They keep filling the inbox. We will endeavour to post on social media but please be patient. If there are a collection of very similar images we will just choose the best one, but keep them coming ... and THANK YOU. Anyway, let me introduce you to seasoned alumni Peter Smart. The Kicheche logos should give you an idea of his vintage, he has led over fifty (50) photographic safaris into Mara Camp - both venues.
As we have been inundated with some wonderful 'takeaways', we will use every possible platform to feature them (well, most of them).
"The granite above Kicheche Mara Camp is my favourite place on earth. I can see for miles, there are animals aplenty and most importantly it means I am 'home'. " D.T. Shropshire, UK Currently we are stalled at a red light. Thank you for the fertile acres of frustrated prose you have sent to us supporting Kicheche and the Conservancies, particularly pertinent today on Earth Day. The pain we feel is clearly reciprocated. Right now a distraction is called for judging by your yearning messages.
You know the mark of anyone when they go above and beyond. Waaaaay beyond. Jimmy Tinka and David Nchoe are off duty, one even at home on leave. Yesterday afternoon Jimmy picked up a sketchy text: something about a Tamarind tree and leopards. The plural was not wasted on him.
When Valley Camp royalty like Bernard Soit exclaim they have never seen a particular eagle before, you know you are talking twitching nobility.
Meet Laura Dyer, Kicheche has become her Hotel California ... she 'can try to check out any time she likes but she can never leave'. Laura extended her safari three times, finally returning home after five weeks. Thank you Laura, these are her heartfelt lyrics:
The plains of Laikipia still remain a high altitude garrison for rhino. Within minutes from Kicheche's northern stronghold, the black and white numbers are not only stable, but flourishing. Spending time with these prehistoric ruminants is not just good for the eye, but for the soul. This area of Kenya remains seemingly impregnable, yet it is not the same all over Africa and elsewhere. Rhinos need protection everywhere, this is obvious, but they also need tourists. They do NOT need petty rules and redlists denying them priceless tourism dollars.
A couple of days ago I read an itinerant post of safari one-upmanship braying that 'the best part of their bargain-priced safari was that they had the whole place to themselves'. This is the fundamental challenge that is facing the safari industry. These pilgrims probably could not see beyond their camouflage but for many the suffering is very real and widespread.
Optimism is a valuable but rarified commodity right now for just about everyone, but particularly those in community-based tourism. Everytime a hurdle is summited a higher one emerges. Kichechians still arrive in trickles not torrents, but trickles all the same. There are still huge difficulties but they realise how much their safari matters to everyone. It is appreciated. Massively. It is frankly overwhelming.
Meet John and Cherie Briggs .... Kicheche's final guests in March last year before they had to climb through countless hoops to get home to the States. They are back in Bush Camp. 'This is our favourite place on earth, we want to support it and the Conservancies.' In The Telegraph last weekend Simon Reeve shared reflections on some of the unforgettable trips that have mapped his personal world including a wildlife encounter he will never forget on a Kicheche safari.
