Hemingways Hotel

Kenya

On arrival, a private hotel driver will meet you at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, the transfer to the hotel will take about 30 minutes (traffic willing).

The hotel’s expansive terrace looks out to the Ngong Hills and overlooks manicured gardens. There is a heated swimming pool adjacent to the spa and gym.

There are 45 suites, including the Hemingways Suite, Blixen Suite, 19 Executive Suites, and 24 Deluxe Suites.

The Hemingways Nairobi Brasserie serves good food.

About this area

Kenya's capital, Nairobi, is an unavoidable stopover as most international flights arrive at night. Most people are keen to head out on safari as soon as possible and tend not to spend much time in the city. But for those who choose to spend an extra night or two to adjust to time changes, there are some great hotels and restaurants, and the shopping opportunities—in small shops, malls or outdoor curio markets —can be very good. The Sheldrick Trust needs to be booked well in advance, especially if you want a private experience.

Lowis & Leakey Mobile Camp, Shaba

Kenya

Lara’s and Ninian’s families have used mobile camps to access the wilderness in comfort for many decades. We have custom-designed the tents to ensure they are spacious and comfortable. As this camp is truly mobile, the tents strike a delicate balance between luxury and practicality. The result is an unpretentious, stylish, and comfortable nomadic home.

Our guest tents have ensuite bathrooms with traditional camp showers, a flushing loo, comfortable bedding, and solar-powered lights.

You will be the only guests in camp, allowing you to dictate the pace of each day. Game drives and other activities are not pre-planned but based on daily discussions with your guides. Lara plans the menus and is happy to cater to any preferences, and the team takes pride in fabulously fresh food and homestyle cooking.

It can be fun to stay in the mobile camp in different areas of Kenya. You move to a lodge for a few nights while our team moves the camp.

About this area

Shaba National Reserve lies alongside Samburu and Buffalo Springs Reserves on the edge of the semi-deserts of northern Kenya. Shaba is a magnificent wilderness with dramatic rock formations and towering hills. The dry scrub is broken by the green banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River that meanders through the reserve.
The river is a magnet for the regions wildlife; there are elephant, crocodiles and cats as well as plains game, the wildlife is shyer than in other areas. We will also see species that are endemic to northern Kenya such as Grevy's Zebra, gerenuk, Somali ostrich and the Reticulated Giraffe.

This is one of our favorite places for its combination of amazing scenery, wildlife and the opportunity to be out of the cars. We can explore along the rocky banks and beaches of the Ewaso Nyiro river, and do some great hikes through the gorge exploring the small caves that house old pottery and some rock art. Though we can have elephant and other animals wander into camp to drink from the spring – we do have to work hard here to see the game as the animals are shy. This is part of the appeal of Shaba, spotting and tracking game with Ninian, and the reward of finding it. We love to spend the hot afternoons down by the river under the shade of an acacia tree.

Kigali Serena

Rwanda

The hotel has 148 rooms in total, broken down into Standard, Deluxe, Superior, Prime and Suites. There are two restaurants and a lounge, and the swimming pool is right in the middle of the hotel, with the rooms towering up in a V-shape above.

Just off the pool is the Maisha Health Club, which is well-equipped with a spa, steam room, jacuzzi, and gym.

About this area

Rwanda is a small country, with its modern capital, Kigali, at the centre. From here, the roads radiate outwards like the spokes of a wheel, and on most Rwanda trips, you'll need to spend a night here at either the start or end of your safari. It's a pleasant city, scattered over several hills, and with enough to do to keep you occupied for a day or so with plenty of bars, cafes and restaurants. A visit to the Genocide Memorial site and Museum in Kigali is a fascinating, heart-wrenching experience. The museum is a testament to Rwanda's past, and it is not for the fainthearted. The memorial intends to show Rwanda's commitment to such atrocities never happening again, but the evidence of what happened can be distressing.

Sabyinyo Lodge

Rwanda

Sabyinyo is not an overly fancy lodge, but it is very comfortable and run by a friendly team offering high-quality service. Guest accommodation consists of six cottages, two suites and a family cottage.

There are lots of steep steps between the rooms and up to the main area from the entrance, they have a small buggy to help guests who need a lift up the steep hill!

The main area consists of an outdoor deck, bar and dining room. A large sitting room with comfortable seating leads out to a verandah areas with stunning views across to the Virunga Mountains.

Gorilla Trekking
In the morning you will wake early for breakfast & then transfer to the park headquarters for your gorilla trek.

A standard Gorilla trek is a strenuous hike of between 1-4 hours each way (2-3 hours is more usual). You will be tracking through thick forest at heights up to 3,000 metres, traversing steep sided mountains – if the Gorillas are high up it can be arduous and wet.

It is important that you are fit and in good health and properly equipped. This is not a technical climb but it can be a scramble/slide/swing up steep inclines. You follow as the gorillas make their way through the forest, huge trees, clinging vines and undergrowth adds to the challenge of swift streams and slippery red mud underfoot. Basically where the gorillas go you must follow! The guides carry machetes to help clear a path when the undergrowth gets dense. Each visit is by permit and limited to one hour with a professional Gorilla tracker in charge who will coach you in the safety rules and body language required to come close to the Gorilla troops.

About this area

Parc des Volcans, Volcanoes National Park, is the area of the Virunga Mountain chain found in Rwanda. The park encompasses five of the eight volcanoes of the Virungas and covers 62 square miles. The five peaks are Karisimbi, Bisoke, Muhabura, Gahinga and Sabyinyo. The Virunga mountain chain straddles the borders of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Rwanda. The mountains are covered in the most beautiful forests and have some unique fauna and flora, the most famous of which is the Mountain Gorilla. It is here that Dian Fossey eventually settled and set up the Karisoke Research Center in 1967, supported by Lara’s grandfather, Louis Leakey.

The land around the national park in all three countries bordering these mountains holds some of the highest densities of humans per acre globally. The land outside the park is intensively farmed, and over the last century, the future of the mountain gorilla was made increasingly grim due to the ever-increasing pressure on their habitat as farmlands were expanded.

However thanks to the work of the Rwandan government, its supporters, and the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund the tide has been turned over the last three decades since Rwanda’s civil war. Mountain gorilla populations have been and are increasing to the point that habitat expansion is now vital to support the growing populations. The Rwandan government has set the ball rolling for expansion of the national park, but is doing this with the utmost of caution to make sure that the livelihoods of the people that live around the park is put first.

Namiri Plains Tented Camp

Tanzania

This small, tented camp has extensive views over the endless sweeping plains surrounding it. There are 11 modern safari tents with spacious verandas and beautiful interiors, (including a family unit) spread on either side of the main areas. With heavy stone walls and taut, multi-peaked cream canvas awnings, they are imposing structures quite unlike any other camp.

In July 2023, Namiri Plains opened the Namiri Retreats, two private tented villas with a private main area and swimming pool. The design and style of the two villas echo the main lodge, offering a more exclusive and luxurious experience at Namiri. They come with private chefs, butlers, and guides.

About this area

The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania is a huge expanse of sprawling grasslands crisscrossed with the green veins of seasonal watercourses and dotted with grazing herds of game. An area of roughly 15,000 km sq., it is a jewel within the Greater Serengeti ecosystem and a haven for wildlife.

The vast spaces of the eastern short grass plains will take your breath away. The plains are dotted with dramatic rocky outcrops. The Ngare Nanyuki underground river in the eastern Serengeti creates pockets of permanent water that support year-round game concentrations of plains game; the predator densities are incredible, especially for lions and cheetah.

If you visit between November and May, you may be fortunate enough to catch the migration as it passes through.