Exploring Sera Conservancy with ‘the Kenyan Camper’

A Samburu herder watering his camels at Kisima Hamsini, Sera. PHOTO | JAN FOX

What you need to know:

  • Sera has just announced a partnership with Saruni Lodges to now offer this unique tourism experience and support the community’s development and conservation efforts.
  • His blog arose as a means to inspire other locals to do the same and take advantage of Kenya’s landscapes.
  • There are some incredible boutique lodges and camps hidden in this landscape, such as Tassia, Sarara, Saruni, Il Ngwesi, Sasaab and Kitich. But while some occasionally do offer specials to the resident market, they are out of reach of most average Kenyan families. Their model is a deliberate “high end, low impact” one.

You may have comes across his blog or his Instagram page. If so, no doubt you’ll have swooned over his landscape photography and road-trip adventures. You may also have noticed, though, that there’s scant information about the man himself. “The Kenyan Camper”, deliberately remains enigmatic.

I had the opportunity to join one of his adventures when we were both invited to check out Sera Wildlife Conservancy. Tarn Breedveld, the Northern Rangeland Trust (NRT) Tourism Development Director had noticed that we both have the habit of writing about our explorations.

We convoyed up past the sacred Samburu mountain, “Ololokwe” and turned off the A2 at Serolipi. With good ground clearance and four-wheel drive, it’s an easy seven hours to get to the Sera headquarters from Nairobi.

As of May 2015, for the first time in decades, Sera is the first community land in northern Kenya to have a viable breeding population of rhinos. They were relocated from Lewa, Nairobi and Nakuru to a dedicated fenced sanctuary in the heart of the conservancy. The Black rhinos are monitored daily using radio telemetry implants in their horns.

SAVING RHINOS

Our group joined the monitors on two walks, approaching six different rhinos, sometimes to within 10 metres. We used the wind, sunlight and carefully placed footsteps to get close and on all but two approaches – the rhinos had no idea we were ever there.

Sera has just announced a partnership with Saruni Lodges to now offer this unique tourism experience and support the community’s development and conservation efforts. Opening in early 2017, “Saruni Rhino” will comprise of two bandas as well as small tented camp from which guests can arrange to join the rhino monitors to track and approach the rhinos.

There should still be opportunities to camp in Sera though. We camped in a different spot each night, including a final night near the “fifty wells” (Kisima Hamsini). This is a spring where thousands of Sandgrouse come to drink and generations of Samburu have maintained hand-dug wells to water their herds. We spent our evenings chatting around the campfire and stargazing.

That gave me the chance to get to know my fellow writer: The Kenyan Camper. As a youngster he was always keen to explore, hitch-hiking deep into Kajiado to climb every hill possible. His blog arose as a means to inspire other locals to do the same and take advantage of Kenya’s landscapes. He decries the regular lack of in-country marketing of most tourism offerings to Kenyans.

He sees the local market as a hugely untapped resource as many people just don’t know what’s on offer. Although we all know about the national parks, there often seems to be a lack of interest to visit for longer than just a day trip. The benefits of exposure to wilderness, be it educational, psychological or physical health are not exploited, even though there are plenty of affordable ways of doing so. That’s why The Kenyan Camper deliberately keeps his identity hidden – he wants his readers to picture themselves doing it rather than just reading about a specific person’s experiences.

He has featured a number of NRT-facilitated community conservancies in his articles recently. Beyond Samburu and Buffalo Springs the “North” is largely neglected by local tourism. This landscape is huge and from a tourism standpoint, under-utilised. You can read his great articles on www.thekenyancamper.com and see more photography on his Instagram page: @thekenyancamper.

HIGH-END CLIENTELE

The formation and management of the conservancies ultimately aims to facilitate rangeland regeneration, sustainable community development and in turn an opportunity for wildlife to thrive. For the moment at least, tourism options here can’t rely on competing with the traditional game viewing destinations. However, from a cultural, adventure and wilderness perspective, we’re all missing a trick.

Yes, there are some incredible boutique lodges and camps hidden in this landscape, such as Tassia, Sarara, Saruni, Il Ngwesi, Sasaab and Kitich. But while some occasionally do offer specials to the resident market, they are out of reach of most average Kenyan families. Their model is a deliberate “high end, low impact” one.

Many conservancies already have established campsites and arrangements with intrepid tour operators. However, finding out about them and their access has been a challenge. The NRT recently launched a dedicated tourism arm known as AdventureWORKS. They have a hotline (+254 (0) 701 295 357) and e-mail ([email protected]).

AdventureWORKS intends to develop a variety of attractions across NRT conservancies, such as rock-climbing, quad-biking, hiking, cultural exposure, wildlife viewing or camping. Most camping options are set at a fixed fee of Sh2,000 per night, for non-residents too.

This comes with firewood and includes your conservation fees. A ranger can be booked for Sh1,000 per night to help you find your designated site and can help guide you around the landscape.

Do yourself a favour, check out the Kenyan Camper for some inspiration and contact the AdventureWORKS to find out about specific logistics, attractions and the Sera rhino experience.