Porini Rhino Camp: stay in a tented camp surrounded by rhinos

If you want to see rhinos in Kenya, come to Porini Rhino Camp. We’re set in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Laikipia, which has beautiful views of snow-capped Mount Kenya. Ol Pejeta is the largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa and is also home to two of the world’s last northern white rhino. The conservancy covers 90,000 acres and has special fences that allow other wildlife apart from the rhinos to move in and out.

Our ethos at Porini Rhino Camp is to cause minimal disturbance to the eco-system. So, we have just eight tents and none of our structures are permanent – if we were to move them, the area would return to its original state. That’s why we chose the name Porini, which means ‘wilderness’ in Swahili. We’ve also been awarded gold eco status and run completely off solar power. The idea is to emulate the safari camps of old, going back to the days when Teddy Roosevelt and Ernest Hemingway visited Kenya. The experience is about being under canvas among wildlife, away from the crowds.

We’re lucky to have a waterhole right in front of our camp, which draws lots of animals, from elephants to buffaloes, giraffes and rhinos. Guests really enjoy just sitting outside their tents watching all the activity around the waterhole. There’s also an underground photographic hide opposite where you can see the animals up close and get some incredible photos. On game drives around the conservancy, you’ll also get to spot rare northern species like the reticulated giraffe and all of the Big Five, including lots of lions – Ol Pejeta has some of the highest predator densities in the country.

A visit to the Sweetwaters Chimpanzee Sanctuary is included in your stay. It’s the only one of its kind in Kenya and has around 35 rescue chimps who get to live out the rest of their lives in peace at the 300-acre sanctuary. There’s also a great educational facility in the conservancy and a junior ranger programme that kids can join. The horse riding is a highlight – I took my kids and they loved riding among the rhinos, elands and zebras.

Guests love getting away from the crowds at Porini, spotting the famous Big Five and all of our unique activities, from horse riding to seeing the chimps, lion tracking and feeding a blind black rhino called Baraka. Your stay puts money straight back into the conservancy and helps to fund its important conservation work.