Il' Ngwesi (pronounced ill-en-gwaezi) is a small camp (six rooms) about an hour outside of Lewa, run by the Maasai. Our visit here was absolutely incredible. Pictures cannot do this destination justice. Our rooms, which sat on a hillside, overlooked the valley below. Our room in particular had an added attraction- a view of a watering hole. The rooms are crescent shaped and open to the outdoors. Pictured here, you can see our "living room" chairs positioned directly in front of our bed. From these chairs, one could walk about 10 feet out onto an open veranda (no doors) and look down at a 20 or more foot drop.

In the mornings, I sat drinking my coffee as waterbuck congregated below and a Van der Decken's Hornbill rested on a tree limb just to my right. In the afternoon, I sat writing in my journal and watched as this elephant wandered by. Our bed was draped with mosquito nets and here you see a picture of our very private and yet exotic looking outdoor shower. From here, you could continue to watch the wildlife visiting and disappearing from the waterhole as you got ready for your day. If your heart desires, you can even have your bed moved out onto the veranda to sleep under the stars!

Find out more about Il' Ngwesi and all of the wildlife watching you can do without even leaving your room!
--Jolene zooguru@cox.net