A beautiful comfortable home stay nestled under acacia trees on the banks of the Malewa River, adjoining a magnificent game sanctuary in Kenya's Great Rift Valley only two hours from Nairobi, Kenya’s capital.
The original 'settler' home was a simple one room, iron sheet
house built on wooden stilts and still stands on the lawns of
the Malewa Ranch House. Later a two bedroom stone house was
built during the 1920's. This old colonial farmhouse was part
of the infamous 'Happy Valley Set' so richly talked about in
early colonial dairies.
As
was typical of the colonial era, financial constraints dictated
that many homesteads were initially very simple structures that
were subsequently added onto creating 'ad hoc' designs. These
additions made for interesting, but sometimes impractical homes
with outside bathrooms and kitchens, built with an assortment
of materials.
Situated on the banks of the Malewa River, and now within the boundaries of a magnificent Wildlife Conservancy, the Malewa Ranch House has been renovated to fit in with the comforts of the 20th century with 5 very comfortable bedrooms (Five bedrooms sharing 3 bathrooms) and a very spacious veranda.
In the beautiful gardens that extend to the river, a windmill
works away lifting water from the well, whilst birdsong can
be heard in the treetops until dusk, when the old-fashioned
'Lister' generator cuts in to provide lighting until you retire
to bed. Then the distant nocturnal sounds of the Hyena and Leopard
take over and remind you that you are indeed still in 'Old Africa'.
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