Overview

Today a thriving sanctuary and popular safari destination, the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, in the heart of Kenya, began life almost 100 years ago as a plot of black cotton soil and tangled savannah parcelled out to a British immigrant from South Africa. This is the compelling true story of life at Lewa from its early days as a family ranch to its current success as a globally recognised wildlife conservancy.Viewed through the eyes of at least three generations of the Lewa family, the story weaves around the lives of extraordinary personalities. The eccentric settler Alex Douglas, whose inherent love for this part of the country and its wildlife appears to have passed down the family line; AD's pioneering wife, Elizabeth Cross, and their plucky daughter Delia - both indomitable women who make Africa their home and meet head-on every challenge she throws at them; Delia's husband, David Craig, who - in the dying days of the colonial administration - steps into the sand-dusted shoes of AD to steer Lewa forward, beyond the deprivations of two World Wars and the Mau Mau rebellion, into the exciting era of Kenya's independence.Around these key players a cast of supporting characters - no less remarkable - come and go. The Africans who work tirelessly alongside the owners of Lewa; the friends and neighbours who shed their own blood, sweat and tears in carving a life in East Africa; the new generation of Craigs who must adapt to technologies and pressures of the 21st Century in order to ensure that, on Lewa, as AD intended, there is always room for wildlife... Beautifully evocative of a unique piece of land on the northern sloes of Mount Kenya, From Ox Cart to Email is the true saga of a family, a nation and a wonderful tract of wilderness.

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9781909657311

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Reviews

This fascinating story of the history of Lewa and the Craig family has been brought right up to date. Virginia McKenna Natasha Breed has researched her ground meticulously... The book should be read by anyone with an interest in East African wildlife and the people who have devoted their lives to its protection... Edward Paice, author of Where Warriors Met

Author Information

Natasha Breed was born and raised in Kenya. After a brief dabble with a 'proper' job in London, she returned to her homeland to work as a safari guide. From 1992 she worked at Lewa for four years, before being recruited as a field assistant by the BBC's Natural History Unit. Since then, her work with wildlife film crews has taken her around Kenya, Ethiopia and Namibia. She writes articles on conservation and travel for the Kenyan press and in 2004 won the BBC Travel Writer of the Year award.

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