Lewa Downs
Wilderness Trails
Lewa Downs is a private game sanctuary in the Northern district of Kenya. This is an area of open plains, long, waving yellowy-gray grasses and gently rolling hills, rising in the distance. As one of Kenya's major private conservation successes located at the foot of Mt. Kenya, Lewa Downs has been the Craig family home since 1924 when the Craig grandparents came from England and began raising cattle here. "Leave room for the wildlife" has been the Craig ethic, as the area is committed to the conservation of wildlife and diverse habitats found on the northern slopes of Mt Kenya. Endangered species abound in the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, most famous around the world for their rhino conservation.
You will be welcomed by one of the Craig family members, Emma or Willie, at the conservation center in what was the first home of the Craig family. Willie, like all the Craigs, was raised on Lewa Downs and has a comprehensive knowledge and profound understanding of this land and its animals. The family home accommodates 16 guests in comfortable thatched cottages with en suite bathrooms and verandahs. The main house is built strongly of cut Kenyan lava stone and softened by a thatched roof and clouds of white and fuchsia bougainvillea. There is also a lovely swimming pool that appears to be dropping away to the valley below permitting breathtaking panoramas. You will join the Craigs in the outdoor dining terrace for your meals. The dining terrace is reached by a natural stone stairway through rock gardens. There are three open stone arches which outline views down a steep gorge and up to the volcanic rock on the next hill. The food will definitely be memorable; it is fresh grown on the ranch and home-cooked. Lanterns light the way for dinner, which is accented by wine and candlelight.
While you are here, you may see everything from elephant and rhino, to dik dik, reticulated giraffe, eland, hartebeest, gerenuk, warthog, impala, Grant's gazelle, Cape buffalo and bushbuck. Also two species of zebra graze the plains: Burchell's and Grevy's. Lion, leopard and cheetah may be sighted plus, the elusive and magnificent greater kudu. You will be able to explore the ranch by foot, horseback or with a special four-wheel drive vehicle. Your hosts accompany you as you journey through the ranch, and point out the unique relationships of the animals and the plants in the area, from the tiny dung beetle to the mighty lion. Game viewing here can be excellent, especially for black or white rhino as well as gerenuk, Beysa oryx and Somali ostrich. The Lewa swamp hosts a small population of sitatunga where a small elevated blind has been built to offer visitors opportunities to view this rarely seen semi-aquatic antelope. A night game drive is another unique experience; you may see nocturnal animals such as aardvark, aardwolf, genet, caracal, porcupine, spring hare and galagos. During your drive, stop and feast your eyes on the brilliant star-studded sky, also take a moment to absorb the wondrous African night. This is definitely what Mother Nature intended.
The Ngare Sergoi Rhino Sanctuary was founded by Anna Merz on Lewa Downs. The author of Rhino at the Brink of Extinction, Ms. Merz raised an orphan rhino, Samia, and in doing so, has greatly expanded our knowledge of rhino intelligence and behavior. After Samia's death, Anna left Kenya and now resides in South Africa, but her legacy lives on and Ian Craig administers the conservation on the ranch.