OCT-NOV 2011 ISSUE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2011 Suddenly out to Africa Today my original lunch appointment got moved to another time, but the slot quickly got filled by two gentlemen who invited me to lunch at the Peninsula lobby to discuss safari camps in Kenya. ON SALE EVERYWHERE NOW Over adobo and very good angel hair pasta, Stefano Cheli, owner of Cheli and Peacock, Kenya's most upmarket safari company, talked about the joys of Kenya, of going on a safari, and the many wonderful options they have for communing with nature. Travelife Magazine is the Philippines' leading travel & lifestyle publication. www.travelife.biz For subscriptions or back issue orders, email travelife@travelife.biz or call 812-8300/ 892-2620. Stefano himself owns six upmarket safari camps in Kenya, and he also handles the marketing for other similarly luxurious camps and private residences. So basically, he is the go-to man for safaris in Kenya; and his camps are being marketed exclusively in Asia by Asia to Africa Safaris. GROWING UP IN KENYA CONNECT WITH US ON FACEBOOK TRAVELIFE MAGAZINE
Stefano is Italian, but except for a college stint in England, he's lived in Kenya since he was two years old so Africa is home. His wife, who is English, grew up in Kenya as well, and she's the Peacock part of Cheli and Peacock. They've been in the Kenya safari business for over 26 years now. REGULAR ROYAL GUEST Together they run their six lodges and camps and oversee the many others under their umbrella. Prince William is a regular visitor to one of their camps, as he loves Kenya. But Stefano was quick to respond to a question he must've been asked a hundred times already, even before I asked it: "But Prince William didn't propose to Kate in our camp." Apparently Prince William and Kate Middleton (now Princess Catherine) stayed in a very simple lodge on top of a mountain -- the kind of lodge that clients who stay at Stefano's camps don't usually go for, as his clients like more comfort -- and he proposed to Kate on the plains of a conservancy where he is a trustee. Listening to him talk about his camps and looking at the photos, it seems that Stefano's camps are wonderfully comfortable and very nicely furnished but not over the top. But they're supposed to be the best in Kenya and they're all incredibly picturesque. COTTAR'S 1920S SAFARI CAMP
One of my favorites -- and I've already told him that this is where I'm definitely staying when I holiday in Africa next time, which will hopefully be next year -- is the Cottar's 1920s Safari Camp in Kenya's Masai Mara plains. It's a safari camp straight out of the movie Out of Africa, which happens to be one of my favorite movies; and perhaps this is why Cottar's 1920s Safari Camp appeals to me. LIFE IN A COLONY Unlike the other camps which are all rustic but refined, Cottar's 1920s Safari Camp is filled with comfortable furniture and genteel furnishings that speak of life in a British colony in Africa -- albeit under a vast white canvas tent. The camp is complete with antiques, artifacts and family photographs so it combines wildlife with history. The Cottar family were one of the earliest guides in Kenya, and they did safaris for Ernest Hemmingway, who presumedly stayed here as well. All the more reason for me to like it. It borders the Tanzania's Serengeti and Loliondo reserves, and offers amazing guided bush walks and game drives in open safari vehicles. TORTILIS CAMP Then I'm going to the Tortilis Camp, which is a classic safari luxury camp on a 30,000 acre conservancy, but with all the frills: a romantic tent that doubles as a bedroom with a magnificent view of Mount Kilimanjaro, a swimming pool and bar, and the very important spa and massage salon after all those hours walking in search of elephants and giraffes.
LOISABA LODGE Another very romantic camp is the very private Loisaba Lodge, which has only seven rooms and it sits inside a 61,000 acre sanctuary. Each room has a most amazing view of Mount Kenya from its private viewing terrace. And perhaps what most attracted me about Loisaba Lodge are its star beds. One day I would really like to try sleeping here. Each star bed is set up on a raised, handcrafted wooden platform with wheels, and it's set up on an open terrace with a partially covered thatch roof. You sleep on these beds and you have the choice of doing so completely out in the open for a night under the stars, or inside the sheltered area. I would like to sleep completely in the open one day -- hopefully soon. ASIA TO AFRICA Meanwhile, Asia to Africa Safaris is the outfit that arranges customized African safaris for many Filipinos in Manila, Singapore and Hong Kong. They arranged the honeymoon of one of my good friends, and numerous family trips of friends. Founded by Binky Dizon and Jose Cortes (who I heard today has set himself up with a beautiful home in South Africa), it's a company that offers a very personalized safari service for discerning travelers. Binky and Jose themselves have been traveling around Africa since the 1990s so they really know their wildlife. So talking about Kenya and Africa over lunch today made me all
dreamy about heading back to nature and communing with wildlife. We were still having dessert and there I was already mentally checking my diary next year for an opening long enough for a trip to Africa. "The only man I envy is the man who has not yet been to Africa. For he has so much to look forward to." - Richard Mullin Yes, I decided a few hours ago that Africa's going to be on my cards for next year, along with a cruise down Myanmar's longest river and a trip to South America. Just another delicious moment in a never-ending and never-endingly eventful Travelife. --------------------------------------------------- Travelife Magazine's Oct-Nov 2011 Issue ON SALE EVERYWHERE NOW