My Safari Adventure

In October this year, I was invited to participate in a FAM trip for travel agents by Perowne International.  Obviously I jumped at the chance to experience some of the safari camps that I’ve researched and learned about over the last year!

The FAM trip was focussing on The Safari Collection, which is a group of four resorts, located around Kenya, each with its own style and presence, showcasing various unique and endangered animals.

My only safari experience had been many years ago, in a South African reserve called, Shamwari, so I was excited to find out how different the experiences could be.

I flew from London Heathrow to Nairobi which took 8h 50mins, we were met before passport control by the Safari Collection staff and were accompanied through to collect our bags before being driven to our over night accommodation in an airport hotel. 

Once refreshed after the journey, having had a comfortable nights sleep, we were up early for our internal flight on Safarilink  to Laikipia, Solio Lodge.  We were, again, greeted by Safari Collection staff, who presented us with beautiful bags containing our printed itinerary, a personalised water bottle and cap, plus a pouch full of handmade beauty products………..my heaven!!

The Safarilink planes are small, 12 seaters, so be prepared to squeeze yourself in and if you are at all motion sick, take the pills!  I don’t get motion sick but even I felt a little queasy.  Luckily these flights are short, just 45mins from Nairobi, we landed in Laikipia and were taken to Solio Lodge, our first stop.

Solio Lodge sits on a 45,000 acre reserve which boasts an impressive population of black and white Rhino.  Although there are lots of different wildlife, including Lion, Cheetah and Leopard, for me the Rhino was the highlight, as it is one of my favourite animals.

The Lodges are enormous and beautifully decorated, there is nothing tented about this camp, with solid construction and thatched roofs, this is a lovely way to ease yourself into safari.  Each Lodge has floor to ceiling glass windows, so the views of the nature and wildlife are un-interrupted.  Playful and inquisitive Vervet Monkeys sit on your deck, minding their babies, whilst the prehistoric giants roam just feet away from you, peacefully munching on grass.  It really is a peace of heaven, sitting on the deck, with only the sound of the Rhino munching grass the birds singing in the trees and not another soul within your eyeline.

The staff at Solio Lodge, are second to none, my host Agnes was so friendly and welcoming, nothing was too much trouble.  Agnes woke me with a cup of tea and after dinner when we were escorted back to our rooms, Agnes had turned the bed down, lit the candles and popped a hot water bottle in my bed, often leaving little notes, Swahili proverbs or memorable quotes which was a lovely touch.

Whilst there, we were treated to three game drives, the first one, an evening drive was a reserved affair, taking in the wealth of wildlife and the beautiful back drop of the Aberdare Mountain range, I can honestly say I’ve never seen so many Rhino in one place at one time!  The sundowner Gin & Tonic was interrupted by a Leopard sighting, quickly turning the drive from a quiet plod to an exhilarating rush, to pack up and charge towards the last location, hoping desperately that we might catch a glimpse of the stunning creature.  We were in luck!!  This Leopard was not at all shy and after a tense 15mins of waiting and moving position, the Leopard crept through the reeds and onto the wooden bridge right in front of us, where is spent the next 20mins preening itself and trying to fall asleep.  What a rush, what an honour, what a dream, to have witnessed that so early on in our safari adventure……..what could possibly top it!!

Our morning game drive included a bush breakfast, sitting in the middle of the savannah with Rhino and Giraffe within spotting distance, we were served freshly made pancakes, fruit, eggs, bacon and sausage.  How they managed such a wonderful spread on a 2 burner hob, which slid out from the side of the truck, I’ll never know, but it was absolutely delicious.

Our second evening game drive, ended with a visit to ‘Jolene’, Solio’s mobile bar, serving all of your favourites plus freshly grilled beef skewers, a cheese board and cold meats.  Another memorable sundowner!

We also visited the Rhino Orphanage, which has only recently been set up............not that I wish for baby Rhino’s to be orphaned but to be so close to them and to feed them was s dream come true.  Sadly, it doesn’t take long for a Rhino Mother to forget about her baby, so if there is any separation this can spell disaster for the calf.  Luckily, the orphanage is doing a wonderful job of raising and caring for the babies, they currently have 7 which will be looked after until they are around 3 years old then the hope is that they will be released back into the wild.  It is a fantastic place and the staff are truly incredible, as the care is 24hours a day, even sleeping in the same stall as the babies!

I definitely could have stayed for longer but I also feel like I was there for a week, given how much we saw and what we experienced.