On Saturday, we were invited for lunch at Samatian Island in Lake Baringo. Samatian Island is owned and operated by Ross and Caro Withey, who also manage Roberts Camp on the mainland. A delightful young couple with two small children, Ross and Caro work tirelessly to ensure that your visit to Samatian will be a memorable one for all the right reasons!
 Ross and Caro Withey
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An isolated up-market tented camp, picturesque and very private, Samatian is a self or arranged catering hideaway for anyone who simply wants to get away from it all. With accommodations for up to 10 or so (depending on number of children), a small swimming pool set against the lake backdrop, facilities for safaris to the other islands as well as the mainland on both sides of the lake, breakfasts at the hot springs, water sports and other wonderful options, Samatian Island is a choice location for a private family holiday.
 Local fisherman on Lake Baringo, Kenya
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This was a sight which greeted us as we set off from the mainland - a local fisherman in an ambatch (balsa wood) canoe. These tiny boats have been used for perhaps thousands of years and can still be seen functioning today. The fishermen use paddles about the same size and shape as ping-pong paddles as they navigate all around the lake, wary of hippos and crocs. Not my idea of a nice way to go fishing, but . . .
Notice the color of the water? It’s like coffee with cream. Put your hand two inches under the surface and you won’t be able to see it from above. Local history has it that as the area was/is volcanic, there’s an electrical charge to the water that keeps silt from river run-off in suspension. Perhaps it is only that the silt is so fine it remains evenly distributed through the water at all levels.
After a lovely boatride lasting about 15-20 minutes, we pulled up at the Samatian Island dock, to find Samatian staff on hand to greet us with the traditional “Jambo!” and to assist with any baggage. The dock floats so that it does not have to be raised and lowered as the Lake goes up and down, which it does with some regularity!
 Samatian Island staff at the dock
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 View from the main banda at Samatian Island, Lake Baringo, Kenya
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The swimming pool beckons, there’s plenty of shade and cooling breezes, and ample wildlife to enjoy. Ross carried over with us a baby python, only about 2 feet long, that he had come across on the mainland, intending to take it to a deserted nearby island in hopes it will survive. There’s a nearly tame Verreaux’s Eagle Owl residing in a nearby acacia tree, and the local flock of guinea fowl, or kangas as we know them here, paid us a call, so tame they foraged right off the main sitting/dining room banda near enough to touch.
You can glimpse that building directly above the dock in the photo above. With everything built to blend into the landscape you may find it hard to see. It’s simply a huge thatched roof on stone pillars.
 Guinea fowl at the edge of the banda
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Samatian Island Camp is a collection of bandas, traditional round houses with thatched roofs, stone floors and partially open sides. One side of the bandas nestle against a hillside for protection from weather and for privacy, while other sides are wide open for the best views and plenty of fresh air. Additional small banda structures house modern plumbing for showers, basins and the necessary. Beds are equipped with good mosquito netting but you are encouraged to use insect repellent whenever necessary.
Our invitation to Samatian for lunch held a special treat for me. Staying on the Island was one of my students, Donna from Seattle. She and her husband were on holiday in Kenya. Having been to Kenya before, they knew the Roberts (Caro’s) family and they had planned to visit Baringo anyway. Donna had taken my Quilt University classes Structured Fabrics and Math for Quilters, but we had never before met face to face. We all met and had a delightful lunch carefully laid on by Caro and her staff, and had a thoroughly good time getting to know each other.
 Boat ride back from Samatian Island, Lake Baringo, Kenya
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We had a very pleasant afternoon, made some new friends and then were taken back to the mainland. We had been invited to stay overnight, but we preferred sleeping at home. Good thing, too! Later that night there was a huge storm, and we had over an inch of rain. We were very happy to be safely at home. For Samatian Island and its visitors, it was just another part of the African experience - a stay at Samatian Island is like a camping trip to Paradise!!!
