Sc. 01
Rhino at first light
Out with the Borana scouts while it is still cold, following the tracks of a black rhino on foot. This is the conservancy’s daily work, and you are in it rather than watching it.
It starts with cold air and red dust. Four nights at Sirai House, a private home on its own 250 acres inside Borana Conservancy, with Mount Kenya behind you and black rhino on the plains below. Six suites, a waterhole beneath the terrace, a fire lit in your room before you are back from the evening drive. Borana’s scouts take you out on foot at first light, and the land is open to Lewa, so the game moves freely across both.
Then a private flight east to the coast. Three nights at Sirai Beach, a clifftop house above the Indian Ocean in Kilifi, with a 25-metre pool, a coral stair down to a quiet cove and a dhow on the creek at sunset. Both houses are yours alone. One night in Nairobi to begin, three private charters, nine days in all.
Photography courtesy of Sirai House
Out with the Borana scouts while it is still cold, following the tracks of a black rhino on foot. This is the conservancy’s daily work, and you are in it rather than watching it.
Experienced riders only. An early hack across open grassland, then a canter up to the brow of a hill where a fire is already going.
A short walk from the house, a permanent waterhole and a hide. Sit for an hour and let Borana come to you.
Ice, a long view north to the barren hills, Mount Kenya turning pink behind you. Nobody hurrying you back.
A long table under the trees, food from the house kitchen, conversation that runs past the point where anyone checks the time.
Slow country on foot with a KPSGA-accredited guide, reading tracks, dung and broken branches, the evidence of the night before.
A log fire laid, an outdoor shower, a veranda, and no other guests anywhere on the property.
A traditional dhow through the calm water of Kilifi Creek, sundowners on board, the mangroves glowing as the light goes.
Twenty-five metres of water on the edge of the cliff, the Indian Ocean beyond it, a daybed and someone who has already noticed your glass is empty.
Sirai Sea, a 38-foot Viking, out past the reef for marlin, tuna and wahoo between September and April, with lunch cooked on board.
Borana sits high on the Laikipia plateau on the equator, so it is temperate all year and malaria-free at the house. What changes is the rain: long rains March to May, short rains around October and November. The coast at Kilifi stays between 25 and 30C with a swimmable sea in every month. Sirai House opens April to December. The chart shows the average daytime high by month, with the best months to go marked.
The classic safari window. Cool days, short grass, game concentrated on what water is left. Predictable, excellent viewing, and dusty by September.
New grass after the short rains, calving, high predator activity, the best birding of the year, clear mornings with Mount Kenya out. Warm days, cold nights.
Green and empty, with dramatic skies and newborn game. Roads turn and some operators restrict fly camping. A photographer's month rather than a first safari.
Mount Kenya behind you, the Indian Ocean ahead, and two houses with nobody else in them.
Photography courtesy of Sirai House
Sirai House sits on a private 250-acre estate inside the 33,000-acre Borana Conservancy: six suites across four wings, a heated infinity pool, spa, cinema, stables and a waterhole hide. Sirai Beach stands on six acres of clifftop garden and baobabs above the Indian Ocean in Kilifi: six sea-view suites, a 25-metre pool, spa, tennis court and a private stair to the beach. Both sleep twelve.
The largest room in the house. King-sized bed, a big dressing room, and a private heated infinity plunge pool built into the bathroom, looking out over the plains.
Calm and private, a neutral room lifted by African design, including a Yoruba ceremonial cloak on the wall. Fireplace, deep tub, walk-in rain shower.
Linked by a central sitting room, which makes them the family or close-friends end of the house. Dove grey and aubergine, with vintage photographs from the Royal Geographical Society.
Earthier and richer, with four-poster beds, sisal and embroidered suede, sharing a dramatic lounge full of light.
The whole first floor of the main house, with sea views on every side, a study, a dressing room and a rooftop deck for sunrise or stars.
Two pairs of suites opening on to the gardens, each with a rooftop terrace and daybeds looking out to sea.
A standalone retreat in the greenery, with a polished-concrete bath and a rooftop swing daybed. The one couples ask for.
Words cannot express how grateful we are to have found you and Satopia. Our experience is one we will forever remember and cherish.
Jason • Satopia Community Guest
For up to 12 guests. Complete the form and we’ll be in touch to confirm your place.
Fly into Nairobi and spend the first night there. From then on every flight is a private charter: Nairobi to Borana airstrip in about 35 minutes, Borana to Kilifi on the coast, and Kilifi back to Nairobi in about 1 hour 10 minutes. Road transfers from the airstrips are included.
Sirai House sits on a private 250-acre estate inside Borana Conservancy, around 33,000 acres and open to neighbouring Lewa. Sirai Beach stands on six acres of clifftop above a quiet cove, five minutes from Kilifi airstrip. At both, there are no other guests.
Yes. Both are sold on exclusive use only: six suites and up to twelve guests at each, with a full house team and no shared spaces with anyone outside your group.
By private charter from Borana airstrip to Kilifi, with a five-minute drive from the airstrip to Sirai Beach. No roads, no connections.
As active as you want. Game drives, walking and rhino tracking on Borana, riding for experienced riders, then swimming, paddleboarding, tennis and deep-sea fishing on the coast. Both houses have a spa and a pool for the days you would rather not move.
Yes, but the horses are forward-going and riding out on a conservancy with game on it is not a beginner activity. The house takes experienced riders only.
Yes, at both houses, with lower child rates and conservation fees. Suites 3 and 4 at Sirai House share a sitting room, which suits families, and babysitting is available. Children’s game activities are at the guide’s discretion.
The night in Nairobi, all three private charters, exclusive use of both houses, all meals, house wines and spirits, spa treatments, game drives and walks, and Borana conservation fees. Riding, deep-sea fishing, helicopter time, premium cellar wines and gratuities sit outside it.
June to October is the long dry season on the plateau and the classic game window, and deep-sea fishing on the coast runs September to April, so late September and early October catch both. Sirai House closes January to March.
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