Reviews of Lewa Wilderness
(100%) From 4 travellersThey do not necessarily represent the views of Expert Africa.
| 
Lewa Wilderness review
Lewa Wilderness was our first official safari and what a way to start! The hillside cottages were excellent with outstanding views where we daily got to see elephants, giraffes, baboons, and other wildlife come to drink. We went horseback riding which was very thrilling to see the animals from a different vantage point. It did cross my mind prior to doing this that we may be lunch for a lion, but it was all very safe and the breakfast at the end was fabulous. And, then to go back to camp on a camel was interesting.
I can't say enough about our guide John. He, along with Philip, were with us for every drive and managed to find all of the big 5. And, we learned so much from them. We were also fortunate enough to see a rhino being notched for tracking purposes.
Lewa was a great place for one's first safari.
Wonderful camp and a breathtaking property
We had stayed last year in Sirikoi and this year decided to try the more traditional way of safaris in Laikipia - in a colonial property with cottages in lieu of tents. LWT is a wonderful property in a gorgeous conservancy. We are very fond of Lewa and the team behind the conservancy and its our place for seeing some very special animals ( rhinos, Grevys, reticulate giraffes, large herds of elands, oryx and other plains game), our place to relax the pace of safaring (just a notch) and enjoy the superb landscape. Of most of Laikipia, Lewa's landscape is the most dramatic with its many valleys and hills, red soil giving way to black cotton soil, exploring the conservancy from north to south, even some places where only rangers go and rarely a tourist vehicle, the wonderful green swapm and the yellow fever tree forests, the elephants, views of Mount Kenya- A Lewa safari is so different and unique in many ways and we enjoyed our stay tremendously. Zoey, Lee, Kiramanshu were incredible hosts and we really fell in love with the property and the views.
Our guide was Simon- who is the head guide there. I expected him to be good but we were very impressed with how good he was- with spotting, with priorititising our wish list ( we had 8 glorious days on predator watch in Mara so were looking for anything but cats and he understood that very well). He was brilliant wityh the rhino spotting and all other sightings, even spotting a coalition of 2 male cheetahs. We didnt share a single sighting with any other car. He is also very knowledgable about Lewa's history, community and the tribes in Kenya, so conversation with him was really cherished. Our last afternoon drive into Sambara plains and Isolo valley and beyond to the northern most point ( from where we could see as far as the Matthews Range) was one of the best safari days, ending with sundowners barely 50 metres from where a white rhino foraged.
Lewa Wilderness was fantastic
Of the three places we stayed in on this trip to northern and central parts of Kenya, arguably this was our all round favourite. The atmosphere at Lewa Wilderness Trails is very different and more like a house party - the owners and staff are so hospitable and the food is amazing. We stayed in the newest cottage which was delightful.
We were so impressed with the success of conservation in this conservancy and it is surely a marvellous model for others. Simon was our guide and his patience particularly with the black rhino and cheetah really gave us an insight into these two species. The scenery, with its backdrop of Mt Kenya really adds to this location from a photography viewpoint.
We only did game drives and a bird walk around camp (highly recommended) but there were a large range of activities on offer which other guests enjoyed.
Great safari experience
Lewa was magical..beautiful property,full marks for hospitality. our game drives were awesome, spotted the big five in our two day stay!
Read more about the whole safari
We have always believed that acting responsibly is the only way to approach tourism and we're one of
the few companies to hold AITO's original coveted 5-star status for responsible tourism. It's a lead
that others are now following.
