Kambi Ya Tembo ('Camp of Elephants'), West Kilimanjaro

The top of some of the guest accommodation tents (with thatched coverings over their tops to keep them cool) are just visible from the camp's open air boma

We recently spent the day at a lovely, rustic tented camp in the West Kilimanjaro area called 'Kambi Ya Tembo' ('Camp of Elephants') - it is within driving distance of our farm, and we met some of our neighbours there (who farm in the same area as the camp) for Sunday lunch. This camp used to be a temporary camp (many temporary camps here dismantle during the rainy months when game viewing can be poor and roads a muddy mess !) but is now a permanent camp.

The airy, thatched lounge/dining area has comfy sofa's and a floor of powdery sand - a novel idea, and one which fits in well with the rustic atmosphere of the camp

The camp - which is inside a private concession of around 600 square km's - borders Kenya's 'Amboseli National Park' and Tanzania, and has magnificent, sweeping views out over Kilimanjaro, Mount Meru and the surrounding Acacia studded plains. It is called the 'Camp of Elephants' due to the presence of huge elephant bulls (some as old as 50 years) which can at times be spotted here. (I spoke with a lady who had recently seen a small herd of elephant drinking from a waterhole within a stone's throw from the main dining area of the camp).

The magnificent views from the dining area give an idea of the vastness of the surrounding area

The concession in which the camp lies is part of a Community Conservation Project which benefits the Maasai people of the area. The Maasai in this area still live very much in the traditional way - dressing in their traditional tribal clothing and following age old ceremonies and rituals, and are relatively untouched by the 'outside' world.

Seats with a view - which can't be beat !

I'm sorry that I did not take any close-up shots of the guest tents (one of the waiters kindly gave us a guided tour) but they are very nice - clean, spacious, comfortable and nicely decorated and all with en suite bathrooms (toilet/shower/basin) and small veranda's with magnificent views out over the surrounding countryside.

Our dining table - situated under the airy, open central dining/lounge boma

The central camp areas consist of a huge thatched lounge and dining boma - with comfortable sofa's, coffee tables and a nice selection of wildlife books. The floor of these areas is sand, and it is quite novel to be sitting on a comfy sofa with sand at your feet ! The idea works well and fits in with the surroundings.

These main areas look out on to a man made watering hole - perfect for game viewing. After lunch a few of us went on a short walk around the watering hole, and we were told that longer guided bush walks could easily be arranged for guests, as well as night game drives and cultural day trips to local Maasai villages.

The open air boma where a camp fire is lit at night - the perfect spot for an after dinner drink !

There is also an open air boma adjoining the dining area, where a big camp fires is lit at night - a perfect spot for enjoying your after dinner drink !

The lunch which we had there was simple, tasty home cooking - vegetable stir-fry, beef and been stews, savoury rice, salad and for dessert we were served fruit salad followed by Tanzanian tea and coffee and vanilla sponge cake.

The staff were friendly and efficient and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this as a lovely camp to spend a few nights at. We''ll definitely return for another meal sometime, and I realise how very lucky we are having a lovely spot like this virtually on our doorstep.

Vanilla Sponge with Feather Icing

First, pipe vertical lines on to the white iced surface of the cake (above)

Next, draw 'invisible' horizontal lines with a knife over the piped red lines (as above) to create a 'feathered' effect

Once the icing has set, cut the cake in to squares ... and enjoy !

Nothing beats a simple Vanilla Sponge and instead of making my usual round, plain iced cake I decided to make a square cake the other day for a change, and ice it with ‘feather icing’ which is an icing style I learnt from one of my childhood cook books when I was around 7 years old, growing up in then Rhodesia.

I remember my Mum baking the cake (with my sister and I ‘helping’) and her giving us the job of mixing the icing with her supervision. As the oldest child, I was allowed to actually do the ‘feathering’ and I remember always being quite proud of the end result !

Anyway, it’s been years since I’d tried this feather icing and it did not turn out as ‘feathery’ as it should – in hindsight, the pink icing mix should have been a bit runnier – but I decided to post the photo’s and the method anyway, as I like sharing even my ‘not-so-perfect’ kitchen adventures with you too as at the end of the day, that’s what cooking and baking is really all about, isn’t it ?


Vanilla Sponge

100 gm Margarine
¾ cup Sugar
3 Eggs, beaten
1 ½ cups Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
¾ cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Cream the margarine & sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixture. Add the milk & Vanilla extract and beat.

Pour into a greased square cake tin (approximately 21 cm x 24 cm/8 inch x 9.5 inch) and bake at 180’C/350’F/Gas Mark 4 for 20 to 30 minutes until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Feather Icing (Frosting)

500 gm pkt Icing Sugar
4 - 6 tbsps Cold Water
Few drops of pink Food Colouring

Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour a couple of tablespoons of the water into this. Mix together with a metal spoon, slowly adding more water as needed, to form a smooth, easily spreadable icing that is not too runny. Remove around 3 – 4 tablespoons of this mixture and place it in a separate bowl, adding the food colouring to this to make a pink icing (which should be slightly runnier than the white icing is).

Now spread the white icing over the cooled cake & place the pink icing into a piping bag (I simply use a clean plastic bag with one corner just cut off slightly). Pipe the pink icing in straight vertical lines across the surface of the white icing, about 2 cm (approx. 1 inch) apart. Then take a clean, sharp knife and gently draw ‘invisible’ lines across the surface of the icing horizontally at about 2 cm (approx. 1 inch) intervals – this will ‘feather’ the pink icing lines and create a pretty effect. Allow to set slightly before cutting the cake in to squares and serving.

Crisp Blue Skies & A Snow Capped Peak ....

If you click on the photo to enlarge the view, you'll be able to see Kilimanjaro's icy peak - as viewed from our farm at the moment

We're having so much rain on the farm at the moment, and there seems no end in sight ! We have a few hours - or a day or two - of sunshine, before it comes bucketing down again. Roads turn to slush, dogs are shooed out as their muddy paw prints cover the floors, cat's stay curled up inside all day in warm spots, washing remains damp and kids are housebound (and, after a while even previously 'fun' things like painting and various crafts are deemed 'b-o-r-i-n-g !') But, as a farmer's wife .... I'll try not to complain !

However, with all this rain comes a certain feeling of 'newness' as Africa's dust is washed clean, shoots of new grass and tiny wildflowers appear at our feet almost overnight, the African earth turns a deeper red, the sky a crisper blue and Kilimanjaro's snow capped peak, a more brilliant white.

You can almost breathe the newness in, feel it all around you and although it's hard to capture in a photograph, I took one to share with you all (click on the photo above to enlarge it) ... to try and give you an idea of what I mean.

This photo was taken last week, just before you turn in to the road which takes you past the farm guest house & straight to our house - the building to the right of the photo is part of our farm labourer's quarters, the dark green triangular hilly part which you see just meeting the skyline is part of the Kilimanjaro forest and, of course, that great white icy chunk looming up ahead is the snowy top of Mt Kilimanjaro herself - in all her glory !