Elsa's Kopje

From the Hideaway Report

February 2011 Hideaway Report

On a recent trip to Kenya, we decided to concentrate on areas immediately north of Mount Kenya, a jagged 17,057-foot peak 90 miles north of Nairobi. From the gateway town of Nanyuki, a high and arid region extends for 250 miles to the border of Ethiopia. Known in colonial times as the Northern Frontier District, it is a land of immense, soul- stirring vistas, virtually untouched by the modern world.

Although wildlife here tends to be more thinly spread than on the green, well-watered plains of the Masai Mara, it is still abundant. Indeed, Meru National Park used to be one of the most popular in Kenya, and in the 1970s, received as many as 50,000 visitors a year. Back then, Meru also enjoyed an international reputation as the place where Joy and George Adamson had released the lioness Elsa, and as a backdrop for the subsequent movie “Born Free.” But in the 1980s and ’90s, upheaval in neighboring Somalia produced a plague of bandits and poachers that wiped out much of the game. In 1970, Meru contained more than 300 rhino; by 1997, there were none. Africa does have its success stories, however, and Meru is one of them. Today, populations of its large mammal species such as elephant and lion have recovered, and about 60 rhino live and breed in a huge protected area.

Our Cessna Caravan landed at the Meru airstrip and taxied toward a solitary dark-green Land Cruiser containing our guide, George Kimaru. The drive to Elsa’s Kopje took close to an hour, as we kept stopping to look at wildlife along the way. Set on an outcrop known as Mughwango Hill, the lodge overlooks the site of George Adamson’s first camp in Meru, which he put up in 1950. It comprises eight cottages, a tri-level suite and spacious two-bedroom Elsa’s Private House, with its own infinity pool. The center of the property is an open-sided dining area and bar covered with a thatched makuti roof. This is stylishly appointed with Oriental rugs, leather chairs, hardwood furniture and tribal art. Elsa’s Kopje is owned by a Kenyan of Italian origin, Stefano Cheli. Looking around, we reflected (not for the first time) that the Italians seem to have an effortless flair for interior design. They also have an innate talent for cooking, and this gift was fully on display at lunch in a succession of sophisticated pastas and salads. The cuisine at Elsa’s Kopje proved one of the consistent pleasures of our stay and would have done credit to a good city trattoria. Having eaten, we strolled across a brilliant green patch of lawn — assiduously watered each morning — and relaxed beneath a sun umbrella beside the pretty horizon pool.

Although it opened more than a decade ago, Elsa’s Kopje has been well-maintained and shows no sign of wear and tear. The thatched, stone-walled guest cottages were designed to incorporate the landscape, and ours was arranged around a series of massive boulders. The bedroom contained a four-poster bed swathed in mosquito netting, and extended onto a wooden deck with an exhilarating 30-mile view. Up a short flight of stairs, the spacious bath provided an extremely effective rainfall shower and an outdoor tub. The cottages are not remotely comparable to the opulent suites at lavish South African lodges such as Singita and Royal Malewane, but they offer refined simplicity and a level of comfort that would be acceptable to all but the most demanding. That said, on a future visit, we would definitely opt to pay the extra money and stay in Elsa’s Private House, which contains a wonderfully spacious and elegantly appointed living/dining area, two large bedrooms, a huge bath with a soaking tub overlooking the plains, and a private infinity pool with the same unforgettable view. Although suitable for one or two couples, the house would be perfect for parents on safari with their children.

Although the animals have returned to Meru, so far, the visitors have not. During two days of game drives through the national park, we did not see anyone besides uniformed rangers. This absence is quite puzzling, as the landscape is wild and majestic; poaching has been virtually eliminated; and the wildlife-viewing is consistently excellent. On our first morning, we encountered a lioness with three cubs, which the mother was doing her best to defend from an aggressive young male who seemed bent on infanticide. (Lions frequently kill the cubs of other males with the intention of fathering offspring of their own.) And in the afternoon, we stayed with a white rhino and her tiny calf until the light began to fade and George proposed a sundowner on a nearby rocky ridge with a routinely spellbinding view of the foothills of Mount Kenya.

Amenities