I write I look out, from my office on stilts, at an expanse of African bush, golden-grey in the slanting light of late afternoon. A sea of wild sage sways as far as the eye can see, and a family of elephant emerges, not two hundred metres from me, brown backs against the pale green leaves, moving silent, unhurried, going to drink at the marali. Closer, a herd of impala kicks the dust and zebra bark; francolins and guineafowls chatter, settling to roost for the night in a grove of acacia.

Soon the sun will set red, like every evening, behind the hill of Enghelesha. The night starlings will wake up to sing to the full moon and the tree frogs, and there will be hyaena, a lion's roar and the trotting noise of rolling stones that signifies buffalo.

Not a week ago, I was in Europe and the sound of impending night in the city was car engines, road traffic, and the presence of humans. As I look down at my Africa, readying herself for another night, I know that, even if this is for me an evening like any other, I shall never take it for granted. I cannot help wonder at the fortune, and therefore the responsibility, of being able to call this home. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth, to which I have dedicated my life. This unique oasis, Ol ari Nyiro, is in Laikipia.

Laikipia.

Kenya is a country of exceptional contrasts, where there are coral reefs and mountains with snow, deserts and rain forests, savannah and great lakes, the entire range of the African animals in great abundance and forty two tribes of varied customs and looks. But even here it is rare to find a place as diverse, breathtaking and as anthropologically and zoologically rich as the region of Laikipia, in the Highlands.

Laikipia is long known for being the area with more rhino, elephant and buffalo outside parks than any other in Kenya, and more Grevy's zebra in private land than in any other part of Africa. It spans the equator, through plains, savannah, rivers, forests and hills. It runs from the foot of Mt Kenya, its head in the clouds, across the Wasu ecosystem, to the edge of the rugged and awesome Great Rift Valley, with Lake Baringo at its feet. This malaria-free region, at an average altitude of 6000ft, is home to the tribes of Kikuyu and Turkana, Pokot and Samburu, Maasai, Ndorobo, Kalengin and a substantial number of people of European origin, who have made it their home since the end of the last century.

Here cattle co-exist with migrating herds of elephant - the second largest population in Kenya after Tsavo and the largest overall outside parks. Here pockets of black rhino survive and thrive in privately owned ranches cared for through the Association of Private Land Rhino Sanctuaries - a success story famous in the conservation world.

It is not ten years since I invited all the Laikipia farmers and ranchers with elephants on their land to my house at Kuti to discuss the future of the vast herds that had increased here due to protection and careful management and the need to establish safe corridors for their migration routes. Soon after, the Laikipia Wildlife Forum (LWF), of which I am proud to be a founder member, was born.

The Forum is an unusual organisation that has already made historic changes to the way the inhabitants of this part of Kenya regard wildlife on their land. The LWF's motto, Conservation in Action, reflects the spirit of its people and their determination to take responsibility for the protection of biodiversity on their land.

The LWF covers the entire region, subdivided in geographical sections. It has a thousand dedicated individuals and can use the most sophisticated expertise available in the fields of resource management, wildlife conservation, environmental education, eco-tourism, community projects and so on. Every community living in the region is represented on its board.

A number of organisations indigenous to the region add their expertise to the board. These include the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya's most successful rhino sanctuary and the home of the dynamic, dedicated and colourful Craig clan. It also incorporates the Mpala Research Centre, founded by the generous and inspired George Small. This is situated on Mpala Ranch, run by Nic Georgiadis, and brings science, research and information technology to the Forum's efforts. The Gallmann Memorial Foundation deals in environmental education, ethnobotany, wildlife protection and innovative, sustainable and ecological use of natural resources through its Wilderness Education Centre. I founded the Foundation as a lasting tribute to the memory of my husband and son.

The aim of the Forum is to prove that the presence and activities of people can be reconciled with the presence of wildlife, to the advantage of both. This is achieved by seeking creative and innovative ways to make this possible and ecologically sound tourism is obviously one. The mystique of the safari is to follow an old rhythm of travel, to feel immersed in nature with no barrier, to meet adventure, wildlife, and intriguing new people leading unusual lives, to visit unexplored places and to feel for a time part of a remote, exotic world.

It is rare to find this spirit as alive anywhere as it is still in Laikipia.

Although still practically unknown to mass minibus tourism, in recent years Laikipia has become familiar to thousands of sophisticated travellers as a new, and far more stimulating Masai Mara. Here, in addition to wildlife, varied cultures and tribes and geographical jewels, there are a range of activities to promote the co-existence of people and nature.

Here is the most intriguing concentration of private bush retreats in East Africa, most of which were born mostly in the last ten years and all of which present a breathtaking variety of attractions that stretch to some dwellings in neighbouring Samburu and Meru. There is as diverse a range of accommodation as one can dream of. It will suit the most discriminating and seasoned of travellers. Each lodge gives the guest the feeling of being chosen, valued as a cherished friend right in the heart of the real life of real people, most of them fascinating personalities with amazing stories to tell. It is the resident people, and the atmosphere of established solidarity, the deep knowledge of their land and the determination to protect it, that makes Laikipia unique.

Great characters live here and in neighboring Lewa, Samburu and Baringo, and just meeting them and listening to the account of their adventures is worth a trip.

It is intriguing to the traveller not just to be a pampered guest in one of the most exciting and rich game places in Africa, but also a part of a movement that is changing the way tourism is done.

Laikipia is a story of success and the proof that individuals can make big positive differences if they have the inspiration and concentration to succeed.

In 1935, Elspeth Huxley, one of Kenya's great voices and one of the most fervent supporters of Laikipia, wrote: "The Highlands of Kenya have a peculiar property of inspiring emotional affection amongst those who have made their home there... the beauty of the country, the grandeur of distant views ... the variety of the landscape ... the friendliness of the people ... the hospitality of the comfortable homesteads, play their part ... [these] scenes live in the memories ... and draw back to the country men and women who have left it ... and inspire in them like no other an almost passionate concern for its future."

Sixty five years have gone by, years of enormous changes throughout the world and throughout Africa. Wilderness has shrunk everywhere. But here, changes have been for the better. Laikipia's spell and appeal is as powerful now as it ever was.

Laikipia factfile

Geography
Size: 800,000ha, fed by the Ewaso Nyiro and the Ewaso Narok rivers.
Climate: Warm days, cold nights.
Distance: Nairobi to Nanyuki 147km; Nairobi to Rumuruti 290km.
Access
Daily scheduled flights with Air Kenya from Wilson Airport, Nairobi, to Nanyuki, with connecting flights to Lewa, Mara and Samburu. Linked to other local destinations via air charter services.
Wildlife
Laikipia is home to more endangered mammals than anywhere else in East Africa, protecting half of Kenya's black rhino, successfully raised at Solio, Lewa, Ol Jogi and Ol Pejeta sanctuaries. It also boasts the biggest herds of elephant outside the national parks and is the only place to view the endangered Jackson's Hartebeest. Wild dog, leopard, lion, cheetah and other predators hunt the plentiful plains game: impala, gazelle, reticulated giraffe, Grevy's zebra, Somali ostrich, gerenuk and Beisa oryx. The so-called "Ewaso-ecosystem" is larger than all of Kenya's protected areas except Tsavo and has more wildlife than all other parks and reserves except the Masai Mara.
Activities
A wide range of activities are on offer at the lodges throughout the region. These include: game drives, nature walks, camel and donkey safaris, fly-fishing, mountaineering and climbing, birdwatching, wildlife observation, cultural visits, horse riding, swimming, tennis and walking.
Accommodation
Laikipia is home to a wide range of safari lodge facilities, including:
· Anna's House. Original home of Anna Merz, on private conservancy.
· Borana Lodge: 6 'designer' cottages on a working livestock and game ranch. All-inclusive.
· El Karama Ranch: 10 self-service cottages on a working ranch.
· Il'Ngwesi Lodge: Community-run eco-lodge with 4 large bandas (traditional cottages), providing mid-range services. Fully-catered or self-catering.
· Il'Pinguan House: Main house and 3 guest cottages providing superior accommodation.
· Il Polei Camp: Community-run eco-lodge with 4 bandas. Self-catering.
· Lewa Tented Camp: 12 tents offering mid-range, full-board accommodation.
· Loisaba Wilderness: 6 luxury cottages in private game reserve. All-inclusive.
· Mount Kenya Safari Club: Luxury hotel and country club with 114 rooms and 13 secluded cottages. Full board.
· Mugie Camp: Classic tented safari camp with 4 tents on private game ranch. All-inclusive.
· Mukutan Retreat: 3 luxury 'designer' cottages. All-inclusive.
· Naro Moro River Lodge: Mid-range hotel with 31 rooms and 12 cottages. Full-board or self-catering.
· Ol Malo: Luxury lodge with 4 cottages on escarpment. All-inclusive.
· Ol Pejeta Lodge: Superior safari lodge, self-catering in main house and 2 cottages.
· Sangare Camp: Mid-range camp with 6 tents. Full-board.
· Solio Camp: Mid-range 6-tent camp on private rhino sanctuary.
· Sweetwaters Tented Camp: 30-tents providing full-board accommodation.
· Wilderness Trails: Original house on private conservancy, with 6 rooms. All-inclusive.

Kuki Gallmann is the author of I Dreamed of Africa, African Nights and Night of the Lions.

Published in Travel Africa Edition Thirteen: Autumn 2000 Text is subject to Worldwide Copyright (c)