I had been told by all in the Two’s a Crowd office and Brooke from RAW Africa Ecotours, how jaw-droppingly stunning Il’ Ngwesi community lodge was, but it is one of those situations where words just don’t do it justice.
Afterall it was where Prince William and Kate Middleton stayed on a previous trip to Kenya, and after taking in the views I can see why. Being a community-owned lodge, profits raised contribute to the local Masai community as well as wildlife conservation. The lodge also trains locals from all over Kenya in tourism and hospitality.
The lodge is built on a hill and has commanding views of the valley below, including a water hole that attracts thirsty four-legged and feathered visitors all day. In fact it’s possible to sit just about anywhere in the lodge and view wildlife, even the pool. Life does not get better than this. The five-star luxury of the lodge was a great way to cap off four nights of camping.
Our daily activities consisted of game drives through the conservancy, a sunrise walk to get close to white rhinos, brought to the conservancy as part of a breeding and conservation program, and a village visit that gave us a chilled chance to hang out with the local Masai. It was a very different experience from other village visits I had done in Kenya and Tanzania, that were also enjoyable but very touristy and hectic. We were the only six guests in the village as Il N’gwesi lodge is the only lodge in the conservancy.
We enjoyed sundowner drinks under the setting sun and did plenty of lounging around the pool. The perfect place to watch wildlife and sip a cold beer. It really was a slice of heaven and I can’t wait to go back.
Fast Facts.
We stayed at the Il Ngwesi Lodge.
We were here for two nights.
Was it long enough? Nowhere near long enough. I would have loved at least five nights here. Seriously, no matter how long I stayed there was always going to be a considerable degree of bottom lip quivering at leaving.
Highlights: Meeting local Masai during the village visit and our afternoon game drives followed by sundowner drinks.
Our Guide for this adventure was Jaros from Raw Africa EcoTours.
*This was part of a trip I hosted with Australian solo tour company Two’s a Crowd.
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