Sosian Ranch – Laikipia Hotels
Sosian lodge is a beautifully restored African ranch house that was built in the 1940’s by Italian artisans, and accommodates up to fourteen people in the atmosphere of a private home. Seven cottages lie in the tropical garden overlooking Mt Kenya and miles of unspoiled Africa, each with its own private verandah and ensuite bathroom.
As well as all the exciting safari activities on offer each day, the lodge has a swimming pool, tennis court and miles of wilderness to explore with top guides. Sosian is well known for its delicious home cooking using fresh ingredients from the organic vegetable garden and for its warm and friendly hospitality.
SOSIAN lies in Laikipia, in the highlands of Kenya and is a private ranch of 24,000 acres with access to a total of 75,000 acres of game-viewing. The area is completely unfenced and wildlife roams freely across open plains and forested riverines. The original ranch house has been renovated and now accommodates up to 16 guests in cottages in the garden. Sosian is both homely and welcoming, and also offers a huge variety of different activities and wildlife.
GAME-DRIVES are the best way to see wildlife up close and we have open 4×4 vehicles with especially raised seats so that everyone has a good view. Early mornings and late afternoons are the best time to see wildlife but the middle of the day is also a great time to go out looking for elephants who come down to water in the heat of the day so we often go out in search of them along the river or at one of the dams on Sosian and sit quietly watching them play in the water and interact as a herd.
Morning and evening game drives can take you up to the plains where it is wide open country and you can expect to see oryx, hartebeest, ostrich, grant’s gazelle, giraffe, elephant, bat-eared fox, Grevy’s and common zebra. If we want to follow predators then game drives are the best way to find them as you cover most ground so most of our sightings of lions, wild dogs, cheetah and leopard are from a vehicle. We work closely with the Laikipia Predator Project on our neighbouring Mpala ranch and one or two members of each lion pride and pack of dogs are fitted with a radio tracking collar. We track the lions and wild dogs using telemetry and help the project by giving them information of sightings, changes in behaviour, births, mortalities, fights between packs of wild dogs or mergings of two separate packs. Sosian is becoming known for its wild dog sightings which although are not guaranteed as the packs have big territorie, our sightings are frequent and up close, both from a vehicle and on foot.
NIGHT-DRIVES are an exciting experience. At Sosian you can head out for an evening drive before sunset and then return after dark with a spotlight and may encounter leopard, spotted and striped hyena, aardwolf, aardvark, porcupine, bush-babies, hippos out of the water grazing, buffalo, serval cat and other exciting nocturnal species. It is another world after dark and Sosian may be one of the only places you can witness nocturnal animals whilst on your safari as night-drives are not allowed in national parks and reserves due to the volume of tourists in those areas. At Sosian it is just us, and the wildlife. You can also choose to FLYCAMP, we often go and cook dinner in the bush and those who want to stay and camp and sleep under the stars can, bringing you right next to nature.
Setting up the CAMERA TRAP is a fun and interactive activity at Sosian for adults and children. You put it up opposite something random or something that might be exciting e.g a hyena den and the camera detects any movement and takes a photo. Then you take it back to camp and download the photos, sometimes all you see is a beetle or blade of grass blowing in the wind. Other times you see some surprising things and unusual species which are hard to see in other places…
WALKING is the most intimate way to experience the bush and since the beginning of time man has walked in Africa amongst wildlife so it is more natural that it might at first feel! You will be led by an experienced walking guide and learn how to follow animal tracks, and all the tiny details you miss a vehicle.
You don’t have to be super-fit to enjoy walking, a walk can last anything from 20 minutes to 4 hours and for those who love exploring the bush on foot you can book a MOBILE WALKING SAFARI which lasts several days and can take you from Sosian to another camp, backed up by a vehicle for evening and night drives. The camp is light weight, bringing you closer to the bush and further from modern frills, dinner is eaten around the camp fire and under the stars and most nights we drop off to sleep listening to distant lions, hyena and leopard but yet sleep better than we can remember…
FLY-CAMPING is available to all guests staying at Sosian and we recommend you spend at least one night in the bush. We often drive to the camp, some might walk, and after dinner go for a quick night drive. The more time you are out in the bush, the more you see.
RIVER ACTIVITIES Sosian is lucky to have the Ewaso Narok river pass through it and a beautiful waterfall. A highlight for some is jumping off the waterfalls, for others swimming in the pool below or just enjoying the sight from next to the river is enough. After a morning driving, walking or riding, we often have brunch next to the river and after a picnic enjoy the waterfalls or tubing down the river on inflatable tubes.
HORSE RIDING is another wonderful way to see the bush and Sosian is one of the best places to do this in Kenya. A variety of terrains makes it interesting riding, through the river, along bush trails and across more open country where you can canter, jump and gallop. We have 23 horses, many of which are bred on Sosian and ponies for children as well. Children under 12 may only ride by special arrangement and beginners may not ride in the bush as it is imperative riders can canter very confidently and be able to out-manoevre wildlife if they have to. That said, it is both peaceful and exciting and like walking enables you to become part of the landscape.
CAMELS have been part of the northern Kenyan landscape for hundreds of years and are kept as livestock for their milk and meat. Contrary to popular belief, if well looked after they are not bad tempered; the Sosian camels are friendly and at times can be overly affectionate! Camel riding is a fun activity and typically a ride will last 40 minutes or so and is just another way of seeing the bush, but from a great vantage point.
BIRDING Sosian has over 350 species of birds, several types of habitat and the head guide is an avid ornithologist. So if you are keen on birding you can spend several days exploring the river, thicker bush, open plains and gardens around the lodge. Sosian also runs birding safaris to Lake Bogoria, Baringo, Kakamega Forest and Lake Nakuru which last several days and take you through an ornithological paradise of different environments.
FISHING in the river and dams on Sosian have a good number of catfish, yellowfish, tilapia and barbel and fishing is light-hearted, using worms or spinners. As well as catching a few fish which can delight all ages, sitting quietly next to the river can be a perfect moment to enjoy watching wildlife coming down to water and peaceful way of sitting in the bush, with a purpose.
CATTLE RANCHING Sosian has established a pedigree herd of Boran cattle which are beautiful, tough, drought resistant cattle bred over generations and becoming desirable internationally for their resistance to arid conditions. The ranch has 700 cattle and they graze freely during the day and come in at night to lion-proof enclosures. Much research has been done on the conflict of lions and humans and the critical sticking point is the stronger your boma (enclosure) the less likely you are to lose livestock to lions. As such Sosian has adopted new lion proof bomas over the last few years and a trip around the ranch with the cattle manager who is passionate about cows as well as conservation is a fascinating insight into mixing livestock with wildlife in the bush.
We WELCOME GUESTS OF ALL AGES and whilst we all eat together at meal times, during the day our guests split up into different groups all doing different things. We plan the activities at every mealtime and at times can have as may as five different things happening at once; a walk, a game drive looking for wild dogs, a horse ride, a fishing trip and a birding walk along the river, with all parties meeting at the river for a picnic brunch. We welcome children and during school hoidays Sosian is full of families. Unlike national parks and reserves where you are confined to a vehicle, at Sosian there is an unlimited list of activities both wildlife orientated and adventures along the river for more variety to keep everyone engaged and busy. As well as families we have specialist groups of photographers, walking enthusiasts, riders, couples, honeymooners, and guests of all ages keen to experience freedom and a natural wildlife environment in the homely atmosphere that makes SOSIAN unique.
