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It is the first time that our Elewana Walking Guides have travelled outside of East Africa, to a very unfamiliar country. They were collected by one of the team members from Royal Malewane and transferred to Thornybush Private Game Reserve, 450kms north east of Limpopo province, where the training would take place. Leading the training was Juan Pinto, who is the former Head Ranger at Royal Malewane but now a director at Royal Malewane, which allows him to concentrate on the broader wildlife experience as well as critical conservation efforts. He is one of the most qualified guides in the business. Juan has a unique set of formal guiding qualifications, including FGASA Level III Professional Guide with SKS-Dangerous Game and was the first active guide to be awarded the honorary title of Scout by FGASA, in recognition of achieving the highest qualifications as a guide and as a tracker. Juan has a passion for the African bush and is dedicated to ensuring that all the rangers and trackers strive to be the best guiding team in Africa, echoing our own ethos.

Ryan Jack who is the Head Ranger at Royal Malewane assisted Juan in training our Guides. He was born in Zimbabwe and started working in the guiding industry in 1999. He completed a Diploma in Game Ranch Management before he started guiding. Ryan also has a passion for photography and holds a Diploma in Photography together with a FGASA Level III Professional Guide with SKS-Dangerous Game and SKS Birding. He is also a Level III Tracker.

It is of utmost importance to us that only the best train our Guides, starting with our Head of Guide Training Craig McFarlane, who has selected only those that have the highest FGASA qualifications and advanced rifle handling to conduct advanced training with our walking Guides. This is essential to our ultimate goal that Guests have an exceptional and safe experience with our Guides.

Some of the activities that the Elewana Walking guides participated in and what they took away with them included aspects such as when tracking and identifying signs, in many parts of Africa the ancient survival skills of tracking wild animals has disappeared at alarming rate, alarming because without these skills, humanity's connection to the earth is significantly reduced. The age old skill of animals tracking taught us to live in harmony with an appreciation and respect for the natural world. With urbanization and technology, much of this profound ecological intelligence is being lost at a time when it is most important to our long term survival.

Each of the Walking Guides learnt more than expected, had new experiences never to be forgotten and come away with so much more then when they left their home country. The Elewana Walking Guides all came back with an advanced knowledge of Tracks and sign identification, further understanding of dangerous animal encounters and developing their shooting skills to the highest level.

In the coming months, Rudi and Nik who are leading Guides from Royal Malewane will travel to East Africa to continue the training with our Walking Guides. We will update you on their progress once complete and share with you some of the experiences they took away.

We would like to thank the entire guiding team at Royal Malewane, especially Juan, Ryan, Rudi and Nik for their passion and commitment to raising the standard of guiding across the continent and training our Elewana Guides to the highest standards.

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Hyrax, also called rock rabbit or dassie, are small, furry mammals that look like a robust, oversized guinea pig. Hyraxes have stumpy toes with hoof-like nails. Guest will see these harmless animals around the camp, either scurrying up the rocks or sunbathing on the decks.

Situated next to the famous Grumeti River, which is home to resident hippos that bark and wallow their days away, Elewana Serengeti Migration Camp has become synonymous with low-impact high-action game viewing in a landscape that is untouched since the dawn of time.

One of the best ways to explore this area is on foot, where you will be accompanied by a professional walking Safari Guide whose knowledge of local flora, fauna, culture and history is unmatched. Elewana Collection is delighted to announce it has a number of new trails to explore for those who enjoy the outdoors and adventure*.

Elewana Collection has invested heavily in our guide training. We train our current guides on a regular basis to ensure they are at the top of their field, in our continued efforts to make sure guests have a superior experience when they stay at an Elewana property. As part of our continued training, we recently sent a number of our walking guides to South Africa for six weeks to learn from leading professionals in the Industry at Royal Malewane.

We have also applied for permission to create new vehicle trails in order to explore the areas surrounding the camp, offering guests at the camp a variety of routes when venturing out on their early morning and afternoon game viewing drives. We have already created a new route down from camp that brings guests down to the Mara River close to Kogatende – giving our guests incredible sightings of the river crossings that usually occur during the months of June and July. The vicinity around the camp itself hosts the herds as they migrate through this area from August through to November.

Serengeti is a vast wilderness that has plenty to offer throughout the year once the herds have departed. With a diversity of resident game, from the big cats to the gentle giants that roam this beautiful landscape, there is much to see and do in and around Elewana Serengeti Migration Camp

Whether it is walking safaris with experienced and highly knowledgeable guides or the sensation of being as close to nature’s daily fight for survival, the sensory feast that accompanies any visit to Elewana Serengeti Migration Camp will no doubt rival anything experienced before.

*Note: Age restrictions apply to children under 16 yrs) All bush walks are subject to the discretion of the lead guide due to the nature of the activity.

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The project is a community-led conservation and research effort that uses both social and ecological methods to help sustainably preserve the reticulated giraffe species in the wild. At Loisaba, Symon Masaine is the Head Researcher, he is currently studying at the University of Michigan under the MasterCard Scholarship. Whilst he is away Lexson Larpei, the Assistant Researcher is managing the project.

In June 2017 seven reticulated giraffe were fitted with GPS satellite tracker units on Loisaba Conservancy. These units made by Savannah Tracking are solar powered and are attached to giraffe’s ossicones. The data collected from these units will allow greater insights into giraffe movements in the region, especially wet season-dry season movements, and utilization of different areas/habitats, space requirements. It also has the potential for the movement data to inform decisions around future infrastructure and settlement decisions. A further 25 GPS units will be fitted with the Kenya Wildlife Service in September 2018 across Loisaba Conservancy, Mpala Research Centre, Buliqo Bulesa Conservancy, Melako Conservancy and Leparua Conservancy. These units will provide insights into numerous localized questions, e.g. the dynamics of giraffe between Leparua and Lewa/Borana, where do the giraffe on Biliqo and Melako go?

In conjunction to the GPS data, camera traps are deployed across the conservancy to help track and identify giraffe. A total of 135 cameras traps have been deployed creating over one million images – all these images need analyzing! Here is how you can help:

The final essential element to this project is gauging human perceptions and attitudes towards giraffes and poaching. Consequently, over 400 interviews have been conducted in our neighboruing communities, namely Kirimon, Ol Donyiro, Koija, P&D, KMC and Ilmotiok producing startling results. It is estimated that giraffe part and product use is at 30% within these communities and knowledge on giraffe species, ranges, and population was found to be very low. Through education and outreach within these communities, the project aims to reduce that number while also raising awareness of the overall decline and building community pride in the uniqueness of northern Kenya’s giraffe species.

Elewana are proud to partner with TNC and Loisaba Conservancy where this valuable conservation research is happening. All revenue generated from Tourism activities on Loisaba is carefully reinvested into the conservancy and the surrounding communities. We are extremely grateful for the amazing work that SDZG and The Giraffe Conservation Foundation are doing and look forward to supporting it in the future.

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Chefs could submit a recipe under the following categories; entrée, main course or dessert and each recipe would be judged on the below criteria:

• Skill
• Flavours and Combinations
• Explanation of the Dish
• Using the Oystenut and other ingredients from the Slow Food Tanzania “Ark of Taste” movement in Moshi.

The Judges selected the top seven recipes and invited the respective Chefs to cook at the Karibu Kili Fair 2018. Each chef would have 2 hours of cooking time and had to prepare 3 identical plates of their dish to present to the judges. Of the seven finalists selected across Tanzania, four were from Elewana;

Chef Benedict Marambaa of The Manor at Ngorongoro - Kweme Vibere & Ugali Cake topped with Coconut Pumpkin Leaves & Crispy Kiti Motto

Chef Juma Charles Wambura of Tarangire Treetops - Kilimanjaro Coffee, Chicken & Kweme Stew with Mshale Banana & Vegetable Pilau

Chef Joseph Emmanuel of Serengeti Pioneer Camp - Kweme & Pumpkin Leave crusted Beef Fillet with Vibere and Sweet Potato Coconut Puree and spiced Bhamia

Chef Jacqueline A. Kimaro of The Manor at Ngorongoro - Ndizi Kisukari & Kweme Trio

Elewana Collection is proud to announce that two of the finalist won within their category;

• Benedict Marambaa
• Jacqueline Adams

Congratulations to all those who entered the Oysternunut Foundation Chef Challenge 2018 and won

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This month toolkits were provided to the community, providing protection for 23 Village Scout teams across 8 villages surrounding the Randilen WMA. The kits consisted of top of the range high powered solar charged LED flashlights, loud air horns, chilli bombs and as a last resort roman candles. The toolkits have proved hugely effective as a deterrent to elephant crop raids, which is why this is the third consecutive year Elewana Collection has provided financial and logistical support to this project. We were delighted to help secure match funding from Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation for the toolkits again this year.

All guests staying at Elewana Tarangire Treetops will be actively supporting the hard work put into the WMA and the Wildlife Warrior programme administered by the Land and Life Foundation – helping maintain and conserve this beautiful and valuable landscape renowned as one of the best dry season elephant refuges in East Africa.

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From this insight the concept of the outdoor classroom project sprung up. Providing a successful shamba (meaning ‘farm’ in swahili) for the school we support in Amboseli and a number of other benefits; teaching the students to grow their own produce as well as supplying the school with much needed food. This project aims to achieve a sustainable solution to a number of problems.

Birgit Reimann and Constantine Panoussi of SKÅL International Monaco donated the funds, which were allocated towards the Shamba project. Land & Life engaged an agricultural contractor Meshack and Joel Farms Ltd to implement the project and put in place the required infrastructure. The shamba took 2 weeks to complete from start to finish and the teachers have now also been trained on the drip irrigation system and crop management planning. We are expecting the first crops to be planted shortly.

The project will serve to educate this predominantly pastoralist community in ways of supporting themselves above and beyond their traditional means. The introduction of simple yet effective crop growing provides a way to improve community drought resilience and self-sustainability. As they are learning, the garden will also provide basic vegetables to the school for consumption. This will improve food security of the school.

When staying at Elewana Tortilis Camp in Amboseli guests are welcome to visit the school and the Shamba project to see how the children are doing and get involved in the community that Elewana is a part of.

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Therefore in addition to the training facilitated by the government, the Land & Life team partnered with the Lewa Digital Literacy Team to provide an extensive and thorough training workshop in their supported schools. Its focus was the training of all teachers and the lower class students (Grade 1-4). The aim of the program was to offer training on the best practices of integrating ICT in their day to day learning.

The program was first launched at Esiteti Primary in Amboseli, which provided the basis of extension of the program to the other supported schools. To date the team has facilitated training of over 70 teachers and 367 students in 5 schools: Ololomei in the Mara, Kachiuru in Isiolo, Mwaroni in Diani, Ura Gate in Meru and Esiteti. The program maximized reach particularly in Meru, where representatives from 7 other local schools neighboring Ura Gate Primary were invited to also take part. These schools included Kiumbe, Mauthini, Riamikuu, Ntoroni, Shin Yhun, Irereni and Kamarenge.

The training has left both the teachers and learners looking forward to their ICT lessons. The Land & Life team will be conducting post evaluations in the schools to help solve any technical challenges that might arise.

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Mwaroni Primary is our latest addition to the Wildlife Warrior Program and is located in a quiet coastal residential area - just 10 minutes’ drive from Elewana AfroChic. The school is a must-visit for any visitor to Diani. Even though the pupils and teachers were observing the holy month of Ramadhan, we were greeted with big, engaging smiles and hugs as you would receive from an old friend.

We were thrilled to have a discussion with the children on the importance of forests. Alert and keen to learn, the children asked lots of questions which were answered by their peers. The most active pupils were awarded with stationery and art supplies. Later on we donated a photocopier, courtesy of Safari Professionals of the Americas, which the school will use to print and duplicate academic and office documents.

One of the highlights of the visit was the seed balling activity. Each of the 184 Wildlife Warrior Club members were presented with a bag containing 225 seedballs. We ‘seedballed’ around the school and they had lots of fun doing it! This simple and fun way to ‘regreen’ Kenya has been taking off across the country, and the Wildlife Warriors are playing an active role in reforesting their local area.

Mwaroni, like many public schools receives minimal support from the government. We noted that the children are in dire need of support particularly to access safe, clean drinking water. The water at the Kenyan coast is quite salty and only suitable for domestic chores. After a lengthy discussion with the Head Teacher it emerged that the school's biggest wish would be to have a rain water harvesting system.

If you would like to get involved, please write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

To view photos and videos, please click here

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The resulting video highlights Shanga’s history, our focus on ability over disability, some members of our family and their achievements. The beautiful presentation demonstrates Evans artistic talents while illustrating the Shanga Story including part of our mission which is to spread kindness to everyone.

Our sincere thanks to him and his team for thinking of us and including us in his series.

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Grand Prize

STALLIONS PLAYING | CAMARGUE, FRANCE

“The power of the animal kingdom.” Photo by Camille Briottet, Lyon, France.

Second Place:

THE END IS NEAR | ICELAND

“This ice could be thousands of years old, and only recently broke off the Vatnajokull Glacier at Jokulsarlon Bay in Iceland, and will soon melt into the sea. Taken July 2017 in Iceland.” Photo by Andre Mercier, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Third Place:

FROG HUG | ARKANSAS

“Down at the mud puddles on our road, we found several young bullfrogs hopping around. Up on our hilltop, wet spots are few and far between, so our mud puddles are home to a constant flow of tadpoles, frogs and toads. My daughter loves all critters, her goal is to create a wildlife rehab center someday. She constantly inspires me with her care towards every living thing.” Photo by Terra Fondriest, Arkansas, USA.

To see all the winners, please click here and enjoy a number of beautiful images from around the world.

Thank you to all those who submitted their favorite nature images during the 2018 Photo Contest and everyone who took the time to vote for the favourite images.

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Our #LandandLifeFoundation recently launched their tree planting project in partnership with @seedballskenya encouraging all our Wildlife Warrior scholars to spread the seedballs in their towns and villages and encourage tree planting amongst their friends, family and their communities. Of course, our Wildlife Warriors are trained in wildlife and environmental conservation. They are the generation of the future and have the potential to make the changes we need for a brighter future.

We regularly participate and organize beach clean ups at Elewana AfroChic Diani and Elewana Kilindi Zanzibar to ensure our beaches and underwater species are protected and kept safe.

We invite you to join us in our environmental and conservation efforts. If everyone makes one small change today to reduce their waste and impact that has on the environment we can make a substantial change and save our beautiful planet, plants, trees, oceans, wildlife and ourselves. 
#worldenvironmentday

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You can watch the video below as well as the Video of the Month for videos from both these properties just last week! We will keep you updated over the coming months on their movements and you can also keep an eye on the Facebook pages linked below to regularly check for updates.

First Sightings

Elewana Serengeti Pioneer Camp

Elewana Serengeti Migration Camp