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The name “Nderit” was the name of Richard Britten-Long and his brother Ian’s family Estate up country

where they were brought up. “Nderit” is Maa (Masai) for sweet water. The Nderit river flows through

into what is now The Lake Nakuru National Park in Elmenteita that is situated between Nakuru and Naivasha, in The Rift Valley. The land was acquired by “Boy” Long and his wife Genesta in 1924. Richard’s grandfather, Boy, was an expert cattleman, somewhat distant vocation from being an officer in the Grenadier Guards. He came to Kenya with Lord Delamere to run his ranch, Soysambu next door to The Nderit Estate.

 

Richards father Robin Long was born in Kenya, served in The Royal Navy before taking over the Nderit Ranch in 1962 from his mother. Subsequently, Robin and Liza bought land off their life-long friend Dennis Wilson of Kilifi Plantations and set about building Nderit House overlooking the mouth of Kilifi Creek.

 

They designed it as their holiday home in the early ‘70s and from where they could fish their hearts out for those huge Marlin and other bill fish off the Kenyan coast. Billfish of every variety were either landed, or tagged and released; reef fish and the odd shark too. Records set were lost and regained.

 

Kilifi lent itself to be the perfect venue, set half way between the northern banks off Lamu and the Pemba Channel on the border of Tanzania.  Set back from the sea so as to catch the wind from both the North and South trade winds, the plot was twice as big as it is now, full of Baobab trees. It was the family home by the sea and away from the pillars of dust at Naivasha and Nakuru.

 

The extensive refurbishment is now completed in October 2021. Beautifully decorated bedrooms with bathrooms finished in terrazzo. The paintings are all part of the family collection. Some with Russian provenance (The Tobacco Lady in the entrance Hall, and more in The Villa) .

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