Guides across Africa say it often, and I can only agree: elephants are among the most fascinating animals. Always in motion, expressive, endowed with rare intelligence and sensitivity… I could watch them for hours.
An exceptional safari in Kenya: encountering the elephants of Reteti
An account by Juliette, tailor-made travel specialist for Kenya
At the edge of the Namunyak Conservancy, in northern Kenya, we head to the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary for a singular experience. Here, everything differs from a classic safari.
It is 6 a.m., and the rhythmic, intertwined calls of the keepers rise through the cool air. Suddenly, a dozen elephant calves appear, running at full speed toward the familiar voices of their keepers. We witness this unique moment as the day breaks.
Behind the Matthews Range, the sky slowly catches fire with an orange glow, gradually revealing the character of this land.
A unique experience in East Africa
Every day, keepers feed these orphaned or injured calves, victims of poaching, drought, or conflict with humans. Here, they grow up in a safe place, surrounded by care and attention, before being reintroduced into their natural habitat.
Reteti Elephant Sanctuary © Juliette Foltz
Among these keepers is Dorothy, present since the sanctuary opened in 2017. Her bond with the elephants runs deep, almost indescribable. She tells their stories as if they were family members, with emotion and restraint: every calf at Reteti carries a painful history — orphaned or injured due to poaching, drought, falls into wells dug by the Samburu to access water, or conflict with humans. Here, they grow up in a safe place, with the long-term goal of reintroduction into their natural habitat.
The day of reintroduction
Dorothy shares, with passion, countless anecdotes about the calves she knows intimately, the way one knows family members. Their bond is deep and inseparable. She speaks of their remarkable memory, their sensitivity, their mutual support, their capacity to feel emotion — faculties that take on their full meaning when she recounts the moving moment, in June 2024, when thirteen of them were released back into the wild.
It was a day of celebration at Namunyak. The community gathered at the sanctuary gate to accompany them. Residents formed a human guard of honour, guiding the calves toward their freedom, into the heart of the wild land.
Dorothy remembers watching them walk away, her eyes filled with tears. As they passed her, the elephants turned around… then came back to her. One after another, they wrapped their trunks around her body, her head. They seemed to want to comfort her, almost to say “thank you”.
This memory, at once moving and luminous, is etched in her, and she passed it on to us with great intensity. Her stories bear witness to the mutual trust built here, in this remote corner of Kenya. At Reteti, the work carried out with the elephants is marked by respect and purpose.
Visiting Reteti is far more than a stop on a Kenya safari. It is a powerful encounter, an immersion into a story of resilience and trust between humans and animals. It is also a deeply responsible travel experience, where every visit supports a committed conservation and animal welfare project.
Reteti is a reminder that Kenya is not only about majestic landscapes or spectacular safaris. Here, adventure takes on new meaning: an intimate relationship with elephants, a shared emotion, a lasting memory.
