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.

Certainly, for the “first timer”, a visit to the Mara is a must and, for those taking children who might be nervous about the bush/child equation, staying somewhere which has a swimming pool (something to do which is “not animals”!) and also fenced might be a good option. A fenced off camp, meaning that precious totos can run around at will, in total safety in one of the most concentrated game regions in the world, is a good idea and one of the best is Mara Intrepids Camp. What is so unique is that they are the only company in East Africa to offer a ‘kids’ club’; Nirvana for most parents and almost unheard of in the safari world! The real hit was when our 7 year old daughter was taught to use a wooden bow and arrow made from combretum, this was put to good (harmless!) use as she became expert at fending off the vervet monkeys who visited the dining tables in an effort to claim leftover titbits. Hiring a private vehicle is an absolute must here as one can then dictate the length, and focus, of game drives and have full attention from one’s guide. Our guide was one of the finest I have ever come across in all my years of living in (and, sadly, now out of) Africa. Despite it being out of season we saw a plethora of game: elephant, cheetah (even trying to make a kill on several occasions), buffalo, giraffe, topi, impala, thompson’s gazelle, lion, hyaena, cookson’s hartebeest, buffalo, dik dik, warthog, guinea fowl, black shouldered kite, rufous nape lark, eagles – the list goes on and on. Our other Masai guide, who taught at the kids club in traditional dress, had impeccable English and was excellent at imparting fun information. Olivia learned to drive a Land Rover, too (steering, sitting on her guide’s lap)! At her insistence, she went on her own with our guide to the Masai village where she saw the manyattas and was surrounded by children who taught her how to make bangles, necklaces and belts with beadwork. They also taught one another singing and dancing from both sides of the globe. This was an educational and rewarding experience and a complete hit and success all round!