How you can go on safari without leaving the UK

Independent

8 hours ago

I stand mesmerised, camera poised and heart full, as a giant grey tongue winds its way out of the metal fence, around the foliage ball and into some juicy green leaves.
Orla the giraffe is less than a metre away from us, and we're some of the lucky few on a Giraffe Keeper Kitchen experience. I'm at Chester Zoo with my family – husband James, Rosie, 16, and Poppy, 13.
And if you thought zoos were for younger children, Chester has taken it to the next level by introducing luxury safari-style lodges. As well as overnighters and fancy meals, visitors can take part in exclusive activities only available to those staying in The Reserve.
'Abieber's not welcome tonight,' Hannah, one of the assistant team leaders tells us. She's been watching the overnight footage of the new giraffe 'lad pad'. It's home to three-year-old Stanley and his dad, Meru, but they're also trialling having zebra, ostrich and roan antelopes in the mix.
'Last night, Abieber – the zebra – kicked the giraffes out of bed at 2am,' she says, leading us into the 'backstage' area normally reserved for staff. 'And Meru got less than an hour's sleep.'
Hannah regales tales of the zebra waking the giraffes in the early hours, startling and causing them to jump up, then taking their bed like a cackling naughty sibling. Meru needs four hours' rest a night, ideally, so Abieber's off to the naughty corner.
Rosie and Poppy pull on blue plastic gloves and fill up the giraffes' food boxes with pellets, while Hannah plucks bags of 'maltesers' from the 'poo freezer'. She reveals she knows each and every giraffe by its poo, and the frozen nuggets can reveal pregnancy, as well as stress – something they're keeping an eye on now the boys have moved into their bachelor pad.
The giraffe enclosure is part of the new Heart of Africa area within the zoo – 22 acres showcasing 57 different species. It's available to all zoo visitors, but anyone staying at The Reserve can access it via a secret passageway an hour before anyone else is allowed in. They can also attend after hours, and wear night-vision goggles to seek out hiding animals.
The lodges directly fund Chester Zoo's conservation work in Africa, saving animals from extinction. And with one million species at real risk, this money has never been needed more.
Each one of the 51 lodges is crafted using sustainable and natural materials. We're staying in the stylish Lookout Lodge, where safari colours blend into the surroundings, rattan plates swirl up the wall like bubbles rising in a glass, and an enormous artisan lampshade sits like the top of a mushroom swaying over the sofa bed.
Sliding doors fill an entire wall of the lodge, leading out onto a balcony, decked with tables, chairs and a cosy bench, overlooking a stony moat and the sandy lands of the new giraffe home.
The morning sun creeps through the underside of the heavy curtains. My own lion cubs lay, wrapped up in a flurry of pillows and duvet, limbs flailing off to the side. I quietly slide open the glass doors to peek at the perfect mosaic running the length of majestic Stanley's back, strutting his stuff just 10 metres away from our lodge.
We fill up on breakfast at Amboseli Restaurant – exclusive to The Reserve and available for lunch, dinner and drinks – before heading into the zoo. Always a great day out whatever your age, we sneak a look at a giant eagle owl – the largest owl in Africa – who turns its head 180-degrees away from us, like a celebrity hiding from the paparazzi.
The endangered hooded vultures hang out, looking like Disney villains hatching plans, while a flock of greater flamingos stand like yoga pros, peacefully still in the water, reeds waving in the wind beside them.
There's so much to see and do, we could easily have extended our two-night stay to three, though it's fair to say our approach has been fairly sloth-like. Staying in a lodge means you can turn what would ordinarily be a jam-packed day into a relaxing, leisurely stay, which is very welcome for many busy families – us included.
We all lean over the balcony one last time, sun beating down on our arms, watching the playful roan bounce around tree trunks. An electric blue dragonfly dances down the water and I smile smugly at how wonderfully wholesome this feels, delighted for the girls to be off their screens and immersed in nature.
Thankfully, no one is checking our bowel movements for signs of stress, but if they did, I think they'd find we left a lot more zen than we arrived.
How to plan your trip
The Reserve's Savannah Adventurer package includes exclusive out-of-hours morning Heart of Africa access, a two-day zoo visitor pass, campfire stories, plus additional activities, an expert ranger-guided out-of-hours animal experience and a three-course dinner. A stay in Lookout Lodge on Saturday, August 30, 2025 costs £1,256.38 for two adults and two children. To find out more or book your stay, visit thereservechesterzoo.com.
To make your trip even more stress-free, take the train to Chester – just a 10-minute taxi journey from The Reserve. A Family and Friends Railcard can save up to four adults a third of their train travel, when travelling with up to four children, aged five to 15, who get 60% off their tickets. The Family and Friends Railcard can be purchased from railcard.co.uk and costs £35 for one year.