Roxanne Reid's Blog, page 9

Palmwag campsite: an oasis in Kunene, Namibia

By Roxanne Reid
Himba settlements. Desert-adapted black rhino, elephant and lions. Fierce 4x4 routes. Austere desert landscapes. And your gateway to all of this is Palmwag campsite, an oasis in Kunene, Namibia. You’ll find Palmwag about 80km west of Kamanjab, over the Grootberg Pass through the Etendeka mountains. The volcanic Grootberg (or big mountain) stands 1540m above sea level and forms a U-shaped plateau. Spread out below you is a winding green ribbon that hints at a river bed. Down...

Mara Plains Camp: safari chic in Kenya’s Maasai Mara

By Roxanne Reid
You’re on safari in the Maasai Mara. You’ve already seen lions, elephants, wildebeest and zebra on your way to camp. Your head is buzzing and your pulse racing. Now relax, submit to the unruffled safari chic, the friendly warmth of Kenya’s Mara Plains Camp. Pretend you’re an explorer-adventurer as you cross a wood-and-rope suspension bridge over the river to get to the camp. Walk up a small slope and mount the stairs to the main area; the view of the open Mara plains will u...

Classic safari at Little Governors Camp, Maasai Mara

By Roxanne Reid
Imagine an unfenced safari camp just inside the famous Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya. Now imagine luxury, delicious food and good wildlife sightings – both in and out of camp. You’ve just imagined the classic safari world of Little Governors Camp. The approach to the camp is unusual. You cross the Mara River in a little ferry boat, pulled hand over hand along a rope, to get to camp on a plateau above the river. On our first day the 90-something steps down to the riv...

Mara Expedition Camp’s safari style, Maasai Mara

By Roxanne Reid
Sometimes Africa whispers softly, revealing her secrets with slow subtlety. And sometimes she bellows and whacks you in the face with her wild bravado. We got a little of both at Mara Expedition Camp in Kenya’s Maasai Mara. The bravado was there from the start, even before we got to camp.

At a river crossing, we found the stomach contents of a herbivore spilled on the sand – a clear sign there was a kill nearby. Since we were on conservancy land rather than in the Maasai Mar...

10 reasons to visit ol Donyo in Kenya’s Chyulu Hills

By Roxanne Reid
Visit the Chyulu Hills in south-eastern Kenya and you’ll discover an Imax-view of rolling green hills, golden plains and black volcanic soil, herds of Masaai giraffe, buffalo and antelope. Looming over it all are giant bull elephants and the snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro just over the border in Tanzania. Discover 10 reasons to visit ol Donyo in Kenya’s Chyulu Hills.   1. Geology The Chyulu Hills are volcanic, a 100km stretch of small ash cones, flows and craters. The...

15 facts about Swakopmund’s dunes and desert creatures

By Roxanne Reid
Think the sand dunes outside Swakopmund in Namibia are barren? Join Tommy Collard on a Living Desert Tour and he’ll prove that every patch of sand is a gold mine of fascinating creatures for those who know how to look. Read about our adventure with Tommy or discover 15 facts about Swakopmund’s dunes and desert creatures. 1. The highest dune between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund is 115m and dunes can move up to 2m a year.  2. The toes of the shovel-snouted lizard are serra...

Day drive to Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya

By Roxanne Reid
I love road trips and I love wildlife. So when I get a chance to combine the two, I’m there in a heartbeat. Here’s what unfolded when we took a day drive to Lake Nakuru National Park in Kenya. There are many things you can do when you stay at the Governors Camp Collection’s Loldia House on Lake Naivasha in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley (see my post about it here). One of them is to take a day trip to Lake Nakuru National Park 90km to the west. Although it’s a small park of only...

Loldia House on Lake Naivasha in Kenya’s Rift Valley

By Roxanne Reid
There’s something romantic about Lake Naivasha, whether covered in mist or loud with the calls of African fish-eagles. Farms produce beautiful roses on the southern side and wildlife roams its northern shores. So imagine the romance of two days staying at Loldia House on Lake Naivasha in Kenya’s Rift Valley. At some 1880m above sea level, Naivasha is the highest and only fresh-water lake of Kenya’s six Rift Valley lakes. Loldia House on its northern shore is part of the Gov...

Luxury and style at ol Donyo Lodge, Kenya

By Roxanne Reid
The Chyulu Hills in southeast Kenya were green when we visited in early June, surrounded by open plains sprinkled with trees – a place to see munching giraffes, white-bearded wildebeest, kongoni and gerenuk. This is Maasai land so sometimes you see a herder with a bright red shuka in the distance, standing out in relief against a herd of dusty cows. Here in a patch of woodland wilderness is ol Donyo Lodge, built of dark volcanic rock with thatched roofs. The sprawling main...

Highlights of Kenya’s Maasai Mara

By Roxanne Reid
To lovers of safari and wildlife, the words Maasai Mara conjure scenes of abundant game and endless plains dotted with trees. This national reserve in southwest Kenya is some 1510 square kilometres, or 2500 square kilometres if you count the surrounding conservancies – a riot of cinematic vistas, plains game and big cat sightings. Here are some highlights of our visit to Kenya’s Maasai Mara. Little Governors Camp When you stay at Little Governors Camp (part of the Gov...