Joe and Minnie MacHale built Lengishu as their family home on the Borana Conservancy, in Kenya’s Laikipia Highlands, and for part of the year they open it to one group at a time. It stands on a ridge at around 2,000 metres, high in the foothills of Mount Kenya, and looks east across the plains to Lewa. On clear mornings the Mathews Range surfaces on the northern horizon.
Guests track rhino on foot with the rangers who protect them.
Borana is a working rhino sanctuary. Black and white rhino roam here alongside the rest of the Big Five, and the species of northern Kenya come with them: Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe and gerenuk. Guests track rhino on foot with the rangers who protect them, joining the daily work of a conservancy funded in part by a handful of private homes, Lengishu among them.
The MacHale family became shareholders in Borana, a former cattle ranch that the Dyer family turned into a wildlife conservancy, and that history is built into the walls. The teak and gum poles were sourced within Kenya and the walls raised in rammed earth. The stone was excavated from the site itself, and one large rock was left to protrude into a corner of the main room.
Two large fireplaces warm the vaulted main room
Six bedrooms spread across four separate cottages, all turned east for the sunrise. Minnie designed the interiors in neutral tones lifted by the occasional flash of red, a nod both to Scottish family roots and to the neighbouring Maasai community. Two large fireplaces warm the vaulted main room, and as the highland night cools, hot water bottles are slipped into the beds.
As a private home taken by a single group, Lengishu keeps no fixed schedule, hosts no other guests and offers no set menu. The days are planned with the team on the morning they happen, whether that means an early rhino track, a long ride across the plains, a picnic lunch somewhere quiet, or nothing at all beyond the swimming pool and the view. Most of the staff come from neighbouring communities, and they run the house much as they would for the family who own it, which is perhaps why nothing about it feels like a hotel.
Borana shares an open boundary with the 62,000-acre Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, and between the two the wildlife has more than 90,000 acres to roam. Being a private conservancy rather than a national park changes what is possible. Borana permits night drives, off-road tracking and walking safaris that parks do not allow, while horse riding suits every ability and mountain bikes and e-bikes cover more ground. Helicopters reach as far as Mount Kenya’s trout streams and the Ngare Ndare forest.
Borana permits night drives, off-road tracking and walking safaris that parks do not allow.
Meals follow the same unstructured logic. A pizza oven on the veranda handles casual lunches, and three-course dinners end with a cheese course. Much of the produce, the dairy, fruit, vegetables and meat, comes from local organic farms such as Waitabit, which guests can visit, and Joe MacHale chose the wine list himself. Sundowners are taken at a viewpoint with Mount Kenya on the horizon, and after dark the sounds are hornbills settling in and elephants grumbling in the valley below the ridge.
The malaria-free setting and the space of a whole house make Lengishu straightforward for families, and children of every age are welcome. Travel cots, high chairs and babysitting by staff trained in infant first aid look after the youngest, while a Junior Warriors book and baking with the kitchen team occupy the older ones, and rhino tracking on foot is open to guests of any age. Solar power, an on-site water bottling plant and a plastic-free operation keep the footprint light, and the house funds a sanitary pad programme at the local Lokuseru school.
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accommodation
Six bedrooms named after birds sleep up to 12 guests, set across separate cottages for privacy. Two family cottages each hold two en-suite rooms around a shared sitting room and fireplace, and a master cottage with a further stand-alone double completes the house. Every room faces east for the sunrise, with walk-in showers and freestanding copper roll-top baths.
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activities
On the Borana Conservancy, guests track black and white rhino on foot with rangers, take day and night game drives, walk to Pride Rock, and ride horses and mountain bikes. Helicopter excursions reach further still, to Ngare Ndare forest and Mount Kenya's fly-fishing streams. Back at the house, a pool, gym, games room and in-house masseuse fill the quieter hours.
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conservation
Lengishu contributes to Borana Conservancy's core running costs, which support more than 130 rangers, a mobile health clinic and education programmes. Most of the staff come from neighbouring communities, and the house funds a sanitary pad programme at Lokuseru school. Guests join the rangers tracking rhino to see the work first-hand.
Get in touch and let’s start the conversation. An initial consultation helps us understand what you’re looking for, whether that’s specific experiences, luxury touches, or marking a special occasion, and from there we’ll guide you through what’s possible so you can decide if we’re the right fit.
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You fly from Nairobi's Wilson airport to an airstrip on or near the Borana Conservancy, about an hour by light aircraft, and the house meets you for the transfer up to the ridge. We arrange the flights and align them with your arrival into Kenya. If you would like complete flexibility, we can make that leg a private charter, typically a Cessna Caravan or Pilatus PC-12, flown direct to the conservancy strip.
The bush planes take soft bags of around fifteen kilograms per person, hand luggage included, so pack accordingly. Borana also has a helicopter available for excursions to Ngare Ndare forest and Mount Kenya's fishing streams.
Borana sits in the Laikipia highlands, which is lower risk for malaria but not free of it. The altitude and dry climate keep mosquito numbers down, yet the conservancy remains below the height at which the CDC and TravelHealthPro treat risk as negligible, so tablets are commonly recommended.
Since this is a health matter and advice changes over time, please confirm the current position with a travel clinic or your doctor, and take the usual care against evening bites.
At around 2,000 metres the house has warm days and cold mornings and nights all year, so a fire is often welcome. The dry seasons are clear; the rains green the plains and can bring showers. Being a house on a ridge, the light and the long views are part of the appeal.
Pack warm layers for the early starts and evenings by the fire, sun protection for the day, neutrals for the walking and rhino tracking, and a swimsuit for the pool. Riders and mountain bikers should bring their own kit if they have it.
The dry windows, July to September and December to February, bring the best game viewing and the clearest conditions for walking, riding and tracking rhino on foot. The green seasons are quieter and strong for birds, with more dispersed wildlife.
Whichever you choose, expect cold nights and warm days, so pack for the range rather than the season alone.
Yes. Lengishu is the MacHale family's own home on Borana, opened to one group at a time, so when you book it the six bedrooms, the staff and the land are yours alone. That exclusive use is what lets mealtimes, drives and the pace of the day bend entirely around your group.
It is well suited to a family or a set of friends travelling together, and to multi-generational trips where everyone wants to be under one roof. Tell us your group's size and ages and we will plan the stay around them.
It is a strong choice for families and multi-generational groups precisely because it is booked whole, so children can be themselves without other guests nearby. Six bedrooms across separate cottages sleep up to twelve, with two family cottages each holding two rooms around a shared sitting room.
Rhino tracking on foot and other walking activities carry age requirements for safety, so let us know how old your children are and we will shape the days, keeping the pool, games room and gentler outings for the youngest.
rated five stars by our clients
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our approach
Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.
Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.
