At last the severe Travel Ban imposed on Kenya by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (and followed by many European countries) has been downgraded to apply to specific areas only.
In all our releases we have maintained that the areas of concern were clearly defined and did not include main tourist destinations and certainly not the areas of operation of Governors’ Camp.
We trust that now that the Travel Advisory clearly specifies the areas to be avoided, tourist arrivals will no longer be disrupted, and visitors will be able to enjoy their holidays.
We are deeply sorry that some people’s holidays were disrupted at the very last minute.
We now wish to look forward:
Masai Mara:
The game in our area has been outstanding. The Loita migration has invaded the plains in front of Governors’ Camp, in numbers just as spectacular as during peak migration time. My wife and I had the pleasure of hosting Brian and Annabelle Jackman at Little Governors’ Camp from 17 – 19th January 2008. Brian Jackman, as you may know, is one of the leading travel writers in the UK, with thirty years of reporting on safaris across Africa. On this occasion Brian came to assess the situation in Kenya for himself, and to write an article for the Saturday Telegraph.
In our release of 9th January 2008 we made the following statement:
“A safari to Kenya and the Masai Mara is widely considered the holiday of a lifetime, and regularly surpasses the expectations. Without exception, our guests continue to enjoy an unparalleled safari experience.…”
The Jackman’s safari exemplified this. So outstanding was the game-viewing that I asked his permission to use some of his quotes, to which he readily agreed. On our first afternoon apart from the plethora of wildebeest and zebra, we saw two leopard between Little Governors’ and Governors’ Camp. The following day a rhino walked past Brian’s tent, and we then had an amphitheatrical view of three cheetah hunting amidst a dense herd of wildebeest and zebra. All this following the sighting of a serval cat stalking through the grass, and another huge male leopard majestically looking down at the migration from the top of Rhino Ridge – a photographer’s dream. We also saw a total of 16 magnificent lions scattered across the plains, two of which were mating, and some on a hunt. Brian’s comment was “this is definitely the predator capital of the world”. He expressed regret that so many people, forced to cancel their holidays, have missed such spectacles, particularly as we have been enjoying such glorious weather and perfect light.
The game-viewing remains unsurpassed and we look forward to sharing this magic with our guests who are now able to travel.
Loldia House, Naivasha and Lake Nakuru
Contrary to rumors Naivasha did not experience any violence whatsoever throughout. Indeed neither has Nakuru, and of course Lake Nakuru National Park, where the game viewing is as spectacular as normal. Whilst Nakuru received huge numbers of displaced persons from the Northern Rift Valley the situation remained calm throughout. Some Loldia clients went into Nakuru town in order to buy film and commented to Peter Njoroge the Loldia Manager how calm the atmosphere in Nakuru was and that was during the travel advisory period. Well done Kenyans!
Throughout these difficult times, the great majority of Kenyans have been committed to maintaining peace and have been devastated by the disruptions caused by a few. The friendly welcome that tourists normally receive from Kenyans continued throughout the problems. These Kenyans have been a great credit to the country and certainly to the tourism industry.
We look forward to seeing guests return now that the Travel Advisory has been amended and the tourism areas are no longer affected by this advisory.
