As most of you have probably seen on Instagram, I have been on a giant Africa circuit traveling from South Africa, to Kenya and finishing in Tanzania. I will tell you right here and now that it was the most difficult & overwhelming trip I have ever planned in my career. It’s not only on the other side of the world but the preparations & logistics of flights, layovers, car service, work obligations, vaccination shots, luggage issues, visa paperwork & client meetings all had to be handled within a span of 2 weeks. FORTUNATELY I had the wonderful help of a few PR’s who assisted me for 3 months beforehand but boy did I wish we had 12 months! (first Africa travel tip- book a year in advanced. No seriously.) With all that being said, none of the stress mattered when we realized just how lucky we were to experience of some of these properties and conservations. If you’re a frequent reader than I already assume you know that my writing could be better… well, describing all of this when we were literally SPEECHLESS is going to make the task even more difficult.
When we arrived to Giraffe Manor -which is about a 25 minute drive from Nairobi Airport- we found ourselves in awe. We couldn’t of arrived at a better time, high tea/sunset where the second opportunity to interact with the Giraffes was feet in front of us. Nick and I gazed in disbelief with our mouths open as a few of the guests fed these gorgeous, breathtakingly full grown giraffes small pellets of greens. One kind woman handed me a fistful of pellets and said “want to feed her? careful though, she can be a bit slobbery!” My heart was so full in that moment. I’ve seen cityscapes that go on for miles, hundred foot waterfalls & even shipwrecks off the Jamaican coast but nothing will come close to feeding wild giraffes in the courtyard of this boutique hotel in Kenya. Was I in a damn storybook? “Nick, wake me up!” I whisper-shouted to him as Margaret’s long slimy tongue ran through my fingers, scooping up at least 10 pellets. “Hungry girl!” I laughed hesitatingly. These guys were BIG. Some reached 18-20 feet tall so I refer to them as gentle giants now. Over the course of the next couple days we were able to wake up every morning to hungry giraffes outside our bedroom window, breakfast table nook and again at high tea. I could go on for days how I felt a connection with each and every one of them (10 giraffes in total) but I won’t bore you with an excessively long blogpost. It was indeed life changing and I urge everyone to put it on their bucket list immediately.
I’ve answered some FAQs below (which I also shared on Insta) for a quick reference. All other answers can most likely be found on their website HERE.
oh PS. we got to adopt a baby elephant at the nearby David Sheldrick wildlife trust & GUESS WHAT HIS NAME WAS? Galla. I shit you not, I’ve never seen it spelt like that on anyone/thing/phant, It was fate<3 (That’s why there’s an image above, sorry if I led you to believe there were elephants at Giraffe Manor for a second but C’mon, then it’d be Giraffe-elephant Manor and that just doesn’t have a ring does it?)
-Yes, Giraffe Manor is a boutique hotel.
-Yes, the giraffes are wild.
-The property is within a protected conservation & serves as home to 10 endangered Rothschild giraffes. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
-Since there are only a number of rooms, it’s important to book as much in advance as possible. There is a live availability calendar online you can find easily. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
-Once there, you have 2 opportunities per day to spend time with the giraffes. At sunrise/breakfast for roughly 3 hours then again at sunset/high tea on the patio for another 2-3 hours. In between that (mid day) the giraffes are away in the fields nearby. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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-The staff is wonderful & very educated on these animals. We didn’t feel nervous once. The Giraffes can be intimidating as some reach 18ft tall (5.4m) but in person you see how gentle & kind they are thus putting you at ease immediately. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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-It truly is one of the most surreal & indescribable trips I’ve come to experience. I have several more pictures & story-videos to share. Hope you enjoy & get to see it one day yourselves. It’ll change your life<3
Photography: Adam Gallagher & Nick Pierce
Styling: Adam Gallagher
Art Direction: Adam Gallagher
GALLA
59 Comments
Thanks for Sharing! Definitely on my list. Love the shots and the experience looked amazing! Keep it up buddy 🙂
Love this!! Great post!
Hello Adam, this must be a life time exprience that you Will never forget. You describe everything with so much passion. My day could nor start better. Thank you
Amazing!!
INCREDIBLE ADAM!!! Thank you a lot for sharing 🙂
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This is so cool, like something from a movie.
James
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Glad you enjoyed my country.. I will definitely pass by David Sheldrick Trust on the weekend to see ‘Galla’
aw Selina! blow him a kiss for me. miss him already.
Well done. Followed along on IG and am glad to have seen the finished product. @seanryansullivan
appreciate that Sean, thank you for following along. xA
Happy you enjoyed my country and we have more to offer when you visit next 🙂
Thanks for posting these photos. I have fed giraffes in the Santa Barbara Zoo, but feeding wild giraffes must add a special touch to the experience.
Definitely looks like a trip to remember! This one is definitely getting added to the bucket list.
it should be top of the list! truly amazing.
wow! just wow! Amaazing pictures, I can’t believe this exsists!! I would love to have this experience, it looks insane 🙂 And to find an elephant with your name!! The cutest :))
Can’t wait to see more pictures! 🙂
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Giraffe manor! omg this is so incredible! What an amazing adventure!
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Cudowny post 🙂 Świetnie piszesz!!
This is incredible! Thank you for the story – it made me revise my bucket list 🙂
This place is amazing,I’ve only been to the wildlife trust though but I’ve never been to the manor and I live like 5 minutes away from there, shame on me.
Thankyou for sharing! 🙂
Hey mr. Galla,
Question, will u also put the Meanswear of the outfits from the Africa trip on the page?
Thanks.
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My, this looks lovely! I’m sure how fun really it was than what we see in the photos
Absolutely stunning Adam! What an experience. Take me next time, will you? 🙂
I love following your travel adventures.
Magical.. just perfect is how you show the story of your travel..
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great post, thank you for sharing this,
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Adam, this is amazing! I’ve been to Kenya a countless number of times but had no idea such a place existed.. where you could invite giraffes to breakfast 🙂 Did you visit the Ngorongoro crater in Tanzania?
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Wow Adam! This is amazing content. Traveling beautiful Africa is definitely on our list too. Seeing this makes us want to be there now
HAve a great week
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Great photos of wild life related informative blog.
Woow! This looks so amazing. I hope you enjoyed efrica.
Greets Jon
Honestly your experience at this giraffe manor did sound like I am reading some Disney story and photos like screenshots of the Disney movie made on that story. Your writing is good, but if you believe you can be better, then you will be. The whole work it’s damn good.
This is some of the most beautiful nature photography I’ve seen – made even better that it combines nature and fashion in such an organic way! Incredibly jealous of this experience.
-Jerad
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This is unreal man….wow
Omg.. I have loved your Africa series soooooo much on Instagram! Looking forward to seeing your Tokyo series!
The Leach Life | theleachlife.com
You are such a classy guy. You are handsome, and you know how to complement your looks with a great haircut, a cool beard and ‘stache, and the classiest wardrobe. A total winner!….
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Words can’t describe just how dreamy this is. Although, I have to admit I would probably pass out if giraffe stuck a head through my hotel window without any warning lol. Thank you Adam for shedding light on this experience. Now, it is definitely on the bucket list.
Fantacy style! 太棒了!
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Awesome post. That place looks amazing and those photos are fantastic! Particularly love the accessories such as the camera, watch, hat and sunglasses combo. This looks like a longer holiday but we recently done an article on the best bags for weekend trips: https://theidleman.com/manual/advice/best-weekend-bags/
Might give you some inspiration for your next trip. Keep up the good work!
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Love your posts 🙂 Can’t wait for new photos
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Panama Papers Leak Reveals Safari Companies In Africa Use Tax Havens
by Richard Smallteacher, Special to CorpWatch
July 25th, 2016
Cecil the lion at Hwange reserve. Photo: Vince O’Sullivan. Used under Creative Commons license.
A number of safari companies in Africa used Mossack Fonseca, a Panamanian law firm, to evade taxes on income from foreign clients, according to data from the ‘Panama Papers’ a leaked cache of 11.5 million documents revealed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
Safari tours to see elephants, rhinos, lions and zebras in Africa’s wilderness are very popular among wealthy tourists who often pay tens of thousands of dollars to live in expensive private lodges and be guided by professionals.
Three families named in the Panama Papers – the Carr-Hartleys of Kenya, the Pasanisis of Tanzania and Stevens of Zimbabwe – share more in common than the fact they are white residents of Africa providing such luxury tours to foreigners: All of them route their income through offshore entities.
‘Out of Africa, Into Tax Havens’ – a report written by Will Fitzgibbon of ICIJ recounts the story of John Stevens of Zimbabwe. “His financial universe is a classic creation of offshore globetrotting,” writes Fitzgibbon. “Stevens’ financial affairs reveal how the poetry of Africa’s savannahs mixes with the day-to-day paper-pushing of offshore management.”
The Source, a Zimbabwean website, notes that the Panama Papers show that Stevens-owned Guided Safaris Africa Inc, a company that conducts tours in Zimbabwe, has ties to Hanoverian Ltd, which itself is connected to 35 entities, all registered in the British Virgin Islands, referred to as BVI in the documents.
“In general, there is no legitimate reason why a tourism operator would need to route their transaction via a highly secretive jurisdiction such as the BVI,” Savior Mwambwa, a tax reform campaigner at ActionAid International told ICIJ. “There is also nothing special about the tourism sector in Africa which would warrant offshore arrangements for payments from abroad. I can’t see any legitimate reason to channel bookings through the BVI and the Isle of Man apart from tax minimization.”
Gerard Pasanisi, a well known French safari guide in Tanzania, was revealed to have shares in four companies set up by Mossack Fonseca, registered in Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. This Day, a Tanzanian newspaper, notes that Pasanisi is the chair of the Tanzania Hunting Operators Association (TAHOA) and “widely considered to be the kingpin of the local industry, with considerable influence both in the country and abroad.”
“Our survey has already established that ever since way back in the late 1970s, the industry as a whole has been monopolised by an elite group of foreign companies, consigning the bulk of the local citizenry to the role of mere spectators,” writes a reporter for This Day.
Likewise, the Carr-Hartleys, a white family that has lived in Kenya for four generations, describe themselves thus on their website: “Robert and William Carr-Hartley’s hunger for adventure and their passion for wildlife and conservation is inherited from their Grandfather Tom Carr-Hartley stemming from a long family history in East Africa.”
However, ICIJ says that the family passion for Africa stops at paying taxes. Instead the Carr-Hartleys routes their safari income through various companies in Panama, such as the Raw Foundation and Munga Munga Inc. as well as via Safariland Inc. in the British Virgin Islands.
In a response to ICIJ, Mossack Fonseca, says there is nothing wrong with the services the firm provides. “We have not once in nearly 40 years of operation been charged with criminal wrongdoing. We’re proud of the work we do, notwithstanding recent and willful attempts by some to mischaracterize it,” wrote Carlos Sousa, a spokesperson for the firm. “Our firm, like many firms, provides worldwide registered agent services for our professional clients (e.g., lawyers, banks, and trusts) who are intermediaries. As a registered agent we merely help incorporate companies, and before we agree to work with a client in any way, we conduct a thorough due diligence process. In providing those services, we follow both the letter and spirit of the law.”
After the fiasco of the Galaxy Note 7 battery, Samsung is all set to regain the reputation of the coveted tablet series with the upcoming Galaxy Note 8. The much-anticipated device is expected to make its debut a couple of months later. So want to know more about the Samsung Galaxy Note 8? Check out this website.
What a beautiful thing to adopt a baby elephant!
Love your style! Big fan of you!
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Thanks for Sharing! Definitely on my list. Love the shots and the experience looked amazing! Keep it up buddy 🙂
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Love this Adam! I’ve been a fan for years. I’m finally finding some time to catch on your posts. You’re an inspiration buddy! Much love from the UK.
Cheers, Ash
That baby elephant is super cute <3
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Wow. I really like giraffes. Sometime I want to go there.
Hey
Wow great pics!! Thanks for posting
I really like your style. Thank you for sharing this nice trip via your photos! The giraffes stick their head through all the window of restaurant is so funny, but it seems it’s normal for every tourist here. I wish someday I could visit Kenya like this.
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Great photos, i just look like this
Männermode vor diesem Hintergrund zu zeigen, finde ich genial. Das schreit ja geradezu nach Safari-Look und lässiger Street Wear. Dazu luftige Espandrilles oder sommerliche Lederboots – und die Sache ist geritzt. Da wird man schon etwas neidisch, denn wer kommt schon einer Giraffe so nah. Durch so eine Begegnung nimmt man seine eigene Übergröße zur Abwechlung mal als unbedeutend wahr.
Beste Grüße
Peter Feldmann
SchuhXL – Schuhe in Übergrößen
Thanks for Sharing! Definitely on my list. Love the shots and the experience looked amazing! Keep it up buddy
I don’t mine that was a place like this. Amazing, thank’s for sharing.
So glad you enjoyed Kenya! Big fan, keep being Awesome.
Thanks for your sharing. Hope you can contribute more quality posts to this page. Thank you!