Is wild Africa ready for even wilder Wilbur?
Can a lively tot cope with a trip to Kenya? For Kate Silverton, there’s only one way to find out...
When the baby elephant came trotting towards us, little ears flapping in the breeze, leathery skin caked in brick- red dust, and with a trunk lolling like a jellied periscope, it was difficult to say who was more excited – me or my two young children.
The calf had only arrived at the David Sheldrick Orphanage in Nairobi the day before, having been rescued from a well she’d had the misfortune to fall into.
She seemed confident enough despite her ordeal and allowed us to touch her – her skin was surprisingly hard and punctuated by wiry black hairs.
The calf looked comical but she was not to be underestimated. She reached up with her trunk to sniff me then drew my hand towards her mouth to familiarise herself. ‘If she was any older, she could have your fingers off, so be careful,’ the keeper warned. Wilbur, my 20-monthold son, seemed unperturbed, perhaps recognising the traits of another naughty toddler when he saw one, and wandered straight towards a mini herd of orphans.
My daughter Clemency, four, was more reticent and I rescued Wilbur before he got on the wrong side of an elephant at play. It was an astonishing start to our trip. I had not thought we would ever get to introduce our children to elephants in this way. Although my husband and I have visited Africa many times, we never dreamed we would return with our children.
Prior to our arrival, we were concerned on a number of levels, including the risk of contracting malaria, the heat and security. But an invitation to a friend’s wedding encouraged us to reconsider. Having established that the risks could be mitigated or were extremely low, we found ourselves touching down once again in Nairobi.
As we settled into our five days in the Kenyan capital, I pondered the fact that many families are happy to undertake a seven-hour trip to Dubai for a holiday, but do not consider Kenya, despite the flight times being similar. I for one think they are missing out.
We based ourselves at Hemingways, an opulent colonial-style hotel that sits like a pristine pearl in an oasis of manicured lawns in the suburb of Karen. There are magnificent views of the Ngong hills, where scenes for the film Out Of Africa were shot. Thanks to our wonderful surroundings and the exceptional service, we seriously considered never coming home.
And so, slowly, we settled into this new normal of long afternoons spent by the pool where we taught our daughter to swim, prefaced by visits to the local sights, such as the elephant orphanage. There we met keepers whose dedication to their charges extends to sleeping alongside them and feeding them through the night. So much is being made of conservation efforts in Kenya – everyone is keenly aware of how crucial it is to preserve a natural heritage that is not only a Kenyan birthright but also a source of revenue. Wilbur and Clemency stood alongside local schoolchildren intently observing the elephants as they gleefully bathed in mud – and listening to the keepers who explained how they too could become involved in elephant conservation. We also visited Nairobi’s Giraffe Centre, which began as a rehabilitation project for the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe. On our third morning, Clemency and I woke up at 5am to travel to Nairobi’s national park. We saw lions, giraffes, buffalo, rhinoceroses, vultures, hippos, zebras and crocodiles swimming, something I had not seen before as they usually rest on the riverbanks, inert but ever alert.
Thanks to the location of our hotel, we were able to avoid the worse of Nairobi’s notorious rush hour traffic and were able to zip around from one tourist attraction to another.
After five days we moved to the Lewa. We were heading for a friend’s wedding, so our invitation to stay at Lewa House ensured this trip became the holiday of a lifetime.
Over the course of our stay, we enjoyed game drives, where we watched lions hunt and ultimately kill and eat a zebra – something that fascinated Clemency as she sat spellbound by this circle of life playing out around her. After 10 days we finally arrived home, unscathed.In the future, my children may have to rely on photographs to recall their time spent with elephants but I hope we may return when they are older.