'Kulafumbi' is our family home in Kenya, East Africa. 'Kulafumbi' is a play on the Kiswahili words "kula vumbi", which mean "eat dust", because it was so hot and dusty building our house in this remote, wild, wonderful place. Kulafumbi borders the Tsavo National Park - with no fences between us and the Park, the wildlife comes and goes of its own free will and treats our land as its own, which is exactly how we like it. In turn, we provide a protected area for the wild animals to do as they please. This protected area also creates an important buffer for the river, which forms the boundary between us and the park.
House & Land - more info
My Family & I - more info
Look how many species of animals & birds we've spotted to date at Kulafumbi:
MAMMALS: 43+
REPTILES &
AMPHIBIANS: 18+++
BIRDS: 199+
INSECTS: Too many to count
"We are the music-makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems..."
Introducing the human residents of Kulafumbi...here you can get a taste of our life in the wild...
Click on any thumbnail image below to open the relevant gallery. Once inside the gallery, you can click on any image to view the slideshow - then simply use the arrows on the left and right of your screen to navigate through the photographs.
I grew up in Kenya's Tsavo East National Park, and had a charmed childhood, surrounded by Africa's majestic wildlife and wild places...shaping the woman I was to become, and forming my lifelong loves and passions...
(Click on any image to enlarge and see the slide show.)
Every three years (to coincide with the elephant inter-calving interval), the Kenya Wildlife Service, in conjunction with volunteers and donors, carry out an aerial count of elephants and other animals in the whole of the Tsavo Ecosystem, which covers an area larger than Switzerland. The count takes a week, involves ten or more aircraft, and is quite a feat of organization. This year, Ian is one of the counters, flying with our friend Richard in the new Supercub he has just picked up (it's only his second time flying it!). In charge of the operational side is Danny, the Senior Warden of Tsavo West, whom I have known since we were both in nappies, and in charge of the scientific side is Patrick Omondi, head of Species Conservation for the Kenya Wildlife Service. The counting team are based at the Kilaguni Serena Lodge in Tsavo West, and each morning just after dawn, you can see 10 or more aircraft take to the skies and head for the 'block' which they will be counting on that day, flying transects up and down, while recording their findings on data sheets and GPS...It's hard work but it's a team effort, and there is always a great sense of fun and excitement throughout the week...
Read more about the Elephant Count:
Entry One: Birds, Planes & Pachyderms
Entry Two: Time flies, as do pilots counting elephants
See images of Tsavo from the air...
2007 was our first Christmas at Kulafumbi...lots of fun was had with visits from friends (and their dogs), morning microlight flights, enormous amounts of turkey, a Commiphora for a Christmas tree, and a drop or two of whisky...
Click here to read about our unconventional Christmas...
