Writer's Block
Sun Herald
Sunday September 9, 2007
Christina Pfeiffer enjoys a luxurious stay in a hotel that was once part of Karen Blixen's estate.
WE'RE sipping gin and tonic while lounging on rattan divans in the pool pavilion. Perfectly manicured green rolling lawns are dotted with sunlounges arranged around a sparkling kidney-shaped pool. Hurrying towards us through beautifully manicured gardens is Alex, a tall, strapping Masai tribesman.Our answers to all of Alex's politely phrased questions are affirmative. Yes, we are enjoying ourselves; yes, madam and sir will dine in-house tonight; and, yes, we are indeed ready for more drinks, cheese and fruit. With the refreshments taken care of, I bury my nose into the pages of my book, Out Of Africa, and I'm transported into Karen Blixen's world; same place, different time.The story (written under the pseudonym of Isak Dinesen) is set around the Ngong Hills, where we are staying. In 1913, Danish aristocrat Baron Bror von Blixen-Finecke bought a coffee plantation at the foot of the hills. The baron - who was a playboy who occupied his days gambling, hunting and chasing women - left his wife, Karen Blixen, to run the coffee plantation. Although Blixen's attempts to grow coffee were unsuccessful, she made her home on the estate from 1917 to 1931. When she returned to Denmark in 1931, the land was divided into smaller parcels which later became the suburb of Karen in Nairobi.The surroundings are no longer "dry and burnt, like the colours in pottery" and the views no longer "immensely wide", as Blixen's writing describes. The House of Waine, like other mansions in the suburb of Karen, is surrounded by vast manicured gardens, green lawns with electric fencing and 24-hour guards.The hotel is a country manor that sits on one hectare of Blixen's coffee plantation and was built in the 1970s as a private residence for a wealthy family (the current owners named the hotel after the initials of the family members in order of age). Little has been done to change the layout of the manor, which provides guests with an authentic taste of life among Kenya's upper class.There's a spacious lounge decorated with quality furnishings arranged around a fireplace, a conservatory-style breakfast room with large glass windows - from which to watch the birds each morning - a cosy bar and dining room. The 11 guest bedrooms are named and decorated to portray aspects of Kenya. The Manyatta (the Masai word for home) room, is decorated in red worn by Masai tribesman. The Safari room is adorned with zebra-print cushions and animal wall-hangings. There's the desert-themed Sahara room, with its earthy tones, the Pwani room representing the coast with cushions covered in vibrant kikoy (cotton wrap) colours and shell lampshades.Ours is the Tembo room, which is dedicated to the elephants that were once hunted for their ivory. The room has a charming old-fashioned ambience with parquet flooring, throw rugs, a comfortable sofa littered with cushions and a writing desk. There are modern amenities such as a hairdryer, television, telephone, air-conditioning, dial-up internet, a marble ensuite bathroom with extra bottled water (for brushing your teeth with, as Nairobi's tap water is not safe to drink) and a complimentary mini-bar stocked with chocolates and drinks.A plate of fresh home-baked pastries and ground Kenyan coffee are placed in our room each day. These homely little touches, along with the friendliness of the staff, make me feel like a guest in the home of a wealthy Kenyan family with servants to run around to do my bidding.Although most people use Nairobi as a stopover when travelling to the Kenyan safari plains, there are a number of attractions in Karen itself that make it a worthwhile destination. One of the unique aspects of Karen is its location 30 minutes from Nairobi city, and 10 minutes away from a nature reserve, Nairobi National Park. Also nearby is the Giraffe Centre, an organisation set up to save the almost extinct Rothschild giraffe, where you can stand eye-to-eye with giraffes eager to snatch food pellets from you with their long sticky tongues. The Karen Blixen Museum, which is located in the house that Blixen lived in, is also just around the corner from the hotel.After dinner we sink into comfortable leather couches by the fire, sip port and trade stories with a couple from England. Our new friends enthusiastically recount their game drive through Nairobi National Park where they were lucky enough to spot rare black rhino. Our own story ends with a visit to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, where we foster an eight-month-old orphaned baby elephant.It's a serendipitous result for the occupants of the Tembo room in the House of Waine.TRIP NOTES* South African Airways flies from Sydney to Johannesburg with connections to Nairobi. For bookings, phone 1800221699 or see www.africaourhome.com. * House of Waine is located on Masai Lane, Karen, Nairobi. Double rooms are US$360 ($438) a night bed and breakfast, or US$420 a night full board. For package deals phone Abercrombie & Kent on 1300 851 800.
© 2007 Sun Herald