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28
adventure-packed
days training to
be a safari guide in
Kenya whilst living
and learning about
nature and ecology
from a
wilderness camp in the Lewa
Conservancy.
During your stay you
will take part in a
variety of learning
activities whilst
driving and walking in
some of the most
stunning areas of
Africa. The course is
structured to maximize
the practical experience
of our students in the
bush, emerging the
participant in nature.
Each day allows for
hours spent in the field
interpreting the ecology
and enjoying the
wildlife experience.
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The
Lewa Wildlife
Conservancy is a private
reserve in north-east
Kenya near Mount
Kenya National Park,
Samburu and the Aberdares.
The number of visitors to
Lewa has been greatly
restricted, giving you the
opportunity to experience
Africa at its wildest. Lewa
is malaria-free and is
situated at 4,500 to 6,500
feet (1,400-2,000 metres)
above sea level.
 The
Lewa Downs within the Lewa
Wildlife Conservancy is a
16,000 hectare ranch that
has been the home of the
Craig family since 1924.
They manage the Lewa
Safari Camp and Wilderness
Trails lodge. In addition,
Ngwesi Lodge, as part of
the Lewa Wildlife
Conservancy, is a
community run tourism
project that has won world
acclaim.
Only three other
operators on Lewa Wildlife
Conservancy offer safaris
and only the lodge
visitors may enter the
reserve. So, when you
visit Lewa Conservancy,
you will be far from the
crowded safari trails and
can enjoy the
vastness of this beautiful
region in tranquillity.
In 1995 the Craig family
turned their entire farm
on the northern slopes of
Mt Kenya into the Lewa
Wildlife Conservancy, with
a mandate to protect and
conserve the wildlife of
Kenya. They had to
convince the local
communities to stop seeing
animals as competition for
their cattle's grazing and
instead see them as a
source of income. This was
achieved and many fences
were taken down and old
migration routes were
reopened to the animals.
Lewa Downs is now an area
of outstanding natural
beauty with the Lewa River
giving life to dense
woodland and patches of
open savannah providing
the perfect habitat for a
whole range of Kenya's
animals. Community
development projects have
also proved successful,
and nearby areas have
benefited from the
Conservancy's experience
and support. Il Ngwesi
is a 16,500 acre (6,677ha)
group ranch, which now
includes a lodge, is owned
and run by the Laikipiak
Maasai. 
All profits are returned
to the community who are
now avid supporters of
conservation. Kenya leads
the way in the
transformation of private
farms into wildlife
reserves and the safari
experience in these places
is quite unique.
Catalyst for Conservation
The Lewa Wildlife
Conservancy aims to work
as a catalyst for the
conservation of wildlife
and its habitat through
the protection and
management of species, the
initiation and support of
community conservation and
development programmes,
and the education of
neighbouring communities
in the value of wildlife.
One of Lewa’s fundamental
objectives is to conserve
threatened species within
its area of operation by
providing protected
habitat for these species
under pressure. Lewa is
actively involved in
promoting conservation
both within its boundaries
and in the ecologically
important community-owned
areas to its north. Lewa
has been instrumental in
the creation of community
conservation areas in the
contiguous and northern
regions to the Conservancy
which have helped increase
the amount of land under
conservation management in
northern Kenya to over
3,000 square kilometres
since the mid 1990s.
Lewa’s work is creating a
sustainable ecosystem
approach to conservation
through the protection of
large areas of land,
allowing for the continued
migration of wildlife
throughout their natural
range. The establishment
of community conservation
areas has increased the
protection afforded not
only to wildlife but also
to people and livestock, a
benefit that is paramount
to these nomadic
pastoralist communities in
northern Kenya.
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Safari
Guide Training
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Lewa
Conservancy, Kenya East
Africa
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