Rediscovering the most heavenly corner of Africa

It is dusk, and from a deck perched on a 6,000ft escarpment above the Loisaba Conservancy in northern Kenya, it feels as if the whole of Africa is stretched out before me. On the horizon, the silhouette of Mount Kenya rises into the hazy lavender sky. Below, the dusty bush echoes with the trumpeting of an elephant at a waterhole. To the east, an eagle soars above the rocky mountain slopes on the lookout for its last prey of the day. And as the sun sinks, the great wash of blue sky turns pink, then red, and finally coal-black, set with sparkling constellations: the Southern Cross, Orion, Taurus, Gemini… 

This is the Africa of dreams: the air fragrant with the smell of greenery, alive with the sound of creatures, and, right now, lit up by what seems like a trillion stars. Last spring, however, this idyllic area – Laikipia county – erupted in violence as nomadic herdsmen invaded luxury lodges, ranches and conservancies in search of fresh pasture for their cattle in a severe drought. Mukutan Retreat, a luxury lodge, was torched as tensions grew and a dozen people in the region were killed. 

Though no travel ban was imposed, the UK Foreign Office warned visitors to check the local situation before travelling. Some safari lodges cancelled bookings as impending national elections added to the instability. 

Following rain and a strengthened military presence, however, the situation in Laikipia eased, while President Kenyatta’s inauguration last November quelled political unrest. By the end of 2018, Laikipia was back in business and the FCO acknowledged that the situation had “calmed”. Now, lodges and conservancies are welcoming visitors back with open arms.

Most of these properties are named after animals and plants, but Loisaba takes a different approach. It takes its name from a constellation (the word means “Seven Sisters” in the local Samburu language) – and gazing up at those trillion stars, I can see why. While wildlife is a key part of a visit to Loisaba, this is primarily a place in which to experience the extraordinary power of space, both on this vast patch of African wilderness and in the heavens above.

The Laikipia plateau – on which Loisaba Conservancy is located – is one of Kenya’s biggest stretches of wilderness: more than two million acres of private ranchland stretching from Mount Kenya to the Rift Valley. While some of the ranchers within the area still farm cattle, many of them – like Loisaba – have torn down their fences to allow wild animals to roam freely and elephants to migrate along an ancient wildlife corridor. 

As a result, the area has become one of the finest wildlife destinations in East Africa. On a drive, one might see exactly the same game you’d get in a large national park such as the Maasai Mara: herds of antelope, buffalo, and elephant, as well as rarer species such as wild dog, reticulated giraffe and Grevy’s zebra. What you won’t see, though, is crowds. 

Until last year, the 56,000-acre Loisaba conservancy had just one camp on it, furnished with its famous “Starbeds”: four-posters, made of polished tree branches, that are wheeled out at night on to a platform, so guests can enjoy the night sky while tucked up under a feather duvet. Realising the potential of the property, last year a new 12-room Loisaba Tented Camp, was opened, bringing the total of beds to 32 (fewer than half the number of its more famous neighbour, Lewa Downs). 

While all over Africa, many other camps have been forced to close, Loisaba has been able to expand thanks to the goodwill of two organisations, according to the conservancy’s CEO Tom Silvester. In 2014, the American NGO The Nature Conservancy raised the funds to buy a long-term lease for the land, thus ensuring it was set aside for wildlife forever. The same year, the cash-rich Elewana safari management company stepped in to inject much-needed funding into the infrastructure and camps.

Driving round the property with Silvester and the hugely respected operator Stefano Cheli who has run safaris here for more than 20 years, it’s obvious that the property has had substantial funds invested in it. Just beyond the Loisaba airstrip on which guests arrive in small propeller planes from Nairobi, builders are at work creating a conservation-cum-research centre, as well as stables and a staff village, with underground rain-storage tanks and solar panels. A new airstrip is being constructed, so that this can become the western centre for the Northern Rangelands Trust: a well-regarded organisation that empowers local people to run their own sustainable tourism projects. The Starbeds camp has had a substantial facelift. And of course, there’s the new Loisaba Tented Camp, which I’ve flown to Kenya to see. 

The world's most beautiful mountains

Standing on the edge of the escarpment on which the Tented Camp has been constructed, it’s clear why this spot was chosen. It has to be one of the most spectacular locations in Kenya, with views extending for hundreds of miles over the plains of Laikipia. 

Cleverly, the designers built the camp so that the views are spectacular wherever you are – whether that’s inside the enormous canvas living space, beside the wide infinity pool, at the sculptural bar crafted from an entangled web of tree-roots, or in the dozen luxurious canvas-walled tents, with their rainshowers, Wifi, cowhide rugs and chic polished steel desks. 

The camp is, Silvester admits, “much, much swankier than we normally build in the bush. But if that brings a different kind of person to Loisaba, and captures a young audience for our conservation efforts, then that’s what we have to do.”

Conservation is at the heart of everything they do, I discover, as I traverse the plains, the escarpment and the riverbanks on foot, horseback, camels and in brand-new Land-Rovers. Unlike many other safari camps, though, activities here don’t revolve just around wildlife. Loisaba’s management has built strong relationships with its neighbouring nomadic communities through the Northern Rangelands Trust and guests are encouraged to visit villages to learn about the way the conservancy and community work together. 

Talking to local villagers, for instance, I discover that Loisaba has given permission for 2,000 cattle to graze on the conservancy’s rich grasslands and that it buys any cows the community wants to sell, so villagers have a regular, steady income for education, conservation and healthcare. In return, villagers help to patrol the area, to ensure other people’s cattle are kept out – and wildlife is protected.

“In places such as this,” Silvester explains, “all people care about are cows. Herds are their wealth. So if you can help them with their cattle, then you open up other conversations about conservation, education, healthcare. You become partners who benefit from each other.”

As a tourist, you can learn as much – or as little – as you like about the realities of life in the African bush. For those who want just a wildlife experience, there are game drives and walks (in three days, I watched a leopard walk through grassland, saw a lioness stalk a zebra, gazed at elephant drinking from a river, and witnessed scores of the 50-odd creatures that live here, from long-lashed reticulated giraffe to the aptly named Superb Starling).

There are plenty of non-wildlife activities on offer, too. Camel-lovers can visit the humped creatures’ enclosure and milk them. Experienced horse-riders can explore the ranch on a former polo pony. Wannabe cowboys can help to herd at the cattle ranch. Mountain bikers can explore the plains on two wheels (accompanied by a wildlife ranger in a car, should one of the Big Five happen to pop out of the bush). Later this year, guests seriously into conservation will also be able to spend time with experts from universities and zoos all over the world, ranging from PhD researchers to lion trackers.

My favourite activity was walking in the bush with Dale Scott, a 25-year-old Cheltenham College-educated Kenyan, and his dog handlers who were training a bloodhound to track poachers. So far, he said, their three dogs have aided the police in tracking several criminals; the project is proving so successful that there are now four other local ranches with anti-poaching dogs. 

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When I wasn’t with the bloodhounds, riding camels, swimming in the infinity pool, eating delicious food cooked by South African chef Martin Scheffer (sweetcorn fritters with finely chopped salsa at breakfast; inventive salads at lunch; rare Kenyan beef and fine South African wine at night), I hung out with the staff, learning about Loisaba. 

From each of them I learnt something new – about elephants from the happy guide, Lemaiyan “Brown” Samuel, resplendent in his traditional red Samburu robe; about raising orphaned warthog piglets from the conservancy manager Fiona Sandeman; about birds from the expert ornithologist Mohamed Boru; and about constellations from the waiters, which resulted in me pulling a muscle in my neck. Strangely, it’s not an injury for which I’m getting much sympathy.

How to do it

The Loisaba Starbeds (elewana.com) cost from $300/￡236 per person, all-inclusive, with activities, food and drinks. Loisaba Tented Camp costs from $490/￡385. 

Kenya Airways (020 8283 1818; kenya-airways.com) flies daily from Heathrow, using the new B787-Dreamliner, with return flights to Nairobi from ￡480.