Arijiju, A Safari Lodge in Kenya
In the Kenyan highlands a few miles north of the equator, lies Arijiju, a safari lodge. Located in Laikipia county, it also sits on the Borana Conservancy, a working cattle ranch and wildlife sanctuary. There are zebras and giraffes, gazelles, eland and hartebeest, lions and elephants, and most impressively, it is the home to twenty-two black rhinos, translocated from Lake Nakuru National Park, having reached its capacity of 70. With rhinos constantly under constant threat from dangerous poachers, Borana Conservancy has invested in heavy security to protect them. To help raise the funds for this endeavour, the owner leased three parcels of land to investors on which to build private homes to be made available to paying guests, the profits of which would be used for conservation projects on the land.
And that is how Arijiju, a safari lodge in Kenya was born.
The owner of the lodge, a London-based businessman, worked with two architects: Nick Plewman from Johannesburg and Alex Michaelis from London, as well as interior design Maira Koutsoudakis from Johannesburg and British garden designer Jinny Blom. There are walls of polished concrete or exposed rock, as well as wood-beamed ceilings and crystal chandeliers–the idea being to set off “the finesse of Europe with the rusticity of Africa” (Condé Nast)
There is a pool, gym, a traditional hamman and spa, tennis and squash courts, and two guest cottages are set apart from the main house.
A one-week stay at Arijiju for up to 10 people can by organised by Journeys by Design (+44 1273 623790), with prices starting from £6,930 per person.
