Kicheche Spot of the Week

In case you needed any assurances on why now is the perfect time to travel, try these:

Last week I received the following email: 'The five of us are really looking forward to our safari at Bush Camp later in September, this year. Can we have James as our guide again please? We have our virus test booked, we have travel insurance and work from home so see no reason not to travel because of this silly unenforced quarantine. We are so excited.'

We have pondered long and hard about whether to 'Spot' today. We have had bounteous correspondence from those tired of postings from the plains over the last four months whilst their crucial dollars remain neutered by Public Health and Foreign Office policies. We have also had a bulging postbag from those incredibly supportive Kichechians who have not been slow to put their hands in their pockets - the Kicheche Conservancy Guardian initiative raised $129,000.

Firstly, a heartfelt thank you for the hundreds of messages from well-wishers, they mean so much to all at Kicheche and even in these troubling times, it is both touching and reassuring that you have found time to write to us.

Lucky Tucker’s ….. not a bit of it. Keith, Laura, daughter Bryony and son-in-law Alex,  take a bow, or indeed a curtesy (not remotely sorry if that is not woke enough for some or un PC). Next time I go on safari I want to be with this family and of course the legendary Laikipian guide Peter Kariuki and Naboisho’s magnificent maestro Mika Kaleku.  

Just pause and gorge yourself on these images. Barry and Rachel Chapman are no strangers to Bush and Mara camp but recently they outdid themselves.

Ever since four familiar spotted cats disembarked the Ark (alleg.) safari virgins have been confused by these seemingly similar felines. More seasoned Kichechians like nothing more than contemptuously pointing out the many differences between these ‘wholly different’ cats*.

This is a significant break with tradition. A seismic change in literature. A monstrous and controversial new order ….. we are asking you to Tuck in again.

It is rare that 'Spot' finds itself short on copy, but in this case she finds herself bewildered by the totemic majesty of this week's offering. 

Just for a moment extinguish any background noise, ignore the distant hum of traffic, neuter nearby chatter and silence the sirens and suspend your thoughts for a moment. Now transport yourself several thousand miles.

There are those who think the plains are at their best dry, dusty and yellow. They are wrong.

On Christmas eve, a cold wind blew in from the distant escarpment and the curmudgeonly Gregory arrived late into camp. As he lay in his bed, disquieted by feverish dreams he was visited by a small pointy-eared cat-like creature. It leapt onto his bed looked him in the eye and said ‘Gregory, come with me.’

Don’t you just hate it, you queue at the bar forever, finally get your favourite dish ordered and it takes so long to arrive, that you have gone off to the gents..

Richard Kellam: proper safari …Laikipia, Mara and Bush Camps ……. proper safari, sorry already said that. Over to you Richard:

When you get a welcoming from two black-maned ones within seconds of landing, you kind of know this is your home. Nancie Wight has known this for a while since her Kicheche baptism five years ago.

A leopard lounges in the crook of an impossibly tortured fever tree watched by one ecstatic vehicle. A cheetah crosses a new concrete bridge. A family of seven cheetahs takes priority over a deHavilland Dash 7 on a perfectly manicured and graded Mara North airstrip.

Safari’s are rarely gauged by photos, nor should they be. A bush nirvana can be achieved by many resolutions.

Flying to Kicheche from Brisbane is hardly a short break, regular contributor and multi alumni Bill and Babs Westbook will tell you that with over 100 Kicheche nights to their name, but meet their Queensland neighbours: the Pattearsons. A family of fourteen across three generations.

On Wednesday night, at the RGS in London, James Nampaso picked up the prestigious accolade of Best Safari Guide at the Wanderlust World Guide Awards 2019.

I have not been to Kenya for a dozen years and coming back always filled me with trepidation as I had great memories from the past, not just from wildlife but also the landscapes and not least because the desperate old romantic in me always yearned for the cinematography from Out of Africa.