Kenyan Retreat

From the untamed wildlife to the rugged terrain to the guest cottages constructed solely from native materials, the Kenyan is quintessential Africa - undisturbed and unpredictable. The retreat is situated more than a mile above sea level on the edge of the Great Rift Valley, the cradle of mankind. It is located in the heart of Ol Ari Nyiro, the 100,000-acre wildlife reserve of world-renowned conservationist Kuki Gallmann.

It's a place where you might witness the gentle, almost human, interaction between an elephant mother and her fledgling baby; where a night time chorus of the wild comes to life, with the roar of lions providing the baritone; or where the silhouette of a rhino can be seen in the moonlight from the open-viewed veranda.

At the Kenyan Retreat, visitors gain passport to one of the most undomesticated locales on the planet. By day, guests are surrounded by elephants, zebras, cheetah, leopard, rhinos, lion, giraffe and buffalo that romp in plain view. At night the same wildlife can be heard in concert outside the safety of the three traditional cottages that cling to the edge of the Mukutan Gorge and comprise the luxurious accommodations of the Retreat.

The diverse environs of Ol Ari Nyiro shift from sweeping savannas to rugged gorges to forested canyons to endless vistas of hills covered in wild sage and thorn trees. The activities at the Kenyan Retreat are equally varied. Guests can hike the hills of Laikipia alongside a local guide whose knowledge runs deeper than the native waterfall pools. Or experience the exhilaration of game drives where nothing is captive except the audience. They can enjoy horseback or camel rides carved along magnificent trails. They can fish for Tilapia nilotica, black bass and fresh water crayfish in the streams that permeate the land, bird watch the more than 400 species that liven the skies, or bask in the mineral-rich hot springs.

For adventure seekers, there is nothing that rivals witnessing the animal population of Africa in their own habitat. The Kenyan Retreat isn't located on the safe side of the fence - it's the real thing, showcasing African wildlife totally in its own element, while taking humans completely out of theirs. But guests can bravely explore the undomesticated, all the while staying under the auspices and umbrella of safety provided by the Retreat's potentate guides. They can delve into the panorama of Laikipia that is so unspoiled, one gets the feeling it looked no different at the beginning of time. It is Kuki Gallmann's commitment to ensure that Ol Ari Nyiro remains a rare oasis in perpetuity in a shrinking Africa.

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