What day of the week is it?

One of the joys of living in Kenya is that I rarely register the day of the week or have much idea of what is going on outside of my “Lewa bubble”. However, one constant each week is that Sunday lunch is always curry. I believe this dates back to some strange colonial tradition and it is one that is continued here at Wilderness Trails.

There seem to be giraffes all over Lewa at the moment. It is a very beautiful sight watching them walk along the ridge of the hill opposite our open sided dining room whilst you are eating breakfast. They are so majestic when they move. I never get bored of seeing giraffes whilst out riding either. You get a true sense of their size when you are on a horse as they tower over you with their long necks.

So far I have been very fortunate in that I haven’t had a single guest fall off their horse. Clearly, this couldn’t last forever. The saving grace was that on this occasion it was only a family member of the owners and not a paying guest. Also, she wasn’t injured as children bounce very well! That said, I was quite relieved to find she was okay as there isn’t much you can do when a pony canters off apart from stop your own horse and watch the horror unfold. I won’t be trusting Oyster (the naughty little pony) again with children who can’t ride…

No more foals this year. Both mares that were supposedly in foal tested negative when the vet came last week. In some ways, I am relieved as the foaling is quite stressful but it is also very exciting and rewarding so I am a little disappointed that I won’t have any more foals to watch grow up.

The horses are still hard work but I have managed to get out and about a couple of times. One evening for sundowners (drinks at sunset on the hill enjoying the Lewa views), although we were a little late reaching our chosen point due to a puncture. We did see a couple of lions en route though which was a treat as big cats are often hard to find. Fortunately, they weren’t around when we were changing the tyre! Also went on a game drive one evening. Lewa is vast (over 60,000 acres) so there is still so much of it to explore. I often think that I will never learn my way around entirely. There are not exactly a huge number of signs to follow and the “roads” are just dirt tracks.

Signing off now as the polo ponies are due back from their ten days away at tournaments. It is cold where they have been so I think they will be happy to be home to the warmth of Lewa and to get off the lorry and stretch their legs after an eight hour journey. I’m just hoping they don’t look too dreadful after the rigours of polo and travelling…