DINNER was cooked over an open fire and served on linen.
The port circulated round the table and the faint light of our hurricane lamps faded into the canopy of stars. Our mood was too mellow to contemplate getting into the car for a night-time game drive. It was an option but as we were on a private safari and could do what we liked, we chose instead to relive the excitement of our day.
Moment number one: getting near elephant and impala, a resting family of cheetah with cubs. But the finale had been a pride of lion killing a wildebeest, a nail-biting chase and a thrilling, shocking denouement.
As a lion roared in the distance we came up with a plan for the next day. We decided to go for a walk. And later, as I lay in between the crisp sheets and blankets of a metal-framed bed in the comfort of a walk-in tent, my body relaxed with the fresh air exhaustion of a day in the bush.
You don’t have to rough it in Africa. The twin-bedded tent was big enough to walk around in and en-suite facilities – a bucket shower that filled with water and a long-drop toilet, dug fresh each day – meant there was no need to leave the tent at night.
Just as well, as I wasn’t alone. I listened to a nearby grazing animal and drifted off to sleep. I wasn’t the first up in the morning. It was still dark when a gentle cough at my tent-flap told me hot tea and shaving water were ready to help me start the day.
The lightening sky spilt tans and greys across the ghostly tortured thorns of Acacia trees, birds fluttered clear and a family of warthog snuffled about in the distance as sounds began to filter from our cluster of tents.
As the blue sky spilt light onto the tableau, I saw a herd of impala in the distance, daintily snacking from the tender shoots of morning. The sharp air was scented with the dusty scent of the bush that rolled to the horizon on every side.
Walking pace is the best way to experience the African bush. My first safari experience had been on a package safari, and although I had seen plenty of wildlife I’d rarely been alone. More often we had been one vehicle of many.
This time I had opted for a private safari with a small group of friends to head right away from the crowds, into the unspoilt heart of the bush where accommodation was in tents and the wildlife still wild.
Some days the tent was packed up and taken to a new site, always beautiful, and most importantly, even in the most visited National Parks, always deserted. On other days we just stayed put, relaxing round the central dining table with a bird book, just watching life go by.
On this morning our small group assembled by the rekindled embers of the campfire and left the camp in a quiet group, walking in line between Ernest our tracker and Paul our guide. They had the guns so we weren’t tempted to stray.
In the isolated setting, the challenge of spotting game became all the more exhilarating. In a game park larger than some European countries, we trekked through vast swathes of countryside that have rarely, if ever, heard the foreign thud of a vehicle or the whispered cautions of safari guides.
Wildlife is still wary in this part of the country. In the most visited parks, creatures are so used to convoys of tourist vehicles and the constant whine of cameras and tourists, but here in the remote east of Kenya, the animals were still wild, cautious of humans and quick to take to their heels or attack.
We were back in a primeval world where the hunter’s instincts prevail: approach from downwind, stay low and quiet. We tracked the spoor of rhino and tiptoed near. Very near. Primevel ears funnelled in our direction and our guide gestured caution: tensely we approached within 50 yards.
Someone cracked a twig underfoot, and at the sound the rhino’s head flicked straight towards us, straining small beady eyes, staring us down over a horn seeming suddenly much larger, much sharper than before. A mighty leg flexed, rolls of ancient skin folding on his thigh. Terrified, we froze. I remembered the advice I’d been given as a child: wait until the last minute, then jump aside.
How would I know the last minute wasn’t my last minute? Then, by degrees the rhino relaxed, tension jerking in stages from his powerful limbs, then he looped his lower lip round a thorny branch and pulled a twig free.
Another magical moment in Africa, and we edged away.
kenya
Visa: not required for British passport holders for trips of up to 30 days.
Time difference: 3hrs ahead, except during British Summer Time, when Kenya is only 2hrs ahead.
Currency: Kenyan Shilling. About KSh122 to the £1.
Getting there:British Airways flies daily from Gatwick to Nairobi. Flying time is around 8hrs30mins. Kenya Airways has a daily flight to Nairobi. Four flights a week are direct, three operate via Amsterdam. From December 3, the company will run an extra flight a week via Amsterdam. Flying time is 8hrs direct, and 10hrs via Amsterdam.
Sample operators: British Airways Holidays; Abercrombie and Kent; Thomson; Somak; Hayes and Jarvis; Kuoni; Carrier; Elite Vacations; Airwaves; First Choice; APT; Okavango Tours and Safaris; Union-Castle Travel; Tradewinds; Southern Africa Travel; The Imaginative Traveller; Sunset Faraway Holidays; Cosmos.
Best time to go: January and February are the peak tourist months, when the weather is hot and dry. The country has two rainy seasons – the long rains from March-April and the short rains from October-December. However, during these rains there is invariably sunshine each day.
Further information: Kenya National Tourist Office tel: 020-7355 3144.
Private safaris
Abercrombie and Kent: from £350 per person per night, based on a group of six. Price includes all meals and drinks (except spirits), laundry, game walks, park fees and services of a guide. Flights from the UK are not included.
Okavango Tours and Safaris: from £272-£330 per person per night, based on a group of six. Included in the price are all meals, guides, park fees and transport in a four-wheel drive vehicle. Flights from the UK are not included.
Safari Consultants: from £350 per person per night based on a group of six. The price includes the services of a tracker, guide, park fees, activities, all meals and drinks. It does not include flights from the UK.
Carrier: from £276 per person per night, based on a group of six sharing. Price includes services of a private ranger and vehicle, as well as accommodation, all meals and game drives. Flights from the UK are not included.