Pandas? Nope. Elephants? Absolutely. My Kenyan Wildlife Encounter.

“There is something about safari life that makes you forget all your sorrows and feel as if you had drunk half a bottle of champagne – bubbling over with heartfelt gratitude for being alive.” – Karen Blixen

This past November, I embarked on an unforgettable journey to the East African gem of Kenya, and I’m thrilled to share the highlights of my adventure with you. Our partners along the way – Adventures Africa, JMAK Hospitality, and SkySafari and The Elewana Collection – ensured that every day was filled with unrivaled experiences.

Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya

The Preamble.
Pre safari, I spent a night at the beguiling Giraffe Manor in Nairobi where I was welcomed and given a short briefing. Built in 1932 this estate is molded after a Scottish hunting lodge on 150 acres for Rothschild’s giraffes to roam and feed in the indigenous forest. In partnering with The African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, this has been a breeding center for endangered Rothschild’s giraffes longer than it has been a hotel and since its founding, over 64 Rothschild’s giraffes have been released to repopulate their species. Currently, they have 12 giraffes here with one dominant male; an amazing feat considering that in the 1970’s when the rehabilitation program began, there were less than 100 of these beautiful creatures in all of Kenya. Due to the efforts of Giraffe Manor and the AFEW, those numbers have now grown to over 300 in Kenya.

Meals and drinks are all included here and are artfully and deliciously prepared for each guest. Lunch and dinner were served on the terrace under a canopy of trumpet flowers while giraffes, birds and opportunistic warthogs wandered in the distance hoping for leftovers. There were so many options with several courses, all with fresh ingredients and African influence. Their gift shop is gorgeous and sells a beautifully curated selection of local crafts, but I have to say, there were artists working here in the kitchen.

After a bath and rest from my long flight to Nairobi, I wandered out of my suite to meet the other guests on the lawn.

Giraffes can tell time.
These giraffes have not been trained or domesticated in any way and participate willingly on the twice daily pellet feeding by the guests. There are no calls or signals but we saw those tall necks glance at their watches then wander over just before 5:00pm with their appetites and enviable eyelashes in tow. High Tea and cocktails are served to the guests, but the giraffes come for the nutritional pellets, and to be hand fed by the guests. All hands are carefully washed before and after to keep everyone safe and while they may have glanced at the Gin and Tonic in my one hand, they stayed for the pellets in my other. Their sandpapery tongues devoured their snack while the lovely staff snapped a copious number of keepsake photos for me. I’ve never had a giraffe selfie until now- totally worth the hype! This was the happiest happy hour I’ve ever had.

Early to Rise.
While I’m not a morning person, a 5:45am wake up the next morning by my butler was welcomed because a giraffe followed him right to my door for an early encounter. This may be the key to getting teenagers out of bed. The giraffes didn’t seem to mind the early breakfast (they only sleep about a shocking 30 minutes a day), and they poked their heads into everyone’s windows for more hand feeding. Maybe I should invest in a basket of pellets at home.

Retreat!
I spent the following day at the Retreat at Giraffe Manor adjacent to the lodge in a stunning well-appointed day room. I swam laps in the infinity pool (where on occasion a giraffe will wander by), went to the gym, sat in the hot tub and sauna, drank tea by the fire, and had a lovely meal as I watched the resident warthogs run past. This hidden gem may just be the most spectacular cure for jet lag anywhere. Day rooms can be reserved here for before or after your long journey and I promise that you’ll forget about your long flight if you do.

There is a full spa and restaurant, and this is a wonderful alternative if you can’t find the time for an overnight here and need more giraffes in your life. Both of these properties are Managed by The Safari Collection and booked through Royal Travel in addition to your safari. A word of warning; Being the most Instagrammed hotel in the world and only having 12 rooms in the estate and 6 rooms in The Retreat, plan earlier than you think for this once in a lifetime experience to stay at Giraffe Manor.

Away we go.
I spent the next 8 days on safari in Kenya in partnership with Adventures Africa, JMAK Hospitality, and SkySafari.

After a restful night at Hemingway’s Nairobi, we were able to skip the hustle of Nairobi’s International airport, and board our private 9-seater luxury plane to depart for Meru, without a minute wasted. A bounty of biodiversity, Meru teems with elephant, zebra, lion, cheetah leopard, giraffe, hippos, buffalo and hartebeest, and hosts a rhino sanctuary that is home to both endangered black and white rhino species.

You’ll tick almost every species off your list here right away with multiple and close sightings in abundance – Meru is recognized as having more diversity of animal species than any other park in East Africa. Our home for two nights here was Elewana Elsa’s Kopje, a camp of open cottages which were crafted around the local rocks and trees to take advantage of it’s privileged location looking over the park from every angle. Meals, sundowners, and expertly led game drives in open air vehicles were all carefully organized by the attentive staff. They really worked miracles here to ensure that we each had our “Out of Africa” moment. Tablecloths, silverware, and a full hot breakfast appeared like a mirage one day on a table set up for us next to a river after an early game drive.

A brief scenery filled flight brought us to our next destination, Elewana Loisaba Tented Camp. These permanent luxury tents offer a spectacular place to experience the Loisaba Conservancy in the most comfortable way I could imagine. Polished wood floors, walk-in rain showers, welcoming beds and outstanding common spaces let the guests here mingle by the fire with their cocktails and wonder how we all got so lucky. Two infinity pools and meals overlooking the watering hole, all but ensured our sighting of over 50 elephants parading by for their happy hour drink. Activities, wildlife, and game drives here are abundant, but highlights included meeting with the local anti-poaching sniffer-dog unit, meeting the local Samburu in their village, horseback riding in the brush and hearing the lions roar at night from our beds. While we observed so much wildlife here, we also felt lucky to connect with so many local people, including the lovely staff here.

We reached our last encampment by another brief flight to stay at Elewana Sand River in the famed Masai Mara. Luxury permanent tented camps on the secluded banks of the Sand River gave us privacy and unique views of the wildlife wandering past our camp from our beds, decks, bathtubs or from the outdoor heated showers. The open reserve here in the Mara makes it easy to spot several species of animals together at once giving the illusion that Noah’s Ark just stopped along the river to let everyone out. This ecosystem is home to one of the highest lion densities in the world, and hosts over 95 species of mammals with 570 recorded species of birds. You will never wish to get over the bounty of wildlife you’ll see all at once here, and I have always thought of this as the quintessential dream safari destination.

Essentials
For anyone considering a safari in the future, a few things to note. First, is this is a trip that is best planned ahead, ideally a year in advance. This will give you the most options of places to stay and price points. There are a variety of safari styles, and I’ve traveled on everything from bare bones camping to pre-designed group trips, to luxury bespoke trips, and can honestly say, they have each been special and life changing. If budget is a concern, please consider a less popular time to go or pre-designated group trip. November is the start of the shoulder season with short rains, but I felt like this was a great time to visit. Wildlife sightings were bountiful, crowds were positively scarce. We had a few very short rains, but warm days and cool nights and lots of adorable baby animals. Prices were much more reasonable, and people were so happy to see us.

If you’re working with a specific timeframe for this, I want to stress that this is a trip that is best with at least 10 days. It’s a long way to go and can take more than 24 hours to get to eastern Africa so you’ll want to settle in to be able to appreciate the trip with some rest on the front end. If you have the time, a post safari beach vacation in the region is the best place to reflect on all you’ve just seen.

Keep in Mind

• We needed an electronic travel authorization for Kenya that was granted from my online application in a day.

• Your passport must be valid for 6 months after you return and have two blank pages.

• If you are transiting through a country where Yellow Fever is endemic, you will be required to show proof of vaccine, so plan to have a pre-trip consult with a travel medical clinic.

• The currency is Kenya Shillings, but we were able to transact and tip with USD or Euro

Kwaheri ya kuonana. (Till we meet again.)
njakob@royal-travel.com