Xtreme Grandparents: Most Wow-Inducing Trip Ever

by Rubin Carson & Marilyn Record

My niche in travel writing is touring with the grandkids and the question most people ask me is: If you only had one chance in a lifetime to travel with your grandkids, where would you take them?

My Answer? Abercrombie & Kent's Eleven Day Hemingway Safari. No matter how much wildlife they see, I guarantee what they'll remember most is Day 3 outside of Nairobi, when you have the chance to spend an afternoon at the Giraffe Manor. The Giraffe Manor is modeled on a Scottish hunting lodge with views of Mt. Kilmanjaro (of Earnest Hemingway fame, hence the Safari's name). In 1974, the grandson of a Scottish Earl, Jock Leslie Melville and his American wife, Betty, bought this postcard of an estate as their home… Enter two Rothchild giraffes that same year.

This beautiful endangered species was moved onto the estate after Jock and Betty founded the African Fund for Endangered Wildlife (AFEW) and built a Giraffe Centre on their property. The Giraffe Centre was built away from the manor so that the Kenyan school children could learn about conservation and ecology while feedings giraffe eyeball to eyeball from a special platform. After Jock's death in 1984, Betty returned to the U.S.; Giraffe Manor, now a boutique hotel, is run by Betty's son Rick and his wife, with part of the hotel's profits donated to fundraisers for Kenyan wildlife.

Nothing will thrill you and your grandkids more than your first look at a giraffe being fed lettuce from one the manor's second story windows. Even more mind blowing is being seated in the formal sunroom for tea. Just as your grandkid is reaching for crumpets and jam, in pops a giraffe head from the open window and a huge tongue slurps it away. Once the initial shock has worn off, there'll be no stopping him feeding the animals everything at the table.

You tell me anything in the world that compares with watching your grandchild gleefully showing pictures of himself and his new friends having high tea. More wow!-inducing than anything you'll see on the Discovery Channel, Animal World, or a year of Nova.

For more information on Giraffe Manor, visit www.abercrombiekent.com.