Sailing to the island and beyond

By Rupi Mangat  

Above: Sailing on Angel’s Ark on Lake Naivasha to Crescent Island. Credit Bonnie Dunbar

The house is legendary as is the lake on whose shores it rests. Kilimandege – the hill of the birds has seen many novel visitors, chief amongst them Sally the hippo who wandered through the doors to sit in the lounge. The white-washed house was home to the famous couple Alan and Joan Root who shot some of the first epic movies on wildlife like the unforgettable Mysterious Castles of Clay and Mzima, Portrait of a Spring.

They spent months studying their ‘actors’ before shooting. Think – Alan wading into Mzima Springs with his camera where crocodiles and hippos reside – to show the world what this crystal clear pool was about. And Joan for the amazing shot of the spitting cobra leashing a spray of its venom at her eyes something that the world saw for the first time. Of course, Joan was shielded by her glasses. Sally had adopted the Roots as her family.

Just like she wandered through the garden, so do I.

A few feet away, I’m fascinated by the raptors that call Kilimandege home, at the Naivasha Raptor Centre. These raptors, so powerful in the skies are victims of our modern making – injured by the powerlines, road accidents, wind farms and even poison.  The Lappet-faced vulture and the White backed vulture neighbour the owls who neighbour the Black Sparrowhawks and so on – each one given a second chance to life by the incredible team at Kenya Bird of Prey Trust founded by the raptor gurus Simon Thomsett and Shiv Kapila.

Standing on the edge of the garden in the quiet of the eventide, the signature shrill of the African fish eagles fill the air as they come to roost for the night. The lake is choppy grey, the wind strong and Eburru silhouetted across it. Silent figures appear, still as statues observing the stranger in their midst. As my eyes adjust to the fading light, it’s a tiny pair of dik dik watching and waiting till the antelope feels comfortable enough to continue nibbling on the grass. By the lake, a herd of waterbuck stroll by and again watch the stranger. Stripes wander past and when the hippos come out for the night, it’s time to go inside – I’m no Joan Root.

Kilimandege is now the new home of Angel’s Ark, the plush pontoon complete with leather seats, in-built music system and even glass holders for the wine served chilled on board.

Sailing smooth over the fresh water lake, Peter Loiweti from Baringo is back at her helm where he sailed her for many years. It’s a beautiful morning with the blue sky cast above. The lake, known as a birder’s paradise, has the African fish eagles circling above, renting the air with their calls. A chick perched on the flat-top acacia watches them, waiting for it’s time to take to the skies. It looks like these magnificent raptors are now doing well after the population dclines in the 1990s and 2000s due to habitat loss and frequent droughts that lowered the lake levels. The lake is now at a 100 year high, Making hunting, and life, much easier for these birds.

“Their populations have always fluctuated along with lake levels,” tells Kapila. “They’re likely the only raptor species that’s thriving in Kenya at the moment.”

We cruise past the floating isles of the insidious weed, the water hyacinth. Ducks and geese swim around, Whiskered terns and Grey-headed gulls soar swift and a tiny Malachite kingfisher decked in its gem-like feathers perches on a papyrus reed.

The powerful pontoon has us at Crescent Island in no time that the small boats would never manage. Long necks stick out – it’s the Maasai giraffes. As we reach closer, the shorter animals appear – waterbuck, zebra, copper-coloured impala and even the hippos out of water. Tourists stroll on the crescent excited by the wildlife.

And then on the furthest edge of the island (that’s actually a peninsula), is the show stopper – the snow white Great white pelicans resting on the ground. They entice, opening their huge yellow bills and sunning themselves. Lake Naivasha is today one of their last strongholds with the neighbouring Lake Elementeita’s islands vital to their very existence for it is one of the few places left in Africa and the only one in East Africa for these beautiful birds to lay their eggs and raise the next generation.

Stay at Kilimandege House. It’s a beautiful country house with all modern amenities. Can sleep 12 in 4 spacious en-suite bedrooms.

Sail on Angel’s Ark – Leaves from Kilimandege Sanctuary dock, home of the Naivasha Raptor Centre. Call 0746 724544 or 0712119849 or info.karenoffice@gmail.com

Visit Naivasha Raptor Centre at Kilimandege

The house is near all the hotspots in the area like Hell’s Gate National Park, Soysambu Conservancy, Kariandusi Prehistoric Site and more.