Elsamere

I remembered that the movie Born Free had made a significant impact on me as a child so it was imperative that I visited Joy Adamson’s house during my visit to Lake Naivasha. The house is named Elsamere in honour of the lion cub Elsa  Joy raised and was made famous in the movie Born Free.

The house is located on the edge of Lake Naivasha and is in a beautiful setting with extensive gardens where we enjoy a substantial high tea.  Our visit also includes a movie about her her life and her work in conservation here in Kenya.

I had no idea she was such an accomplished painter as well as a prolific writer.  Her paintings which began by her documenting the details of the flora and fauna around Kenya went on to include an extensive collection of portraits of the tribal people here.  They ranged from witch doctors to tribal chiefs and eventually her work was acknowledged by the Kenyan government as a record of the fast disappearing tribal people.  Her photos can now be found both at Elsamere and in the Kenyan National Museum.

My visit enables me to discover that Joy lived an amazing life and I am inspired once again to discover that one person can make such a difference in this world. 

She first came to Kenya when her first husband sent her on a scouting mission to determine if it was a country they could settle in. While on the boat trip she fell in love with Peter, a man who went on to be her second husband.  She eventually settled in Kenya with him before meeting George Adamson on safari and eventually marrying him.  Together they accomplished great things in conservation here in Kenya and rehabilitated lions, cheetahs and leopards.  The relationship that both she and George had with the Big Cats was truly amazing and continued even after they were released to the wild. Joy went on to get world recognition and win many accolades both for her writing as well as for her work in conservation while George stayed home to work with the cats.

Today, many organisations around the world continue her work both in her honour and Elsa’s.  Sadly she was stabbed to death by one of her houseboys over a pay dispute and George was killed some years later by poachers.  The Land Rover in which he was killed is on display on the grounds. If only cars could talk…

I come away inspired and amazed by her story and happy I had the opportunity to pay a visit to this historic place.

Leaving home in a sense involves a kind of second birth in which we give birth to ourselves.  ~Robert Neelly Bellah