Kenya Safaris: Dodo's Tower  

Dodo's Tower (Rift Valley – Kenya 5 )

Created as a family home and set amid the five hundred acres of magnificent countryside in Kenya's Rift Valley that is the Nderit Estate, lies an impressive and unique folly. The tower stands one hundred and fifteen feet high, hidden among the yellow fever trees on the shores of Lake Naivasha, and offers an incomparable and private escape in the heart of the African bush.

The Estate is home to hippo, giraffe, antelope, zebra, leopard and a host of smaller mammals. It is also the natural habitat of over 300 species of bird and is thus a paradise for naturalists, both professional and amateur. The Estate forms an important migration corridor for the game of the surrounding 25000 acres of untouched Africa.

A unique wildlife experience, Nderit is also a Private Health Retreat offering holistic packages for mind, body and soul. A variety of wonderfully revitalising therapies and treatments draw on philosophies and practices from India, the Far East and the Western World. The highly trained professionals who carry out the therapies have a wealth of experience. The private spa has steam, sauna, jacuzzi as well as therapy, yoga and meditation rooms. This is the place in which to recharge body and soul in perfect privacy and utterly blissful surroundings.

The food at Nderit is specially prepared by the French manager who is passionate about cooking. The menus are arranged according to guest preference, with immaculate attention to detail. The Estate grows its own organic vegetables and sources a variety of produce from surrounding farms. Meals can be arranged anywhere anytime, from Champagne breakfast by the lake, picnics on the hill, buffets by the pool to a very formal and private dinner at the tower.

Naivasha, known as the "Happy Valley", is a lush, quiet region of Kenya which became renowned for its decadence in the 1930's. It was a playground for the rich and famous, who flocked here in sea planes, landing on the lake after a six-day journey from Europe. In the tower you may recreate those extravagant times - with, perhaps, a little less emphasis on their particular brand of decadence! You can ride horses with the wildlife on the hills, walk the shores of the lake as Karen Blixen and Denys Finch-Hatton did, fish for black bass or perfect your water-skiing. Activities and safaris will be organised for you as, and when, you wish. Day trips to surrounding areas, other ranches, hot springs and National Parks are available in a chauffeur-driven, open four-wheel drive. It can be arranged for a helicopter or aircraft to be based at the tower, so that you may sally forth to explore Africa in total comfort.

The Tower is as peaceful as it is inspiring; whether you wish to lounge in the sun, read, write, carry out a personal fitness programme or concentrate wholeheartedly on undiluted pleasure, it has a wonderful sense of liberating space. The evenings are wonderfully cool and full of colour: the yellow fever trees turn golden in the setting sun, the distant hills change to dusky purple, the sky is violet and pink. After your sundowner you might like to sit up to watch the animals that come to the tower - mainly the giraffe, hippo, plains game and buffalo that come out late at night. "Carpe Diem" - this is the perfect base for your African adventure.