At home in the wilderness...
Being a 24,000 acre wildlife ranch, Sosian Lodge pride themselves on managing a unique blend of tourism, conservation and traditional cattle ranching in Laikipia’s highlands.
The original ranch house was built in the 1940’s by Italian artisans and has been beautifully restored to accommodate up to 14 people (and more on request). Four double cottages are dotted throughout the gardens, against a back drop of Mt Kenya with views for miles over the Laikipia Plateau. This is true unspoilt Africa. The lodge has a beautiful swimming pool, plus a tennis court, organic vegetable garden and a stable yard of 30 safari horses.
The list of safari activities available is extensive and the ranch lies at an altitude of 5500ft, which makes for a perfect climate, with no record of malaria.
Highlights
ACTIVITIES - day & night game drives, horse riding, walking, fishing, fly camping, camel treks, cycling, waterfalls, kayaking, swimming & cattle ranching.
PRIVATE - Over 24,000 acres of private wilderness to explore with just one 14 bed lodge.
UNDERSTATED LUXURY - Beautiful lodge and gardens with a full team of friendly and attentive staff
Gallery
Accommodation
The original main house provides classic elegance with a dining room, sitting room, bar and billiards room. Four cottages are then spread across the tropical gardens offering 6 en suite rooms, plus a family cottage, each with their own private verandas. The beautiful swimming pool and pool house provide welcome refreshment after a day out in the bush and for those with the energy, a 'Kenya style' tennis court has held many a fine tournament! For a detailed fact sheet on the accommodation and facilities at Sosian, please CLICK HERE.
Activities
Day and night game drives in custom designed 4x4 vehicles
Walking (1-3 hours with an armed guide)
Lodge based horse riding (2-3 hrs per ride)
Sosian Horseback Safaris (5-7 days) - to find out more contact lodge@sosian.com
Camel treks (1-2 hours)
Fishing in the dams and river
Waterfall jumping
River tubing
Kayaking
Cycling
Fly camping under the stars (also available with horses)
Cattle ranching - dipping, branding and sorting cattle
Wildlife
With many years of careful management, the wildlife on Sosian has flourished. We are fortunate enough to have a diverse cross section of habitats that hosts a long list of birds and mammals, including elephant, hippo, buffalo, lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena, giraffe, zebra, kudu, oryx, impala, warthog, plus many smaller predators such as bat-eared foxes, genet cats and serval cats. Wildlife viewing is rewarding, whilst still maintaining the true wilderness of this area which makes each sighting all the more special and exciting.
Our People
Sean & Charlotte Outram - General Manager & Horse Manager
Sean & Charlotte have been managing Sosian Ranch since 2006 and have two young boys at home. Sean is a born and bred Kenyan and after studying agriculture in England, he returned to Kenya, soon becoming the general manager & CEO of Sosian. As well as managing all aspects of running a 24,000 acre game ranch in Kenya, Sean is also passionate about Sosian's stud herd of Boran cattle, which he founded in 2006. The task of caring for the wildlife and cattle in a mutually beneficial way is a fine balance, but a fascinating and rewarding task.
As a keen and experienced horsewoman Charlotte has built up Sosian Horseback Safaris to what it is today, with a yard of 30 beautiful safari horses and an excellent team of grooms and guides. In addition to this Charlotte handles all aspects of marketing Sosian and the lodge and is often your first point of contact when making a reservation.
Albie Venter - Lodge Manager
Albie has been a professional safari guide for over 20 years. After studying nature conservation in Cape Town he went on to become a member of the Field Guide Association of South African (FGASA) and holds both level 3 and SKS-DA (Special Knowledge and Skills - Dangerous Animals) qualifications as well as the Kenyan Professional Safari Guides Association (KPSGA) bronze level. Albie is also a registered Field Guide Assessor / examiner for FGASA and been heavily involved in guide development since 2009.
Albie started his career in the South African Lowveld adjacent to the Kruger National Park, first as guide, and then, together with his wife, managing safari camps in Kenya and South Africa. Guiding, his main passion, has taken him to many Southern and East African countries and regions - from archeology and bushman rock art in South Africa’s Cederberg region to leading walking safaris in Laikipia.
Albie is also a keen photographer and natural history author and regularly contributes photographs and articles on a variety of subjects to several nature based publications both printed and digital. Publications includes Africa Geographic, Travel Africa, Wild Planet, Africa Birds and Birding, African Birdlife, WILD, Getaway, Southern African Country Life and East African Travel News. Contributions to book projects include amongst others, Snakes and Snakebite, Reptiles of Southern Africa, Cornell lab of ornithology - Bird Families of the World as well as three books in the very popular Remembering Wildlife Series. When time allows Albie presents talks and lectures to audiences and clients including Africa Geographic and Wild Shots, Africa’s largest dedicated wildlife photography symposium.
Megan Hodgson - Lodge Manager
Megan grew up in South Africa on her father’s cattle farm near the Drakensberg Mountain, and soon became an avid horsewoman. Heading off to Australia to study Equine Science, Megan also worked on many professional competition yards, becoming an accomplished rider. Combining this with her love for Africa and its wildlife Megan headed to Kenya in 2016 to work for our sister company, Offbeat Riding Safaris for the next 5 years. Now at Sosian and about to sit her Silver level professional guiding exams, Megan is involved in all aspects of running the lodge with Albie.
David Macharia - Assistant Manager
David is our assistant manager at Sosian and started his career on a flower farm in Naivasha. In 2001 he moved to Sosian and helped renovate the ranch house and create the garden seen today. David is an invaluable member of our team, now involved with all aspects of running the lodge and looking after our guests and fortunately loves being busy!
Simon Achuka - Guide
Simon joined Sosian in 2018, having had great experience guiding across Laikipia. Simon has fitted in extremely well with the Sosian family and brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm. He ensures that our guests don’t go home disappointed and always goes the extra mile when searching for lion, leopard or wild dog.
Nicodemus - Head Chef
Nico is Sosian’s head chef and comes from western Kenya near Lake Victoria from the Kisii tribe. He has worked all over Kenya from Samburu to Mombasa but has been at Sosian since 2005. Nicodemus is a great philosopher as well as a master in the kitchen, with over 10 years experience of producing top notch menus to suit all tastes.
Conservation & Community
Sosian Ranch had a long history of mis-management and neglect until 2001 when a group of six shareholders had the vision to came together and restore this precious wilderness area. At this time all 24,000 acres had been entirely abandoned as it could not sustain even a goat, let alone cattle or wildlife. No livestock were allowed onto the land for 2 years, in a bid to restore the eco-system. Security teams trained from the local villages were employed to start protecting the wildlife and huge investment was made into renovating the original ranch house into a tourist lodge, as well cutting roads, digging boreholes for water and building dams.
Today Sosian is unrecognisable. It is a pristine example of what sweat, blood and tears, plus a lot of determination, can produce! By embracing our local neighbours we have a strong and dedicated work force, a committed anti-poaching team and over 100 Sosian trained, skilled workers supporting their families. By offering as much support as we can to the local medical clinic and primary school we hope that we are making a difference in our area and giving opportunities to those who wish to take it. Sosian are committed to facilitating sustainability on a long term basis, for Laikipia's people and its wildlife. To learn more about the conservation and community work that Sosian are involved in please click here.
2023 Rates
The ALL INCLUSIVE rates at Sosian are split into 4 seasons with 50% child discounts
LOW Season (March, April, Nov, 01-19 Dec): $620 per adult per night, plus conservation fees
MID Season (06 Jan - Feb, June, Sept, Oct): $670 per adult per night, plus conservation fees
HIGH Season (July - August): $780 per adult per night, plus conservation fees
PEAK Season (20th Dec - 05 Jan): $830 per adult per night plus conservation fees
We also have a good selection of special offers. Please contact bookings@offbeatsafaris.com to find out more.
Video - Sosian Lodge
Video - Sosian Horseback Safaris
For further information on Sosian please visit their website at www.sosian.com