From Tanzania to Kenya: Retreat-Hopping in Africa

The glorious luxuries of a Sanctuary safari are matched by those found in the rhythm of the wild

First light glimmers across the Serengeti to the call of jackals and the arrival of tea to my tent, delivered in a basket with biscuits. I’m up and dressed and ready for a full day’s game drive, but there’s always time for a pot of Kilimanjaro tea on the verandah before joining ace guide Emmanuel in our mighty open-top Toyota. It is quite the off -road vehicle with comfy seats, padded side panels (useful for resting long lenses) and Maasai blankets for the chilly mornings.

Dawn is a special time at Sanctuary Kichakani in Tanzania,the light has a textural quality, like gossamer, as it settles on the unfurling plains where great herds of zebra and wildebeest graze, and giraffes drift like languid supermodels through the acacia trees.

This mobile camp in the northern Serengeti harks back to the birth of modern-day safari in the 1960s when Geoffrey Kent, founder of Sanctuary parent company Abercrombie & Kent, purchased a second-hand army truck, Scottish-made tents, sprung mattresses, and fine china and glassware before setting out with some intrepid tourists for the Great Rift Valley.

Kichakani relives those trailblazing days by packing up and heading south to follow the Great Migration, a complicated exercise that takes some three weeks. There are the 10 guest tents with flushing toilets and timber floors, a large dining tent, and all the support paraphernalia: kitchens, storerooms, linen room, logistics hub.

Kichakani relives those trailblazing days by packing up and heading south to follow the Great Migration, a complicated exercise that takes some three weeks. There are the 10 guest tents with flushing toilets and timber floors, a large dining tent, and all the support paraphernalia: kitchens, storerooms, linen room, logistics hub.

It’s quite an operation and quite a camp, with smart campaign furniture and delightful vintage detailing (old metal trunks and copper sinks) rendering it as romantic as anything in Out of Africa. Camouflaged among the thorn trees, my little tent has everything I need: a verandah with easy chairs and shaving or make-up mirror (no self-respecting safari maven sets out without lippy), huge bed with feather pillows, and bucket shower with loads of hot water.

Tea polished off , Emmanuel gets our game drive off to a flying start, a fresh kill, three lionesses and five cubs tucking into the remains of an unfortunate wildebeest, the cubs with bloodied faces, and one mum making quite a palaver of spitting the creature’s beard from between her teeth.

It’s an image we try to forget as we tuck into picnic breakfast, set out on a pretty rug with little leather campaign stools and more hot tea (a safari essential).

Safari has its own special rhythm that in many ways is more relaxing, and certainly much more exciting, than a beach resort. We may be up at dawn but there’s always time for an afternoon nap, and the only decision required all day is at sundowners, wine or G&T?

Thanks to the Sanctuary guides’ intimate knowledge of their patch, every day is crammed with wonders and all the drama of a nature documentary. My favourite moment comes when we spy the ‘border boys’, two cheetah brothers who cross back and forth between Tanzania and Kenya and were recently separated, and bereft. Emmanuel is overjoyed to see them reunited.

Back at Kichakani, camp manager Immi is waiting with G&Ts and canapes. He has a knack for delivering five-star service in the bush with an effortless grace, but it must be challenging, managing same-day laundry and daily-changing menus when he’s not heading off marauding baboons in the kitchen.

Dinner is taken in the large communal tent, a very stylish set-up decorated with large maps, sepia photos of the Kent family on safari and funky chandeliers fashioned from old metal torches. There are white linen cloths, proper glassware and three courses, followed by coffee by the campfire listening to the roar of lions.