KENYA: The animal magic of Kenya

May 19 2008 by Emma Pinch, Liverpool Daily Post

PEOPLE come back from Africa saying it’s the light and the huge sky that leaves the biggest impression on the sun-starved English psyche.

But it was when night fell that Africa’s wild majesty really came alive for me.

Dark falls in Kenya like a switch has been flicked, dramatic and fast. You’re suddenly aware of the chirruping of millions of crickets, woodsmoke from thousands of cooking fires and an inky firmament with billions of stars.

You’re also aware of lions. Lions that Malawi, our elderly Masai field guide and driver of our trusty Land Rover, was determined to find.

We’d been driving back down a bumpy track to our lodge at dusk, craning our necks in vain to spot the lions he said were nearby. Noting our disappointment, Malawi decided to treat us to an impromptu big cat night game drive, veering off road and bumping the vehicle over dense scrub to a tree. We stuck our heads out of the roof and waited. Apart from the busy scrape of crickets silence reigned.

I can’t remember who saw it first. But suddenly, caught in the headlights about 20ft away, was a triangular face dominated by a pair of alert, glowing eyes. The body was smaller than I’d imagined, but its lean, powerful lines were unmistakable.

The experience was unforgettable. At the back of my mind I hadn’t been 100% convinced that lions really existed like this, busy with their own lives and co-existing quite comfortably with the country’s human inhabitants. It was the same with giraffes, zebras and elephants. Raised in an environment tamed by pavements, three-bed semis and squirrel reserves, it was hard to adjust to nature this big.

Our Kenyan safari had started in Nairobi which, apart from the verdant foreign trees and warm climate, wasn’t so dissimilar to Birmingham. But right away there’s the thrilling sense that you are somewhere very different from home. The rush hour crowds, where as many people walk as go by car or packed mini bus, were dotted with the rangy figures of Masai warriors.

We became adept at mouthing "jambo" to children and, amazingly, adults, who would smile and wave as our convoy rattled past.

We freshened up that morning with a spot of white water rafting. Each inflatable was staffed by an expert from Savage Wilderness Safaris near a town called Sagana, who went though the emergency procedures, including being gripped by crocodiles.

It was a staggeringly beautiful day. Languidly drifting down the copper-coloured river Tana, flanked by trees and the chirruping of birds, and having curiosities like the hanging nests of the weaver birds, pointed out to us was a blissful introduction to Kenya. Plunging down 6ft rapids, being sucked out and under the boat (optional) and steering ourselves directly under the course of a waterfall was nicely refreshing too.

After a night at the colonial Outspan in Aberdare National Park, we headed off for the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. Like Nairobi it is several thousand feet above sea level and after we’d crossed the dusty equator it soon became green and cool again, the scrub and grass thickly strewn with prickly trees.

Within minutes we’d spotted an outlandish mottled neck emerging from a tree and thrilled we watched as our first wild giraffe turned to disinterestedly eye our vehicle. Incredibly, along with Zebra, warthog, impala and fragile dik dik, they soon became familiar sights, quickly slipping into the B-list of the celebrity game world.

The highlight for me was seeing elephants. Our first glimpse was a family of just three about 100ft away, slow moving, deliberate and touchingly solicitous of each other. The next was a herd. Close by there were more families mothers and aunties flicking their trunks affectionately themselves in miniature. Then you noticed that the valley and horizon was strung with their tiny, solid forms. Armed with my little binoculars I could have watched them all day.

But we had horse riding to do. Borana Ranch, owned by the Dyers, an old farming family, provides horse safaris for any competency, as relaxed or demanding as you desire.

This was a different safari experience. On horseback you feel part of the landscape. It’s quiet enough to hear the crickets and the rhythmic chewing of giraffe standing unperturbed 20ft away.

That night we stayed at the Borana Lodge, the luxury hotel built by matriarch Rose Dyer 15 years ago. It is absolutely the last word in safari luxury. Individual suites dotted up a hillside with conical thatched roofs, real fires and outdoor patios overlooking the mountains and a small lake where animals drank.

Mine was the steepest climb but the reward was my own outdoor infinity pool from which I could gaze out across the hillside, and a Flake-style bath. It was far bigger than my flat and every room - including the loo - was furnished with a devastating view. Here was Simba Rock, immortalised by the Disney film, and everyone came to breakfast yawning that lion roaring had kept them awake. I only realised in the morning, after a night of rustling noises, that I’d left my patio doors wide open. Oops.

Tsavo Game Park, which we flew to, is Kenya’s biggest game park, the size of Holland. Sarova Salt Lick Lodge offers a near guaranteed big game experience, all from the comfort of your hotel. The lodge pumps in water to a lake in front of it and animals like elephant and rhino troop under the stilts which it’s little turrety rooms are built on to get to it. On our way out the next day, heading for the north coast, we passed a family of lions resting under a tree just yards away from the road.