July 1st and 2nd we spent the night at Solio Lodge in Laikipia Kenya. When we booked our stay at Giraffe Manor, we were required to stay at another of their properties for at least one night. Although I didn’t want to stay at another location because we had so many other plans, I quickly agreed knowing our rooms at Giraffe Manor may be taken if I sat and thought about it for a while. Due to the time difference in Kenya I was doing this booking in the wee hours of the morning while driving to work. I asked the man about other locations and knowing I couldn’t look at them because I was driving, I just told the guy on the phone to book whatever was closest to Nairobi that had a family cottage. I did not want to fly somewhere or have a long drive and so we ended up with a booking at Solio Lodge. I looked at the place and I knew it had running water, flushing toilets and at the time that’s what was most important to me. Considering that it was part of the Safari Collection with Giraffe Manor I figured it had to be nice. I had no idea what animals we would see or anything about the place. I guess I took a leap of faith. When we arrived to Solio, it looked like what I’ve seen in travel magazines and ads on social media.
The drive took about 3 hours and we stopped once at a Kikuyu shop/market for a bathroom break. When we walked in the store a guy immediately knew Ajali was “one of them” and gravitated to him. The girls and I went to the bathroom and afterwards began looking in the shop. Before I knew it, Ajali and his new friend lol caught up to us. He honestly looked like an elder, but a little younger. He talked about the great deal he would give me and how if I needed anything shipped they would do it for me. I love the market and I can negotiate prices, but this place was a little expensive. We picked out our things, he gave us a price and of course my response was “no I can’t afford that”. After standing my ground Ajali’s new friend went to get his manager to confirm that the price I was willing to pay was acceptable. The manager came over and stated that I (Lenise) pay X amount and Ajali pay X amount. Ajali looked this man in his face and was like- Nope, we are one! I then chimed in- and he’s Kikuyu! “OK, OK” the man said with a smile, and we were then on our way, with our stuff :)
On the way to the lodge the driver was telling us about how Solio was a rhino sanctuary. Really??? You mean to tell me that I picked a place with one animal??? Who does this? I swear i was starting to think to myself- oh boy why did I book this?? As we got closer the driver called the lodge and a woman took our lunch order so they would have food ready for us when we arrived. We arrive at the lodge and a few staff members came out to bring our luggage to our room. Did I mention we brought ALL of our dirty laundry with us??? I mean everything! We were only staying for one night but it looked like we were moving in! We were told told at Giraffe Manor that we could’ve brought laundry with us, but since we didn’t know we planned to bring it to Solio instead. I told the staff we had a lot of laundry and they said they were unable to guarantee it could all get done by the time we left the next day but they would try. They also asked what was the most important things we needed just in case. We hadn’t realized how dusty it gets on game drives, the weather had been abnormally chilly, so we opted to have jackets and warmer clothes washed first. To our surprise they managed to wash, dry, fold and even iron some things before we left the next day. That saved us a laundry trip, because the hotel we are staying in is expensive for laundry. We do have enough clothes to go without doing laundry, but since it has been chilly the pickings are kind of slim.
We walked into the room and OMG! There were glass windows all around and monkeys staring at us from the other side of the glass. Monkeys with an odd color blue balls might I add. There was a large open space with a couch, fireplace and a bed for Ajali and I and our bathroom had a large stand alone tub, large shower area, seating area and a fireplace as well. Did I mention the entire bathroom was glass windows??? It was gorgeous and the view outside was amazing. It felt unreal and the pictures don’t do it justice. The girls bathroom looked the same, just a little smaller, and their room had separate beds. They also had their own outside seating area, as well as us. I went in the bathroom and as I was about to use the toilet I felt as though I was being stared at. I was! Those darn monkeys were looking at me! I felt violated lol. I immediately went to get my camera but as soon as I got closer to the grass they started to move away, whether it be running away or climbing nearby trees.
After Ajali seen the room he said “Babe, you outdid yourself this time” :)
We went for lunch outside and the view was gorgeous. It was chilly, but still enjoyable. A Monkey climbed a tree near us and waited patiently lol. One of the managers came out to talk to us and give us a run down of the rules, meal times, activities, game drives and an overall info session on the conservatory. She was extremely personable and made us feel at home. This place was small as they only had one family cottage and four single cottages. There were only two other families there during our stay, one couple from Louisiana and a mom and her 10 yr old daughter who just arrived before us from Hawaii. The others who were staying had either already been to Giraffe Manor or were going. It was nice to share experiences. The manager made us feel like we were truly home and we could tell she really cared for everyone there. Although our stay was not long, she wanted to know what we wanted to do while there, what we liked to eat and more importantly- what we liked to drink! She told us she would make sure we had drinks for our game drive later. I was thinking- how am I going to see the animals if I’m tipsy?? Perhaps this is what they did out here? I had never heard of this part of a safari but, why not? When in Kenya…
After lunch outside we headed to our room for a short while and then back to the main building for tea and then off for a game drive. We were told there was a surprise in the vehicle and none of us never would’ve guessed what it was. We loaded ourselves in and I saw water bottles in the truck with our names on it and I was thinking- did this woman fill this with wine for me??? Does Ajali havre cognac in his??? I immediately asked because if so, it was not going to work! Lol. She laughed at me and said oh no, that’s water. Whew! The surprise was that our safari truck had a place to sit on top of the truck. We all thought it looked cool, but I personally had my doubts. Why would I climb on the top of the truck? I could see out the windows and if I stood up I could see out the top, well if I stopped on the seat I could see that high lol). We started out driving for about 2 mins and then the driver stopped. He then told us to get on the top of the truck. Everyone got up and I reluctantly followed. There was one seatbelt on the two benches that were up there. ONE. It was located where Sanaa was sitting and she was excited about that…until she figured out it didn’t work. “Um excuse me, there aren’t seatbelts, should we come down now” I said to the driver, and yes I was serious. “No, no, Ill drive slow, no worries”! Well I’m writing this list, so you know I made it alive lol. He actually did drive slow-er at first, but sped up at times. The road was bumpy as hell at times, but the view and experience were priceless. I did feel like I was being tossed like a ragdoll at times but i think my pants were slippery. The girls and Ajali found it hilarious. Our driver was AMAZING! During this drive we saw both black and southern white rhino, giraffes pumbaas, buffalo, gazelles, baboons, lions and 3 cubs that were approximately 7 months old (they were big so we didn’t really believe they were 7 months old, but maybe they were). We saw a lot of carcasses as well. We learned that it takes about 5 years for an animal carcus to turn all the way white and bare and look like what we would see in a book or other picture.
While driving in the park we received word that simba was spotted. Simba means lion in Swahili. To get there we needed to cross the river. Now, it wasn’t like there was a bridge, it was more of tracks in the mud where there was little water compared to the rest of the river. To our surprise there was a black rhino standing to the side of the “bridge”. Black rhinos are aggressive and don’t have great eyesight. He knew we were there. Our vehicle and another vehicle were trying to cross and not have the rhino charge at us. Keep in mind this is a little bumpy, we have no seatbelts and are on top of the safari vehicle. We sat and waited with the vehicle off and on and taking turns with the other vehicle moving forward. It was almost like a game of chicken. This last maybe 10-15 min. During this time, the rhino layer down and appeared to be falling asleep, but each time a vehicle would try to pass it, he would lift his head up. Our driver ended up giving up and decided to find another way to cross the river. As we drove away the other vehicle appeared to be crossing the river and the rhino was just looking at them. What the heck??? Our driver turned around so we could do the same. Well, it wasn’t the same. The rhino was still laying down. As we got closer he began to stand and as we were driving past he actually got up and started making noise and coming towards us as if to charge the vehicle. It’s was a little scary, but SO COOL! I will post the video in another section. We got to the lions and it was so cool to see.
We drove for a couple hours and the sun began to set. Our driver pulled over at a spot so we could use the bathroom, yes in the bush, and he also set up chairs for us to sit and watch the sunset. He then bulled out some cheeses, crackers, Coke for the girls, cognac and wine for Ajali and I. Talk about a perfect sunset in the bush. It was gorgeous! Let me tell you, that South African Rose I had was SO good! One glass was enough. We headed back to the room to get ready for dinner.
Dinner was great and our belly’s were full. They brought out a cake and sang Happy Birthday to us all and congratulated Ajali and I on our wedding anniversary. Once arriving to our room there was a very hot drawn bubble bath in each bathroom and hot water bottles in our bed for warmth. The fireplace in Ajali and our bathroom and bedroom areas were started and the one in the girls bathroom was started. We did not want the fireplace in the girls bedroom on. Ajali added wood as needed. Jasmine came and killed a couple moths for me, and to sleep we all went!
The next morning Kenyan tea and hot chocolate were delivered at 0645 as a wake up call. After drinking we went to breakfast, which we ordered the night before and then off for another game drive. It was still cool outside so we stayed inside the vehicle rather than go on top. The rooms provided hooded blankets which were so comfy. We saw many of the same animals, drove for a couple of hours and then returned to our cottage to pack up. Our driver back to Nairobi had returned and off we went back to our Nairobi hotel.
We would love to come back to this small, quiet, breathtaking property in the future. It was so peaceful. I think the rhino has now become my favorite in addition to the elephant. Ajali and the girls would like to as well.
A few pics from the main building at the lodge
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