Finally, after our drive from Turi we arrived for dinner at Malu Lodge for just before 6pm. As it was getting dark we dropped our bags very quickly at our "romantic cottage" and bade Finn, who had kindly driven us there.
The cottage was absolutely the most wonderful place we stayed in during our time in Kenya. It was enormous with a "princess bed" we both shared (a super king, perhaps), with a sitting room and open fire (we never actually used the fire, but the staff offered to light it for us), indoor day bed, writing table, mini fridge with snacks, and a large bathroom with both a shower and bath supplied by fire-powered hot water.
Outside the cottage we had a veranda with another day bed, table and chair which opened out onto a private garden where we could often see the horses and cows wandering through! It was incredible how beautifully secluded we were in our cottage. We could hear birds tweeting and one night we went out in the dark, laid down in the grass and looked at the stars - simply amazing.
During the weekends (and possibly it might have been nice for Tiger to have had other kids to play with), Malu Lodge is very popular but as we were there for a Monday-Wednesday stay, it was so quiet - just us and one other couple.
On our first night, we checked into the cottage and then the staff kindly walked us back to the restaurant. It wasn't far, but quite easy to get lost at night and throughout our stay we were always walked back and forth which was super helpful! We then enjoyed supper in the restaurant which was from the daily menu. In this case it was bruschetta, zucchini soup, pork with a herb sauce and sticky toffee pudding along with Tusker beer for me! Tiger was a little picky (even over the pudding!) but we managed very well with mashed potato, vegetables and bread for her.
On the morning of Tuesday 29th October, we walked over to the restaurant, and had breakfast, which was a delicious cooked breakfast along with continental options and fabulous coffee and fresh juice! Yummy!
Malu Lodge offer horse and cart rides along with actual horse riding, but as Tiger had been pretty confident already at Sanctuary Farm as well as earlier in the year in Nambia, so we opted for horse riding for both days we were there on a lovely horse called Bella. I can't quite remember the price for horse-riding but it was charged separately in cash and was slightly cheaper than Sanctuary Farm, so perhaps around 2,000 KSH (£12) for half an hour.
After horse-riding, we were taken to visit the farm animals - chickens, ducks, bunnies and donkeys! Although they didn't do this during our stay, there was a pen just outside the restaurant which I presume they often would use for getting the bunnies out. There were also climbing nets and some lovely swings from the trees in the wide open space in front of the restaurant.
During our stay, we ate all our meals in the restaurant which also had a fully stocked bar. Tiger decided to consume her body weight in milk at one point and I think that they were getting special milk in for her! They were also really flexible in terms of the times you wanted to eat. Each meal had its own bespoke menu (lunch menu, dinner menu etc) which changed daily and we enjoyed lots of delicious soups, salads and pasta dishes alongside some delicious deserts. Although Tiger is not really a picky eater, the restaurant were also super helpful in providing fairly plain options and always had ice cream!
We were at Malu at the end of October and we were told that we were lucky to have missed the rain on the weekend. Bizarrely though we had some really hot weather, were layering on the sun cream and even used the umbrella in our cottage to protect ourselves! Also worth noting that after breakfast and horse riding and maybe straight onto lunch (!), it was quite lovely to go back to the cottage and relax for a bit, during the midday.
On Tuesday 29th October, just after 4pm we decided to hike into the forest to the pool which was a bit of a mini adventure for us. It was around a mile walk (1.6 km according to the sign!) on a clear path, stepping over trails of ants working hard crossing our path, and crossing a stream using stepping stones. Tiger was amazing at this with her balance (unlike me!). As we got close we were helped across by a Malu Lodge worker whose job was clearly to look after the pool. He lead us to the pool, which was getting fed by some warm water, and left us in peace to change and have a swim. After a pretty sweaty walk, it was just perfect and not too deep - I could stand in it up to my waist. I didn't grab a photo of it, but there was also a picnic table next to the pool.
In the end, us going to the pool at 4pm was just the perfect time, as we were straight back to the restaurant for dinner at about 6.30pm.
On Wednesday 27th October, we booked the driver Joseph Kimano (based in Nukuru, on Whatsapp +254 720 817369) who drove us in his saloon car back to Nairobi. It was around 10,000 KSH (£61). We left at about 1.30pm and arrived at 4pm at the Wildebeest Eco Camp in Nairobi.
I can absolutely highly recommend Malu Lodge. We had booked at a rate of 13,500 KES per adult (£83) and 8,000 KES (£49) per child (5-12 years) per night on full board, for two nights, and in the end our whole stay including some additional drinks was £268.95. The only slight negative was the bumpy road from the main road to get there / get away which took about 30-40 minutes to drive on but for both couples who want the romance and seclusion of the place, as much as families with children it was so relaxing and enjoyable. Thank you Malu Lodge!
In case this is indecipherable, this reads "Thank you for being the best Mummy ever. Thank you for taking me on great adventures!"
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