An update on the recently flooded elephant research station in Samburu, belonging to Dr Iain Douglas-Hamilton, world authority on the African Elephant and Elephant Watch Camp in Samburu where one can have the most wonderful elephant safaris Whilst I was in Kenya in March 2010, I witnessed the extraordinary flooding of the Samburu region. Some of the camps were affected, such as Oria Douglas-Hamilton’s gorgeous Elephant Watch Camp as well as the Research Centre. Luckily they were able to retrieve all the data. Oria is in the midst of redoing her amazing camp with her inimitable style, I recently received an e mail from her saying  “things like a new solar system is SO expensive, but I have managed to get that  and other new things to start up again.  The camp is just about ready to be dressed up  at the end of week I will go up with my friends and we will hang and drape all its fineries” And what fineries! This is one of our favourite camps in Samburu and everyone should visit it! Oria’s cuisine is spectacular, she grows everything on her farm in Lake Naivasha and the cooks are simply amazing! In fact, I had better Italian food here than at some of the best restaurants in London!

The exotic Elephant Watch Camp is perched on the sand banks of the Ewaso Nyiro River, beneath big Kigelia trees and Acacia Elatiors. This area is home to some of the largest bulls in Samburu, which can often be spotted resting under an acacia tree or picking pods beside the tents. The trees are filled with a multitude of birds and monkeys; at dawn a gentle chorus echoes overhead announcing the new day in the wild.

Elephant Watch is very eco-friendly and has been specially constructed for comfort and coolness, accommodating a maximum of ten guests with its wide and breezy desert tents. These latter are individually styled, draped with colourful cloth and unusual furniture. Bathrooms are built around trees, giving guests a novel washing experience with plenty of sun heated water and light. You can visit the Save The Elephant Research Centre and for a donation, learn more about these gentle creatures.

Everything about Elephant Watch is a feast for the senses, with bright swathes of cotton fanning in the breeze, huge cushioned sofas, woven local mats and special beds and furniture made from fallen trees.  Books, films and information on Elephants are provided for guests. At night, flame torches and lanterns light up the camp along the river. Baboons call out as leopards stalk, while lions and elephants are always nearby. It is the only camp of its kind in Samburu. Elephant Watching begins on arrival! Their film is out on Animal Planet this week in the US.

Iain recently released the following press release:  For the first time elephants have been found to produce an alarm call associated with the threat of bees, and have been shown to retreat when a recording of the call is played even when there are no bees around.

A team of scientists from Oxford University, Save the Elephants, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, made the discovery as part of an ongoing study of elephants in Kenya. They report their results in the journal PLoS One.