It is our day on an african safari to Samburu with Lil Super Safaris have just had a five-hour drive from Nairobi to Shaba National Reserve. We have arrived at the Sarova Shaba Game Lodge in Samburu and ushered in with a glass of fresh juice and warm face towels.
This is the same lodge that hosted the cast and crew of the film, Born Free, a true life-story of George and Joy Adamson in 1998. We cant hide our joy on being here. We were shown into our rooms which were all chalet style and tastefully furnished with private balconies opening to the sight of River Ewaso Nyiro.
After freshening up, we go for dinner at the Boma which is meant for the VIPs and Honeymooners. It is an area normally set aside for VIPs and those on honeymoon. It's decorated in samburu fabrics, beads and handicrafts.
The menu consisting of traditional, Asian and European dishes. For entertainment were the samburu morans singing in harmony. After an evening well spent away from the noise in the city, we were back to our rooms.
We were ready to have a deserving sleep only to be woken up the next day morning by the chirps and songs of crickets and birds blended with the endless rod of the waters cascading down the well-manicured and traditionally maintained lawns. In harmony to this was the high pitched chattering of monkeys filling the air. This produced a wonderful song by the nature. What a wonderful way to wake up.
Sarova Shaba Game Lodge is a mix of modernity and tradition. The roof is uniquely thatched with Samburu grass, exhibiting the native's house making skills. The wood, the stone and the grass all bespeak tradition. It is set in the middle of a desert of volcanic earth in an area punctuated by rocks.
Described by many as Kenya's best kept secret, Sarova Shaba Game Lodge is, in the words of some, a jewel in the North. Assembled in a haven around the natural landscape of this splendid arid region, the lodge is attractively laid out with holiday home-style rooms overlooking the Ewaso Nyiro River. The ever-flowing stream gives guests a therapeutic feel.
A natural spring runs through the lodge creating striking scenery. Viewing the pool in the luxuriant garden and tall trees, it cuts a true magical feel to the natural sanctuary. Shaba, where the lodge is found is over 350 km from Nairobi by road on the Westside of Isiolo.
This game reserve offers a unique experience which extends beyond just game drives in the Samburu National Game Reserve. For those who want to get away from the bustle and hustle of the city, Shaba offers an excess of peace and tranquility that soothes away your stress and returns you to your wholeness.
Other than bird watching, game drives and camel safaris, you have a chance of feeding crocodiles, albeit from a safe distance.
The nearby Samburu National Game Reserve is famous as the place where naturalists George and Joy Adamson raised orphaned lions and reintroduced them into the wild. Both Joy and George wrote several books about their experiences and it has also seen a lot of screenplays shot over the years.
The most famous being the Born Free based on the book of the same name. It tells the story of Elsa the lioness, which the Adamsons raised to adulthood and successfully reintroduced into the wild. Shaba was one of Joy's greatest African loves.
Iit was in this tranquil wilderness where she released the first hand-raised lions. With a determined driver guide whose skill in the nature was unrivalled we set out for the game drive in the morning determined to at least see one of the Big Five.
Our main priority being to see the king of the jungle which turned out to be an uphill task. With the help of the radio communicating system and some strange language from our driver guide we were able to locate the king of the jungle.
The 3 lions were by the road lazily taking in the morning sun rays. What a good life this creatures live. We were able to see a couple of guinea fowls, elephants, cheetah, antelopes among others. The only animal that we were not able to come across was the elusive leopard.
Our last evening was spent with a superb sun downer. Watching the sunset over a cocktail drink at the rocks, the breeze and ethereal feel leaves one gasping for more. This is the perfect way of soothing the evening with a few friends and strangers you have met for the first time.
The culmination of the Sun downer is the bar that is well set up on the rocks where Samburu Morans' jig ushers guest to a dinner on the rocks. A bonfire is lit casting long shadows in the night as guests enjoy their dinner.
This is done to give our guest the fun filled way of ending their day at the Sarova Shaba. This experience gives an exhilarating effect, like a balm that, soothes life's worries away.
The next day we departed for the city. Back to the noise that characterizes it. Ooh, how I wish I could be back to the wild, just to stay away from the modernity that makes man a slave of civilization and like the lion wake up to natures best therapy.I will surely miss those wonderful experience in Africa.
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