‪@KichecheCamps‬

At around seven thirty last Tuesday as the nasturtium sky finally dimmed, Charles Wandero carefully nosed his cruiser into the Bush Camp covered lot, before finishing his vehicle's paperwork. He sighed, peacefully, then took the keys to the office before berthing his weathered optics in their felt case where they will lay in convalescence for six weeks. He smiled, just as Peter was doing in Laikipia and Saruni at Mara Camp to say nothing of Esther at Valley. The storms of January were distant memories and they all chuckled with a demob satisfaction. They deserve their rest but will be champing to return at the start of the season. So will you be ...we hope.
Season's 'Sonnet'
Proper safaris are unpredictable, things are often not what they appear
But that’s Kicheche’s ideology: whether in the Mara Conservancies or Laikipia
Heartfelt feelings are elicited whether a sunrise walk or gazelle’s early dance
But whilst the animal kingdom can be fickle, no-one arrives here by chance
It’s because it’s special, it’s hard to get it out of your head
Greg and Paul thought this 24 years ago, casing real estate in a dry river bed
Look how the rangers patrol these areas, faces weathered to burnished teak
They know this is worth looking after, something for their kids to call unique
The moments could be a giraffe giving birth or a lion with a heavy load
Everything made so much more exciting by being able to drive off-road
No limits on opening hours, so often something a game park really lacks
And no corralling or hustling of animals with a five vehicle max.
Then there are the dawns and dusks, always different always resplendent
As is Kicheche, sensitive and sustainable and still fiercely independent
There’s more: ground coffee with lions and freshly baked pancakes or buns
Or a dinner taken under the real stars but worthy of Michelin ones
Miracles of nature blend perfectly with Sharon’s delightful gin bar
A prequel to the concussion of lions rumbling at night, often not very far
We may have signal but no TV, Netflix or cable
We are not harnessed by wires, fences or at worst a strict timetable
This is your safari, your faunal fix, we don’t mind if you leave in tears
Because you swallow the ethic whole and return year after year
The highlights are bounteous, not by the glass but in seasoned vats
Each have their favourites: whether rhino, birds or cats
In six weeks for our 25th season, we’ll be opening the canvas door
And be welcoming new arrivals, some with two legs, some four
So as we sign off just one thing, it is not pronounced ‘chay’ but ‘Kichechee’
This is your home, welcome back to ‘Conserve&See’
Read more: kicheche.com/k...
Huge thanks to ©GingerBarger (gingerbarger.smugmug.com) for allowing us to gorge on her gallery of sensational images from her three week safari at Kicheche's Mara strongholds - Bush, Valley and Mara camps.