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THE GREAT RIFT VALLEY
Malewa River Lodge
MALEWA RIVER LODGE - KIGIO WILDLIFE CONSERVANCY:
Within this Conservancy is the small and exclusive 16 bed “eco-friendly” Malewa River Lodge, nestled in the shade of huge Acacia trees on the banks of the Malewa river.
The rustic design of the lodge is most unusual and innovative using local methods and materials gathered from the surrounding area.

The result is a cluster of charming buildings constructed of mud, timber and thatch. Every effort has been made to be economical and innovative in the true ethos of eco tourism. The furnishings are also very unique.

The beds, tables and chairs are constructed using the timbers from old fencing posts taken from the former cattle ranch.

The ambiance has been calculated to bring the visitor close to nature; sounds of the African bush, birdsong and the flow of water over the pebbles in the nearby streambed are the essence of your stay at Malewa River Lodge.

The Lodge offers guests full board accommodation with exquisite cuisine. Tasty meals are prepared to the highest standard by a “Cordon Bleu” chef using fresh, local ingredients. The emphasis is on excellent home cooking. There is a small team of friendly staff including waiters, bar men, room stewards and guides to take care of you. They are well trained, and without being intrusive they ensure you have a relaxing and comfortable stay. Our trained naturalists are on hand to accompany guests on walks.

Staff:
Chris: Managing Director of Kigio Wildlife Conservancy and Malewa River Lodge, but a wildlife artist by profession.

Christine: Hands on management of the lodge and an extremely talented cook. (behind every man there is a woman!).

Milli: With a warm smile and gentle nature ensures all clients are informed and happy during their stay. Trained as an outdoor activities instructor she may also persuade you to dangle off a rope whilst abseiling or rockclimbing.

Accommodation:
The enchanting open plan main building offers a large sitting room complete with open fire, spacious veranda, bar and dining area with views over the river.

The cottages are separated from the main building and well spaced along the river-bank. Each with their own character.

Kasuki Cottage: Comprising spacious bedroom with large double bed, en suite shower room and private garden with river view.

Aberdare Cottage: Spacious bedroom with twin beds, en suite shower room and private garden.

Mau Cottage: Double storey, with a bedroom and bathroom on both levels with an outdoor shower so that you can bathe under the stars!
In the main building two large bedrooms lead off the upstairs balcony.

Eburu East: Large double bed and 3 extra bunks, mattresses & pillows.

Eburu West: Two twin beds and 8 extra bunks, mattresses & pillows. One shower room upstairs and one downstairs. Additionally the delightful 'crows nest' in the eaves of the thatched roof with space for 4 mattresses. Great for children!

With 6 cottages and 2 large rooms in the main building the Lodge can accommodate 16 guests in comfort and extras in comfortable bunks. The accommodation is therefore suitable for individuals, family groups, and options for school groups.

Activities:
Walking: The expansive conservancy area offers ample opportunity to walk safely amongst wildlife. We do recommend you take either of our guides, David or Patrick and benefit from their knowledge honed from a childhood in the bush.
They will help you identify animal tracks as well as the huge variety of bird species. Their knowledge of wildlife and the medicinal properties of the many endemic plants that flourish on the property makes your walk in the bush a fascinating experience.

Bird watching: Our trained guides could soon show you a large number of the 150 species recorded in our comprehensive bird lists.

Trout Fishing: We stock the Malewa river annually with rainbow trout. So try your hand fly-fishing along four miles of private water. Ideal season Jan-March.

Horse riding: Take this opportunity to explore the conservancy on horse back and enjoy riding side by side with the wildlife.

Farming: Get involved in the everyday farm life African style! Herding cattle, sheep and goats. Visit the dairy, dip the livestock and hand milk a cow!

Painting and Photography: Spectacular views of the Rift Valley, the indigenous people and culture, stunning skies and the abundant flora and fauna make Kigio Wildlife Conservancy ideal for all forms of nature based painting and photography.
Painting and sketching holidays arranged by Chris as the resident artist can be arranged.

Astronomy: Beautiful clear nights away from light pollution provide an ideal environment for star gazing.

Mountain biking: we have mountain bikes for hire. With over 20 kms of trails or roads there is plenty of scope for cycling around the Conservancy and the neighbouring community.

Abseiling or Rock climbing: Challenge your fears and enjoy a days activity abseiling or climbing the cliffs in the Amphitheatre and river gorge. Milli is our resident instructor.

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THE GREAT RIFT VALLEY:
The world had many great mountains, lakes, deserts, and oceans. But of its valleys and gorges one alone dwarfs them all in size and dimension. Indeed, after the oceans, the Great Rift Valley is perhaps the single most dramatic feature on earth.

In Kenya much of the Rift remains an expanse of raw Africa that dazzles the eye with its haunting grandeur. Nowhere is it more apparent, more dramatic, or more picturesque. Entering the country in the north from Ethiopia through the jade waters of Lake Turkana, it slices right through the middle of Kenya like a broad knife-cut to enter Tanzania in the south at Lake Natron.

Incorporating cliffs, escarpments, sand rivers, and arid plains flowing like molten lava from the north down to the low-lying, heat ridden, soda lakes in the south, in some places this natural divide is up to 100 kilometres wide.

The valley floor rises from little more than 200 metres above sea level at Lake Turkana to reach it highest point around Lake Naivasha at 190 metres, before descending abruptly to enter Tanzania just 580 metres above sea level. Where the valley floor is at its highest so, too, are the valley's precipitous walls, reaching 3964 metres in the Aberdares above Naivasha. Where the floor is at its lowest, as at Turkana, there is virtually no distinction between the Great Rift and the stark, arid wilderness that adjoin it. To the east, the featureless semi-desert scrub stretches across hundreds of kilometres to Solamia's Indian Ocean coastline. Yet in other places, where the floor is not much more than 610 metres above sea level, its great cliffs rise sheer above it for more than 1520 metres.

The power that transformed the face of the world is evident in the Rift's thirty active and semi-active volcanoes and countless boiling springs. They bring sodium carbonate bubbling up from deep beneath the earth, turning many Rift lakes into bitter pans of water or blistering soda flats. This string of alkaline lakes and boiling springs northwest of Nairobi includes Lake Baringo, Lake Bogoria, Lake Nakuru, Lake Elementaita, Lake Naivasha, and Lake Magadi in the south. These lakes are unique because their water is highly concentrated sodium carbonate. This situation is caused by the high alkalinity from the surrounding volcanic rocks coupled with poor drainage outlets due to the steep sides of the valley. The high evaporation of the surface lake water results in sodium carbonate which, in turn, creates an ideal breeding ground for algae. Several species of fish, tilapia in particular, thrive in this environment. As a result, millions of birds flock to these soda lakes to feast on the abundant food supply of algae and fish. Each of the lakes in the Rift Valley string have a slightly different water composition ranging from freshwater to extremely alkaline, highly saline to brackish.

Today the Kenya and Tanzania sections of the Rift are the world's last treasury of cultures, flora, and fauna, both terrestrial and avian, that have continued unchanged for centuries. The valley plains contain the last great assembly of African wildlife and from one end to the other, Kenya's human cultures form a cross-section of the entire African continent's cultural wealth. Little wonder, perhaps, that many then think of this as Eden.

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