Camp Carnelley's

You stay at Camp Carnelley's on the shore of Lake Naivasha, two hours from Nairobi. The camp has bandas built from containers and caravans, each with private verandas and gardens. Some have en-suite bathrooms; others share facilities. The Bushbaby House sleeps ten with its own kitchen. The restaurant, Lazybones, serves wood-fired pizzas and local dishes by the lake.

From the camp you can take a boat to Crescent Island, where giraffes and zebras walk unfenced. Hell's Gate National Park is two kilometers away for cycling past zebras and cliffs. The Naivasha Raptor Center, a ten-minute walk, rehabilitates injured birds of prey.

The camp uses dead wood from the property for building and fuel, and paints walls with mud from the Rift Valley. Solar panels heat water. Lake Naivasha itself is a Ramsar wetland with over four hundred bird species, including fish eagles and herons.

The Carnelley family opened the camp in 2006, starting with a tent. Now it has bandas by the water and a steady trade from Nairobi for weekends away.