Namunyak Wildlife Conservation Trust was established in 1995 and is located in the Mathews Range of northern Kenya in Wamba Division in Samburu East District. Namunyak (meaning “Place of Peace”) originally operated on the Sarara and Sabache Group Ranches that joined together to manage their land as one unit for conservation. The Trust has now expanded to include six group ranches, including the Ngiai West Group Ranch and the trust land area of Ndonyo Wasin. The responses by these new communities towards wildlife conservation have been immensely positive. The mission of Namunyak is to promote wildlife conservation and the socio-economic development of the Samburu community through sustainable utilization of natural resources. Specific objectives include ensuring grassroots involvement in decision making of the Trust, improving environmental awareness in surrounding communities, augmenting physical security for wildlife, people and livestock in the area, maintaining and enhancing natural resources in the area, and providing income to local communities through the establishment of sustainable enterprises.    Sarara tented camp has five luxury tents, each with its own flush loo and open-air bush shower (think Ava Gardner in "Mogambo"). Comfortable beds, plus quality bed linen, bathrobes, towels and other essentials are provided. There is a beautiful thatched lounge and dining banda which overlooks a natural swimming pool and waterhole and has unrivalled views of the Mathews mountains beyond. Expert safari cooks are delighted to cater to visitors' preferences. Food is the highest quality simple 'home cooking' and is prepared over an open wood fire. The scent of fresh-baked bread fills the camp on a daily basis. Namunyak is a truly unspoilt wilderness conservation area with few roads. The emphasis here is mainly on walking excursions, with local Namunyak community game scouts as guides, who will share their specialist knowledge with you. Sarara is a dry season refuge for several hundred elephant and numbers increase dramatically, to over a thousand, during the rainy seasons. Lion and leopard are resident and there are two separate groups of the endangered, and fascinating, wild dog with one pack numbering at least thirty. Other species of particular interest include kudu, Grevy's zebra, giraffe, striped hyena and the peculiarly long-necked gerenuk. There are black and white colobus monkeys in the forest. Sarara is a wonderful place to come for a wilderness holiday. The area is ringed by natural defences, the hills and mountains of the area, and so is totally unspoilt and appears to be part of an earlier Africa. Remote and gloriously beautiful, Sarara is a haven from the modern world.
|
All rights reserved.