PAINTBRUSH IN THE BUSH: KENYA’S ART SAFARI

The colors, vistas and landscape of Kenya’s Samburu region bring you to a standstill. Sometimes a camera just can’t capture what the eyes see. Joy’s Camp Art Safari is a chance to create an image that conveys a single moment. A whisper through swaying grass, a reflection in rippling water and sunlight dusting smooth volcanic rock.

A local artist accompanies you during a walking or driving safari to sketch on location. Feet on the ground, you’re in the middle of the African bush – a 360 degree view of untouched land in the Northern Frontier. Choose watercolors or charcoal pencils, grab an easel and let your hand glide over paper. The artist is there for instruction and advice. Popular spots include the winding Ewaso Nyiro, a river lined with Fever Trees and sand, creating an oasis of green; and the top of Penny’s rock for views of an expansive arid landscape – looming mountains on the horizon. Itineraries are flexible in the bush, so choose a departure from early morning to sundown; choose the position of the sun for the light contrasts you desire most.

Joy’s Camp Art Safari is inspired by the site’s previous artist, Joy Adamson. Joy was a part of history when she helped reintroduce a domestic lion, Elsa, to the wild for the first time. It became a best-selling book, Born Free. When she moved on to the area where Joy’s Camp stands today, Joy documented the plants and people of Kenya through her drawings.

There are 10 chic canvas bedrooms at Joy’s Camp overlooking a natural spring. Each tent is uniquely decorated with handmade glass and vibrant fabrics of the local nomadic tribes, and has a private veranda, ideal for game viewing. Joy’s Camp is one of ten properties in Kenya with a Gold eco-rating, the highest level of environmental responsibility.

Book the art safari in advance. Rates start at $350 per person sharing per night, and include meals, game drives, bush walks, bush breakfasts, sundowners, local airstrip transfers and limited laundry. For more information, visit joyscamp.com or email info@chelipeacock.co.ke.

FROM BOOK TO MOVIE TO FOUNDATION: BORN FREE CELEBRATES 30th ANNIVERSARY WITH “BORN FREE SAFARI”

KENYA (04/2014) – Cheli & Peacock’s nine-day “Born Free Safari” in rugged Kenya has the honor of partnering with celebrity turned conservationist, Virginia McKenna, who after starring in the film Born Free, founded the Born Free Foundation. The nonprofit organization sponsors projects to save, rescue and protect wildlife around the world. To celebrate its 30^th Anniversary, all bookings for this safari result in donations towards the foundation and its mission to help wildlife everywhere. The October 22 – 31, 2014 journey is $6,345 per person sharing, excluding international flights.

From best-selling book to Academy Award-winning movie, Born Free has captured the hearts of many. It is the story of Joy and George Adamson who reintroduced a captive animal to its Kenyan home, a relationship forged between lioness and man and the first success story in history documented for the world to remember.

Elsa’s Kopje – the location where Elsa the lioness was reintroduced to the wild and one of the areas where Born Free was filmed. Dine and partake in talks with Virginia McKenna on her experience working with lions and Elsa’s owners on set. There’s a moment she knew Elsa had changed her life forever.

A bush breakfast takes place by Elsa’s grave within Meru National park during one of many spectacular safaris. Elsa was accepted into the wild, her legacy continuing through her cubs and seen in her DNA documented in lions, today.

Joy’s Camp – Elsa’s Kopje’s sister camp. The “Milestone Safari” continues to the place where Joy Adamson relocated and reintroduced another cat, Penny the leopard. Guest speakers will give talks and show films on the history of Joy’s Camp and the surrounding area. They enhance your view of the owner’s life, the continued reintroduction of other animals and the surrounding Samburu region.

Tortilis Camp – a luxury lodge witness to Born Free Foundation projects within the dusty plains of Amboseli. The region is known for its elephant population consisting of large groups of families – this includes a world famous group with two Born Free adopted elephants. Visit elephant expert Cynthia Moss’ research center where Cynthia’s vital work has been funded by Born Free for 22 years. A visit to Born Free’s Lion-proof bomas project is included – a project initiated in 2010 to combat conflict between local pastoralists and lions with the use of bomas (night enclosures).

The final day in Kenya is commemorated with a farewell lunch with the Born Free Kenya team in a country where one historic event sparked conservation missions around the world.

Born Free Foundation continues the vision the Adamsons had with Elsa the lioness, and the vision McKenna has today: a lifetime commitment to wildlife.

The “Born Safari” includes accommodation at Elsa’s Kopje, Joy’s Camp and Tortilis Camp; and all internal flights, conservation/ park fees, game drives, bush walks, bush meals, sundowners, membership to Flying Doctors Society, laundry and airstrip transfers. For more information, visit www.chelipeacock.com or email info@chelipeacock.co.ke.

THE ADAMSON LEGACY: KENYAN CATS BORN FREE

NAIROBI (02/2012) – From the heart of Kenya came the stories of Elsa the lioness, the star of the novel and Academy Award-winning film, Born Free, and Penny the leopard, the star of the novel, Queen of Shaba, both taken care of by the same owner with the same goal in mind: to live in the wild. Elsa’s Kopje and Joy’s Camp, owned and operated by Cheli & Peacock, remain as a tribute to the cats’ journeys - safari camps that once housed Elsa or Penny – and carry on the conservation goals that the Adamson family held dearly.

Elsa became the first lioness successfully released back into the wild, the first to have contact after release and the first known to have cubs after release. After Elsa’s mother was shot charging two wardens, George and Joy Adamson took in and raised Elsa and two other cubs in Meru National Park where Elsa’s Kopje now stands. After a duration of six months with increasing difficulty in taking care of three cubs, the two larger cubs were sent to a zoo in the Netherlands. Instead of sending Elsa to a zoo, the Adamsons decided to keep her with the intent to free her back into the wild. As a result of many months training Elsa to hunt and survive on her own, the Adamsons were successful in the end. Although Elsa is no longer alive, guests of Elsa’s Kopje are able to visit her grave within the park.

After Elsa’s death, George and Joy Adamson’s interests went in separate directions, as did their lives (George wanted to continue to work with lions while Joy’s focus moved to other cats). Penny the leopard was eight weeks old when a ranger found her and handed her over to Joy. The process of teaching Penny how to hunt consisted of getting Penny to jump up at or chase animal skins, then chase hares until she caught one, until finally she progressed to hunting big gazelle. Penny was another success story of an animal in captivity taught to survive on her own and released into the wild. Penny had a litter of two cubs before the publication of Queen of Shaba.

Joy Adamson spent the rest of her life raising money for wildlife, thanks to the popularity of Born Free, sharing the proceeds with various conservation projects. These conservation efforts have been carried on by Cheli & Peacock’s ‘C&P Portfolio,’ a collection of 14 prestigious eco-tourism lodges that include Elsa’s Kopje and Joy’s Camp.

Elsa’s Kopje, named after Elsa the lioness and an Andrew Harper 2012 Grand Award Winner, is renowned for being one of the most elegant lodges in Africa. Elsa’s Kopje is almost invisible to the eye as you approach its home on Mughwango Hill. It blends into the rocky crags of the “kopje” (small hill), built above the site of George Adamson’s original campsite. Every cottage is the ultimate ‘room-with-a-view’ and is uniquely designed and crafted, incorporating the natural features of the rocky hillside. Rates range from $410 - $650 per person sharing per night, depending on the season. This includes game drives, line fishing, bush meals, sundowners, guided bush walks, local airstrip transfers, a range of drinks and laundry.

Joy’s Camp is built on the site of Joy Adamson and Penny’s tented home in Shaba National Reserve, amidst an elegant oasis in the arid lands of Samburu. The 10 chic canvas bedrooms have breathtaking views of the surrounding hills, overlooking a natural spring. Each tent is uniquely decorated with handmade glass and the vibrant fabrics of the local nomadic tribes, and each tent also has its own private veranda, ideal for game viewing. Rates range from $370 - $590 per person sharing per night, depending on the season. This includes game drives, guided bush walks, bush breakfasts along the Ewaso Nyiro River and gorge, sundowners, trips to Magado Crater, local airstrip transfers, a range of drinks and laundry.

For more information, visit Elsa’s Kopje and Joy’s Camp. You may also email info@chelipeacock.co.ke or call +254 (0)20 6003090/1.