TRAVEL
T
here is always the night
before an early morning
road trip. Last minute packing and two energetic boys
still playing lego at 9.30
pm with a 5:00 am wake up is never
a good idea, but as with everything,
I pick and choose my battles. They
can sleep in the car. We set off early
the next morning to make good time
for our 5-hour drive to Olare Mara
Kempinski. For almost 3 hours, the
drive is effortless past Mai Mahiu and
down the perfectly tarmacked Narok
Road. The remaining 2 hours are
slow, bumpy and challenging, as we
traverse nonchalant herds of sheep,
goats and cattle. We finally reach Aitong, the last Maasai outpost before
the Olare Motorogi Conservancy and
just 30 minutes away from the lodge.
Before the boys can ask, “Are we
there yet?” we see the slate placard for Olare Mara Kempinski. We
arrive covered in a film of dust but
not worse for wear and certainly
energised to have finally reached our
destination. Greeted by the hums
and rhythmic singing of a group of
Maasai warriors, and the warm smiles
of the Mara Kempinski team, we
clamber out of our car and take a few
tentative steps into what can only be
termed as a ‘bush oasis’.
The interior is considerately
designed. Dark, polished wooden
floors, with a high and open tented
structure allows for a free flow of
breeze and ventilation. The Main
Tent is an open plan space with an
elegant lounge area, a beautiful but
simple water feature flanked by potted golden palms exposed to the sun
and an open deck area for alfresco
dining as well as a tented dining
area for more formal dining. As we
freshen up, we look out to the tree
laden banks of the Ntiakitiak River.
The resident hippos grunt and
converse as we are briefed by the
affable Danson about the camp’s
safety precautions and activities.
There are a total of 12 tents in this
luxury camp, including the honeymoon suite and one family tent. Each
tent has been built on a metre high
platform allowing for vertically challenged wildlife to access the river,
which all the rooms flank. Our family
tent is spectacularly appointed with
a stand-alone Victorian style bath,
walk-in shower, a small lounge area
and a stunning balcony overlooking
the Ntiakitiak River. I realise that with
Kempinski’s reputation for luxury
travel, this lodge is a representation
of the more understated spectrum of
the scale while remaining considerate in the finer details of hospitality. You will not find unnecessary
extravagance but rather a beautifully
designed and operated lodge that
lets nature become the centrepiece,
as it should.
As we feast on a family-style
lunch of flavoursome lentil daal, rice,
leavened bread and fresh mixed
green salad with juicy avocados, it
occurs to me that the food is also a
representation of Olare Mara Kempinski’s focus on exclusive simplicity.
The flavours are well balanced and
the meal delicious and wholesome.
This is rounded off by a rich chocolate mousse accompanied by a fan of
fresh mango with strawberry coulis.
We request to meet the head chef,
David Too, who as it turns out, has
had a long and illustrious career
working with the late Rolf Schmidt
(of The Horseman, Karen fame) and
spent 11 years at the world- renowned luxury tented camp, Finch
Hattons in the Tsavo. Chef David
tell us that he has also been avidly
working on sourcing and integrating some produce from his organic
garden right here in the lodge. The
next day, he personally takes us on
a tour of his garden, a vast portion
of which, unfortunately, had been
trampled by grazing elephants the
previous month, tempted by the delicious sweet bananas and sugarcane.
His spirits remain unbroken. The
organic verdant spinach from the
allotment is picked daily and served
as a tender and delicious breakfast
accompaniment, or chopped and
mixed with carrots and cauliflower
then packed into scrumptious veggie
patties that we enjoyed the following day.
With satiated bellies, we set
off with our guide, David, for our
evening game drive. The cars are
kitted with refreshments and Maasai
shukas (for the evening chill). David
tells us that the Olare Motorogi
Conservancy has only 5 camps, each
with a maximum capacity of 12 tents
across 35,000 acres. This means that
the game is plentiful and easy to
spot you also won’t be fighting 10
other cars to get a good view