The Cookswell Safari Oven – A Review With A View

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Hello again, so you remember I was recently in Amboseli right? Of course you do, its the last article I wrote. On solo camping trips I’m usually reduced to foraging for edible roots and wild berries so it’s always quite a treat to have some good eats. Self – catering accomodation is a great opportunity to flex those cooking muscles no matter how stringy on non-existent they may be.

I’ve known about Cookswell Jikos for sometime now, so Teddy graciously allowed me to pick one up to try out. I’d been very curious about these safari ovens for quite a while and I was stoked to have a chance to finally try one out.

Vegetarians look away now.

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The jiko is the one on the left if you were wondering about portability.

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Amboseli Bush Camp – Simple Is As Simple Does

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In our daily lives sometimes we tend to over complicate things. We make decisions that cause us more stress than necessary, we hang around people who drain our positive energy, we down play our achievements and dwell on our mistakes. Then when we look into inward we can only ask ourselves “Why do things have to be so hard?”.

Sorry, strange way to start a travel article I know, but this next place really did put the thought of how simplicity  can be such a positive force in our lives. Because if there’s a place that personifies the concept of “just enough” its Amboseli Bush Camp.

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Early morning view of Mount Kilimanjaro from camp.

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Mount Kasigau – Behind The Scenes

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Hello again, as a follow up to my recent article on the the beautiful area of Mount Kasigau, I thought i might give you a little behind-the-scenes look of some of the things i got up to there. There is usually so much more to the areas and people I write about, unfortunately not everything can make it into the articles, and if i told you everything there wouldn’t be any reason for you to visit now would there?

I’ll break it it down into 3 short stories; one is of a man struggling with a failed project, a group of women with mad skills and finally a keeper of a quickly fading history.

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Mount Kasigau – Seek And Ye Shall Find

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If you’ve been following this blog this past year it’s pretty obvious by now that Kenya’s tourism marketing may have sold us a few false truths. It has ingrained in our minds that travel is expensive and complicated, we’ve fallen for the marketing pitches that indicate the only options open to us are the wildebeest migration or the beach; that we cannot truly exhale unless we are lying by a pool with a colorful drink in hand.

Are the above options wrong? Of course not let’s not be ridiculous here. But are they the only options? No, not by a long shot.

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Camping in The Taita Hills – Needle In A Haystack

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I am unsure if i should share the fact I drove for 6 hrs over 400km, camped for 2 nights and walked for hours through the Taita Hills to find 3 of Kenya’s treasures that were each about 10 cm long. These are the reasons why you have to be a little bit mad to be a traveller. You need that one screw loose, that one blown fuse, the slight spark of insanity to justify some of the reasons that take you places. But thats just the way travel is, it cannot be separated from the quest of of knowledge; the answer the question  “What is over that next hill?”

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Camping On Lumo Conservancy – Visit, Experience, Understand

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It’s a real treat for me to be able to visit all the places I travel to twice; first when I visit them, and second when I’m writing about them. My visit to Lumo Conservancy was born as many of my trips are, staring at a screen while at work and daydreaming over photos on the internet. So after much planning (and of course saving), I found myself meandering down the Nairobi – Mombasa Highway, what i found there was a prime example of the link between community and conservation.

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Camping On Mount Ololokwe – 12 Years A Slave (Part 2)

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If you’re just catching up, i suggest you read Part 1 here first.

I survived the night, pretty obvious huh? For a minute there I didn’t think I’d make it through what I can objectively say was the worst night in a tent in my life (and I’ve had many).

The morning begins with almost no clue of the what transpired the night before, almost as if the mountain means to apologize.

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Camping On Mount Ololokwe – 12 Years A Slave (Part 1)

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Its difficult to explain the power of an idea. It dwells in our consciousness; sometimes relegated, sometimes ignored, but never forgotten. Ever present in the back of our minds, dominating our thoughts whenever we we have a moment to day dream.

I first saw a photo of Mount Ololokwe about 12 years ago and my imagination was instantly captured by this massive mountain emerging seemingly out of nowhere from the desert plains. In many of my travels such as during my elephant encounter in Samburu, and a most relaxing trip to Sera Conservancy among many more, she seemed to continually taunt me and was a constant reminder of the promise I once made to myself.

I had to spend a night atop this mountain.

Aerial of Mount Ololokwe, the red circle shows our campsite. Photo Credit : Marcus Harvey Photo Credit Aerial of Mount Ololokwe, the red circle shows our campsite. Photo Credit : Marcus Harvey  Continue reading →

Camping In Mukogodo Forest – A Curiousity Rewarded

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According to stats if you do not draw in the reader in the first two lines of an article, then there is a 90% chance they will not read on. I’m willing to take that risk this time around. This article I write for the traveller, not for the reader. For those who the open road is an inspiration to adventure as opposed to a fear of the unknown. For those that look at a map of this great country Kenya and see it as an open invitation to new experiences and possibly a new way of thinking. So if by some stroke of luck you’re still reading allow me to take you to a place that greatly rewards that curiosity.

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8 Ways To Run A Successful Safari Camp In Africa

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Foreword

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Running a successful camp or lodge in Africa is a taxing and trying business by any means. Competition is high, tourist numbers are low and the local population can be pesky and troublesome what with their goats and lack of disposable income.

However after trawling a large cross section of lodge and camp websites in Africa over the past couple of years, according to the rules of the internet I hereby declare myself an expert on this matter and all scribblings here should be treated as gospel. I believe I have come up with a matrix, nay, a financial elixir of sorts that will have you raking in those tourist dollars in no time should you decide to go down this line of business. The points below can be applied both to your marketing and camp in equal measure.

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