A safari means something different to each of us and I am often asked what are my favourite places or experiences.  What a wish list to make! To me there has to be some sort of movement on safari, be it by camel, canoe, foot, or by elephant in some cases and helicopter for those that can – whatever suits. For those who prefer to get off the beaten track and enjoy a simpler and slower mode, then a walking safari with camels in the northern reaches of Kenya is a wonderful way to really immerse oneself with cultures that have remained much unchanged for millennia.

I recently organized a “cultural safari”for two weeks among the Samburu and Rendille tribes, spending days walking in the cool of the mornings down sandy luggas, pitching camp and bedrolls under shady trees and then passing the hours with these nomadic warriors watering their huge flocks of camels, sheep, goats and cattle at the various singing wells that are a meeting place in this isolated landscape. It really is a biblical sight to witness, unchanged for multiple generations – a proud and beautiful people as vain as any super model I’ve ever come across.   A few days spent on a camel safari like this, strips away so much of the veneer of western culture. Your daily rhythm becomes one of sun up and sun down. Cool shade and cooler water become a simple luxury, your warm evening shower restores energy, and your bedroll under the stars is, I promise, all you need.  Some days of this before we fly into our private camp on the banks of the Mara River with its snorting hippos, is the essence of safari.