Elsa's Kopje Meru
Unashamedly romantic and beautifully styled, Elsa’s Kopje is sculpted into Mughwango Hill, above the site of George Adamson’s original camp where he raised and released orphan lions, long before conservation became fashionable. Each cottage is crafted around the rocks, with a large bedroom, open sitting room, veranda and spacious bathroom, each with breathtaking views.
Guests can enjoy inimitable seclusion in the vast expanse of Elsa’s Kopje, boasting 870km² , the equivalent of 215,000 acres, of authentic African landscape. The park offers a thriving rhino sanctuary, and is famous for large elephant herds, hippo, lion, and birdlife; Meru National Park is recognised as having more diversity of animal species than any other park in East Africa.
The rugged and remote Meru National Park was rescued from oblivion thanks to Elsa’s Kopje, an environmental award-winning, boutique lodge. Winner of the Good Safari Guide’s ‘Best Safari Property in Africa’ award, Elsa’s Kopje is widely renowned as one of the most elegant lodges in Africa.
Cottage Suites
Nestled into the hillside and overlooking the vast plains of Meru National Park, each of Elsa’s Kopje’s six open-fronted cottages are uniquely designed incorporating the features of the kopje, and enjoying a magnificent view.
Each cottage consists of a main bedroom, ensuite bathroom and sitting area/private deck.
Five doubles, one twin. Two cottages offer day/extra beds to make triples.
Family Cottage
Brand new and with panoramic views of the Park. The Family Cottage is a spacious 2-bedroom cottage with a double and a twin room, both en-suite, a beautiful living room, large private deck and an outside bath by the master bedroom.
Honeymoon Cottages
Overlooking the vast plains of Meru National Park, Elsa’s has three Honeymoon Cottages that offer the ultimate in romance and seclusion.
Two of the Honeymoon Cottages feature a main double bedroom, en suite bathroom, a small private deck and gorgeous outdoor bath.
The third honeymoon cottage is a large three-leveled luxury suite, with main double bedroom, bathroom, open sitting room and a private deck.
Elsa’s Private House
Elsa's Private House is an exclusive accommodation set slightly apart from the rest of the lodge. It is an exclusive retreat for families, with its own garden, infinity pool, sitting room and dining area.
The Private House has a double ensuite master bedroom with bath and an outdoor shower, and a twin ensuite bedroom with shower. Private House can fit two extra beds, for children under 16yrs.
Game Drives
The Elsa’s Kopje guides are based at the lodge in Meru National Park, they have the whole park to themselves, and know their backyard intimately. All the guides are Bronze or Silver level Kenya Professional Safari Guides Association certified.
Elsa’s Kopje has open gamedrive vehicles. The current fleet are new, specially fitted, 4×4 Toyota Landcruisers. The vehicles are unrivalled with feature enhancements specifically designed for comfort and photography – open sided with 3 rows of seats, photographic equipment stands, and charging sockets. Clients will share gamedrives unless “exclusive use of vehicle” has been prebooked at an extra charge.
The park has enormous diversity of habitat and wildlife, gamedrives will take you through forests, past giant baobab trees, through clear spring fed streams lined with palms. This is lion and elephant country, but also Meru has many rare species including caracal, the beautiful Lesser Kudu, aardwolf, and over 400 species of birds.
Night Game Drives
Elsa’s Kopje has the whole National Park almost exclusively, and offers pre-dinner game drives with a red-light spotlights. Gamedriving at dusk and early evening opens up a whole new world, bushbabies, hunting predators, owls.
Day Excursion to the Tana River
Take a picnic lunch and take the whole day to explore the sandy Tana River, Kenya’s longest. Rising in the highlands of Mt Kenya and travelling 704kms before emptying into the Indian Ocean.
Rhino Sanctuary
The National Park incorporates an 84 sq km rhino sanctuary, home to over 70 rhino, both black and white. The size of the sanctuary ensures that finding the rhino is still a gamedriving challenge!
Guided Walks
Take the time to leave the car behind and enjoy the small things – tracks, dung beetles, naked mole rats and micro-ecosystems.
One of the most popular walks is a climb up to the very top of Mughwango Hill, enjoying a 360 degree view from snow-capped Mt Kenya in the west to the vast Meru plains to the east.
River Fishing
Take your rod, afternoon tipple with some canapés and a good book, and settle on the palm lined banks of one of Meru’s many rivers. The fishing is fun, with plentiful catfish, tilapia and barbell. Share your prey with herons, monitor lizards and spectacular kingfishers.
Swimming Pool
Enjoy the cool waters in the heat of the day!
An infinity pool perched on the side of the hill, the views are indeed infinite! The pool has bar service.
The Private House has its own private swimming pool.
Bush Breakfast and Sundowners
Take a moment to sit back, enjoy the spectacular views, the smells, the colours, and the gentle breeze.
Bush breakfasts are a chance to enjoy a full breakfast, al fresco, in the middle of the plains, surrounded by wildlife.
“Sundowners” are a safari tradition – after a day of safari; stop, watch the spectacular sunset; traditionally with a gin and tonic in hand.
Cultural Visits
Elsa’s Kopje works with closely with the Tharaka community, and there are ways that you can get involved.
Traditionally known for their ornate clothing including distinctive leather skirts and long cowrie shell decorated aprons for women, while the men wore animal skin cloaks and feathered headdresses that were a sign of prestige. Their houses are round with conical shaped roofs, thatched with grass.
Massage and Spa
Elsa's Kopje has one of the most memorable spa's of any lodge, with a breathtaking view from the massage table. Gushing reviews and regular bookings of second and third massages during a stay are testament to this lavish indulgence to the senses.
Kenya Classic Sky Safari
For 8-days and 7-nights, staying in Kenya's very best camps and lodges, our SkySafari guests will enjoy exceptional game viewing, intimate and bespoke dining, and an array of incomparable memories which will surely last a lifetime.
Travelling in comfort and style with our very own executive class aircraft, SkySafari guests will visit Amboseli National Park, with its breathtaking views of Mt Kilimanjaro, see the large elephant herds of Meru National Parkand and enjoy the abundance of wildlife at Masai Mara Game Reserve.
Extensions may be added on to enhance your experience. You may extend your days in the Masai Mara, either staying on at Sand River or moving to Elephant Pepper Camp, explore the Serengeti at either Serengeti Migration Camp or Serengeti Pioneer Camp, or end your journey with a stay at AfroChic, located on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.
Day 1 : Nairobi
Set between Nairobi National Park and the foot of the Ngong Hills, Hemingways Nairobi is an exclusive boutique hotel far from the bustle of central Nairobi. An all-suite property providing full butler service, gourmet restaurant, a brasserie and a bar, it is perfectly placed for trips to Nairobi National Park and the capital.
Hemingways Nairobi has a sophisticated and tranquil ambiance. Each of the 45 suites is a generous size, all with walk-in dressing rooms and a terrace with magnificent views of the Ngong Hills.
Days 2 & 3 : Amboseli National Park
Tortillas Camp 140km south of Nairobi, Amboseli National Park is the second most popular wildlife area in Kenya, famous for its large population of over 1000 resident elephants and for its scenic beauty with the backdrop of the world’s highest free-standing mountain, snow-capped Kilimanjaro.
Amboseli National Park covers 96,865 acres (392km²), which constitutes less than 5% of the entire 2 million acre ecosystem of the Amboseli basin crossing from Kenya into Tanzania. The lush green wetlands in this otherwise dry area make Amboseli National Park one of the best wildlife-viewing areas on the planet, attracting over 600 species of birds including pelicans, kingfishers, crakes, hammerkops, 47 types of raptors as well as the African elephant, cape buffalo, impala, hyena, giraffe, zebra, gazelle and wildebeest with lion and cheetah among the big cats that roam the area.
Tortilis Camp has unrivalled views of Kilimanjaro, rising out of the semi-arid bush studded plains – Africa’s highest mountain, and the highest free standing mountain in the world.
Amboseli opens your eyes to Africa’s vast space: a photographer’s paradise. Famous for over 1000 elephants, also lion, cheetah, hyena and jackal hunt the prolific plains game; around camp the Acacia Tortilis forest is host to many bird species and literally thousands of weaver nests hang above the tents adding a rousing dawn chorus into the mix.
Winner of British Airways’ prestigious eco-tourism award, Tortilis pioneered low impact, high comfort tourism. Guests have access to a private 30,000 acre conservancy facing the mountain; and can enjoy walks with experienced Masai guides, bush breakfasts and sundowners. Tortilis is famous for Northern Italian cuisine based on original family recipes.
Days 4-5: Meru National Park
Elsa’s Kopje- Meru National Park, wild and remote, lies 10km north of the equator between Mount Kenya and the Nyambeni Mountains, 350km from Nairobi. Meru forms part of a larger conservation area covering 370,000 acres including the adjoining Kora, Rahole and Bisanadi Reserves.
The park was brought to fame in the 60’s through Joy Adamson’s bestselling book, Born Free, the true story about Elsa the lioness. The park also incorporates an 84km2 rhino sanctuary, making Meru one of the prime destinations to see rhino in their natural habitat. The birdlife in Samburu and Meru is extraordinarily colourful and abundant with over 400 species of birds.
Rugged and remote: Meru National Park was rescued from oblivion thanks to Elsa’s Kopje, an environmental award-winning, boutique lodge. Visitors get the whole place to themselves: all 870 km2 of it, including a thriving rhino sanctuary inside the Park. Famous for large elephant herds, lion and birdlife, and more diversity of animal species than any park in East Africa; Meru is also the only National Park to permit ranger-guided bush walks. Other activities include fishing in the streams, game drives to Kora and Bisanadi National Reserves, and night game drives back to camp.
Unashamedly romantic and beautifully styled, sculpted into Mughwango Hill, above the site of George Adamson’s original camp where he raised and released orphan lions, long before conservation became fashionable. Each cottage is crafted round the rocks, with a large bedroom, open sitting room, veranda, rock-hewn bathroom, and breathtaking views.
Days 6-7: Masai Mara Game Reserve
Sand River Masai Mara-The Masai Mara is famous for its astounding numbers of wildlife. With both resident and transient populations of lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, giraffe, elephant, to name a few, as well as over 450 bird species, the vast fertile plains are dense with game.
The area has been classified among the “Seven Wonders of the World” due to the extraordinary annual migration from July to November when over 1.3 million wildebeest and zebra cross from the Serengeti to the Maasai Mara in search of greener pastures.
However, the Masai Mara National Reserve itself, measuring 373,000 acres, is only a fraction of the Greater Mara-Serengeti Ecosystem, much of which falls under ownership of Maasai pastoralists. Some of the ecosystem’s prime game viewing lies within the conservation areas surrounding the Reserve. These conservancies have been set up by the private sector in partnership with local Maasai landowners in order to conserve the larger Masai Mara ecosystem and extend the protection area for wildlife.
Day 8: Nairobi - Departure
Enjoy a morning game drive or relax at camp. After lunch your SkySafari flight will take you back to Wilson Airport. You will be chauffeured to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport; before arriving there we will stop at one of Nairobi’s gourmet restaurants where dinner will be served. You will arrive at the airport in time for your outbound flight.
For more information on Elsa's Kopje click HERE.
To see a video on Elsa's Kopje Meru click HERE.
