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Kenya tour camps of Ol Donyo Laro

Kisidai Kenya tour camp

At Kisidai, the jungle tour camp, trees and bush surround each customized tent. It is hot, green and humid; there are enormous tamarind trees, and the sounds of birds are everywhere. The mess tent is near a stream and a small dam has slowed the water to form a natural swimming pool among the trees.

Timber and canvas tents are spacious and sturdy, with screening on all sides to give a feeling of staying among trees. Each has a well-designed bathroom with hot and cold running water and flush toilets. The shower has an innovative huge showerhead-lots of hot water and pressure. The water here and in all of the adventure camps comes straight from mountain springs and is drinkable. At Kisidai, you notice leaves, butterflies, trees and plants, the minutiae of the surrounding life with glimpses of the high Ngurumans through the trees.

Olduvai Kenya tour camp

This is a much higher up, right on the edge of the escarpment with views over the rift valley. The vistas are vast; you can see across to the opposite side and south into Tanzania. Dominating the view is Shombole, its high volcanic peak and dry eroded sides clearly etched above the hazy golds of the rift valley floor. Lake Natron lies silver and pink below.

The heart of Ol Duvai is an open-sided tented lounge and dining area. There are yards of safari green canvas rising to a vaulted ceiling, chunky pale wood furniture, and sculptured stone seating comfortable with cushions. All is natural, low key and well-made. Closer to the escarpment edge is a raised swimming pool made with rounded stones set in cement. As you swim in the mountain spring water, you can see across the rift.

A stone path winds to a thatched gazebo on a little point with the world spread below on three sides. Guests often breakfast here. In early morning sunshine they sit and watch as mist forms below and slowly rises to eye level. During the day dozens of dust devils whirl in tall columns on the rift floor. Sometimes at night, a flock of flamingos might fly just overhead-floating silhouettes in the moonlight.

At Ol Duvai guests stay in customized "tents" which combine canvas ceilings with stone walls. Plenty of screens allow for views and breezes, and keep out the bugs. All is spacious and comfortable and the bathrooms boast many mirrors and more big showerheads. There is an airstrip at this kenyan camp, as well as tennis court-floodlit, of course, for cooler night play.

Laro Kenya tour camp

This is the highest set camp. As the most luxurious, it is usually saved for last. Through a gate way of traveler's palms you enter a perfect world. You stay in imaginative comfort in tropical gardens. Behind rise steep hills; to the side plunge forested gorges, in front, the awesome spectacle of the rift.

You pass under a bougainvillea arch, through an open tent door-in front of you is the swimming pool with nothing beyond it but lounge chairs, bowls of flowers and old brass. Here is Victorian elegance touched by Africa-the walls are canvas, the roof a soft furry thatch and one entire side is completely open to the bush and the view.

You climb mahogany stairs to the broad veranda of your tent raised high on sturdy poles. The furniture is handmade; there are bouquets of fresh flowers and oil lamps of etched glass and brass. The bathrooms are lined in African mahogany, the voluminous bath sheets are deep-piled, and there is even a toothbrush with Ol Donyo Laro stamped in gold.

Before dinner, guests gather around a kenya tour campfire close to the escarpment edge for quiet talk and tall tales, drinks and hot snacks. At night the romantic "drawing room" is lit by an extravagance of large candles. Elegant tables are set for gourmet meals. Always the service is smooth, friendly and unobtrusive.

Nothing was spared in creating these beautiful and high quality kenya wildlife tour camps. This is particularly amazing when you consider the intricate planning and engineering required in this rough and isolated terrain. The many kilometers of roads were hacked through the bush, cleared and contoured by hand. Water and electrical systems were custom designed to meet the needs of each vacation camp. A base has been set up where fresh fruits and vegetables are grown. The steep roads to reach Laro meant that all materials and furnishings had to be painstakingly carted by four wheel drive vehicles.

This wilderness sanctuary is huge. Some of the camps are more than an hours four wheel drive apart. The going can be rough and dusty. Encephalitis-free tse tse-flies may invade the vehicle and lead to a frenzied bout of slapping and mashing. You ford fast-flowing rocky streams, brave "impossible" inclines, marvel at evidence of animal passage and note the airborne color of birds and butterflies. This is what you came for- the unspoiled Africa.

This post was written by: Franklin Manuel

Franklin Manuel is a professional blogger, web designer and front end web developer. Follow him on Twitter