Prince William comes to Il Ngwesi on occasion to get away from it all - and it's a good choice, especially if you have an entourage, or for the less royal, a large group of friends or family. It's not a busy place, and with six rooms you could easily take over the whole place and lord it in privacy round its 60,000 hectares.
Il Ngwesi is a small lodge, tucked away in a beautifully remote part of Laikipia, Kenya's ranch country. It's peaceful, set in thick acacia bushlands that stretch away for miles to the Northern Frontier District, with an exclusive sense of solitude and space. Knowing this, you might expect to pay a princely sum for accommodation, but Il Ngwesi is fairly reasonably priced compared to many of the establishments around Laikipia. This is because though funky, it's quite rough. Accommodation highlights are a couple of large double starbeds - beds that can be wheeled out of the bedroom onto the verandah for sleeping out under the night-sky.
By just visiting Il Ngewsi you're helping to support a whole community, and its wildlife - Il Ngwesi is a community lodge, owned and run in theory by the local Maasai. In fact, the nearby Lewa Downs Conservancy still have a lot of involvement in it - providing practical support, handling their marketing and organizing their supplies. But the point is, for you as a guest, that you will only see Maasai while you're here, and they are in full charge on the spot, which in theory means you'll get a deeper experience of Africa. Rather telling was the bone collection here - in most lodges you see a few whitened old animal bones that have been picked up during game drives. Il Ngwesi's bone collection included a half eaten zebra leg that still had the skin and meat on it. Expect spit, but don't expect much polish.
Incl. FB, game drives, bush walks. Excl. Drinks, airstrip transfers.
Laikipia is a vast expanse of wild country in the central highlands of Kenya - it covers almost 2 million acres and runs from Mt Kenya in the East to the Rift Valley in the west. Laikipia lies outside the jurisdiction of National Parks, and is somewhere to get out of a vehicle and embrace the numerous safari activities that Kenya has to offer. Read more?
Kenya is the most established safari country, and consequently you have to step a little off the conventional route to find real wilderness, but it’s certainly there. Kenya also has much going for it as a family destination, and also a good number of very individual safari camps and lodges with a personal approach that makes your experience very special. Kenya also has a particularly diverse ecology which ranges from snowy mountains to true desert, rolling grassy plains filled with wildlife to craggy scrub intersected with dry riverbeds, sparkling beaches and volcanic ranges. Read more?
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Vanessa's 16 years in travel has seen her knowledge develop from sub-Saharan Africa into North Africa, Central and Southern America and the Galapagos. Consequently, she’s a veritable encyclopaedia of travel information and exceptionally cool, calm and collected in the face of the greatest planning demands.
At Natural High, we've had long experience putting together trips in Africa that really work. Whether it's intimate bushcamps in out of the way places, or a private lodge in one of Africa's top-billing wildlife areas, light mobile camping or remote island escapes, we know there is a lot to choose from. We're absolutely confident that we can recommend the right places for you.
