The Collection

We’re thrilled to share that all 16 Elewana Collection properties have been listed for the prestigious Condè Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards 2022.

We would highly appreciate your help in ensuring our properties win with your votes. More than one property can be nominated, with every vote counting. For every vote entry, US participants will be entered to win a trip for two from Stockholm to Bergen with Viking, while UK readers can win a trip to South Africa.

Cast your vote here

Voting is open until June 30, 2022.

Special Offers

Guests booking a minimum of three nights at an Elewana Collection property in the bush and combining it with three nights at Kilindi Zanzibar are entitled to a 25% discount on the Kilindi rates. What’s more, this offer is valid during high season making for a great value beach and bush break in the sunshine. T&C’s apply and not valid for resident rates.

For more information click here.

The longer the stay the more you can save, a great excuse to book a fully immersive safari holiday. Bookings of four plus nights are eligible for a 10% discount, whereas a seven plus nights safari will incur a 15% discount and even better, a ten plus nights booking will reduce the entire package by a fantastic saving of 20%.

T&C’s apply and applicable when combining with one or more properties, excluding Arusha Coffee Lodge. Valid until the 31st October 2023 with blackout dates of 1st July to 31st October and 20th December to 5th January. For more information click here

We always love to see returning guests and to honour them, we’re happy to introduce a loyalty discount of five percent. Additionally, those taking advantage of the offer will also be entitled to 20% off any spa treatments where available across the Elewana Collection. This offer is valid until the 30th June 2023 and terms and conditions apply, For more details click here.

From Our Conservation Partners

Amboseli Trust for Elephants celebrates their golden anniversary since the founding of the research project in 1972. For the past 50 years, the organisation has collaborated with over 30 scientists and researchers from international academic institutions and published over 135 scientific papers, articles, and edited volumes. Their contributions to science have covered a wide array of studies including elephant social dynamics, behaviour, reproduction, and population genetics amongst other important topics. The organisation has also made significant contributions to conservation and capacity building, as well as the well-being of elephants in captivity. Elewana, and in particular, Tortilis Camp, proudly supports this esteemed organisation and the amazing work that they do with gentle giants.

Inside Information From The Team

We had a chat with Joseph Chege, Gold Level Certified Guide at Tortilis Camp, to learn more about why he loves his work, what his daily routine is like, what it takes to reach gold-level certification and more. 

What I love about Amboseli is its geo location. Thanks to its proximity to the Equator, is it is one of the very best places to live, with an abundance of flora and fauna. Also, it is accessible by air and land, centred at the heart of a beautiful and exciting safari experience.

The topography and geology of Amboseli make it an interesting place, with some of the rarest migratory birds making a stopover in the area. The region’s different habitats support different species of animals, and it is one of the safest National Parks in the world, without any cases or incidences of poaching for more than three decades. We have a top research project of Elephants, one of the most in-depth and it a World Heritage site with some of the most renowned and iconic Big Tuskers.

The East African Bush has been my office for 16 years now, during which I have been guiding and hosting many guests. It's all about PASSION.

What is a typical day for you?

On a typical day, I wake at 4:30 am and start getting everything ready for the guests starting with checking the condition of the Safari vehicle, then preparing guest amenities like blankets, ponchos, bean bags and binoculars.

At 6:00 am, I make sure everyone is ready to go then we jump into the jeep to start our drive, keeping our eyes peeled for the local inhabitants as we wait for the sunrise with the backdrop of the peak of the majestic Mount Kilimanjaro. Morning early hours are the best for birders and offer the best light for photography. It is also the best time for checking the fresh game tracks before they are blown off by the wind.

As dawn catches up and it starts getting hot, most of the predators start disappearing in the thick bushes and shade, which changes the behaviour of other mammals that start heading to the water marsh area.

After the wildlife viewing, we head for a surprise hot bush breakfast, with our “flying kitchen” in the middle of the wilderness. Post breakfast, guests have a chance to relax and recover from the morning excitement. 

Around 3:30pm, prior to the evening game drive, I meet with the guests for a debriefing on the planned activities while having tea/coffee and the cake of the day.

Interested guests are also invited to visit the Community School funded and sponsored by Tortilis Camp or visit the local Maasai community for a once-in-a-lifetime experience and interaction with their authentic traditional activities. 

If guests prefer to go for a game drive, we head towards the swamp marshy areas with the biggest concentration of animals. As the light fades while admiring the spectacular view of Mount Kilimanjaro, I take the guests in an open patch or a special site on top of a hill to watch the sunset while having some drinks and nibbles, waiting for the sun to disappear and the moon and the stars to come out, chatting with guests about the experiences that they had over the days spent together.

After unwinding on the day’s activities and making sure that all guests are safely back to their respective rooms, I turn myself in for some well-earned shut eye.

What makes Elewana Tortilis Camp Amboseli so special?

Tortilis Camp is the only accommodation in the area on a pristine unspoiled private conservancy measuring 35,000 Acres. It is a very exclusive, small camp without any modern structures in the Conservancy. One of the ancient migratory corridors for elephants, which has not been encroached by humans, is next to the camp.

I have so many memories of animal sightings, but I will never forget that special spectacle of a pack of African painted wild dogs, 23 of them, at the midday heat lolling in the dusty road under the scorching sun, rolling on their backs, playing, and grooming, totally oblivious to their audience. A very rare to sight in Amboseli!

Being a Safari guide, you are the true face of the company, camp, and the country. The guide needs to have the highest personal integrity and having passion in what we do, no matter the circumstances, is the key.

Also, the guide should not compromise the safety of his guests or the animals, just to please some guests.

Although I am an ardent bird enthusiast (and the Secretary Bird has been my favourite), I believe cheetah is my all-time favourite animal, especially a mother with her Cubs. They are very successful specialised hunters with almost 70 % of success with hunts. I studied cheetah for four years and I came to observe that, out of all predators, it's only the cheetah that will take its cubs into a "private training academy." The cubs are very disciplined and whenever the mother is hunting, they don’t spoil the scenes like other young cubs of cats. They are very shy and very elusive, and their population is declining in large numbers. Whenever I spot one, it usually adds to my highlights of the day in the African Savannah Bush.

News You Can Use

Kenya and Tanzania have recently updated park fees for the remainder of 2022 and into 2023. In Tanzania, visitors will incur a slight post pandemic increase in fees and in Kenya, KWS has introduced High Season and Low Season rates representing a slight increase in peak season rates and a reduction in fees for green season. KWS has also reduced the entry fee for children from the age of 3 to 17 years old and children under the age of three remain free of charge.  To view park fees, click here.

Head to the Elewana image library to make use of a new set of professional images by the photographer Olivia Graziana. Olivia recently visited Arusha Coffee Lodge, The Manor at Ngorongoro, Tarangire Treetops, Serengeti Pioneer Camp and Kilindi Zanzibar to visually capture the essence of the properties. Olivia is a humanitarian and travel photographer with a passion for telling inspirational stories, her natural affinity with wildlife and sustainability made her a perfect photographic storyteller for Elewana.

Visit the Image Library

Media

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