Lap up in the slow safari experience at AndBeyond Suyian Lodge in Kenya

“The leopard’s nearby,” whispers Tele David, our safari guide, after getting out of the safari vehicle to examine the surrounding mud tracks. “The urine’s popcorn-like smell is quite strong and the tracks are still fresh,” he explains. He swiftly returns to the wheel and makes a sharp turn towards the bushes, where leopards tend to seek refuge and camouflage amongst the bushes.

10 minutes later, our eyelids grew heavy from scanning the straw-hued shrubs for the elusive cat. And there it was — barely over one metre away from us. It sat upright and taut with its eyes locked in on its prey—a pair of dikdiks scurrying nearby.   

This heart-stopping leopard sighting was one of the highlights during a recent stay at AndBeyond Suyian Lodge in Laikipia, northern Kenya — away from the throngs of visitors at the iconic Masai Mara national reserve. The 14-suite property, operated by AndBeyond, a hospitality group that manages over 30 properties worldwide, is its most upscale one in Kenya. (Prices start from USD1,500 per person per night).

AndBeyond Suyian Lodge is located in the 17,800-hectare Suyian Conservancy, which is managed by non-profit organisation, Space for Giants. The unfenced wildlife sanctuary is home to over 100 mammal species including critically endangered species like Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, African wild dog, and the rare black leopard. There are also bull elephants, lions, warthogs and hartebeests. Given the conservancy’s vast space (more than half the size of Singapore), guests are sporadically sprinkled across the land and we hardly saw another jeep for miles during our twice-daily safari drives.  

The slow safari

Pixie Iuel, AndBeyond Suyian’s general manager says: “What we provide here is a much slower-paced safari experience — it is not a ‘safari on a Ferrari’.” She is referring to the typical experience of ticking off the popular Big Five sights at the Masai Mara and competing for a view of dramatic migration crossings or hordes of animals congregating.

“It is completely up to guests to do as much or as little as they want to do when they are staying with us. Sometimes, they have completed another safari experience elsewhere and they just want to take things easy, chill and relax here,” she adds.

Guests can take up activities at the lodge such as horseback riding safari, walking safari (led by a rifle-armed guide, no less), and safari drives in a six-seater Land Cruiser, equipped with binoculars, wool blanket and warm waterbags to seek refuge from the cold winds buffeting through our hair during the early morning game drives. Feeling peckish after hours of squinting your eyes through the binoculars? The safari vehicle is also well-stocked with drinks and cookies. 

The rooms

The 14 dome-shaped villas are camouflaged against the stunning backdrop of ancient graphite rock (kopjes) formations — a result of centuries-old volcanic activity.

Each terracotta-hued villa at AndBeyond Suyian Lodge has igloo-like domed roofs that house the living room and bedroom. The interior boasts wabi sabi-style stoned walls and towering curved arches that capture the rays of sunlight that filters in from the tall glass windows. In the heart of the living room is an electric gas fireplace surrounded by homely touches such as cowskin rugs, vases and armchairs.

The room’s queen-sized bed, encircled by towering mosquito nets, faces the view of a sprawling green basin of nature. The stunning scenery can also be enjoyed from the spacious bathroom, which has a sunlit indoor shower and an outdoor shower that leads to a private plunge pool. (Tip: Wake up at around 5.45am to catch sunrise and witness the sky transform into a symphony of ombre colours.)

Safari trip amenities, from chic bags, boots, hats and insect repellent, are also thoughtfully provided at the hotel’s lobby. The spa opens out to vast greenery as guests partake in invigorating full-body massages. Also make time to visit the gym, which is perched on top of a hill and makes the best vantage point to take in the glorious scenery. 

The experience: Safari game drives

Leading our game drives is Tele, a Kenyan from the Maasai tribe, who has been guiding since 2019. Growing up in the bush in Narook village, he learned about animal sightings from his grandfather. A fondness for nature spurred him on to take up a rigorous two-year safari guiding training.

That passion is evident from his sharing throughout our drives: how animals mark their territory through their excretion (caviar-like droppings from dikdiks to large lumps from elephants), and looking out for telltale signs of animals in vicinity.

“Spotting the leopard still makes me jump out of my seat,” Tele recalls (on our earlier sighting), who once had a 30-minute face-off with a lion. “When you see an animal, you keep still and pray they will walk off after a while.”

AndBeyond Suyian Lodge’s head guide Charity Cheruiyot, who overcame male chauvinism to become Kenya’s first female safari guide and leads a team of 10 at AndBeyond Suyian Lodge shares: “This is a young conservancy, where the animals spread out across a more hilly terrain. Although guests may not get to see the animals, story-telling is equally important, giving guests a sense of place.”

Making the game drives more memorable are the surprising outdoor dining sessions that follow after a game drive. We tuck into an English breakfast spread prepared a la minute along the banks of a river, where a bloat of hippopotamus are lazing and sip on sundowner cocktails after an evening drive.

The land & the local community

Suyian Conservancy is a former cattle ranch, which belonged to the Powys family since colonial times. In 1978, elephants broke through the fence to enter the farms to escape from poaching. Conservationist Gilfrid Powys decided to remove the fences, enabling free movement of wildlife between Laikipia and northern Kenya. It also serves as an elephant migration corridor.

After Gilfrid tragically died from being trampled by an elephant in 2018, his family, who are still living in the conservancy, sold the land to Space for Giants. It has leased the land to AndBeyond for the next 60 years. 

AndBeyond’s Iuel also shares a connection with the land, as her Kenya-born mother was friends with Anne, Gilfred’s daughter, who consulted on the hotel’s botany line-up

On what she enjoys most about her job, Iuel says: “It is working with a team of over 80 staff, which are mostly hired from four local communities, and having the opportunity for them to change their lives through having stable employment from working with AndBeyond.” 

During a mini cultural exchange session, two staff taught us how to play payeri, a local boardgame (it resembles congkak, a traditional Malay boardgame) and explain the uses of various household tools that adorn the lobby, such as epokorach, which can be used as a wooden pillow and stool and eteo, a long wooden container that stores yogurt. 

We were also treated to a slice of local life at the Lekango village, a 30-minute drive from the AndBeyond Suyian Lodge. About 50 Samburu people live in manyattas, or huts, constructed with twigs and dried cow dang (some plastered with solar panels), alongside their livestock. The tribe’s representative, Andrew, 26, dressed in a bright pink shuka, who received us enthusiastically, shares that the pastoral tribe lives in scattered communities and raises cattle to sell to markets.

While we were immersed in village life, a troop of warriors — young and towering men dressed in colourful shukas, bedecked in beads that wrap around their torsos and armed with spears — took part in a folk dance that involved a testosterone-fueled jumping competition. We were also invited inside a manyatta, where villagers shared about their lives over cups of sheep and cow’s milk.

These are memories that will stick with us doe a long time to come. As Iuel sums up: “What hope guests can take away from a stay here is to find peace and serenity, not about racing to see new things, but to be able to sit with your thoughts and unwind, and create life-long memories.”