Lewa House & Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya – Part 1

In East Africa, Mt. Kenya almost straddles the Equator with its eternal snows. A little to the north is an upland wilderness area and this is where both Lewa Wildlife Conservancy and Lewa House are located. Surrounded by majestic scenery, Lewa House sits in the middle of the conservancy and is home to fourth generation Kenyan, Sophie and her husband Calum MacFarlane.

Inevitably we immediately got chatting about the weather thanks to a video Calum had sent to me a short time before we spoke. So we jump right on in and catch up with the rains down in Africa.

We continue to talk about the history of Lewa, what the wildlife might have been like 100 years ago and how the house was built, plus how Sophie and Calum turned it into a welcoming and homely safari lodge. We share the wide range of safari activities available from Lewa House.

Of course we talk about endangered black rhinos and Grevy's zebras but also about what it is like to be out on safari and the effect that has on visitors. Walking safaris are a specialty of Calum and we learn a little about how they work in the quieter areas of Lewa.

We also discuss bird watching and how birds add so much more to the landscape and wild-scape of the place.

Lewa House has extremely strong ties with the local community and we talk through some of the projects they are involved with and how these ultimately help conservation of the wildlife. You will get a clear indication that wildlife tourism of this nature is highly important to the conservation of species.

In Part 2 next week we talk more about Lewa Wildlife Conservancy.

Given that we are still enduring coronavirus and resources in Africa are really stretched, if you would like to help support wildlife conservation at Lewa then you can find more information at https://www.lewa.org/lifeline/

If you are active then Lewa has a virtual marathon, the real one was cancelled this year; it is in conjunction with Tusk Trust and details can be found here: https://www.lewasafarimarathon.com/ .