In 1991, Disney gave director David Allers a not-so-specific new assignment. “Bambi but in Africa,” Allers recalled. He spent three weeks in Kenya searching for inspiration. He found it in the untamed bush of Northern Laikipia.
Today, this 32,000-acre expanse is known as the Borana Conservancy and borders the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, adding another 62,000 acres and home to over 200 animal species. But one captured Allers’ imagination, when he spied the fuzzy, golden heads of two lion cubs adorably—yet horrifically—lapping up the blood of a fresh kill.
So it was a little on the nose when, on our first morning in the same pride lands, our retrofitted Land Rover Defender sidled up to two male lions. “They look lost,” said our ranger, Richard Karmushu. He guessed they were about 18 months old—teenagers—crossing the hillside at sunrise like two kids ambling home after a night of partying in the woods.
“Either they lost their mothers hunting at night, or they’re worried an older male lion is tracking them,” he said.
As we processed the potential peril of our wayward felines, it was clear why the savanna reminded Allers of a Shakespearean drama (The Lion King was famously based on Hamlet). On a conservancy as remote as Borana, the laws of nature, like power, are binding and boundless. And the goal of Lengishu House, Borana’s newest exclusive-use lodge, is to keep guests in that undisturbed state of awe.
Designed by Minnie McHale, built by Ben Jackson, and project managed by Emma Campbell, Lengishu balances natural elegance with a minimalist flair. The property is small, but sprawling, with stone paths and cantaloupe-colored walls. An infinity pool spills into spectacular scenery overlooking Mount Kenya. It’s hard to appreciate the scale of the land until you spot an eight-foot-tall ostrich—the largest bird on earth—that looks the size of a peppercorn.
Joe and Minnie MacHale are a British couple from Hampshire who dreamed up this place after purchasing a share of the Borana Conservancy. Minnie, with her magnetic smile and willowy frame, said she had been going to Africa since the 1970s. Over the years, she imparted her love of the people and wildlife to her husband, Joe, then to their four children, and now to their grandchildren. “We wanted this to be a family home,” Minnie explained.
A Safari Lodge Designing with Nature
The MacHales also wanted Lengishu to feel like an extension of the landscape. In fact, in one corner of the main house, what looks like a huge geode protrudes from the wall. It’s no decoration, but part of the mountain itself—one of the countless ways Lengishu braids nature into its organic charm.
Each suite hugs the slope of the ridge, allowing all six suites (max. 12 guests) to take in the full panorama. Minnie curated the rooms with eclectic art and furnishings from her travels. Each house is named after a bird you might catch darting through Lengishu’s plentiful succulent gardens (I’m in Sunbird). They all have floor-to-ceiling windows, private decks, stone fireplaces, and deep copper baths that look out onto the golden plains.
It all runs almost entirely off-grid. Tucked behind the ridge and out of sight are 270 solar panels that provide 75kw of electricity. There is also a gray-water recycling facility for the entire property, and a verdant vegetable and herb garden (and soon-to-be chicken coop) from which the chef procures fresh produce year-round.
Mornings feel like waking up inside a Rothko. Fall asleep with the curtains wide open. At 5 am, the room fills like an hourglass with hues of pink and tangerine pushing out the last few stars of the night. The patter and crackle of guinea fowl come from somewhere overhead. When it feels like this tableau couldn’t be any more spectacular, the doorbell buzzes. Piping hot coffee is delivered.
But it wasn’t enough to create a beautiful family home. The MacHales were now property owners in East Africa—one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate change that suffers from acute food insecurity and water scarcity, according to the 2023 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.
“Frankly,” said Joe, “We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.”
Getting to Lengishu felt like going back in time. I made my travel arrangements with the Luxury Safari Company, which coordinated the hour-long flight from Nairobi to the bush. When our little Cessna landed on a dirt-strip runway, the only indication of civilization was when we saw the MacHales waving beside two Indiana Jones-worthy Land Rovers with trays of lemonade.
In a sky-blue polo shirt and salmon trousers, Joe MacHale, the former CEO of JPMorgan EMEA in another lifetime, drove our group back to Lengishu, handling every bump and trivia question with unexpected ease. How can you tell a Grant’s gazelle from an impala? (“The horns.”) Was running a safari lodge always part of the plan? (“Absolutely not.”) And what is that silly, oval-shaped tree that looks like Edward Scissorhands did the trimming?
“A candelabra tree,” said MacHale, “and elephants did that.” As if on cue, we pulled up to a watering hole, installed by the MacHales, occupied by about 15 thirsty mothers and calves flicking their paintbrush tails.
“Elephants,” MacHale whispered, “are ecosystem stabilizers.” They digest less than half of what they consume, depositing nutrients to the earth. Once hydrated, the herd carried on their peaceful march, surreal as whales swimming through the air. Every year, about 300 elephants migrate across Northern Kenya, nourishing the land as they pass through looking for food and water brought by the rains. The problem is, it doesn’t rain much anymore.
The Impact of Climate Change on Kenya
For six years, Kenya has endured a drought of unprecedented intensity, according to the IFRC, a global disaster relief network. Water scarcity and food shortages have killed thousands of animals and imperiled millions of people. The signs aren’t subtle. We passed farmers tending to emaciated cattle and flood plains dry as a cracked Graham cracker.
“For a pastoral society, where cattle are your primary source of wealth, rising temperatures pose an enormous problem. It leads to overgrazing and starvation,” Joe said.
Lengishu takes its name from the Maasai word for “where the cattle graze.” The MacHales take that responsibility to heart. Lengishu, as well as the other lodges on the conservancy (Sirai House, Borana Lodge, Arijiju, and Laragai), rent parts of the land to local farmers to graze cattle, so they can raise and sell healthy livestock. This “livestock-to-market” program has drastically mitigated crimes like poaching, Joe said.
“Winning the war against poaching is partly through the ranger patrols, but even more so by winning the hearts and minds of the locals,” Joe said. “When they see something or someone that doesn’t look right, they report it.”
That synergy helped rehabilitate two rhino populations (the southern white rhino, and the critically endangered black rhino) in the area. Both have increased since the MacHales arrived, making the Borana-Lewa land home to over 13% of Kenya’s rhino population. At Lengishu, guests can even spend a morning tracking rhinos on foot alongside Borana’s rhino-tracking patrol, who monitor the giants from afar.
The Borana-Lewa Conservancy land was originally a ranch owned by the Dyer family for three generations. In the 1990s, as climate change ramped up, the Dyers turned the ranch into a conservancy. They sold four shares and retained five. New owners helped cover the costs of operations and conservation through luxury lodges Sirai House, Arijiju, and Laragai. The four properties provide employment, free medical care, and education for over 500 community members.
Lengishu’s conservation and sustainability measures will make it a Global Ecosphere Retreat location—the most rigorous sustainability audit in the hospitality industry—by 2024.
On our final night, we gathered at a fire pit on the edge of the property, in a clearing that jutted out over the valley, as if cradled by lavender mountains. The views were breathtaking.
It was the perfect place for final sundowners, the safari tradition of drinking gin and tonics at sunset. (The quinine in tonic is an antimalarial, and you can never be too safe.)
Joe got behind the makeshift bar, resplendent in cut flowers, and an elephant-patterned tablecloth, as Minnie handed out small bites. We passed around thick Samburu blankets and sat on folding chairs to watch the fiery little yolk drop from the purple clouds as it does every night.
I looked back at Lengishu, but I couldn’t see it anymore. By twilight, it was completely camouflaged, like two lost lions trying to find their way back home.
https://www.lengishu.com/The Luxury Safari Company (https://www.theluxurysafaricompany.com/ or call on +44 1666 880 111) offers 3 nights at Lengishu for 6 people, – all inclusive + including flights and transfers from Nairobi for travel between Jan-Jun, and Oct-mid Dec from: $36,420 USD.
