Rondo Retreat - (Hospitable Homestead) - Kakamega Rain Forest

Rondo Retreat; Rondo Retreat is a Christian Centre set in the Kakamega rainforest in Kenya that offers Boarding and Catering services for visitors. Rondo Retreat provides lodging and hospitality related services for its wide range of clientele in the Western part of Kenya and especially Kakamega.

 

Rondo Retreat Center in the Kakamega Rain Forest is a first class homestead consisting of the main house of clapboard and colonial era corrugated iron, and five cottages in the same old style, whose proximity to the forest makes for delightful accommodation. Rondo Retreat Center has fifteen en-suite double rooms, plus three more double rooms that share the large original bathroom in the main house. No two rooms are the same. The bedrooms, sitting rooms and dining room have all been decorated and furnished with flair using things "old and new" - antique prints and photographs, local paintings, crafts and fabrics.

 

Rondo Retreat Center serves hearty English breakfasts, midday lunches, and candlelit dinners in a brightly cozy dining room, in front of a crackling fire if the air is cool. Tea can be taken in the sitting room, on the main verandah or in your cottage or room. Rondo Retreat Center belongs to the Trinity Fellowship, a Christian society committed to communication and conservation. Communicating the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ to all people everywhere; and conserving the earth and its resources to meet needs in the world. It is not a hotel, and is not licensed to serve alcohol.

 

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Rondo Retreat Accommodations Rates 2010

01st January 2010 to 31st December 2010

Single Room	Double Room	Children 12 Years	Children 4 to 11 Years
165 US Dollars	260 US Dollars	112 US Dollars	75 US Dollars

 

Notes

* Children between 0 – 3 years stay for Free

* Rondo Retreat Center prices are inclusive of Value Added Tax and Catering levy

 

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Rondo Retreat Centre Attraction

Rondo Retreat Center attractions include; Kakamega Bullfighting Matches, a traditional Bullfighting activity that is practiced among the Luhya community and provides a good choice for a cultural Safari. The crying stone, a Rock that resembles a human head that has water oozing from its 'head'. Other attractions include Kakamega Rain forest which is in its own class in Kenya. This forest has over 300 species of birds and Butterflies, Primates, Snakes, Trees and small game. On your vacation to Kakamega, Rondo Retreat Centre should be your ultimate choice!

 

Today this peaceful place has been “opened to the public” and is run by the Reverend and Mrs. Godfrey and Elisabeth Dawkins. They invite you to take time from the rush of your busy life to come and contemplate – nature, yourself, the world, the work of God. Funds and personnel permitting, Rondo related projects will include: Community Outreach, Environmental Education, Eco-Tourism, and Regenerative Agro Forestry.

Accommodations at Rondo Retreat - Kakamega Rain Forest

Rondo Retreat Homestead Kakamega Rain Forest Kenya

Rondo Retreat Homestead Bedroom - Kakamega Kenya

Rondo Retreat Homestead Kakamega Rain Forest Kenya

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Rondo homestead consists of the main house of clapboard and colonial era corrugated iron, and five cottages in the same old style, whose proximity to the forest makes for delightful accommodation. There are fifteen en-suite double rooms, plus three more double rooms that share the large original bathroom in the main house. No two rooms are the same. The bedrooms, sitting rooms and dining room have all been decorated and furnished with flair using things "old and new" antique prints and photographs, and local paintings, crafts and fabrics.

The chapel perched on the edge of the garden above a dramatic drop into the forest, and set apart from the other houses for solitude, is ideal for individual prayer and congregational services, meetings, seminars and small conferences.

 

Walking & Hiking Experience In Kakamega Rain Forest

Black and White Colobus seen during the Forest Walks

Blue-headed Bee-eater, seen in Kakamega Forest

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Rondo Retreat Center Walking & Hiking Experience In Kakamega Rain Forest:
Starting with the rolling lawns and flowerbeds of Rondo’s upper garden, already alive with animals and birds. Descending in the dappled light to the fish pond and paths of the lower garden with dancing butterflies before and behind. And leading out into the forest proper accompanied by a piercing cacophony, or left alone in intriguing silence never knowing what one might see around the next corner. This is one of Rondo’s very own trails that run right down to and along the Yala River.

 

Out in the sunshine again you can climb Lirhanda Hill (Smiling Bald Peter we call him) that rises above the forest canopy with stunning vistas of the forest and surrounding countryside.

 

Rondo Retreat Center Flora & Fauna Of Kakamega Rain Forest Experience:
Rondo Retreat Trees

Trees of tremendous height, great girth and massive buttresses, hanging with lianas. A mix of lowland and highland species giving Kakamega Forest a unique variety of flora and fauna.

Rondo Retreat Flowers

Flowers including 60 species of orchids and 9 are endemic (found only in Kakamega Forest). Rondo is proud to have some in its own garden. Then there are many species of herbs and ferns.

Rondo Retreat Birds

The forest is best known for its sheer abundance and diversity of bird life. Some 367 species have been recorded. 36 of the species that occur in and around Kakamega Forest are found nowhere else in Kenya. Kakamega Forest is a "must" for any serious bird watcher.

Rondo Retreat Butterflies

There are representatives of every African family of butterflies. Some of these include the Regal and Broad Green-banded Swallowtails, the Black-tipped Diadem, the Forest Mother of Pearl, and Hobart's Red Glider, the only scarlet butterfly in the Forest. Plus the genus Charaxes, that contains the fastest flying, butterflies in Africa. Other interesting insects are the Goliath Beetle, Stick Insects and Fire Flies

Rondo Retreat Animals

Monkeys seen at the forest include the blue Sykes, the red tailed, the common black and white Colobus, and the rare debrazza’s. There are Giant Forest and Flying Squirrels, mongooses, civets, servals, and genets, smaller antelope such as duikers, and numerous species of bats. The Hammer-headed Fruit Bat is endemic to Kakamega Forest, and is the largest bat on the African continent with a wing span of almost one meter and a huge head.

 

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Accommodation Rates for Residents 2010

RESIDENTS	Full board	Half board
Per Person Sharing	4,686.00 Kshs	4,260.00 Kshs
Single Per Person	7,344.00 Kshs	6,918.00 Kshs
Children 12 years	4,686.00 Kshs	4,260.00 Kshs
Children 4 – 11 years	2,556.00 Kshs	2,556.00 Kshs
Children 0 – 3 years	Free	Free

 

 

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