I long for the good old days when going through airport security was just a smile and a nod, a Visa was simple to get, Duty Free in the airport really was cheaper than the High Street shops, airport loos had a simple flush, and running water was turned on with a tap! (Oh yes, and airlines really looked after you!.
It seems like every year some bright, enterprising person comes up with a new way of making things more difficult, especially for anyone born before 1979. Why do we have to have lifts without buttons now, and what was wrong with using a key to open and start a car? Why, too, do music systems in cars no longer have dials to increase and decrease the volume? Artificial intelligence is too clever by half!!
Not so long ago, I was leaving a friend’s house in the UK to head to the airport for my flight home. I had forgotten that when I parked in her driveway the evening before, I had the music on full blast. I crept out of the house at 4:45 in the morning, slid quietly into the car, belted up and then switched on the ignition. Of course the music was so loud I jumped out of my skin – but worse still I think I woke up the entire neighbourhood, who must have thought a rave had just kicked off in their back yard. Could I turn the volume down? NO! Panic-stricken I hit every dial or button on the dashboard, but ‘I’m walking on Sunshine’ continued to belt out of my little hire car and I had to get out of there as quickly as I could before a consortium of enraged neighbours could descend on me. My quiet exit from the sleepy village of Abbots Ann was not so quiet after all. In my defence I can only blame the ridiculous ‘touch sensitive’ system that is part of the modern car. AI is going to ruin our lives. Unless, of course,you live in Africa!!
Why am I telling you this story? Because I wanted to highlight just how wonderfully simple life is here in Kenya, and in particular at The Emakoko.
There are few places in the world more soothingly peaceful than the African Bush, where you can unplug from the stresses and strains of this modern world. Imagine stepping out of your life and arriving into ours. You would be pushed to find a more vivid contrast. The silence at night, broken by the eerie cry of a Hyena, or the call of a hunting leopard, the sunrises and sunsets painted in more shades of pinks, purples and oranges than you could ever think possible, the huge, unchallenged openness of it all, and yet the warm friendliness of Kenyans and the feeling of being at home. There is something about all of this that resonates with all our human instincts.
Having left the United Kingdom a few months ago in a cloud of dust, it was wonderful to find myself bumbling home just after ten at night having got off my flight from London. My journey home was broken to wait for two White Rhino’s moving at their own pace along the road. Although White Rhino’s are reputed to be gentle giants, I was glad that Elizaban , our head guide, let them have their space….even though it delayed our journey by 10 minutes. I say this over and over again but we continue to marvel at how extraordinary it is that you can be in a capital city in Europe and then 9 hours later be in a Kenyan National Park driving along with White Rhinos. How amazing that in 2025 this incredible array of wildlife is still alive and flourishing, and all made possible through the will of the people of Kenya.
I was at The Emakoko within 40 minutes of leaving the airport and arrived at the Lodge bar which was busy, as is usual at this time of night. Anthony was regaling our new guests with stories of his safaris and the experience of recent visitors to the Emakoko. Even though I am his wife and probably biased, I do believe that Anthony’s knowledge of all wildlife, but snakes in particular, is really impressive; Patrick was at the bar, mixing up Dawas quicker than our guests could drink them, and oh! something new! A guest of ours from Texas had decided that it was time we expanded our bar repertoire and perfected the Mezcal Margarita, which I might add was quite a hit. So Patrick and the team can now churn out the most incredible Ginger and Chilli Dawas and Mezcal Margharitas with the amazing Mombasa Limes. Even better news for the health-conscious is that these drinks do provide you with at least one of your ‘five a day’s’!
As most of our guests know, we do have a couple of furry characters who also visit the bar every night, our wonderful Genets and the Bush Babies. They often come in to greet our new arrivals , grab a bite to eat and entertain those who are staying for more than one night. From time to time, our Black Rhino comes into browse and sleep between the ground floor rooms. Our guests are often woken up by some young Rhino who attempts to challenge the local resident for territory. We have had, in the past, Lion come into the lodge along with guests during our bar sessions – often drinking out of the pool and sometimes lazing around the edge trying to absorb the dying warmth from the stone floors.
What is interesting though, is what happens when everyone has gone to bed. In the quiet of the night, there seems often to be a lot more action. Thanks to our CCTV we also see this. The cameras have captured all sorts of nightly activities – one night picking up a Leopard who was passing through the main lounge area using our furniture as an obstacle course, who surprised one of our night team who was seated by the sofas. The camera recorded the surprise and horror of each party and the rapid evacuation of the area in opposite directions!
When a guest finally drifts off from the bar to bed, the contrast between sleeping in a city in Europe is in a word mind blowing (two words actually). Nairobi has the most wonderful temperate climate, so much so that climate control devices are not necessary. The lodge does have fireplaces in the rooms to take the chill out of the air, and add a little romance I guess, but also there are fans in each room to help turn the air for anyone unlike me who likes to sleep with windows and doors closed.
For anyone arriving at night (the majority of our guests do this, as British Airways, KLM, Air France, and Lufthansa amongst others) there is an added sense of adventure as you come down our (very bumpy road I am afraid) and plunge into the valley where the lodge is situated.
Arriving at night in the Park gives you no sense of your location. Views from your balcony show the only sign that there is life beyond the valley rim is a dim glow from the city beyond it. Every now and then, a plane passes along the ridge line in the distance, thankfully too far away to puncture the silence with engine noise. So waking up the following day and seeing where you are is, as many of our guests have said, ‘simply amazing’ . I have never really fully appreciated where we live – our location, smack bang between both airports, AND only a 40 minute game drive to get to each, thirty Kilometres from Nairobi and yet in the wilds of Africa.
Our children have been really lucky to be brought up in this environment. Their school runs are full of incident and excitement, far more exciting and educational than the average teen and toddlers in Europe!
We are now in April, the traditional wet month, and are bracing ourselves for the onslaught of the rains and its accompanying flooding. This is however one of the nicest times of year to be in Kenya – everything bursts into life and the plains are teaming with game. What I love most though, if it has been raining and the grass has grown night enough, is how the cats cannot bear to get wet and are more often than not using the roads to traverse the park. They simply will not get off the road and will step aside like a pedestrian to let the odd car through. Strange to see a big nightly ‘King of the jungle’ male lion be rather pathetic when it comes to getting a little wet!
The rains have started slowly and the river is beginning to rise and all the flowers are beginning to come out, the wildlife looks so fit and the Big cats are more visible than ever.
Since the last rains we have built our bridge higher so hope that this time round everything will remain in tact! We will keep you all posted on our social media – and as always, look forward to meeting new guests and our old (not literally) guests too.
