Guests dining with giraffes visible through large window, Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya
Luxury lodge nestled among trees with manicured tropical gardens at dusk, Loldia House, Rift Valley Lakes, Kenya
Illuminated safari camp tents at dusk with wooden decking and stretched canvas, Governors’ Camp, Maasai Mara, Kenya
Canopy bed with cream drapes in spacious bedroom, Sheba’s Secret Garden, Nairobi, Kenya
Giraffes at manor house entrance during golden hour sunset, Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya
Turquoise lap pool lined with loungers beneath stone archway, Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya
Wine being poured into glass with vineyard landscape at sunset, Loldia House, Rift Valley Lakes, Kenya
Luxury safari tent with guests on riverside deck overlooking waterhole, Governors’ Camp, Maasai Mara, Kenya
Bartender smiling behind wooden counter with ornate window, Sheba’s Secret Garden, Nairobi, Kenya
Colonial mansion with giraffe viewing areas and surrounding woodland, Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya
Woman bathing in turquoise lagoon beneath overhanging mangrove tree, Loldia House, Rift Valley Lakes, Kenya
Riverside dinner table set with lanterns at dusk overlooking waterway, Governors’ Camp, Maasai Mara, Kenya
Outdoor dining table set in manicured garden lawn, Sheba’s Secret Garden, Nairobi, Kenya

inspiration

kenya: giraffes, naivasha and the mara

Private Safari
From $7,900 pp
2 guests
9 nights

trip highlights

  • Rothschild's giraffes live year-round on the Giraffe Manor estate and take pellets from the terrace and windows at morning and late-afternoon feeding times.
  • Loldia House sits on a 6,500-acre cattle ranch on Lake Naivasha, where private land allows drives to continue after dark.
  • Lake Naivasha holds over 400 recorded bird species, reached by motorboat through papyrus among hippos, pelicans and fish eagles.
  • Governors' Camp stands on a bend of the Mara River in the Musiara sector, on the Marsh Pride's home ground.
Scroll for the full itinerary
Zebra standing alert in grassland with blurred vegetation background, Loldia House, Rift Valley Lakes, Kenya

Kenya From Karen to the Musiara Marsh

This nine-night route links four places in order. It opens on the edge of Nairobi at Giraffe Manor, where a resident herd of Rothschild’s giraffes crosses the lawns. It moves to Loldia House on Lake Naivasha in the Rift Valley, a working cattle ranch above the shore, then to Governors’ Camp on the Mara River in the Musiara sector of the Maasai Mara. It closes back in Karen at Sheba’s Secret Garden.

We arrange the drives, the flights and the hosting throughout. Days hold breakfasts at the giraffe window, boat safaris and night drives on private ranch land, and open-sided 4x4s in the Mara reserve. The properties range from a 1930s manor house to a permanent tented camp and a Cape Dutch farmhouse, each taken for what it does best.

plan your safari

Daily Itinerary Breakdown

Giraffe Manor and the Karen Forest Edge

Begin at Giraffe Manor, a 1930s house on the edge of Nairobi's indigenous forest, built by Sir David Duncan in 1932 and modelled on a Scottish hunting lodge. A resident herd of endangered Rothschild's giraffes wanders the lawns and pushes its necks through the dining-room windows at breakfast. The twelve acres sit within a larger stretch of forest, screened from the city, forty-five to sixty minutes from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The manor forms a natural base for the wildlife and cultural sites around Karen.

Loldia House and the Rift Valley Lakes

Drive to Loldia House, a 1940s stone farmhouse on the north-western shore of Lake Naivasha, its walls of dark volcanic stone quarried on the ranch. Hippos climb out of the lake at night to graze the lawns, and Mount Longonot rises across the water. Days move at farmhouse hours: boat safaris through papyrus and pelicans, walks among impalas and cattle, tilapia fishing and horses along the shoreline. Because the 6,500 acres are private land, drives continue after dark, and full days out follow the Rift Valley lakes to Lake Nakuru National Park.

Governors' Camp on the Mara River

Fly to Governors' Camp, a permanent tented camp on a bend of the Mara River in the Musiara sector, set deep in riverine forest and opened by Aris and Romi Grammaticas in 1972. The marsh and river never dry, so Musiara holds resident game the year round. Drives run in open-sided 4x4s inside the reserve, working leopard in the forest, cheetah on the plains and the Marsh Pride at the wetland edge. From July to October the wildebeest arrive. Balloons lift off from the camp at first light, ending with breakfast on the grass.

  • Accommodation at Governors' Camp

Sheba's Secret Garden in Karen

Close at Sheba's Secret Garden, a hosted Cape Dutch farmhouse in Karen taken as an exclusive-use home, about thirty minutes from Wilson Airport. Its Shagalabagala distillery makes an African Dry Gin on site, and a tour and tasting form part of the stay. A small resident team hosts guests much as they would in a family home. Karen puts the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust nursery, the AFEW Giraffe Centre and the Karen Blixen Museum within easy reach, all arranged with a vehicle on hand.

  • Accommodation at Sheba's Secret Garden
Ed Charles photographing wildlife

Ed Charles, BBC Producer

Fitzroy are true specialists in accessing the wilderness. They know where to go and importantly, when to go there. Highly recommended.

Ed Charles

Bafta & Emmy award winning film producer of BBC’s Planet Earth 2 and A Perfect Planet

looking for inspiration?

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kenya

flying safari to the diani reef

Twelve nights in Kenya linking Nairobi, the Naboisho Conservancy in the Maasai Mara and a private villa on the Diani coast.

  • Private Safari
  • From $10,900 pp
  • 2 guests
  • 12 nights
View Safari
Thermal pool with guests bathing, lodge buildings and savanna landscape, Lengishu House, Laikipia Highlands, Kenya Swimming pool with white building and shade trees, Manzili House, Nairobi, Kenya Modern lodge structure elevated above savanna woodland at dusk, Wild Hill, Maasai Mara, Kenya Guest at infinity pool overlooking savanna and mountains, Reteti House, Northern Kenya, Kenya Curved swimming pool with guests surrounded by savanna landscape, Lengishu House, Laikipia Highlands, Kenya Guests dining on dhow deck at sunset over water, Tusitiri Dhow, Lamu Archipelago, Kenya Swimming pool with white modern house and large trees, Manzili House, Nairobi, Kenya Curved seating area with central fire pit at dusk, Wild Hill, Maasai Mara, Kenya African elephant grazing in savanna with mountain backdrop, Lengishu House, Laikipia Highlands, Kenya Aerial view of lodge nestled in hillside with pool, Reteti House, Northern Kenya, Kenya Sunset dining setup on traditional wooden dhow boat, Tusitiri Dhow, Lamu Archipelago, Kenya Guest relaxing on lounge chairs on sunlit terrace, Manzili House, Nairobi, Kenya Infinity pool overlooking forested landscape at dusk, Wild Hill, Maasai Mara, Kenya Bedroom with exposed wooden beams and twin beds, Lengishu House, Laikipia Highlands, Kenya

kenya

private homes safari

Fifteen nights across Kenya, from the Maasai Mara and Laikipia to Samburu country and a dhow in the Lamu Archipelago.

  • Private Safari
  • From $39,095 pp
  • 6 guests
  • 15 nights
View Safari
Rider on horseback galloping across open grassland, Borana Lodge, Laikipia Highlands, Kenya Giraffes at manor house entrance during golden hour sunset, Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya Illuminated safari lodge reflected in still waterhole at night, Sarara Camp, Northern Kenya, Kenya Illuminated safari tent at dusk with tall trees nearby, Kicheche Mara North, Maasai Mara, Kenya Wooden deck with infinity pool overlooking savanna at dusk, Borana Lodge, Laikipia Highlands, Kenya Thatched safari lodge deck overlooking vast savanna landscape, Lamai Serengeti, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Turquoise lap pool lined with loungers beneath stone archway, Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya Person standing by infinity pool overlooking mountain landscape, Sarara Camp, Northern Kenya, Kenya Lakeside dining pavilion overlooking water and savanna hills, Borana Lodge, Laikipia Highlands, Kenya Luxury safari tent with guests dining at dusk overlooking savanna, Kicheche Mara North, Maasai Mara, Kenya Wooden deck overlooking vast savanna landscape at sunset, Lamai Serengeti, Serengeti National Park, Tanzania Colonial mansion with giraffe viewing areas and surrounding woodland, Giraffe Manor, Nairobi, Kenya Natural waterhole surrounded by savanna and distant mountains, Sarara Camp, Northern Kenya, Kenya Bedroom with open views across savanna at sunset, Borana Lodge, Laikipia Highlands, Kenya

kenya & tanzania

riding the conservancies to the serengeti

Thirteen nights linking northern Kenya's conservancies to the Maasai Mara and the northern Serengeti's migration country.

  • Private Safari
  • From $21,375 pp
  • 2 guests
  • 13 nights
View Safari

rated five stars by our clients

Planning a journey together

our approach

remote, exclusive
& personal

Every journey starts with a conversation. We take the time to understand your vision before we start planning.

Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape something that is considered, personal, and expertly delivered.

Every journey starts with a conversation. We favour a direct, personal approach: understanding your vision before anything else.

Whether by phone or in person, we work with you directly to shape a journey that is both thoughtfully considered and expertly delivered.

Get in touch to start planning yours.

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