Kenya’s rich splash cash on unique holiday treats
Hot air balloon flying over a group of lions in Kenya. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Rather than mingle with the ordinary folks in crowded tourist attraction sites, the rich prefer to visit exclusive and pristine conservancies where they enjoy perks such as escorted bush walks by Maasai warriors.
- Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, south of Isiolo Town, is also a top pick. To get an idea of just how exclusive it is, Britain’s Prince William proposed to his wife, Kate Middleton at Lewa.
- Private retreats such as the high-end exclusive resorts and villas in Watamu at the Coast are popular with the well-heeled.
There is a world of difference between how Kenya’s rich spend their holidays and the amount of money they fork out, which some us only read about in magazines.
For instance, hot-air balloon safaris across game reserves make it possible to see animals in places where vehicles are prohibited, or are unable to pass through.
These rides offer aerial views of magnificent sceneries that a passenger in a car cannot enjoy.
The Maasai Mara Game Reserve offers balloon safaris. A flight usually lasts about an hour. Game Watchers Safari’s, a company that offers this service, charges approximately Sh40,700 per person, per ride.
Rather than mingle with the ordinary folks in crowded tourist attraction sites, the rich prefer to visit exclusive and pristine conservancies where they enjoy perks such as escorted bush walks by Maasai warriors.
Porini Safari Camps, an exclusive site in the Mara and Amboseli conservancies, offers night game drives when the wild animals are hunting. A night in one of these spots costs about Sh34,000 per person.
The rich tend to prefer holidays in boutique lodges and small luxury camps, which offer the privacy you would not find even in five-star tourist hotels.
They arrive and depart by air to avoid the inconvenience of traffic and the rough, bumpy roads.
How would you fancy a chopper ride from Nairobi to Malindi, just for Christmas lunch? A trip to Java on December 25 in the afternoon would be too ordinary for the moneyed, so why not fly off to a different part of the country for lunch?
Some charter planes just to have an aerial view of lakes and animal parks. Depending on the distance, a drop off can cost approximately Sh200,000.
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, south of Isiolo Town, is also a top pick. To get an idea of just how exclusive it is, Britain’s Prince William proposed to his wife, Kate Middleton at Lewa.
Accommodation ranges between 20,000 - 30,000 per person, per night.
Private retreats such as the high-end exclusive resorts and villas in Watamu at the Coast are popular with the well-heeled. Italian billionaire, Flavio Briatore, owns one of these. Another place that fits the bill is Sir Richard Branson’s Mahali Mzuri Kenyan Safari camp located in the Motorogi Conservancy in the Maasai Mara.
