Walking Wild

AREA & ACTIVITIES

Habitat & Wildlife
The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy comprises part of the Lewa-Borana Conservancies which, together with neighbouring Borana Conservancy, form a 93,000-acre landscape which is an important wildlife corridor between Mount Kenya and the northern wilderness.

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy comprises around 48,000 acres of private land (predominantly owned by the Craig family who have been in the area since 1924), and 14,000 acres of national forest. It lies on the transitional zone between the Mount Kenya highlands and the semi-arid savannah to the north at an altitude of between 4,500 and 6,000ft above sea level. Although most of the conservancy is set aside for wildlife, some horticulture, stud cattle and dairy farming practises are still carried out, and furniture making (from local acacia woods) and rug weaving businesses create further employment for the local people. There is a Conservation Centre which is worthwhile visiting.

The habitat is extremely diverse with open grassland interspersed with acacia forests, riverine woodland, rocky gorges and ravines, montane forest and the Lewa swampland. Mount Kenya provides a scenic backdrop to the south.

The history of the Lewa-Borana Conservancies starts at Lewa at the height of the rhino and elephant poaching in the mid-1980s when Anna Mertz asked the Craig family to set aside an area for use as a rhino sanctuary. In 2013 a founding population of 21 black rhinos was introduced to the neighbouring Borana Conservancy. Once they were established, the fence between Borana and Lewa was dropped, forming one landscape which today hosts a thriving population of over 240 rhino (both black and white), making this one of East Africa’s largest continuous rhino habitats. In 2013 Lewa also gained UNESCO World Heritage Site status and is one of only 40 wildlife areas worldwide on the IUCN Green List for well managed conservancies with good governance. While Lewa and Borana remain independent entities, and activities for guests will be on the conservancy where their lodge is located, conservation and community efforts are approached jointly and they are increasingly referred to as the ‘Lewa-Borana Landscape’.

In addition to healthy populations of both black and white rhino, the Lewa-Borana Conservancies are home to around 90% of the world’s population of the rare Grevy’s zebra whilst other animals to be seen include elephant, reticulated giraffe, eland, lion, leopard, cheetah, the Burchell’s zebra, hartebeest, greater kudu, Grant’s gazelle, impala, bushbuck, dik dik, oryx and within the swamp area, the sitatunga. You might also be lucky enough to see the rarer gerenuk. After dark lookout for nocturnally active species such as aardvark, caracal, bat-eared fox, honey badger, porcupine, galago, and white-tailed mongoose. The birdlife is superb with over 440 species recorded – from the ridges, it’s possible to photograph vultures and eagles soaring within a few feet.

The neighbouring Il Ngwesi Community Lands naturally have less game on them as there are several villages and the local Maasai people tend their goats and cattle, but this allows a different experience to unfold.

Activities
Walking is essentially unlimited, although each day will tend to involve a morning walk to reach the new camp (on average about 7 miles), which could take between 3 and 7 hours, depending on how much you see along the way, and then the afternoon is free to undertake a more relaxed walk in the local area around camp. The focus of each safari is learning about the ecosystems, wildlife, and local Maasai culture. Kitonga will enlighten you on the art of tracking and other bush skills. All equipment is moved by a train of camels.

Shorter trips (2 nights) are spent on the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy itself, where the highest concentrations of game are found. Longer trips of 3 to 5 nights will also venture off the conservancy into the Il Ngwesi community lands, where game-viewing is a little less intense, but cultural experiences form a greater focus. Regardless of the number of days on trail, different habitats will be encountered, and the whole experience will be very exclusive and escapist. The scenery and views are also spectacular!

Seasons
Walking Wild operates from December to March, then again from June through to October.