When Blixen's romantic connection with the hunter and pilot Denys Finch Hatton was winding down, Markham started her own affair with him. Most of the visitors, Damaris says, who come to the grave are those directed from the Karen Blixen Museum who want to know where Karen’s lover was buried. She befriended the Danish writer Karen Blixen during the years that Blixen was managing her family's coffee farm in the Ngong hills outside Nairobi. “Since December started, I have not received any visitor to the grave but I keep on hoping that they will come,” says Damaris as she dangles the keys of the gate to the grave in her hands.

The grave, however, is not easy to find.įour pillars show the area around the grave is surrounded by flowery vegetation two steps away from the tall headstone.ĭamaris says that the rainy weather thanks to the Ngong forest discourages visitors from the place. The Kamau’s have shown love to the late Finch Hatton by taking care of the garden around the obelisk. A champion of Africa, legendary for his good looks, his charm, and his prowess as a soldier, lover, and hunter, Finch Hatton inspired Karen Blixen to write the. The obelisk plaque epitaph reads: “Denys George Finch Hatton” - “He prayeth well who loveth well both man and bird and beast” (from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a poem that Denys had admired). To arrange a visit to DFH’s grave in the Ngong Hills, call Damaris on +254 723 758 639 and be sure to have Ksh500 on hand for the entrance. His brother erected a tall headstone obelisk at the gravesite. Please be sure to visit the Karen Blixen Museum next time you are in Copenhagen and book a private tour it’s worth every cent. In one scene, they are seen shooting a lion that was charging at them.Īccording his wishes, Finch Hatton was buried in Kenya in Ngong forest at that time when it was a forest without habitation. The 1985 fictional movie Out of Africa played by Robert Redford and Meryl Streep, gives a good sneak preview into their love life.

Denys finch hatton and karen blixen