Luxury safari adventure travel with The Safari Collection

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I grew up in Toronto, down the street from Riverdale Zoo (now Riverdale Farm). I spent a lot of time there as a child – but not to watch the animals. Nope. I was figuring out how to break them out and return them to the wild. Lofty goals for a 10-year-old.

I even held a neighbourhood “carnival” in our backyard, where I charged admission. The family dog – a Chihuahua – was featured as a “miniature horse” (she loved the attention). My mom made popcorn for me to sell. I wanted to raise enough money to buy an animal and send it home to Africa. I only raised $20, so I donated it to a wildlife fund.

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Although I still can’t pull off a zoo break, travel has allowed me to see these majestic beasts in the wild. I started a recent Kenya trip at Giraffe Manor, a boutique hotel and sanctuary for endangered Rothschild’s giraffes. The historic manor sits on five hectares of lush private land within an indigenous forest in a suburb of Nairobi.

Owned by The Safari Collection, Giraffe Manor, facilitates up-close guest interactions with the resident giraffes. This is how, at 5:30 a.m., I came to be on my second-floor balcony, waiting for the graceful giants to wander over. Food pellets are placed in the rooms so guests can feed them.

As I sipped my coffee, I saw my favourite long-necked beauty, Betty, arrive. At more than 25 years old, Betty was the oldest resident giraffe, and she was pregnant. According to the Giraffe Manor team, Betty didn’t often visit guests, but she came right to me, looking up at me with her big, soulful brown eyes – and that moment felt like a gift from the universe. Pure joy.*

I gave Betty’s neck a lot of scritches – and she loved it.

There are nine resident giraffes – and more that have been rescued, rehabilitated and returned to the wild. The resident giraffes can’t be released for various reasons, but they have full run of the grounds and go to the manor to visit guests twice a day – early in the morning and at 4 p.m. They know exactly what time the pellets come out and are quite timely about their arrival.

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The lodges of Safari Collections

While the giraffes are the big draw, staying at Giraffe Manor is a five-star experience. The food is farm-to-table gourmet, and the rooms are large, comfortable and well-stocked. The manor has big, welcoming living rooms with comfortable furniture, fireplaces and sophisticated giraffe-themed décor. It feels like you are staying with a wealthy cousin who has great style.

After Giraffe Manor, I stayed at three other Safari Collections lodges. First was Solio Lodge in the Laikipia region of Kenya, famous for its rhino conservation. The lodge is the only guest accommodation in the 18,000-hectare Solio Game Reserve, which is home to one of the most successful rhino-breeding sanctuaries in East Africa. At Solio, there are only five guest cottages, each with a fireplace and a big bathtub overlooking the savannah.

On our game drives, we saw white and black rhinos. Our guide made us a bush breakfast – a table is set up on the open grassland (so no animals can surprise you!) with a feast of pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast and more. We ate with a herd of around 20 white rhinos just 10 metres away. I could hear them snorting. The rhinos were a little curious about us, but after an initial look, they didn’t seem to care. While rhinos are vegetarian, when the bacon was cooking, they moved closer!

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Next, we took a helicopter to Sasaab, a luxury tented camp in the Samburu region, famous for its majestic herds of elephants. A highlight of the three-hour excursion was flying over the sanctuary where the world’s last two northern white rhinos (both female) live under constant protection from poachers.

We stopped for breakfast on a mountain. (Kenyans sure know how to do breakfast!) By helicopter, we could see the country’s vast beauty and make out small pockets of houses, villages with tiny huts, and large grassland areas where elephants, rhinos and Cape buffalo roam.

Set high on a cliff overlooking a river, Sasaab has nine canvas-covered “cabins” (with thatched roofs), each with a large deck and private plunge pool overlooking a river, with Mount Kenya in the distance. I saw a small herd of elephants frolicking in the river from our deck, and some of the other guests spotted a cheetah at the edge of the riverbed.

Our final lodge was Sala’s Camp in the Maasai Mara. There was a fragrance in the breeze, lush vegetation, and the lodge had a spectacular 12.5-metre common table carved out of one (fallen) tree. There are seven guest tents, each with a private plunge pool and river view. I watched baboons, impalas, wart hogs and other animals crossing the river during the day and could hear hippos moving through at night.

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On our last evening game drive at Sala’s, our tracker and guide spotted a leopard high in a tree watching a herd of impala. We sat in the vehicle for an hour watching the leopard, which didn’t move a muscle. The herd knew that something was wrong but wasn’t sure what. The male sent out cries of alarm, looking everywhere, trying to locate the threat. As dusk approached, the leopard crept down the tree and the impala fled. According to our guide, the leopard would stalk them all night with the likely outcome ending tragically for an impala.

From the posh amenities in the large washrooms (with rain showers and full-size bathtubs) to comfortable living rooms, with small refrigerators stocked with our drink of choice, I was pampered at every lodge. Each tent or cabin had floor-to-ceiling windows and cozy beds with a turndown service complete with drawn bubble baths and hot water bottles tucked into the comforters (it can be chilly at night!).

Lunches were usually a three-course affair, with a mezze platter of chicken or beef as the main course. Dinners were sophisticated, delicious and casual. The food was so good that I bought a Safari Collection cookbook. Everyone on staff went out of their way to make each guest feel special.

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Game drives go out early in the morning, return for lunch, and then head back out at around 4 p.m. It was just our group of three (my husband, a friend and me) in our safari vehicle, which was open-air and comfortable. There were shawls for the chilly mornings along with sunscreen, water, and a recharging plug to make sure our phone/camera battery never dies. We saw the big five (lions, elephants, leopards, rhinos and Cape buffalo) and so more.

On afternoon game drives, we stopped and exited the vehicle for “sundowner” cocktails (sitting out on the grasslands, a drink in hand, watching the sunset) before returning to the lodge.

I might not be ten anymore, but my love for animals has only grown stronger over the years.

* Sadly, Betty lost her calf just a few days after I saw her, and the grand dame of Giraffe Manor passed away on December 31, 2023.

If You Go

You can book directly with The Safari Collection.

With The Safari Collection lodges, everything is included except for tips, souvenirs, and any extra activities like helicopter tours. The food is fabulous, the beverages are plentiful, laundry is included at each lodge, and the staff is attentive, caring and engaged.

Domestic flights between the lodges in Kenya are also included in The Safari Collection packages. The helicopter trip to Sasaab was with Tropic Air Kenya, booked through The Safari Collection.

The Safari Collection supports various programs through guest stays, conservancy fees charged to the guests and donations to specific programs. Each lodge supports specific programs relevant to local wildlife and community need. Information on this can be found under Footprints on the Safari Collection website.

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