Email sue@trackssafaris.co.uk
Our expert staff are on-hand, happy to assist with any enquiry you have.