Kenya: An Aerial Safari
In July Will spent a stunning eight days guiding a family holiday in Kenya, with four wonderful guests, exploring the Suguta Valley by helicopter, Borana Conservancy on foot, by car and on e-bikes before getting down to the Mara to follow the migration.
Suguta Valley
The Suguta Valley is one of the driest areas of Kenya, with less than 300mm of rain each year. Many areas are totally uninhabited and makes it a wonderfully unspoilt area to fly over.
Having spent two nights at Laragai House on Borana Conservancy the five of us (myself, Will as guide and my four guests) took off from the front of the property and began to make our way north.
The start of the journey was filled with the usual whoops and cheers as we got in to the air for the first time and Tats (our pilot) giving us a few safety tips on how to safely open the side doors mid flight - an element some of us enjoyed more than others!
These noises faded away quickly, filled by the steady rumble of the rotor blades and the palpable, excited silence as we all looked out below us, the landscape seeming to grow the farther above it we flew.
Stunning Aerial Photo by Guest Alex Goldblum
As we flew north we flew over hundreds of thousands of flamingos on Lake Logipi, made regular stops to run over sand dunes and exploring ancient rock art sites all the while marvelling at the endless landscape below our feet and the chopper runners.
Tats’ knowledge of the areas geography, people and history was remarkable, seeming to happily switch from daring piloting to seasoned history professor without drawing breath.
Above all what made it for me though was the reaction of the guests. Each blown away by something different and ever more enthusiastic each time we touched down somewhere new. The more time we spend away guiding the more we realise it’s not where we are it’s who we are with and while, admittedly, we get to go to some incredible places, we’re so thankful our guests buy in to the experiences as much as we do.
Flamingos by Alex Goldblum
From Rotor Blades to Four Wheels…but not as you’ve seen before
Always looking to do things a little differently on safari at Armstrong Fortescue we landed at Koros Camp, one of the most remote camps we get to visit. Here we would be spending our days out exploring the seasonally dry river bed on quad bikes, fishing on Lake Turkana and taking to the skies again with Tats.
One of my highlights of the trip was getting out that first afternoon in Koros on the quads, following each other around hairpin river bends, dotted with giraffe, camels and a surprising array of bird life while trying to avoid the person in fronts cloud of dust. Apparently we were following in the tyre tracks of Lewis Hamilton, just not as quickly.
We camped out under the stars that night, treated to tales of life in this remote environment by the camps owners and awoke to the smell of roasting coffee over the last embers of the nights campfire, blurry eyed but high in spirits.
To The Mara
We struggle to remember the last time we went to Kenya and didn’t find ourselves at some point in the Maasai Mara. With the wildebeest migration in town excitement around crossing points was high, but away from the noise there were countless species and sightings to be had.
Our fist evening was one of the most happily chaotic I’ve ever experienced as we had to try and choose between a hunting serval cat, a lioness seemingly stuck up a tree, a further lioness preparing to hunt as thousands and thousands and thousands of wildebeest ran past her and one frankly epic sunset.
Watching the four guests faces as all this went on around them, nature at its most natural, was as riveting as the wildlife itself. Special mention here has to go to Africa Born and their guide Atti Pye, who ran the most incredible camp and safari experience for us. Over four days of constant questioning I feel we barely scratched the surface of Atti’s enthusiasm and knowledge.
As ever the Mara came up trumps and our four days saw sightings of leopard, elephant, cheetah, lion, buffalo, giraffe and a plethora of plains game, bird life and creepy crawlies - each met with equal enthusiasm.
When combined with our time on Borana where we were spoilt with rhino sightings (both black and white) and the rare grevys zebra the species count on our trip was staggering. As important is the landscape you see the wildlife in though and that’s why we adore Kenya.
It sounds silly but this country really has huge skies. Horizons are so far apart that whether its the clouds by day or stars by night looking up as just as exciting as looking down.
I may be biased having lived there, but you’ll never convince me there’s a better place to go.
Additional images by guest Alex Goldblum and you can see more of his work here.
