Laikipia

It rained a fair amount the week before last when I spent the week at a hotel the other side of Lake Naivasha (a two-hour drive away) for a conference. Having a golf course nearby provided a suitable place for running anyway and keeping up the training in preparation for doing a full off-road marathon at the end of June. Earlier this month, during a three-day holiday weekend I did slightly more than a half marathon off road in Laikipia, the same area where the full marathon will be. A very tough route included a couple of miles of full-on mud and a lot of hills, and beautiful views of the snowy peaks of Mount Kenya during the whole run.  It was organized by a campsite, so less than a hundred runners took part, but it was well organized and enjoyable. I saw a few locals who lived alongside the route but I wouldn't say they were there to watch: they were just out working in the fields or outside their huts.

During that weekend, with a few other families, we rented a large house nearby that was beautifully furnished and with spectacular views as well as an amazing swimming pool. The kids all ran around a lot and parents relaxed before and after the run. Kenya is full of amazing houses, lodges and other places built in rural areas in a completely different side to the country compared to the urban chaos (although there are still many amazing houses in the suburbs of the main cities, which were in the countryside when they were built)!

I actually went up to the area where the marathon will be for a few days to visit some of the community projects there that we support through our sponsorship of the race. The Lewa conservancy is incredibly well run and does tremendous amounts of work in the communities so the communities not only support the and benefit from conservancy (rather than resent the land that is set aside for wildlife), but also so they themselves are willing to prevent, deter and even monitor potential poachers. 

The conservancy has a great security set-up (including a system to monitor where many of the animals are, which are wearing collars, along with the rangers and that can also track and respond to any incidents reported in/by local communities) but it is clear that is success is mostly based on successful community engagement. From supporting water irrigation projects to clinics, schools and fencing to keep wildlife away from villagers' land, they end up letting the local government off the hook for its responsibilities. In fact it seemed to me that Lewa has almost become a police force for a major part of the region, with its security forces monitoring and responding to incidents every day, most not being related to wildlife (there is police liaison officer stationed with them).

The whole region in that area is full of conservancies, which are privately owned and managed parks to protect wildlife. It is actually incredible to see how much of Kenya is either national parks or conservancies, which is certainly positive in terms of wildlife protection. Some areas are just privately owned farms (often but not always run by White Kenyans) though, and those are areas that have been scenes of conflict during areas of drought where locals would be desperate to look for more land to graze their animals (though, as with most things in Kenya, apparently local politics also had much to do with the conflict as local politicians sought opportunities to benefit).

In Lewa I was able to stay at and visit some of the very nice high-end tourism lodges there which are all stunningly designed with incredible service. I can see why some people pay so much to stay there, though as a Kenyan residents the rates are much more affordable and good value for money. Of course much of the income goes towards conservation. 

This part of Kenya is not particularly accessible so there are a lot of small, often grass, airstrips and a few airlines that run services, almost like a bus. The planes often sit between 10-20 people and every day the route will change based on who has bought tickets. On our way out we stopped first at the Mount Kenya Safari Club airstrip to drop some passengers off. On our way back out we first went further North to pick up some passengers from another lodge in Samburu (really in the middle of nowhere, I didn't see any tarmac roads anywhere as we landed) before turning around to head back to Nairobi. 

From the plane it is clear how empty so much of Kenya is, how barren it is, and also how little transport there is. The views from these low-flying aircraft are fantastic and really interesting. After half an hour we reached the more fertile and populated areas, and then we came into Nairobi. Seeing the changes (as well as Mount Kenya in the distance dominating the skyline) makes it a very enjoyable trip.

We'll be back again in two weeks for the race!