Lewa Wilderness is situated within one of Kenya\u2019s major private conservation successes, the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, at the foot of Mt. Kenya. Lewa Downs has been the Craig family home since 1924 when the Craigs came from England and began raising cattle here. Lewa Wilderness is the original family home of the Craigs and is still home to Will and Emma Craig who host with their team of professional guides.<\/p>\n
The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy has three extraordinary assets:
\n\u2022 Beautiful countryside and as good a wildlife experience as anywhere in Africa.
\n\u2022 Many of the world\u2019s endangered species \u2013 Black and White Rhino, Grevy\u2019s Zebra and Sitatunga.
\n\u2022 A major commitment to community development and participation.<\/p>\n
Accommodation
\nNine comfortable thatched cottages with spacious ensuite bathrooms, fireplaces in the sitting areas and verandahs with spectacular views.
\nLighting is by a 240V generator, run morning and evening hours. Power outlets in tents so phone\/camera batteries can be charged in the rooms. Travel size hair dryers can be used in the cottages \u2013 guests are recommended to bring own and management needs to be informed. There is also a mini-bar in each room.<\/p>\n
Lodge Amenities
\n\u2022 Large sitting room with fireplace
\n\u2022 Horizon salt-water swimming pool
\n\u2022 Tennis court
\n\u2022 Laundry services provided
\n\u2022 Gift shop
\n\u2022 Internet access for guests \u2013 charged at US$2\/minute but only when the generator is on
\n\u2022 Mobile phone networks available
\n\u2022 Safe box in the main office
\n\u2022 Massage (extra charge)
\n\u2022 Credit card facilities \u2013 Amex, Mastercard and Visa<\/p>\n
Meal Plan
\nFull board accommodation, house-wines, beers & soft drinks. Champagne excluded. Special dietary requirements can be accommodated with prior notice.<\/p>\n
Included Activities
\n\u2022 Shared game drives in open 4×4 vehicles with knowledgeable guides, both during the day and at night
\n\u2022 Game walks with an experienced guide
\n\u2022 Horse riding for both experienced riders and novices (hats and English saddles provided)
\n\u2022 Camel treks
\n\u2022 Visits to prehistoric sites
\n\u2022 Cultural visits with local communities
\n\u2022 Farm and craft tours
\n\u2022 Swimming<\/p>\n
Optional Extras
\n\u2022 Scenic flights in biplane
\n\u2022 Il\u2019Ngwesi cultural village visit
\n\u2022 Massages<\/p>\n
Access
\n\u2022 Daily scheduled flight (via Nanyuki) departing Wilson Airport
\n\u2022 By private charter flight, directly to Lewa Downs airstrip
\n\u2022 Lewa Downs airstrip is approximately 20 minutes drive from Lewa Wilderness
\n\u2022 By road, five hour drive from Nairobi.<\/p>\n
Seasons
\nLewa Wilderness is closed in November.<\/p>\n
A Typical day at Wilderness Trails<\/p>\n
At Lewa Downs, a magnificent private conservancy of more than 50,000 acres, Wilderness Trails, the guest operation is run in the home of Will and Emma Craig and is hosted by Meera Aggawall, Karamushu OlKinyaga and their capable assistant hosts and guides.
\nYou can choose between a variety of escorted excursions; game viewing drives on the conservancy, local bush walks or horseback riding. There is some magnificent country to be explored on the flat and in the hills and horseback riding is the perfect way to get right among the plains game: literally a few feet away from browsing giraffe, zebra and eland. The horses have given enormous pleasure to many who have never ridden before. The peace is remarkable, the only sounds being the plod of the horse\u2019s hooves and the singing of birds. The swamp amid yellow-barked acacia trees contains a breeding stock of sitatunga, a shy aquatic antelope with long splayed hooves, which enable it to traverse marshy areas. Also, a treetop game lookout nearby is a fine place for observing wildlife.
\nAnimals to be seen at Lewa include elephant, numerous reticulated giraffe, eland, lion, leopard, cheetah, Burchell\u2019s and Grevy\u2019s zebra, Jackson\u2019s hartebeest, greater kudu, Grant\u2019s gazelle, impala, gerenuk, bushbuck, dikdik and many others. Lewa is also one of the few places where one can see Grevy\u2019s zebra and Burchell\u2019s zebra, side-by-side. The conservancy is one of Kenya\u2019s Rhino Sanctuaries and protects more than 20 black rhino and 20 white rhino.
\nThere is a prehistoric site at Lewa Downs where rough-hewn ancient Acheulian hand axes can be found scattered all over the ground, perhaps a half million years old. If you are interested, a visit to see the working side of the ranch can be arranged. The Craigs are also committed to developing several cottage industries on the fringe of their property and the local community weave attractive carpets from natural wool, sheared from sheep raised on the property, and make furniture from trees felled by elephant. You can visit the carpet and furniture workshops, or these are available for purchase at the small gift boutique as well as other items.
\nThe bird life is superb and lilac-breasted rollers, superb starlings, white-throated bee-eaters and red-fronted barbets are amongst the colourful birds to be found here. When you stand on the rock outcrops, vultures and eagles can be photographed soaring within a few feet. Arriving at the lookout point high on a windy ridge, you can see 17,000\u2019 Mount Kenya glowing crimson in the distant sunset. A short walk to the cliff reveals another surprise; a table and chairs have been set up and the staff are waiting to serve drinks and hors d\u2019oeuvres! The return to the lodge is a night drive with a spotlight, on the lookout for nocturnally active species such as aardvark, caracal, bat-eared fox, honey badger, porcupine, bush baby, mongoose, etc.
\nFollowing dinner, you can sip a cocktail or coffee by the fire, enjoy friendly conversation and marvel at the millions of bright stars twinkling brightly in the inky black pollution-free African sky. Looking down towards the south, the four \u2018points\u2019 of the Southern Cross can be clearly seen.<\/p>\n
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Lewa Wilderness is situated within one of Kenya\u2019s major private conservation successes, the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, at the foot of Mt. Kenya. Lewa Downs has been the Craig family home since 1924 when the Craigs came from England and began raising cattle here. Lewa Wilderness is the original family home of the Craigs and is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kenia-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lofty-tours.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lofty-tours.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lofty-tours.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lofty-tours.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lofty-tours.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lofty-tours.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12433\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lofty-tours.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lofty-tours.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lofty-tours.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}