Adventures in Luxury Travel

Mimi Lichtenstein 0:01
If you're a traveler that believes luxury and adventure are not mutually exclusive, then you're in the right place. Every week, I take you to a new destination with one of my partners, sharing the hidden gems over the top experiences and active adventures to inspire your next family vacation. I'm Mimi Lichtenstein, an experienced Travel Advisor who has also traveled with my three teenagers and my husband around the world. Let's get started. Welcome to Episode 34 of adventures in luxury travel. Just a reminder, you can see the photos we talk about on the show and a full video on Tuesday travel.com. Today, Warren and I talk about Kenya, the Big Five, the great migration and so much more. Kenya is one of the best Safari destinations and it's perfect for families, which is why I picked it for my kids for Safari. In addition to game drives, there's the Maasai tribes, horseback riding, camel, trekking, mountain biking, and more. Add to that the beautiful lodges learning about anti poaching efforts and conservation firsthand, and the elephant orphanage in Nairobi, and you have an ideal Safari destination, visit Travie travel.com/ 34 for a video of today's show, and additional resources. Stay on adventures and luxury travel. I am very excited to have on Warren right. Warren is an expert in all things Kenya, number one. And number two, I'm going to be seeing him next week in Dallas. I just learned so we're excited. We'll be going to a conference together. Warren was just back from Kenya. So I'm looking forward to hearing his very fresh perspective on how things are going in the country and getting all sorts of good insights from him on safaris and lodges and all that good stuff. So welcome to the show. Warren.

Warren 1:48
Thank you very much. Maybe it's a pleasure to be here. And thank you for having me.

Mimi Lichtenstein 1:52
Absolutely. Well, I know you just went to Kenya a little while ago. Do you want to just give us kind of just a quick overview of what's what's it like in Kenya right now? Is tourism coming back? And are the safari lodges all open?

Warren 2:06
Yeah, definitely. Tourism was coming back in a big way. In Kenya, I was actually surprised by the amount of people that were traveling and you know, and mainly American markets. With everything being completely open up, all the lodges have opened up, the parks are back to the staff. So happy to see people that you know, there's big smiles every way. And yeah, Kenya is up and ready to go. And there's, you know, COVID numbers are coming down and stabilizing. Everyone's getting vaccinated in the lodges and in the hospitality industry. So yeah, Kenya is almost back to where it was.

Mimi Lichtenstein 2:41
Awesome. Well, you know that I'm going to be coming to Kenya in July. And I am very excited working with your team to plan my own family Safari. So today, we'll share with everybody else, all of the amazing things to do in this beautiful country. And of course, what they're going to see and all the wildlife, do you want to give us a little bit of an overview, we have a few maps to share, we'll start with the big picture Africa map, and then I'll flip forward from there.

Warren 3:05
Okay, kind of middle of Africa, the continent of Africa, that line that's going through there, that's the equator, to Kenya actually falls within the southern and the northern hemisphere. And to get a size perspective, Kenya is about the size of a little bit smaller actually, than the state of Texas. So that gives you sort of an idea of the size of Kenya, but an incredibly diverse country nonetheless, with, you know, so much stuff that we're going to get into

Mimi Lichtenstein 3:32
a lot. And here's a little bit of a zoom. So this is just Kenya What about, you know, give us a little bit of an idea, what are the big areas that people go to when they come to Kenya? Okay, so

Warren 3:43
99.9% of the time you are going to be landing in Nairobi, which is the capital city, sort of the base down in the southern part of Kenya, as you can see there by the dark days, and that's the capital city, Nairobi is a great area to stop. We normally recommend about two nights, most of the flights that come in from the states are, you know, coming in late at night, so you get to your hotel, you get some rest, and then the next day, we normally like to do a bit of touring in and around Nairobi, they've got some wonderful sights, you know, the there's a white elephant orphanage. Karen Blixen, for those of you don't know is the movie out of Africa, was based on her life. So you go to her actual house is a giraffe center for endangered Rothschild giraffe. So there's a whole bunch of stuff to do in and around Kenya, which we normally recommend the day and also, you sort of relaxed get ready and prepped for your safari in your head.

Mimi Lichtenstein 4:42
We'll get into it a little later with the hotels, but there's also one of the most Instagrammable hotels in the world in Nairobi, which which we will talk about one of the most famous parts of Kenya is the great migration. You want to tell us a little bit about will flip forward to that one sort of a lot of people think that it's kind of a one time or two time event and you know, one season and they return the other. But tell us more about exactly how the pattern of the animals works.

Warren 5:07
So basically, yeah, as you as you mentioned, the the migration is not something that happens once a year or twice a year. It's a constantly evolving moving group of animals that move from area to area. And what they're doing is they're following the rain, which, therefore, is the food when you've got close to 2 million animals, you obviously need a lot of grazing for them. So they move as the rains fall, they move and follow the rains. So you can see there January to March, that's Tanzania down at the bottom there, they're normally down there. And that's when the calving season happens. And so you've got a million and a half built the beast all giving birth within three or four days. It's something incredible to see. And then from there, they'll they'll hang around there for a few months. And then once the grass starts to be depleted, they move up in a sort of in a in a clockwise, circle, circular direction. They go up to the west of the Serengeti, and then, you know, April to June, they're hanging around there. July, they head up to the northern part. And that's when you get those dramatic river crossings. They're crossing the Mara River into Kenya. And then from August to October, they hang about in the Maasai Mara, you know, a million and a half fold the beast, close to 800,000 zebras, you've got Thompson's gazelles that are with them eel, and so it's close to 2 million animals just spread out as far as the eye can see over the Maasai Mara, it looks like little ants everywhere. And then you move down back down on the other side of the Serengeti ending up down in the south January again.

Mimi Lichtenstein 6:45
And you mentioned they're following the rain and the food for them. But also there are other wildlife that are following them because they're the food for others. So

Warren 6:55
yeah, absolutely. Other predators. That's, especially for the crocodiles in the Mara River. They eat once a year. This is their time to shine the lions all over the place. They've got young training their young had a you know, cheetahs, leopards. It's it's one of the as it's been described the greatest show on it.

Mimi Lichtenstein 7:15
Awesome. All right, well, let's dive into a few of the different experiences that you can have around the country, obviously, safaris the big reason that people come to Kenya, and a lot of people go around in Safari vehicles. But Kenya as a country also has places where you can go on walking Safaris.

Warren 7:31
Yes, absolutely. And that's one of the reasons why Kenya is such a great family place or you know, destination is because, you know, children they are, although most children that are guided are extremely engaged. But it's also good to get them out of the vehicles into guns, stretch their legs, and do other activities. And so yeah, they've got mountain biking, hiking, horseback riding, walking, fly, camping, you name it, there is a way to keep active for those people, not just children, but also those people who are worried about sitting on a game vehicle all day.

Mimi Lichtenstein 8:06
And most of my clients are active when they go on vacation. So for me, I love that aspect of it. I also think there's something obviously incredibly special about having on the back of a horse and seeing a bunch of giraffes or elephants in front of you, right?

Warren 8:19
Yeah, I mean, exactly. And the animals because they're, you're a human on a horse didn't see it as a human. So you can actually get a lot closer to the wildlife. They're a lot less spooked by the horses, then they're all about humans walking up to them.

Mimi Lichtenstein 8:32
Yeah, and mountain biking. I go mountain biking a lot personally. And we live in a place in New Hampshire in northern New England, where there are a lot of mountain bikers, but certainly the scenery is completely different than it might be in Kenya, a lot more exciting animals to see where you are. And then so tell us what is what is this an example of what this child

Warren 8:52
I mean, this is an example of the family, you know, families coming to Africa and worried about the children that are going to be engaged, things like that. And so another aspect that Kenya is amazing for and I'm sure a lot of people will recognize the Maasai and Samburu warriors and this is part of the culture aspect of Kenya is have an amazing cultural history. With some of the most interesting tribes in Africa, the Maasai warriors and the Samburu, both in the logic speaking people from Africa and I must say, the guides and the staff are just incredible in the way that they engage with the children. It's not like a duty for them, they actually love teaching them about their culture. So here we've got one of my guests, and he's being taught how to shoot a bow and arrow, so we stopped for drinks. And they set up a target and our guide is now showing them how to shoot to my side Boehner was just wonderful experiences for the kids and they really get involved and engaged.

Mimi Lichtenstein 9:50
I love it. And you know, it's a very interactive way to learn about the culture, right? Some people go on trips, and it's more of just like an observation, but these people are like you said, and warmly welcoming you into the ability for them to teach you about their history and how they live their lives. So the foods

Warren 10:09
expect to see on an African presentation, but the perception is people think they're going to come and lose weight and Africa. And you'd be very surprised by the amount of food that you eat, it's almost too much food, sometimes, you know, you wake up in the morning, you have something with your coffee, then you go on a game drive, and you stop in the middle of somewhere and you have breakfast, and you come back and there's brunch, and then there's afternoon tea, and then there's dinner and snacks. And, and the food is of a really good standard. And those people you know, the worried about dietary isn't, oh, um, you know, celiac, they won't be able to accommodate me, we get all sorts of dietary requirements, and the largest, and everybody who works at the largest, I've seen it all and very well prepared for it. So, you know, food will not be an issue coming to Africa, especially Kenya, maize.

Mimi Lichtenstein 11:02
I love both of these pictures for those people who are listening first, you know, the first thing is, is an example of what it's like just eating out on the terrace, perhaps at your lodge, you know, these stunning views of the mountains and the vast plains and the wildlife. And then the other one is a cheeseburger with onion rings on top of it. So, you know, if you have picky kids, they'll still be plenty of food for them to eat. And I think for people who are coming to Africa, who maybe never thought of it like this, you're also going like you said, you're going out and about and having meals and other places. So here is a beautiful example of a picnic setup on some rocks high above the plains, which would be obviously just a magical place to have lunch.

Warren 11:45
Oh, absolutely. Yeah, May. The lodges love to do these kinds of little surprises for you, where you never know when it's going to happen. But all of a sudden, you come around the corner, and there's this beautiful picnic laid out for you. And you and your family have lunch with giraffes and zebras and elephants are watching you from a safe distance. Yeah, it's quite spectacular.

Mimi Lichtenstein 12:06
Spectacular. Yeah, that's a good word. And I think also for people who have never been on safari who don't know much about the sundowner culture, that the sundowner culture is, you know, alive and well throughout Safari camps in Africa and probably the highlight of many people's day. I think this one is from Richards camp, actually. But you know, they have them in different places and river beds on, you know, hills, would you say? Do you have any favorite sundowners from all your different experiences in Kenya,

Warren 12:36
in Kenya, I think, you know, it also depends on what's around it your sundowner spot. We've had sundowner parties crushed by lions, or elephants. And you know, you'll be standing around this or sitting down, watching the sun go down of them. And your guide will politely come and say, Guys, I think it's time to get back into the vehicle as a part of lions moving through the area, you know, so everyone was gin and tonic in hand, stumbling on backup to the vehicle. And there you go. There's some lines walking through. And it just sort of those kinds of moments are special. And they happen often. Not with lines but with you know, elephants and zebras and giraffes coming to investigate and see what's happening. And you know, just special moments,

Mimi Lichtenstein 13:18
right? And no one's gonna complain if you have to move because a herd or a pride of lions is moving, moving. Tell us a little bit about this picture of the people dancing. And what's this about?

Warren 13:29
So this was on my recent trip now. And you know, when we go when we talk about culture, we've got to be really careful about how we do it. You know, the Maasai are a very proud people. And we don't want to get our guests or the local community to feel like they're being put on show. So cultural visits, we avoid the mainstay areas, you know, where people are getting dressed up, and they don't actually even live in that village. And it's like a setup. We will put people in authentic experiences where they are real villages. And it's done in a very tasteful way so that it's no one feels uncomfortable, that you know, especially in the local community, and especially the guests. And so yeah, we were they came out and greeted us. And as I said, they're very proud. And they want to teach people their culture. So we've got a young girl there who's being taught by one of the Maasai women. And then in the on the left hand side of the screen, we've got one of the young boys, and he's 1415. And he's being taught by one of the Maasai warriors how to jump in. That's basically they dancers, they have jumping competitions, and the higher you jump, the more powerful you are.

Mimi Lichtenstein 14:38
Love it. And then this is just a photo and at the end, we'll put on a video of the wildebeest migration. Just imagine this right magnified by, you know, a million.

Warren 14:49
Yeah, I mean, it's incredible. So I took that shot. There was probably about 3000 voter bees that crossed within 10 minutes. And at that specific time, there was about about I would say close to 300, hold the beast in the water. And you just sort of point your camera and shoot away. And hopefully, you can get something like that. Yeah, it's just an incredible, incredible experience.

Mimi Lichtenstein 15:13
And it's just so you know, different than anything obviously, we would see over here, but little bees aren't the only thing. And Kenya, Kenya is obviously known for, you know, the big five and other beautiful animals. So, as we flip through some of these pictures, maybe I'm assuming you might have taken

Warren 15:30
many photos, but most of these photos that are here on the presentation were taken just recently on my last trip, so is cheetah Kenya, because it's big, open plains, that's our cheetah love to hunt their past animals can use one of the best places to see cheetah, they're actually very endangered. But Kenya has a very healthy population of them. So if you're interested in seeing the cheetahs, great place to do, and having said that as well, rhinos as well, right now as Kenya, one of the best places to go. Yeah, we have. Yeah, I mean, this is you wake up, you've just had your coffee drive 10 minutes out of the lodge, and you're greeted with the lions getting ready for the day and mom sort of pushing a Cubs along and making sure that they are behaving. I love the intensity of the look in her eyes. She's watching those babies.

Mimi Lichtenstein 16:19
Mm hmm. Is there a particular time of year where they're having their cubs similar to the world of beasts?

Warren 16:26
No. So lions or lions basically just have cubs? anytime of the year. Okay. So there's no real sense. My time of the day. It all depends on line politics. Okay. male lion comes in and takes over a year we'll make for those females. So that can happen anytime of the year.

Mimi Lichtenstein 16:44
Okay, got it. Not always at their choice, probably either. Yeah. So you and I both love this very classic photo, I did a show on Mount kill hiking Mount Kilimanjaro a couple of weeks ago, which is on many people's bucket lists. But if you're in Kenya, you can go out and see elephants and giraffes with the beautiful mountain in the background.

Warren 17:03
Yeah, I mean, that is the the iconic Mount Kilimanjaro in the background with the big elephant Tasker in the foreground. You know, a lot of people think that Kilimanjaro is actually in caves. We both know it's not but we they the way they market Kilimanjaro, Kenya is that it's the best place to see Mount Kenya from the ground. And I fully agree with them that kind of view. You don't actually get in Tanzania. You can hike it's in the plastic. But to get that view, that's pretty special. And that's in the southeast part of Kenya. And that's away from the Maasai Mara National Park in an area called Dumbo silly to Blue Hills area. And yeah, fantastic area, not as busy as the Maasai Mara, but still an amazing amount of wildlife in that region. And known for its genealogy, our genetics of the big task of elephants, some of the last lap in the world, elephants, were they just so large that they still dragging on the ground, which is obviously you don't get that much anymore.

Mimi Lichtenstein 18:05
No. Incredible area. They're absolutely beautiful. Obviously, you know, you don't have to be a fabulous photographer to get great pictures in Kenya or on Safari for them. All right, so this is so sweet picture of an elephant orphanage.

Warren 18:19
That's correct. Yeah, there's two elephant orphanages, the two main ones in Kenya, this one was taken in Nairobi at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. Nairobi has a national park in its it's one of the only cities and that was one of the only cities in the world with a national park less than I think it's five miles from the CBD. So that's quite quite a strange place. But you've got this wildlife often engineer and they do an incredible amount of work in risking is orphans that have either that, you know, their mothers have been killed by poachers, or they've fallen into wells or muddy water holes and being stuck and can't be reignited with the families. Then the Wildlife Trust takes them in and you can go and visit. And they don't encourage people feeding them because these remedies elephants are going to be reintroduced back into the wild. So they their handlers are basically the mothers so that that man over there, that'll be their mother, they sleep with them. When they first arrive in the in the nursery, they lie in a little shed with them. Oh covered with blankets. So yeah, it's it's a really beautiful experience.

Mimi Lichtenstein 19:27
Amazing. Well, we're actually going there on our first day in Nairobi as well. So and then, you know, this looks almost like a little bit like we're in the Sahara Desert. Tell us a little bit about some of the other you know, you know, topography in, in Kenya. Exactly.

Warren 19:41
So when you talk about off the beaten track, and this photo is just highlight the diversity of the of the country. This is up in the northern part of Kenya, this Ghouta Valley is not many lodges and things out there but in terms of you know, going for a helicopter excursion for the day. and flying up there. That's a real luxurious treat. And just to get an idea of the a completely different landscape, and yeah, it's just I've been there once or twice before, it's it really is off the beaten track. There's not much out there. But it's an incredible experience. If you want to spoil yourself, do a helicopter excursion, I

Mimi Lichtenstein 20:18
thought, well, we always love talking about over the top things. And oftentimes they involve helicopters. So it's nice to know that that's an option in Kenya, would you say? So? If you're going to take a helicopter somewhere in Kenya? Is this one of your favorite places to go? Are there a few? I mean, a lot of times people also go up in there looking at the wildlife from above as well, which would be also an incredible experience.

Warren 20:40
Oh, yes. Yeah, I mean, so the helicopter experiences I would definitely recommend is doing this one up to northern Kenya, you could do the scooter Valley, or you could do like to corner, where there's huge amounts of flamingos. It's a sailing leg is pink legs with the LP, you could also do a helicopter excursion up to the sides of Mount Kenya, and go trout fishing for the day, and have a picnic lunch, halfway up Mount Kenya, which is the second highest mountain in Africa, and then be back in the lodge in the afternoon for your game drive. So yeah, I mean, in terms of doing wildlife viewing from a helicopter, it's not really allowed in the national parks in there. And then are trying to eliminate that. But if you want to fly over the animals, the hot air balloon is the way to go.

Mimi Lichtenstein 21:28
And the list, I think we have a picture of the lake with the flamingos. And then also, tell us a little bit about this. For those who are listening, it's a picture of I guess, an old biplane, tell us a little bit about this one.

Warren 21:40
So for those of you who have seen the movie out of Africa, you might recognize that that is a replica of Robert Redford's playing that was used in the movie. And this is a place called severe retreat, which isn't unlike EPA Region, which is sort of North West of Nairobi. And it's a beautiful place, the wildlife is good. But it's not the main focus there. There's so many different activities, you can watch the movie out of Africa, in a room while you're having dinner with props from the movie, it's just yeah, really different experiences. So it's not all about wildlife. As you say. There's a lot more to offer.

Mimi Lichtenstein 22:19
And I think one of the things that we both love to do is to share information on movies and books and you know, music about the places that our clients are going to be traveling. And so if somebody hasn't seen out of Africa, it's obviously a good one to watch before, before you go there. And my favorite star beds, I'm always looking for star beds, and every country we're going to be sleeping in a star bed when we're in Kenya, this one happens to reminds me of like a muppet character with like, crazy. Tell us where the sun is.

Warren 22:50
Yeah, so that's called the bird's nest and had severe retreat as well, the same place with the biplane, and you'll see on the Muppets, hey, you sleep on the top there outside under the desk. And you can have a whole family up there. Because if you look below where the lights are, under the bird's nest, there's actually a room inside there. So for whatever reason, if someone gets scared or too cold, or they can't sleep, or it's raining, you can shoot downstairs and you've got a beautiful little tree house that you can sleep in under there as well. But as you say, I mean three star beds, three houses, it's one of the best best ways to experience a night out in Africa and the noises and the stars. It's just you can't describe it, you have to experience it for yourself.

Mimi Lichtenstein 23:36
And I think one of my favorite things, even if someone's going to Italy, France, you know, Spain, a more mainstream type place is to find some unconventional accommodation, because if you're going with your kids staying in a place like this, right, it's just like magical for those guys. So

Warren 23:52
lifetime memories. Yeah, they'll remember that all, you know, all through their life.

Mimi Lichtenstein 23:56
Absolutely. Okay, well, so Safari lodges have a big impact on your experience, not only because you're sort of based out of there for the wildlife that's nearby, but also because they're very different. I talked about with Dylan, how some of them, you know, are more of the traditional tented camps. Some of them are a little bit more elaborate, a little bit more established. Some have outdoor showers, some have their own lunch pools, all sorts of different ones. So let's flip through some of the favorites. So we're going to start in Nairobi at Hemingways, which is actually where my family is going to be staying. And I chose this picture because people might think I'm going to Nairobi, I'm going to be staying in like, you know, urban hotel, right downtown crowds, traffic and all of that. But you can see from this picture, it's not like that at all.

Warren 24:42
Not at all, as you mentioned. So it's about 45 minutes drive from the hip and you are outside of the city. It's in an area called Karen, after Karen Blixen, and that view there the first line in the book from out of Africa is I had a farm in Africa, the first I have the gong hills. And that view from your room is the Ngong hills. So as you say, you don't feel like you're in the city at all big beautiful gardens, lovely spa, great restaurants, great cocktails, you

know to have

a gym, and a spot. Yeah.

Mimi Lichtenstein 25:20
Okay, all the good stuff that you need before you go on safari. And then we touched on this earlier, if people are on Instagram, maybe in your lifetime, you've probably seen this or another similar photo of giraffe Manor. Tell us a little bit about giraffe Manor.

Warren 25:35
Yeah, giraffe mana is, as you mentioned, it's one of those places that I think most people will have seen photographs, even if they didn't know they were looking at giraffe Manor became it's always been a popular place. But then Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres stayed there. And it blew up since then. I mean, yeah, it's incredible. Just a word of warning, if you if this is going to be the highlight of your trip, and something that you want to plan a trip around, we highly recommend that you plan two years in advance because you cannot for level money, get space unless you give us an athlete. Literally two years, we're actually booking three years at the moment for some clients, because that's what they want to do. Because, because it's just so popular.

Mimi Lichtenstein 26:21
Yeah. And they either themselves, or they have children who would like to have a photo similar to this one where they're feeding giraffes out of their hand as they're sitting in a window. So

Warren 26:32
one thing to note about this is they are served, you know, another good thing about booking so far in advance is that we can book you the rooms, not all the rooms. So what the photographs that you're seeing here are all in the breakfast dining room area, there are certain rooms where you can wake up and you're still in your pajamas, and it's on the second floor. But the giraffes stick their heads into your room, and you can feed them from the comfort of your room. So if you give enough time, we can get those exact rooms and we know which are the right rooms to book and get those those rooms for you which are highly sought after.

Mimi Lichtenstein 27:07
And that's one of the reasons I love working with you. Because you know, all my partners in every country, they know the best rooms, they know the rooms with the view the rooms where the draft, stick their head in the window, you know, key information like that. And obviously you were just in Kenya. So it's nice also that you guys are there and present so much. So a place that might have been in great shape three years ago, might not be in great shape today. And so to have you guys there as our, you know, feet on the ground, getting that very current knowledge is always super helpful. So we appreciate it. Thank you. Well, I love this photo I had there's so many photos I love but you know sitting outside on your terrace, in your camp, looking out at this view would be just stunning.

Warren 27:51
Yeah, this is Bentley, a camp, which is one of our favorites. It's in the Maasai Mara. And so the thing to remember with the Maasai Mara is you get the area which is the National Park, which is open to the public, and bordering that sort of north of Maasai Mara, or the conservancies. Now there's no fences or anything, it's all open. But the conservancies have a little bit more freedom and a little bit more privacy. There's not as many lodges on the conservancies you're allowed to go off road on the conservancies and you're allowed to drive at night and the conservancies and you're allowed to walk on the conservancies so yeah, just something to keep in mind. It is further away from the river crossings. But that is a beautiful day's drive. You spent the day you have a picnic lunch on the plains of the Masai Mara, and you get back to your camper, you know just before the sun goes down it's you can still experience both

Mimi Lichtenstein 28:49
and I know that bachelor camp also has a pool I think a lap pool actually so for those people who want to get some exercise I I know some people who are active think that they're just going to go on safari and sort of sit in the in the vehicle every day. We touched on that a little bit but many camps not all have fitness centers or they have a lap pool in this case where you can get exercise on the property even if you can't go wandering around in Lyon territory.

Warren 29:15
Correct? Yeah. And better Lea offer a gem in a bag, you know, so there's a bit you know, there's some equipment there for you to do a workout on your deck.

Mimi Lichtenstein 29:28
Okay, and then Richards River Camp. This is clearly a traditional sort of tented camp.

Warren 29:34
Very much so so there's some Yeah, I mean, as we were mentioning earlier, you get all different kinds of accommodations. This is a luxury tent when we say 10 Please don't think of it as a little tent that's been pitched up. It's a permanent fixture. It's got a ensuite bathroom with flushing toilets and lights and carpets and beds and all the comforts you could wish for just in case in a canvas tent and the beauty of Richards is that You can see there there's a little river there. So you've got hippos as well, and they come out at night onto the lawn. You can watch the hippos but you can also hear the hippos at night when you're sleeping. And this is beautiful rumbling sound and you know you really in a tent for me, I might be a bit biased but that's my favorite kind of accommodation because I can hear and smell everything that's happening outside the enriches is beautiful camping, beautiful family rooms as well. Really great family camp.

Mimi Lichtenstein 30:32
Love it. Okay, so Mara plains is one of the relay in Chateau properties in Kenya and I don't know, how many are there many relay in chateaus in Kenya. I know there are several in Africa. But is this the only one? I would have to double check? I think there is. Maybe one other there aren't that many adanya is as well. It's really in touch up? Well, I think. I think we're gonna see that one in a minute. You know, obviously relay in Chateau has a reputation that you're gonna get fed really, really well. You're gonna get fed really well at all of these. But for people who love relay in Chateau properties, Mara plains is one of them. Tell us a little bit about this has a little bit more of a traditional feel to the decor and furniture in the room?

Warren 31:11
Yeah, correct. So mario place is part of the Great Plains portfolio, which is run by Derek and Beverly Japan. They do amazing work. And their biggest thing is to reclaim all these areas, reintroduce wildlife and benefit the local communities. Morrow plains is one of the flagship camps in Kenya. It's an A beautiful Conservancy, north of the Maasai Mara, there's only five other lodges on this huge Conservancy. So you have amazing wildlife sightings there. There's good leopard, good land, good elephant as you as you mentioned, so some of the lodges are contemporary, some of the lodges going back to an older time, especially in Kenya, which was sort of the the origin of Safari as we know, it was Kenya was one of the first places where people came to do either or hunting or to come and experience wildlife. Kenya, a lot of that theme is celebrated in a lot of the lodges. It's that old timey Golden Era kind of face. Mm hmm.

Mimi Lichtenstein 32:14
Well, it's funny, I was talking with my mom the other day, who reminded me that my grandparents went to Kenya long ago. I haven't heard the exact year yet, but I'm guessing it was before she was born. So we're talking like, you know, the first half of the 20th century. And she still has some of the Maasai warriors that they bought when they were over there. So she's gonna send them to be to put on my shelf. Yeah, so fun. And just imagine the difference, right, going on safari back in the 40s. Right now, like, what a huge difference.

Warren 32:44
I mean, can you imagine driving around in those old vehicles

Mimi Lichtenstein 32:47
now or even the accommodation? And the transportation does everything right? Helicopters? Not, you know, obviously, an option. All right. So on gamma Mara is one of the places we're staying. I think it's the last place we're staying. So usually, we try and save the best for last. You can see from this photo, you know, part of the reason why it's spectacular. Tell us a little bit about Ungava ma

Warren 33:10
Sangama Mara is the CEO is Nikki Fitzgerald, and she's been designing lodges and folding lodges for probably about 30 years in Africa. And this is her baby, her own one that she owns built upon the Lulu Lulu I know that's a real word escarpment, and it overlooks the Maasai Mara. So you are actually out of the National Park. So you can do walks on the top there, all that type of thing. It is one of the most breathtaking views. You can sit on your porch with a set of binoculars and look down at the mirror and be entertained for hours because you'll constantly be spotting things. It is a beautiful property. Great food. There you go. I mean, that's your fire pits in the main lodge area, where you can go and have your sundowners and chat to other guests, and everyone brags about what they saw. And it's just yeah, it's a lovely Lodge. Beautiful atmosphere, very well decorated. The rooms are spacious. It's yeah, it is a great property. Fantastic.

Mimi Lichtenstein 34:10
I think this picture alone, I actually put this picture on my newsletter this week, because this picture alone would make me want to go there, right? Just picture yourself sitting around the fire after a beautiful day on a game drive with a cocktail in your hand just talking with your family and other people that you meet all about the adventures that you're going on. It just seems perfect.

Warren 34:31
Exactly in this Yeah, I can almost smell that firewood as well. No, that

Mimi Lichtenstein 34:35
sounds okay, but there's more beautiful pictures. So here's a photo of sarara Tell us a little bit about sorority

Warren 34:42
sorority is also one of our really, really favorite camps and it's off the beaten track. It's up in northern Kenya Conservancy and there's not much you know, there's not other many other lodges around. It's always a great place to go from Nairobi up to Aurora. The wildlife is good. It's not Maasai Mara good. But you're not going there for the wildlife. It's more the cultural activities. This northern part of Kenya is some guru land. So your guides are some guru, you can do an amazing and some gurus are semi nomadic. So they'll come and go off the Conservancy and they set up the homesteads, you can go and do a 100% authentic visits to them. There's no frills or anything like that. It's it's full on, it's amazing to see and it's not put on. And it's a really, really authentic experience that I was talking about earlier. They also have something called the singing wells on this property. And this is normally around about, I would say mid August, going into October is the best time to visit to see this phenomenon. And what is is northern Kenya is is desert, it's very dry, and some bull roots them their cattle is everything a cattle, all they have is their riches. So what they do is they'll go into the riverbed on this property, and we'll start digging holes. And as the dry season progresses, they have to dig further and deeper and deeper into this riverbed to get water. So you if you go around about August, you've got maybe six or seven men standing on top of each other shoulders, there's a guy at the bottom of this well, and he's pulling up a bucket, and then the handing of up to each other and pouring it onto a truck by the hole. The reason it's called the singing Wells is there's probably 60 different wells that are being duck, and everybody has now congregated so there's 1000s of cattle running around. And what each guy does is they sing a song, a family song that they cattle recognize. So when the cattle come, they hear the family song, and they will go to that watering hole and make sure that they drink from the owners watering hole. It's it's an incredible, incredible experience very unique, not photographed, because most of the men will strip down naked. So it's never photographed, it's done very respectfully, you sit back, and you just watch and take it all in and it's been going on for hundreds of years. And are it's one of those unique places that you can go and do this.

Mimi Lichtenstein 37:25
Amazing. Now I know from other trips, that the complicated part is you never really know when it's going to happen or if it's going to happen, depending on the weather and all of that. So it's something that you can't necessarily you could say you want to go do it. But it's one of those things where it might work out and it might not so

Warren 37:43
yes, exactly. Yeah, you can't predict the rain fall each year. So and it all depends on rainfall and how much rain is about if

Mimi Lichtenstein 37:51
you're lucky enough, or just another excuse to go back to Kenya on safari multiple times, I think. Right? Exactly. And I love So sarara is a small camp and most of these camps that we're talking about are really small camps, right? Six tents, 10, maybe 20. But the nice thing is that it's not really they're not really places where big groups come through so you won't be in your tent with a couple other people. And then there's a group of you know, 20 others who are all together traveling with you. So that's one of the reasons we really like working with these small camps. And so here's a picture of Sierra koi another tented camp tell us a little bit about therapy.

Warren 38:28
So sir koi is on a conservancy called the labor Conservancy. This is an incredible conservancy as I was talking earlier. If you want to see Rhino, this Kenya is the place to come you know rhinos flight they are being taken out daily. So it's a highly endangered animal. But the labor Conservancy has done such an amazing job in in protecting these animals. So Sirocco is sits in an Asus in within the labor conservancy animals are free to roam in and out of the property except for elephants. So it's been fun. I've been going there for the last eight years and it's been fun watching them come up with new inventions and how to stop the elephants from coming in. But yeah, it is an amazing campus got a swimming pool. It's got a family family Villa as a separate house comes with its own chef comes with its own can vehicle and then they've got a family house which is three bedrooms, which is nice for a group of you know, six traveling or a family traveling the same thing. You get your own shift, you get your own vehicle and yeah, off you go when you go to see those rhinos

Mimi Lichtenstein 39:36
and like many they all have their own private deck like you can see here. This one happens to have super comfortable looking chairs that you could sit out and watch all of these wildlife coming through camp is another one in the same Conservancy. I think the leawo Wilderness Camp tell us a little bit about this one.

Warren 39:52
Yep, that's correct. And as you can see, they're very much a tented experience in a different part of the labor Conservancy and when you're talking About ranges, I mean, labor wilderness in terms of value for money is an incredible property. You get to I mean, the as you can see the accommodations are perfect. You're in a tent, you can hear the noises. You can hear, hear, smell the smell the, you know, the Africa. Yeah. It's just one of those beautiful properties. Also very small, I think only 12 units, red family unit as well and offering a bunch of other activities.

Mimi Lichtenstein 40:31
Right? No, they have horseback riding and camo, camo riding here would be so far.

Warren 40:37
So they also offer what they call walking wild. So you can go and spend a few nights at the lodge. And then you can do a camel trek, where you basically take your whole camp on the backs of camels and you walk within the labor Conservancy, and you'll set up it's called Fly camping, you basically got a little dome tent, that's like a mosquito net, and you sleep out under the stars. And you can do that for two or three nights. Just walking amongst the wilderness with the Maasai guides, learning a lot about not only the animals, but the plants, the insects, or the whole ecosystem works amazing adventure for kids and for adults.

Mimi Lichtenstein 41:14
Oh, absolutely. And you know, just to be able to have that change of pace where you're really out camping, if you're people who can do that. But yeah, you'll be able to come back, you know, and hanging out at this more traditional camp later in the day would be a fun idea, particularly with kids. Then we have loisaba another spectacular photo of a beautiful sunset from a terrace that you could sit on and have your cocktail tell us a little bit about loisaba

Warren 41:39
loisaba is also sort of in the Laikipia area, which is north northwest of Nairobi. And it's one of those places where you can also do a whole bunch of activities, fantastic wildlife, but they also offer mountain biking, horseback riding, walking, cultural lizards, you can go and visit a Maasai village there and they've got a really nice one nothing that's put on really authentic experience. And I don't know if I'm jumping the gun here, but they also do offer the loisaba star beds, which I'm sure you very well.

Mimi Lichtenstein 42:16
I was gonna introduce it that way. I love the star beds. It's one of my favorite.

Warren 42:20
Yeah, so loisaba star beds, it's on the same property, you do a game drive that day. And they've got these beautiful rooms all open. There's no walls of glass or anything. It's under a thatched roof. And you've got this four poster bed. And what you can do with this four poster bed is on wheels, and they push it out onto the serpent bit is on open deck and you sleep out on the deck on a coffee overlooking pretty much very similar to that actually just a little bit higher up and you've got this beautiful view down on the belly. Yeah, and as we've said before, sleeping out under the stars is magical experience.

Mimi Lichtenstein 43:01
And I think that's what you know, one of the reasons that I chose for my kids there for Safari Kenya, because as we keep saying there's so much to do, beyond just the game drives, and there's so many ways to be active and engaged with the culture. You know, East Africa in particular, just has so much culture in Tanzania, and in Kenya, that it's a great place to bring young old children or, quite frankly, just adults. There's there's just the reminder of the Muppet head nest photo, it's a gara such

Warren 43:33
as the Muppet.

Mimi Lichtenstein 43:35
I don't remember which month it is reminding me of, but it's reminding you of a muppet. I think that they also have like some outdoor bathtubs to it. So gara Is that Is that correct? Do you know?

Warren 43:44
Yes, they do. So the gara they have it's it's called Sergei retreats. And that's exactly what it is. And now you're just mentioning if you're doing for people that I mean, they'll get the wildlife and the game drives will engage most people. But for some people, they may need a break. And secure retreats is that exactly it's a beautiful, beautiful property. They offer you know, one bedroom suites, they've got a house which can accommodate six to eight people, I believe, is a villa as well but they're all so far away from each other that you will never really see anybody. They make sure that your your lunch is just you your family and you eat in a different place every single day. Your dinners in a different place your lunches in a different place that have an incredible art gallery and Art Gallery this all African artists come and put their work up there so you can go through the art gallery, the food is incredible. They also offer you know wildlife, anti poaching, you can go out with the anti poaching team, and you can be the poster for the day and basically you go with the guy and you run off and then the dogs will track you and come and find you. There's a whole bunch of activities to do and it's just really fun. incredible place to just stop, take it all in, do something different. And then, you know, continue or in your safari there as well, once you've seen all five and, and done all the things that you wanted to

Mimi Lichtenstein 45:12
do, I think the beauty of many of these places, I mean, so all of these high quality lodges are into sustainability and conservation efforts. And you know, that's a big chunk of the money that you're spending to go there is spent on those things. But in addition, you know, some people are interested in that personally, and some people maybe not as much. So if you have kids, or your family is very interested in sustainability, or how the anti poachers work, you know, these are things that with advanced conversations with the lodge, you know, they can kind of create some activities and create some experiences that will allow your kids to learn more and sort of have some hands on learning about these aspects of what it's like to run a lodge and in Kenya.

Warren 45:55
Yeah, exactly. I mean, sustainability is, it's always been a part of the culture here. I think people are just becoming more aware of it now, worldwide, they want to travel and not take, just take something back with them like memories, they also want to contribute on their travels. And there's all sorts of activities and things that we can get involved with within the local communities to enrich everyone's experience and labs.

Mimi Lichtenstein 46:19
Yeah. I love this photo. So for people who have never been on safari, this is a hide, which I guess is essentially what it sounds like. It's a place where you hide and you can watch the animals further from camp. This is one in although Neo would do you have any favorite heights? I mean, they don't all camps don't have heights, but some of them do. Do you have any favorites?

Warren 46:39
Yeah, I mean, all done. Yeah. When when you say hard, and in terms of Kenya, or dunya, I actually have two, that one is the open one. And if you walk down that path, and to the right, there's a bunker, which is right next to it, and there you can take photographs in that. So I'll Donya is definitely got the hard thing down. The nice thing about it is you don't need anyone to escort you there. So it's you walk from the lodge in the afternoon. So you know, you normally do you go drive in the morning, come back, have lunch, and there's that siesta time where it's too hot to do anything, the animals are all hiding in the bushes and resting and relaxing. And so humans do the same thing. So for those of you who but you know, don't want to just read a book or relax, you can walk down to the hide, grab a drink and watch the passing show.

Mimi Lichtenstein 47:37
You just You just sit there and just watch what walks by another beautiful. I'll just kind of flip through these last few but another beautiful campus tour Tellus that looks like again, this almost looks like it's the golden hour the glow that's coming into to this tent from the afternoon sun and then let's just loop around to Nairobi. Eden I know is a new hotel, which some of my colleagues have been to what do you think I mean?

Warren 48:01
So it's yeah, I basically during COVID, it was called 138 and then enter trades. Dubinsky took it over, it was always hers, and she's now turned it into Eden. I still haven't been to go and see it. But I know you're 138 it's a very quiet little property. It's very close to giraffe Manor. And beautiful gardens sits away from everything great place to arrive. You know, get over jetlag relax and very peaceful, beautiful gardens.

Mimi Lichtenstein 48:31
Yeah, I was gonna say I think they're going for more of the Oasis feel as compared to somewhere like draft manner where you might not show up and feel like you're in the middle of an oasis. Right? You feel like you're in the middle of New York City but with giraffes that if you're certainly a couple right, this would be a great a great stop in in Nairobi.

Warren 48:49
Absolutely. Yeah, without a doubt.

Mimi Lichtenstein 48:52
So let's talk about before we finish up on some of the takeaway tips, I always like to tell people some tips. I think your point about giraffe Manor was a very good one. If you want to go to giraffe Manor. Plan ahead two plus years in advance, particularly for high season. What about seasonality in terms of what are the best times to come to Kenya?

Warren 49:10
Okay, so East Africa, and that's Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda. They have two rainy seasons a year. You've got the long rains, which is in March to May, would avoid those months. And then the short range which is in October to December, and that's normally you know, an hour in the late afternoon it rains, but March to May, I wouldn't really go there. It's just it's too much. The Great Migration, if you want to see the great migration, and that's a major factor for you. Then you're August to October, they are in the Maasai Mara. And you get to see sites like that river crossings if you're lucky.

Mimi Lichtenstein 49:49
John in the background, by the way. We're not going to listen to them, although they're fun to listen to, but we'll just play that while we while we recap everything. Yeah, so imagine And here's the great migration happening. I don't see any hippos or crocodile or crocodiles eating the world obese though.

Warren 50:06
No, that was one of the cheapest crossings I've ever seen. I think everybody made it through safe and some no crocodiles. got lunch there. But yeah, just getting back to that. So yeah, August to October in the Maasai Mara, that's when the migration will be there. And you know, also takeaways, you can combine Kenya is you could spend weeks in Kenya alone. But you can also combine it with other countries that are nearby. So a gorilla tracking experience in Rwanda. That's very possible. Or if you are really keen, and you want to guarantee and I hate to use that word, the migration, you could do a combination of Tanzania and Kenya, when you go into the Serengeti. And if they're in the Serengeti, you'll see them if not, you go over to Kenya, and there'll be in Kenya and you'll see it and so you can combine Tanzania and Kenya quite easily as well. Mm hmm.

Mimi Lichtenstein 51:00
And then what about the coastline and fishing and doing you know, scuba diving and that sort of thing? Obviously, Kenya has a coastline. It isn't it's easy. The Seychelles are over in that direction as well. What would you say about people who also want to do something on the coast? Is it worth going to the coast of Kenya,

Warren 51:17
you know, if people want to but they don't want the hassle of going to a different country and going through immigration and you know, who knows with COVID The moment that requires an extra test or whatever, so Kenya does have a beautiful coastline and it's excellent for fishing also run about September October, Marlin, sailfish game fish like tuna Dorado that type of thing big beautiful white beaches, great snorkeling that I mean, the states you guys have an amazing area as well. So it's not a highlight, but it is something that if somebody wants to do and to relax after this Safari is definitely doable. And Mombasa Diani beach springs to mind when we're talking about coastal coastal areas in Kenya.

Mimi Lichtenstein 52:04
Okay, great. Well, so fun. Again, so many beautiful, inspirational pictures. So many fun things to see, obviously, tremendous wildlife, and it's just there waiting for us all to get back to it again. So thank you so much for sharing that all with us today. I love having these conversations and learning new things every time I talk to you guys. So thank you for joining me. Oh,

Warren 52:27
it's been an absolute pleasure. Thank you for having me.

Mimi Lichtenstein 52:29
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