Lengishu | 私密非洲庄园的奢华设计

The best way to arrive at the Borana Conservancy is by a small plane that scoops you up in Nairobi and transports you for an hour over the changing terrain of Kenya before depositing you gently on a stony airstrip seemingly in the middle of nowhere. To see the land below shift from the skyscrapers of the capital to lush green ridges, past the jagged peaks of Mount Kenya and finally into the dry, vast plains, is the best introduction to the country a visitor could hope for. Borana sits practically in the middle of Kenya, beyond the northern foothills of the great mountain; it is a private reserve, its 32,000 acres home to only nine developments in total. One of these is Lengishu, a highly luxurious exclusive-use holiday rental and a destination that entirely lives up to the spectacular mode of arrival.

Its English owners, Joe and Minnie MacHale, bought the plot of land where Lengishu now sits in 2015, the last of the nine shareholders to buy into Borana. Named for a distinctive mountain visible in the distance from the house, this is Joe and Minnie’s home in Kenya, but is also rented out to guests for holidays. To stay here is to be immersed in the life of the conservancy, with very few other people to disturb you–a rare treat in the world of safari holidays. Since it is rented out on an exclusive-use basis (for up to 12 guests at a time), you have the wonderful luxury of being able to tailor every aspect of your trip, from the number and timings of game drives to the menu the private chef cooks up. And with a total of 25 staff on hand at Lengishu, you're likely to want for very little, from massages to cocktails to expert guidance around the terrain of Borana.

Backdrop Production

The house has a marvellous situation on a hilltop looking out over the rolling plains. From the pool or the balcony of your room, you might see elephants or rhinos wander past in the distance. Although there are no constraints on the architecture in the conservancy, the house conforms to the local style, low-slung and constructed from stone, with a thatched roof constructed in the East African makuti method. The site is spread out over considerable grounds: the main house accommodates a vast, airy, open-plan drawing and dining room, along with a smaller study/TV room, while four smaller buildings each house one or two bedrooms with their own sitting rooms. There is also a multi-purpose studio which can function as a massage and yoga studio, nursery, den or cinema as the need arises.

The sitting room in the main house Brian Siambi

The stylish interiors are Minnie’s work, a pleasing blend of English country house and Kenyan aesthetics. There are rugs woven by a local collective of Maoru women alongside comfortable armchairs reupholstered in imported English fabrics by a local upholsterer. Antiques picked up at Kempton and shipped over mingle with pieces found on the back streets of Nairobi and generous wardrobes and vanities made bespoke in Kenya. Spaciousness is a keynote of the house; ceilings soar, gleaming copper bathtubs look out of floor-to-ceiling windows at the bush beyond, and immense four poster beds, roughly hewn in wood, give a distinct sense of place. Around the gravel paths that weave through the grounds, a surprisingly lush garden of succulents and desert plants has grown up, with a few stretches of comfortingly green lawn judiciously placed.

Brian Siambi

There are any number of spaces to enjoy while you are at the house itself, and this facility for spreading out greatly aids the relaxed atmosphere. There is a pool surrounded by fever trees where you can peer down at elephants at the watering hole, with a gym, games room and terrace dining area on its periphery. A short walk brings you to a rocky viewpoint where sundowners can be served, while another terrace opens off the main house where a dining table can be placed for breakfast. In addition, each bedroom has its own balcony looking out over the conservancy. For the large groups and families who would naturally rent Lengishu, this variety of private and public spaces means that there is always something to suit every need. There is plenty of room for entire groups of 12 to congregate, but couples or parents of small children can easily find places to themselves. 

Lunch set up by the pool Backdrop Production

Though the house itself has a great deal to offer, the real reason most visitors will come here, however, is to leave it and explore the country beyond. One of Lengishu's greatest assets is Nissa, the head guide, who has more than 30 years of experience and a formidable breadth and depth of knowledge about everything from rare birds to geology. He is, indeed, about to take the tests for Kenya’s prestigious Gold level of guiding, the highest qualification in the country (there are fewer than 30 Gold guides in the country at the moment). At the helm of one of the house’s vast, rugged Land Rovers, he conveys his guests around the conservancy, cheerfully off-roading over the most unlikely terrain in the pursuit of game, and unerringly spotting, with the assistance of his apprentice Martin, the merest twitch of ears on distant hillsides. 

Borana is home to the Big Five, with a thriving rhino population that has been carefully nurtured, alongside elephants, lions, leopards and buffalo. The rhino conservation efforts are particularly impressive; together with the neighbouring Lewa Conservancy, which forms one continuous open landscape with Borana, there are more than 200 rhinos, both black and white, roaming through the region. It is one of the most successful efforts of its kind in the country.

Alongside these spectacular creatures there is plenty more to see: hyena puppies cautiously emerging from their dens at sunset, secretary birds striding through the long grass in their smart outfits, rare endangered Grevy's zebra with their unusual stripes, and tiny klipspringer leaping through the rocks on their tiptoes.

Gloriously, the timing and frequency of game drives is completely up to you; you won't be hauled out of bed at 5am for a drive if you don't want to be. And activities other than drives are easy to arrange: Nissa can accompany visitors on walks through the terrain, including to the viewpoint at Pride Rock, said to have inspired the famous location in The Lion King. Rhino tracking on foot (accompanied by an armed ranger) can be arranged, and horseback riding and e-biking is also on offer. One of the undoubted highlights, however, is the supremely luxurious bush breakfasts and lunches that the staff put together: after a long drive or hike, there is nothing more delightful than turning a corner to find an immaculately set table waiting for you and a freshly cooked breakfast on the way. 

Backdrop Production

Although exclusivity and luxury are there in spades on a trip to Lengishu, there are also plenty of reminders that the house is part of a community dedicated to the care of the landscape and all its inhabitants. Shareholding in a private conservancy like this is no small undertaking; when Joe and Minnie decided to build a home there, it came with huge responsibilities to the game reserve, to the wildlife that inhabits it, the staff and infrastructure that protect it, and to the local community. Most of the people who work at Lengishu and on Borana are local, and the sense of dedication to this place is palpable. 

It is with distinct regret that we head back to our tiny plane and take flight back over the bush to Nairobi, but our stay there is a salutary reminder that there is much more to Kenya than safaris. A stay at the glorious Hemingways Nairobi in the elegant neighbourhood of Karen is a perfect way to bookend your trip; the group has also recently acquired Eden, on the other side of Karen, the former home of the artists Anna and Tonio Trzebinski, with a much more intimate and bohemian atmosphere. It is undoubtedly worth exploring the city, rather than just treating it as a stopover. Thanks to its new association with Anna Trzebinski, for example, Hemingways now offers art tours of Nairobi, an opportunity to meet local artists and immerse yourself in the cultural life of the city. To stay briefly is only to scratch the surface, but a silver lining resides in the fact that there are many reasons to come back.

Ways and Means