In the year that I have been associated with The Original Ker & Downey Safaris, I have been lucky enough to take guests half a dozen times to the very special Kitirua Conservancy – in the shadow of Mt. Kilimanjaro, on the edge of Amboseli National Park.
The local Maasai landowners, custodians of the Olgulului Group Ranch, have partnered up with ‘K&D’ as lessees of the conservancy, ensuring it can earn revenue to support it as a safe haven for wildlife. Kitirua straddles the southern end of the dramatic, bone-dry Lake Amboseli and abuts the Tanzanian border, which features large stands of Tortillis trees. Surrounding the lakebed are natural springs that well up from a huge aquifer that is fed from rain and snowmelt from Kilimanjaro. This combination of vegetation and year-round water makes it a vital area for dozens of elephant herds, thousands of herbivores and therefore a number of predators that hunt them.
The partnership allows K&D exclusive rights to set up mobile safari camps in the conservancy, giving guests unique access to this special part of the Amboseli ecosystem. Arguably, however, it’s the relationship with the community and their willingness to engage with guests, that is the true highlight of a stay here.
The local Morani (warriors) are always up for some friendly competition and a regular occurrence is a miniature ‘Maasai Olympics’ where events like spear-throwing, sprints and traditional high-jumping are all practiced. Our guests always get stuck in and take up the challenge, genuinely meet some of the locals and come away with a unique highlight.
As part of the effort to conserve the area’s lions, organisations like @biglifeafrica, @natgeo and @mwct_kenya have come together to create a biennial sporting event as an alternative coming of age ceremony to traditional lion killing. These real Maasai Olympics bring together communities from across the landscape and are able to raise awareness and build peace on far more than just the lion issue.
