Loldia House on Lake Naivasha in Kenya’s Rift Valley

​By Roxanne Reid
There’s something romantic about Lake Naivasha, whether covered in mist or loud with the calls of African fish-eagles. Farms produce beautiful roses on the southern side and wildlife roams its northern shores. So imagine the romance of two days staying at Loldia House on Lake Naivasha in Kenya’s Rift Valley.

At some 1880m above sea level, Naivasha is the highest and only fresh-water lake of Kenya’s six Rift Valley lakes. Loldia House on its northern shore is part of the Governors Camp Collection. The farm it stands on has existed since 1904 but the elegant house of hand-cut dark volcanic rock was built by Italian prisoners of war in the 1940s. 

A giant wild fig tree towers over one corner, its branches spreading some 20m from the trunk. Green lawns unfold in front of the house and stretch down to the lake edge through a garden bursting with yellow-bark acacias, bougainvilla, plumbago and clivias. There are flame lilies on the hill behind the house too – Kenya’s national flower.

Relaxed elegance
The wide verandah is dotted with comfy chairs and couches, the lounge decorated in muted tones of coral and cream, with leather-bound books, lamps, a baby grand piano and numerous vases of single-stemmed and spray roses. A fire crackles in the fireplace – the perfect atmosphere for a pre-dinner sherry or glass of wine. The evenings can get cool on the lake in June so there are fireplaces in the bedrooms too.  

You can stay in a room in the old family house or in one of the cottages in the garden, with sweeping views out over the lake and, when it’s not covered by cloud or mist, to the extinct volcano Mount Longonot in the distance.

Back then, the ‘flying boats’ of Imperial Airways used to land on Lake Naivasha on their way between Britain and South Africa. These amphibious aircraft brought the mail and some well-heeled passengers keen to avoid the long voyage by ship to Mombasa and then by train to Nairobi. So you might say that back in those swashbuckling days Lake Naivasha – the showpiece at Loldia – was Kenya’s first international airport.

A drive from the entrance gate to the house is a chance to spot some of the wildlife that lives on the property, from hippo, hyena and jackal to buffalo, olive baboon, the dainty little dik-dik and other antelope. Birding is superb, with lots of fish-eagles, pelicans, squacco herons and other water birds. A walk around the gardens will reward you with smaller birds like superb starlings, paradise flycatchers and sunbirds.

2. Night drive

If seeing spotted hyena and African hares sounds like a good idea, venture out on a night drive after dinner. The biggest draw card is the chance to spot an aardvark with its pig-like snout and long ears. This termite eater is nocturnal and rarely seen, so spotting one at Loldia House is very special. There’s no other animal quite like it.

3. Visit the Joy Adamson Museum
Visit Elsamere on the shores of the lake, where George and Joy Adamson of Born Free fame lived and worked. For a fee, you can visit the small museum, watch a video, have tea and maybe even see colobus monkeys.

4. Lake Nakuru National Park

Spend a day at Lake Nakuru National Park, about a two-hour drive away from Loldia, for a chance to see buffalo, zebra, rhino, Rothschild’s giraffe and a feast of flamingos on the salt lake. I’ll be writing a separate post about our visit soon.

5. Climb Mount Longonot
Mount Longonot is a dormant volcano and the only mountain in the eastern part of the Rift Valley. If you’re fit, healthy and keen to take on a strenuous climb, talk to your guide the night before so he can arrange a picnic lunch and tell you about the park fees you’ll need to pay.

6. Visit a rose farm

If you’re impressed by the abundance of roses in the reception area at Loldia House, you may like to visit one of the rose farms around the lake. A guide will tell you all about Kenya’s flower industry and show you how the roses are grown for export.
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7. Support a local school
Loldia House has a long relationship with a local primary school. It works with a charitable trust that has rebuilt the school and offers scholarships for secondary school and university. Any donations you give will go directly towards to the Loldia School Fund. The school welcomes visits from Loldia guests but you need to preplan this with the lodge so they can make arrangements with the school. 

Note: I was a guest of the Governors Camp Collection’s Loldia House for two nights, but I was given free rein to write what I chose.

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