'I once stayed in an amazing place in Kenya called the Elephant Watch Camp, an eco-
hotel in the middle of Samburu. It was lovely and felt like part of the environment.
The buildings were made out of trees the elephants had knocked over.
It is probably the most special place I've ever been to.'

Natalie Portman

Elephant watching is an unforgettable experience - it has to be felt and seen first hand.

Each day opens with a new adventure. Early morning or evening bush walks along well-travelled elephant paths, or collecting medicinal plants or honey and always accompanied by our Samburu warriors. At times one can witness the great river crossings of camels and cattle, while walking to Samburu ceremonies and learning about their culture, dances and fire making.

A Passion for Elephant Conservation

Oria and her husband Iain have been privileged to work with elephants for more than forty years. They wrote the books "Among the Elephants," an account of their time spent studying elephants in Lake Manyara and "Battle for the Elephants," which documents their years undertaking an Africa wide elephant census to put an end to the slaughter of elephants for the ivory trade. A charming children's book by Oria, tells the story of the first elephant twins born to a known family.

Dr Iain Douglas-Hamilton is the Founder and President of the registered charity, "Save the Elephants" and he was involved in the production of the Discovery Channel IMAX film, "Africa's Elephant Kingdom," and multiple TV films including the BBC series Living with Elephants. Iain and Oria have flown across the length and breadth of Africa in their small Cessna 185 plane, preparing the first Africa wide elephant census, a study on the ivory trade and monitoring the movements of elephants.

Iain and his Save the Elephants research team are currently working on the long-distance movements on some of the wild elephants roaming throughout the Samburu Reserve in Northern Kenya, Central Africa, South Africa and North Africa, using special high-tech GPS radio collars pioneered by Iain and his researchers. An impressive article is out on the elephants of Samburu and Iain's work in the September 2008 issue of National Geographic. Three BBC films, Living With Elephants are scheduled to appear this winter, feauturing Iain, his daughter Saba, a well-known wildlife TV presenter, the researchers and naturally many of the well known families and bulls of Samburu. It is all about Elephant Watching!

For further details please visit the Documentary & Photography section.