Lewa Safari Camp By Elewana · Lewa Wildlife Conservancy
Private Game Drives · Rhino Tracking · Camel Treks · Cultural Walks · Conservancy Exclusivity
Morning: Fly-In Charter from Wilson Airport, Nairobi
Your journey to the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy begins with a scheduled or private charter flight from Wilson Airport, approximately 45 minutes north to Lewa Downs Airstrip. As you descend, the vast 65,000-acre conservancy unfolds below: open plains, dramatic Mt Kenya views, and the unmistakable red-ochre earth of the north.
11:00 AM: Arrival & Welcome · Lewa Safari Camp
A warm Elewana welcome awaits at camp. Lewa Safari Camp’s nine classic canvas tents are perched on raised wooden decks overlooking a seasonal river and waterhole. The design is timeless East African — brass lanterns, Persian rugs, clawfoot baths, and a library tent stocked with conservation literature. A leisurely welcome lunch is served beneath the fever tree canopy.
4:00 PM: Private Afternoon Game Drive — Waterhole Circuit
Your dedicated camp guide leads your first drive through the conservancy’s network of private tracks. Lewa is home to 14% of Kenya’s black rhino population — and this afternoon circuit targets the waterhole areas where rhino, Grey’s zebra, and reticulated giraffe converge. Sundowners served in the open bush as the Mt Kenya silhouette glows amber.
8:00 PM: Candlelit Dinner Under the Stars
Dinner is served on the open-air mess deck with lanterns strung above. The Elewana kitchen celebrates northern Kenyan flavours — slow-braised lamb, roasted root vegetables, and fresh bush herbs. Conversation drifts easily beneath a sky blazing with stars.
5:30 AM: Pre-Dawn Drive — Rhino Tracking on Foot
Wake before first light for one of Lewa’s most extraordinary experiences. Join a Lewa Conservancy ranger on a guided rhino tracking walk — following radio-collar data and fresh spoor across the open grassland to approach both black and white rhino on foot. This is an intimate, rare encounter few safaris in East Africa can offer.
8:00 AM: Bush Breakfast in the Field
After the morning’s encounter, your guide sets up a simple, beautiful bush breakfast in the golden light — thermos coffee, warm pastries, seasonal fruit, and the still quiet of a conservancy waking up around you.
10:00 AM: Return to Camp · Rest & Conservation Talk
Back at camp for a restorative mid-morning. At 10:30 AM, a senior Lewa Conservancy ecologist joins you for an informal talk on the conservancy’s rhino breeding programme, community partnerships, and the long work of protecting this landscape.
4:00 PM: Grevy’s Zebra & Reticulated Giraffe Drive
Lewa is one of the last strongholds of the endangered Grevy’s zebra and the reticulated giraffe — two species found nowhere else on this journey. This afternoon drive is dedicated to locating and spending unhurried time with these extraordinary animals. Golden hour photography positions are chosen with care.
7:30 PM: Fireside Bush Dinner
A fire is lit on the riverbank below camp. Dinner is served beside it — unfussy, generous, deeply Kenyan. The Lewa night is alive with sound: elephants moving in the dark, the distant bark of zebra, and the soft sigh of the river.
6:30 AM: Morning Game Drive — Northern Plains Circuit
A sweeping early drive through the northern sector of the conservancy — less visited, more open. Buffalo herds, lion prides, and elephant families move through these corridors with unhurried confidence. Your guide reads the land with a precision born of years spent here.
9:30 AM: Camel Trek Through the Conservancy
One of Lewa’s most distinctive experiences: a guided camel trek through the open conservancy with a Samburu cameleer. Move quietly through the acacia scrub at a pace the modern world has forgotten — close to the ground, attuned to sound and scent. A mid-trek refreshment stop is set up in the shade of a doum palm grove.
12:30 PM: Lunch at Camp & Afternoon Rest
Return to camp for a long, relaxed lunch on the deck overlooking the waterhole. Elephants often visit during the midday heat — a front-row seat requires no effort at all. The afternoon is yours: sleep, read, or simply watch the light change across the plains.
4:00 PM: Community Cultural Visit
Transfer to a nearby Maasai and Samburu community for a respectful, private cultural exchange — one that underpins Lewa’s model of conservation rooted in community benefit. Meet elders, hear songs, and understand how this conservancy has turned cattle land into one of Africa’s greatest wildlife success stories.
7:30 PM: Private Dinner · Tent Deck
Tonight, dinner is served on the private deck of your tent — a personal table, soft lantern light, the waterhole glowing below, and the sounds of the conservancy filling the dark. The Elewana kitchen sends out their finest — a quiet, extraordinary evening.
6:00 AM: Last Dawn Game Drive
One final drive in the cool, clear northern light. No agenda — just gratitude and open eyes. Your guide takes you to a favourite spot: perhaps the ridge that frames Mt Kenya, the pan where elephant families gather at sunrise, or the acacia belt where a leopard has been resting. Whatever Lewa chooses to offer this morning, receive it fully.
9:00 AM: Farewell Bush Breakfast
A beautiful breakfast set up in the field one last time — fresh juice, eggs cooked to order, warm chapati, and strong Kenyan tea. Your camp team joins you to say goodbye. Personalised Lewa Conservancy keepsakes are presented as a token of the journey.
11:00 AM: Check-Out & Airstrip Transfer
Your bags are packed and loaded with care. The drive to Lewa Downs Airstrip is itself a last gift — one more sweep of the plains, one more sighting, one more breath of that clean northern air before the world rushes back in.
12:00 PM: Charter Flight Back to Nairobi · Wilson Airport
Board your charter flight south, Mt Kenya filling the window as you climb. The conservancy shrinks below — but what you carry from it does not. Toast the journey as the plains give way to the highlands
COST INCLUDES
- Transport in safari van with hatch roof.
- Accommodation as per itinerary
- All meals (B L D)
- Services of our Professional Guide/Driver
- All park entrance fees
- All game drives
- 1 liter of mineral water.
- Statutory taxes
NOT INCLUDED
- Personal Insurance
- Items of personal nature
- Alcoholic & Soft drinks
- Tips & porterage