Dispatches
Gibb’s Farm, part I: Gracious, green and hospitable to all
May 4, 2008
Established in 1929 near the village of Karatu, Tanzania, Gibb’s Farm grew from a simple coffee farm into a generously appointed traveler’s rest, a well-placed jumping off spot for adventurers and ultimately a decadent luxury travel destination that elevates and embraces environmentally and socially responsible practices in every level of their operations.
Amongst its charms? Location, location, location: A short distance from Lake Manyara National Park, Gibb’s Farm also shares a mile long property border with Ngorogoro Conservation Area (NCA) where the world’s largest unbroken, unflooded volcanic caldera lies. Ngorogoro Crater hosts virtually every species of East African wildlife with an estimated 25,000 animals living within the crater including herds of zebra, gazelle, and wildebeest alongside the “big five” of rhinoceros, lion, leopard, elephant, and African buffalo. If it’s critters you want to see, it’s critters you’ll get, right next door to Gibb’s Farm.
The NCA also includes the Olduvai Gorge, one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world (you may have also heard of it by its familiar alias, “The Cradle of Humanity”). Research and excavation work in Olduvai, pioneered by Mary and Louis Leakey in the 1950s, has been instrumental in furthering understanding of early human evolution, producing evidence that various hominid species have occupied the area for 3 million years. During her tenure in the region, Mary Leakey befriended former Gibb’s Farm owner Margaret Gibbs. Mary was a frequent guest to the lodge and fan of its spectacular gardens that, as she describes:
“…generously supplied my camps with superb fresh vegetables, so essential to our well being.”
The wealth from Gibb’s Farm gardens that enchanted Mary Leakey have been retained and possibly even elevated - the 30 acre organic farm, crops that include coffee alongside fruits and vegetables, provide 80% of the bounty that Gibb’s Farm guests enjoy at every meal on the property.
Layer 1 of Gibb’s Farm: it has a very, very pretty face. Glasses of fresh avocado juice are offered in welcome upon our arrival (I kid you not and have no idea what it takes to extract avocado juice, but it was amazing). As we entered the property, a series of low slung, clean-lined, unassuming guest quarters came into view, their borders graced with a profusion of verdant tropical plants and tempestuously hued flowers, birdlife a-chatter in the trees…Is this for real?
Then I was taken to my room - the square footage alone makes one the the envy of most NYC apartment dwellers, the porch overlooking a reed pond alive with weaverbirds under a shady canopy of avocado and acacia trees. The cottage was well appointed without being ostentatious -box beam ceilings and smooth, rich wood floors; a fireplace that faced both the sleeping quarters and a heavenly bathroom - a massive, extremely private yet flooded with natural light. Did I mention the outdoor shower? The two-person Terrazzo soaking tub? For a girl who’d spent the better part of the month grubbier than she’s been since age 6, it was a slice of high end spa heaven.
But really… with all this seeming decadence, how can this place embrace responsible tourism? All that space? What of the waste, the apparent epic use of water? Gallons of greenwashing, surely.
But that’s what THRILLS us about this lovely African safari wayside… it’s anything but.
Follow us to the back stage and the surrounding community - you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
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Nice Site layout for your blog. I am looking forward to reading more from you.
Tom Humes