Crocodile handbags were all the rage in the early 50’s and David would take off into 'the bush' for weeks on end to shoot crocodiles. When Betty returned they married, started a family and went to live in tents on the shores of Lake Baringo. They built a lodge and fisheries in this remote place and collected a few birds and small animals for private breeding collections around the world.

Soon a home had been built, there were six children and herds of pet animals including a couple of buffalo that the children would ride. The nearest shops were over 70 miles away down a very rough road, and during the rains they would be cut off for weeks on end. The children grew up in blissful ignorance of the rest of the world. 

On one occasion David flew on the inaugural Pan Am flight to America, and took the family's pet cheetah Ella as his mascot. Room service in New York was amazed at the amount of raw meet David could consume! Soon after this, disaster struck when David, aged 42, tragically died leaving Betty on her own with six children, the youngest of which was 8 months old. These were hard times and eventually, under much pressure from relatives, Betty was persuaded to return to England. 

Dick & Chim

Sue Roberts' father Dick Bainbridge grew up in England and had a passion for all things to do with the sea.  After serving as a navel Officer (RNVR) during World War II, he rebuilt his beautiful old 115” wooden fruit clipper Orestes. She had gun ports on her flanks, a figurehead, and grass growing out of the deck, so this was no mean feat. With his sister and a few friends Dick planned to sail to South Africa to start a new life and buy a fruit farm. Several months later they arrived in Zanzibar having been attacked by pirates in the Red Sea who they fended off with

a punt gun. Dick went ahead to buy a fruit farm in South Africa but instead came back with a wife, Chim!

The romance of the East African coast was too much for them and they were soon sailing to Ceylon 3000 miles across the Indian ocean to salvage 6 boats (MFV’s)  that had been sunk in Trincomalee harbor by the Admiralty at the end of the war. This was the beginning of their shipping line.

They started in Zanzibar where their first contract was transporting clove pickers to the Island and back every day, and this is where Sue was born. Chim was a talented artist, cook and home maker, and she loved to sail. Dick captained his ships to all the islands in the Indian ocean and they were the only regular mailboat at one time to The Seychelles, Zanzibar, the Maldives islands, Maritious and Madagascar. This was a life he loved.

The company soon grew and 20 years later Southern Line owned several oil tankers a bulk cement carrier, an air charter and travel company, and a marine engineering complex.  Dick now found himself confined to a desk and the magic was gone. So at 52 he sold his company, bought a beautiful old wooden sailing boat and  returned to the sea where he sailed with his family for the next four years. Sue was at school in England and joined them wherever they were.

Both daughters returned to Kenya, and on her first weekend back Sue met Willie at Baringo, a place she was persuaded to visit as it was so remote in those days that she would not have the chance to visit again. Aged just 19, Willie had built a small lodge on one of the Islands and employed Sue to run it.

Willie & Sue

Willie was born in Kenya and grew up with his six siblings at Lake Baringo, a remote and beautiful part of the Rift Valley. His father David died tragically when Willie was 13. The family were faced with the prospect of leaving Kenya, but Willie was determined that this was not going to happen. After repeatedly running away from boarding school in protest, his mother Betty agreed that he could help run the family business, and the family would stay in Kenya.

At 19 he built his first small lodge with a friend on one of the islands in Lake Baringo. Sue, who grew up on the Kenyan coast, came to work here and three years later they were married. Sue and Willie built their first home on another island, Samatian, which has now been converted into a beautiful lodge by their daughter Caroline and her husband Ross.

In 1981, Willie and Sue started an arable farm in the Northern Masai Mara. Soon realizing that the area was better suited for wildlife, Willie managed to reverse the farming trend and as a result 8,000 acres reverted to wildlife and thousands more acres were saved from the plough. He set up an association for Masai land owners, enabling them to collect wildlife based revenue on their land.

In 2000 Willie established the Mara Conservancy in an area known as the 'Mara Triangle', with outstanding results. Over half the area had been a 'no go' area for visitors, with rampant poaching and hunting. The area became safe for visitors and poaching stopped, and the conservancy has become a model for conservation.

Having left the Mara, Willie moved to Lake Victoria and built a beautiful lodge with his brother Andy on Rusinga Island, which became an instant success. Willie & Sue now live in Northern Kenya where they have helped secure a large portion of land that is now within the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy. It is here that they have built their newest lodge, Sirikoi.

Since he was 17 Willie has also arranged exclusive mobile expeditions. He organized his first safari to Lake Turkana in the remotest part of Northern Kenya, and with his guests has explored many wild and fascinating parts of Africa since then.

Over the past 30 years Willie has spent an enormous amount of time & energy helping to conserve wild animals, and helping communities who live with wildlife, benefit from its presence on their land. Willie and Sue's children Richard (Richard's Camp) and Caroline (Samatian Island Lodge) continue the family tradition of hospitality and conservation.