Latest news with #animalSanctuary
Forbes
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Discover The Hidden Gems Of Nairobi's Exclusive Giraffe Manor
We're wild about Giraffe Manor for a number or reasons. Giraffe Manor The thing about social media is that you don't really know what to believe. With apps and filters and AI software, you can make anything into a perfect post nowadays. Maybe that's what you've been thinking about the Safari Collection's Giraffe Manor, a beloved animal sanctuary and nearly-impossible-to-reserve resort in Nairobi, Kenya. Every Instagram post you've ever seen of the Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star getaway looks like a page from a Rudyard Kipling novel that's come to life. Giraffes duck into windows at the precise moment a camera shutter goes off. Animals strut by the second a swimmer lifts her head out the infinity pool. Nothing about this seems real. The stretched-neck stars of the show. DeMarco Williams The instant you step onto the 12-acre property you realize that the hotel wasn't embellishing on its Instagram feed. The place is pure magic. Between the lush greenery streaming along the walls or the hand-carved furnishings filling the rooms, the resort has an authentic aura. And after just a few minutes walking around, you also will discover that there's so much more than giraffe feedings and effortless IG posts. In fact, here are three aspects of Giraffe Manor that will most pleasantly surprise you during your visit. Relax and unwind in one of the Retreat's day rooms. DeMarco Williams It's well-documented how challenging it is to get an overnight stay at the boutique hotel. With only 12 rooms spread across two buildings, the Historic Manor and the recently refreshed Garden Manor, it makes sense that the property's waiting list would be longer than a giraffe's neck. But those who are lucky enough to score a reservation (or find themselves with a Nairobi layover while visiting other Safari Collection outposts) receive access to The Retreat at Giraffe Manor. Just a stroll from the manors, the Retreat is like a day club with a full-service spa, gym and a restaurant (more delicious details on it in a bit) open to guests with a day pass. The tranquil space is great for catching glimpses of the tall, hoofed residents or simply unwinding. The Retreat's snazziest amenities are the day rooms, which are essentially lavish suites (a living area, full bath, plenty of fresh juices and water) meant for visitors exploring at least one other Safari Collection property to rent for a few hours of relaxing, napping and snacking. While you can't stay overnight in these rooms — the giraffes don't come this far for their window feedings, either — the plush beds are brilliant detours on a busy travel day. Daisy's Café is a delicious highlight of the visit. DeMarco Williams The Food In just about every social post you've seen of Giraffe Manor, the photo subject has been at a table, feeding pellets to a giraffe. But have you ever paid attention to the human food on the plate? No. And that's a shame, too, because the cuisine here is wildly delicious. All-day restaurant Daisy's Café mixes global flavors with Kenyan flair, and the results are tremendous. From breakfast to burgers to tapas bowls, every dish comes out beautifully plated — not that you'd expect anything less from one of the most photogenic properties in the world — and wonderfully seasoned. The pappardelle chicken piccata is one of the kitchen's standout items. This symphony of lemon, capers, tomatoes and juicy chicken harmonizes with the smooth Pumba's Pombe (bourbon, maple syrup, soda water and orange zest) from the bar — oh yes, Giraffe Manor has a full bar, too. Warthogs wonder about the property like their taller roommates. DeMarco Williams The Other Animals A herd of Nubian and Rothschild giraffes visits the grounds, mostly for its famous feedings early in the morning. If you miss these 6:30 a.m. calls, make the short walk next door to the neighboring Giraffe Centre, where you can feed the outstretched mammals some pellets from your hand while also learning about conservation efforts to protect them. Back at Giraffe Manor, you'll notice that the most prevalent animal isn't spotty and 16 feet tall but rather has tusks and stands just 30 inches off the ground. Playful warthogs freely roam the property, photobombing and generally keeping up mischief wherever they can find it. When you're having lunch on the Daisy's Café patio, there's a great chance that a few of the wild pigs will harmlessly graze around a landing beneath your table. The resulting photo won't be an image you're used to seeing at Giraffe Manor, but it'll still be an impressive nature shot that'll wow your Instagram followers. MORE FROM FORBES Forbes 27 Hotels With Luxury Car Collaborations By Melinda Sheckells Forbes Forbes Travel Guide's Best Hotel Bars For 2025 By Jennifer Kester Forbes 18 Undiscovered Beach Getaways By Forbes Travel Guide Forbes From Anguilla To Australia, Forbes Travel Guide's 2025 Star Award Winners By Jennifer Kester
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Much-loved Essex animal sanctuary closes to visitors amid urgent repairs
A POPULAR animal sanctuary in Brentwood has announced that it will be closing to visitors after decades of welcoming the public. Hopefield Animal Sanctuary and Visitor Centre has made the decision to close after staff found repairs and maintenance works that need attention to ensure the health and safety of visitors. The much-loved animal sanctuary is home to more than 100 species of animals and plans to reopen to visitors once the maintenance issues are resolved. We're now on WhatsApp! Join our new channel at to get all the latest breaking news and exclusive stories delivered straight to your phone. In a statement, Hopefield Animal Sanctuary said: 'Due to urgent and unavoidable repair and maintenance works that need addressing immediately, we have had to take the regrettable decision to close the sanctuary to visitors until further notice. 'We apologise for any upset or disappointment this may cause, but health and safety are our priority for visitors and residents alike. 'As soon as we are able to do so we will, of course, welcome you all back.' Hopefield Animal Sanctuary was founded 30 years ago by Paula and Ernie Clark. Read more Passengers frustrated after Southend flights re-scheduled to different airports Autistic teen left in boiling Southend school minibus for hours outside driver's home Calls for safety measures on 70mph blackspot in south Essex after 15 crashes The sanctuary provides space for rescued farm animals and pets that have found themselves without a home as well as some wild animals. Due to the maintenance issues, the sanctuary has also confirmed the cancellation of the upcoming Hopefield Hoedown. 'This decision has not been taken lightly, and we're devastated to have to do this but we also have to cancel our upcoming Hopefield Hoedown. A full refund will be given to those who have booked,' the statement read.
The Guardian
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘It's very easy to make yourself appear like Bono': Warren Ellis on opening an animal sanctuary in Sumatra
When the pandemic forced musicians all over the world to cancel tours, Warren Ellis decided to take his career in a new direction. From the bounds of his home he co-founded an animal sanctuary in Sumatra, Indonesia. In 2021 the Dirty Three virtuoso and Nick Cave collaborator was introduced to the veteran animal rights activist Femke den Haas. Together they established the centre for old, disabled and displaced animals who couldn't be released into the wild. The sanctuary – Ellis Park – now lends its name to a documentary by the True History of the Kelly Gang film-maker Justin Kurzel: a stirring portrait of the park's inhabitants and dedicated caretakers. Immortalising Ellis's poignant first visit to the park in 2023, the documentary traverses the lush vegetation of Sumatra and ventures to Ellis's home town, Ballarat, and his studio in Paris, offering a glimpse into the life of a famously private Australian musician. 'I was very concerned at one point when we had half filmed it, and tried to get it stopped,' he says. Kurzel first heard about sanctuary during a catchup with Ellis at the 2021 Cannes film festival. 'Justin said to me, 'I'm curious why you did it and I think the answer's back where you were born,'' Ellis says. Returning to the schoolyard of his childhood and to his parents' home, the film's first half shows Ellis reckoning with his past in real time. In striking, intimate vignettes, he reflects on the indelible influence of his father – a musician who sacrificed the seeds of his dream career to care for his young family, and who taught Ellis songwriting by singing verses from poetry books. 'We filmed in there four days before the whole family disintegrated,' Ellis says, recalling his parents' ill health and his father's eventual death. 'I never thought I'd put that much of myself in [the film], and, as it transpired, the camera was on me when there were some big life things going on.' It was a conversation with a film-maker and fellow Cave accomplice, Andrew Dominik, that soothed Ellis's anxieties about being overexposed. 'If you're going to get something from it,' Dominik told him, 'you've got to open yourself up to the process.' When Ellis met Den Haas, the latter was running the Sumatra Wildlife Center, a 'tiny' reserve that provided vital rehabilitation to injured wildlife, especially victims of abuse and the illegal exotic pet trade. During their first conversation, Den Haas told Ellis about a 5,000 sq m plot of land neighbouring the centre. He immediately promised to buy it and donate the land to provide essential housing for unreleasable animals. 'He said, 'Doubts are toxic. There are no doubts; we just do it,'' Den Haas remembers. 'Within two weeks, we started to look at the land and make the deal with the landowners.' Within three or four months, the centre's size had increased fivefold and the sanctuary was operational. About this time 1,300 trafficked animals were confiscated nearby. For Den Haas, the timing was 'magical'. With the sanctuary up and running, her team now had the resources to offer these animals – many of them captured in Africa – life-saving veterinary care and shelter. Ellis Park provides a window into the lives of these animals and their caretakers, introduced in balletic, slow-motion closeups thanks to the deft, unobtrusive work of its cinematographer, Germain McMicking. 'Not once was his presence felt; he just dances around everything,' Ellis says. Sign up to What's On Get the best TV reviews, news and features in your inbox every Monday after newsletter promotion While Den Haas has previously protected the animals from overreaching film crews, she appreciated the sensitivity of Kurzel's team. 'They really came and filmed things how they were … And when you're watching the film, you get to see [the animals'] emotions and understand they're all individuals and have a unique and horrific background.' Ellis was conscious of the risks involved in documenting his own philanthropy: 'The problem is, it's very easy to make yourself appear a Bono-like character who's just grandstanding.' Upon his arrival in Sumatra, Den Haas welcomes him with open arms, inviting him to release an eagle rehabilitated by the centre. For Ellis, this posed a dilemma: he didn't want to 'look like some privileged guy that has built an animal sanctuary [to] blow out the candles [when] it's not even my birthday'. But with Den Haas's coaxing, Ellis accepts the honour in the film's moving climax. 'He didn't want to be in the spotlight, like, here's the guy that made it all possible,' Den Haas says. 'But he did make it all possible.' Ellis describes the film as an 'accident' that developed organically through his trust in Kurzel. Accordingly, the documentary has a living quality. The score – by Ellis, of course – was recorded as it was made, with the musician shown tinkering on his violin in paddocks and monkey cages, as well as improvising in the studio. These images cede to scenes shot in Sumatra while the embryonic music lingers – a reflection of the sanctuary's evolving form. Working on a film 'enables you to step out of that protective comfort zone that a band allows you to have and just do your thing for a common cause', says Ellis, for whom 'preciousness' is a young person's game. This common cause is clear in Ellis Park. Since the film was shot, the sanctuary has received an influx of bear cubs and baby gibbons whose mothers have been killed or injured by perpetrators of the illegal pet trade. Den Haas hopes it will soon shelter the bears in forested enclosures. The sanctuary is still growing, and so is Ellis. 'You know, I went over there expecting the film to be about abused monkeys and primates and birds,' he says, 'and I left there realising the most extraordinary animals are people.' Ellis Park is out now in Australian cinemas. The film will be released in the UK and Ireland in autumn 2025
Telegraph
03-06-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Ex-glamour model Jodie Marsh can keep lemurs, judge rules
Jodie Marsh, the former glamour model, can keep lemurs at her Essex animal sanctuary, a judge has ruled. The 46-year-old applied for a wild animal licence to keep eight ring-tailed lemurs at her Fripps Farm sanctuary in Lindsell, but it was refused by the council over noise complaints. District Judge Christopher Williams said he was persuaded 'the noise made by the lemurs is not a nuisance' in a ruling on Tuesday. He added: 'I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the decision by Uttlesford district council was wrong and continues to be wrong. I allow the appeal.' Ms Marsh, who wore a black blazer, black top and leggings, sat behind her lawyer at Chelmsford magistrates' court and cried during the ruling before thanking her lawyer and the judge. Uttlesford district council rejected Ms Marsh's application last year, but she told an earlier hearing that online trolls were behind much of the criticism of her animal sanctuary. At a previous hearing, video clips of screeching lemurs at a zoo were played to the court. The district council said Ms Marsh had been unable to provide a noise nuisance survey, but Paul Oakley, for Ms Marsh, said the council's 'conclusion lemurs were likely to contribute to the [noise)] impact' was 'speculation'. The court previously heard Ms Marsh had hand-reared a meerkat called Mabel and joked about 'taking her to the pub four times a week' on GB News. Uttlesford district council received 19 statements from locals opposing the licence, but the judge ruled that Ms Marsh 'genuinely cares for the animals' at her sanctuary. Summing up his findings, he said: 'Ms Marsh may not be popular in the surrounding area, but based on the evidence given to this court I conclude that she is a person who genuinely cares for the animals. 'Ms Marsh is not and has not been responsible for any harm or ill-treatment [of the animals in her care].' The court heard Essex Police, Essex Fire and Rescue Service and the RSPCA had not raised any concerns over Ms Marsh's application for a licence to keep the lemurs. The judge ruled that Ms Marsh's licence application should be granted, with conditions. He approved an application for costs of £19,641 to be paid to Ms Marsh by Uttlesford district council. Speaking outside court, Ms Marsh said: 'I'm just really sad that it has had to come to this. You know, it's a complete waste of time and effort and everything else. As the judge said, the decision was wrong in the first place. 'I am just over the moon. He categorically proved in there that I am a suitable person to rescue animals and that all I care about is the safety and health and wellbeing of the animals. And I hope that shuts my trolls up once and for all.'
Daily Mail
03-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Jodie Marsh breaks down in tears as she WINS battle to keep lemurs at her OnlyFans-funded animal sanctuary
Former glamour model Jodie Marsh wept tears of joy today as she won a bitter legal battle to keep eight lemurs at her animal sanctuary. The ex-lads' mags favourite, who went on to become a media personality, had appealed against a council's refusal to grant her a wild animal licence for Fripps Farm in Lindsell, Essex. Uttlesford District Council blocked the application last year after members claimed she treated the animals there as 'pets' after hearing she had taken a baby meerkat and an owl to a pub. There were also concerns about noise. But Marsh – who uses funds from OnlyFans to pay for the upkeep of more than 400 animals at the sanctuary including emus and reptiles – claimed she was the victim of criticism from online trolls. She also said the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs had no concerns about animals in her care following inspections. The 46-year-old, who trained as a bodybuilder and has appeared on Essex Wives and Celebrity Big Brother, broke down in tears as District Judge Christopher Williams ruled in her favour today at Chelmsford Magistrates Court. He said: 'On the basis of the evidence available I am persuaded that the noise made by the lemurs is not a nuisance. 'I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the decision by Uttlesford District Council was wrong and continues to be wrong. I allow the appeal.' Marsh, who wore a black blazer, black top and leggings, thanked her lawyer and the judge. In July last year, councillors said she was 'not suitable' to look after animals after hearing how she had taken the meerkat and owl to a local pub. UDC councillor Richard Freeman told a meeting of its licensing and environmental health committee: 'The panel is concerned that Jodie Marsh has a perception that the animals in her care are personal pets.' Video clips of screeching lemurs at a zoo were also played at a previous court hearing and the district council said Marsh had failed to provide a noise nuisance survey. Ring-tailed lemurs live on 'troops' of up to 30 and are known as one of the most vocal primates. But Paul Oakley, for Marsh, said the council's 'conclusion lemurs were likely to contribute to the (noise) impact' at the five-acre site was 'speculation'. Marsh also dismissed concerns about her treatment of animals, explaining she had been 'hand-rearing' the meerkat when she took it to a friend's pub 'on a few occasions'. Describing the sanctuary as a 'dream' she'd had since she was five years old, she rounded on the trolls, saying: 'They lash out, they pick on you, as in my case. 'When I was bodybuilding they trolled me for that, when I was modelling they trolled me for that, now it's the animals.' The council received 19 objections from local residents about the licence application. But the court heard Essex Police, Essex Fire and Rescue Service and the RSPCA had not raised any concerns over the application for the lemurs, an endangered species from Madagascar. Summing up his findings, Judge Williams said there was 'considerable animosity between Ms Marsh and the members of the local community'. But he added: 'Ms Marsh may not be popular in the surrounding area but, based on the evidence given to this court, I conclude that she is a person who genuinely cares for her animals. 'Ms Marsh is not, and has not been, responsible for any harm or ill-treatment [of the animals in her care].' Granting the licence, he also approved an application for costs of £19,641 to be paid to Marsh by Uttlesford District Council. The council said in a statement after today's judgement: 'The decision by councillors to not grant the Dangerous Wild Animals licence was made following careful consideration of both the supporting and opposing evidence in a public process. 'Whilst we are disappointed with the ruling today, the court has taken a fresh look at it and reached a different conclusion, which we fully accept.' In 2023, Marsh told BBC Essex that OnlyFans was 'amazing' and 'paid my staff wages for the first year'. She added: 'They all joke and say 'Your boobs paid our wages'.'
