Giraffic Park; RACHEL MURPHY'S ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME SAFARI.

Byline: RACHEL MURPHY 

I'VE longed to see giraffes in the wild ever since I first encountered them at Chester Zoo as a small girl.

Back then, I marvelled at their magnificent height and elegant stride. I stared at their impossibly long eyelashes and velvet, patterned skin, and I tried to imagine what it'd be like to see them roaming free in the African bush. Magical, I reckoned.

When my 40th birthday loomed, I decided it was high time I fulfilled my ambition. With the kids now aged nine, 12 and 13, it was an ideal opportunity for our family of five to go in search of the "Big Five" (lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard and rhino).

At first I had no idea what a safari holiday entailed... Would we be camped out in the wild, fighting off snakes like Indiana Jones? I didn't have a clue. We're not exactly happy campers and I soon realised the best plan was to base ourselves in a beach hotel, book a few days' safari mid-week then chill out at the beach again.

This made Kenya the ideal location, with its vast game reserves just a few hours' drive from the whitesand coastline south of Mombasa.

And that's how we found ourselves on an eight-hour flight to Nairobi, a 45-minute internal flight to Mombasa and then a 90-minute drive to the Papillon Lagoon Reef hotel in Diani, on Kenya's south coast.

The last leg of the journey gave a window to a whole new world.

Bare-footed street sellers touted vividly coloured clothing, traders pushed handcarts crazily overloaded with briquettes and mangoes, and statuesque women balanced perilously huge water bottles on their heads.

Goats and cattle meandered among the dust and chaos, poking their noses into shacks selling everything from old tyres to Coca-Cola and mobile phones.

Once in Diani the bustle subsided. Horizontal rope ladders or "colobridges" stretched overhead to help monkeys cross the road safely, and we pulled into the leafy grounds of our hotel.

Right next to bleachedwhite sand and the crashing waves of the Indian Ocean, the Papillon was perfect for our pre-safari chill-out.

For five days we lazed by the pool, sampled Swahili food, played table tennis when warm rain of late July fell and feasted on the evening entertainment of acrobats, African dancers and a snake and reptile show.

The kids loved it when baboons and Vervet monkeys crept out of the trees and on to our balcony, or cheekily stole croissants from our breakfast table.

The only downside was the beach. Not the melt-in-your-toes sand, the swaying palms or the clear turquoise water - but the beach traders.

I've never met a more persistent bunch in my life. It didn't seem to matter what you said or how much you bought, they wouldn't leave you in peace and sunbathing was impossible.

Nevertheless, by the time we set off for our safari adventure, we were all fully rested and raring to go. Shimba Hills Lodge was our first stop. An hour's drive from the coast, it's hidden deep in the ancient tropical rainforest of Shimba Hills National Reserve.

Built like a row of tree houses with indigenous timber that disappears into the lush forest, the lodge instantly made us feel like intrepid explorers stumbling upon a secret hideout.

Our rooms overlooked a waterhole that buzzed and sang and whistled noisily as we watched a monitor lizard sunbathe and a white-headed eagle swoop majestically overhead.

Our nine-year-old, Archie, was thrilled when a bush baby took a piece of pineapple from his hand at the dinner table, and I started to feel giddy with excitement at the thought of our early morning game drive.

Our driver, Bakari, took us out after breakfast the next day. "I hope you see a giraffe, Mum," the kids smiled and I hoped so, too, after this epic trip!

Less than 10 minutes later, as we bounced down a sandy track and headed into the sun-baked rainforest, a lone giraffe appeared on the roadside. He stood nonchalantly chewing the leaves of a towering creeper as if he'd been waiting there patiently just for me. I gaped, awestruck, from only six feet away. He was spectacularly beautiful. Magical, indeed.

Of course, the kids had their "mustsees", too. For Molly it was elephants (especially baby ones), while Henry and Archie were dying to see lions (preferably killing something).

Over the next hour we saw some baboons, the back of an elephant herd disappearing round a distant corner and dik-diks - dainty dwarf antelope.

We didn't get a sniff of the endangered Sable antelope for which the park is famous and, unfortunately, there wasn't a cat in sight.

It didn't matter. The drive was thrilling and even just sleeping in the "tree house" and feeling surrounded by nature was worth the trip.

Besides, Bakari was sure we'd have more luck with the Big Five at our next stop - Ngutuni Lodge within the Ngutuni Private Game Sanctuary. It was a four-hour drive further inland.

"Lots of elephants. Cats, too, I hope," Bakari smiled. "Poli poli," he cautioned the kids - which means "slow, slow" in Swahili.

I will never forget the look on the kids' faces as we entered Ngutuni Park. Within seconds we counted at least a dozen elephants feasting on dry branches or resting in the shade of a baobab tree. They were all covered in red sand to keep them cool - a dazzling sight in the hazy bush.

Some walked just a few feet in front of our van, eyeballed us in a slightly unnerving way, then lumbered on. Wide-eyed, we smiled back, astonished by their size and captivated by the babies grappling with their trunks for their mothers' tails.

Back at the lodge's waterhole we were in for another treat. Several thirsty elephants stood drinking and spraying themselves with water.

As the light disappeared around 7pm, suddenly their trunks went in the air as they sniffed out trouble - a herd of about 200 buffalo heading over for a drink!

The adult elephants herded the little ones deftly out of the way of the stern-looking buffalo, around a dozen of whom stood like sentries, guarding the rest of the herd while they drank.

Next it was the turn of the buffalo to sniff the air and regroup as four lionesses prowled in the bushes. This caused great excitement at the lodge, with guests grabbing cameras and binoculars, and shining torches.

Three of the buffalo charged at the lionesses, who then hid in the bushes, watching patiently. Slowly, the buffalo herd moved on, letting the elephants back into the line of fire.

Eventually, a lioness pounced out of the darkness and a huge bull elephant charged at her, trumpeting and flapping its giant ears until she retreated without her dinner. The show was over and we all felt exhilarated as we tucked into ours.

The next morning we got up at 6am for a full day's game drive. We saw a hyena and a couple of jackals slip into the lodge's waterhole, then watched the sun rise rapidly through the parched acacia trees as we headed into neighbouring Tsavo East National Park. One of the oldest and largest parks in Kenya, covering 11,747 square kilometres, it is known as the "Theatre of the Wild".

Almost immediately a large herd of giraffe sauntered across the horizon. Peering out of the van roof and whispering excitedly, we counted 18, complete with babies and teenagers.

Bakari was determined to show us more cats and kept in radio contact with other vans to make sure we didn't miss out. In all we drove for 10 hours, spotting mongoose, warthogs, ostrich, waterbuck, giant termite mounds, crocodiles, turtles, vultures, the secretary bird, a tawny eagle in her nest, geranuk (a giraffe-necked gazelle) impala and kudu (types of antelope).

It was hot and sweaty, and despite Bakari's best efforts we didn't see any more cats or a rhino, which we learned are notoriously hard to spot.

Did we care? Not at all. Swapping stories with fellow guests back at the Papillon (where we returned for the last two days), I learned that safari is pot luck. Sometimes the theatre is packed with big names and other days the understudies take the lead.

The trick is to take it "poli poli", and enjoy the unexpected. You won't regret it and you will never forget it.

PACKAGE DEALS

NINE nights in Kenya with scheduled flights from London Heathrow direct to Nairobi, seven nights' accommodation at the Papillon Lagoon Reef - allinclusive and two nights on Tsavo East and Shimba overnight safaris with transfers and connecting flights, starts from pounds 1,129.

Prices are per person based on two adults travelling and sharing a standard room. Includes all taxes and fuel surcharges. Prices are based on departures until April 2010.

Visit www.virginholidays. co.uk or call 0844 557 3859 for more details or to book. Virgin Holidays is a member of ABTA and is ATOL protected.

CAPTION(S):

TALL ORDER: We soon see a giraffe HIDDEN TREASURE: The Shimba Hills Lodge in the national reserve ON THE LOOK-OUT: The kids enjoy their safari FURRY FRIEND: Archie feeds a bush baby FEARLESS: Molly holds a snake MEATING HIS APPROVAL: Archie tucks in to some delicious Swahili food CHILL TIME: Tropical poolside at the Papillon Lagoon Reef hotel, Diani beach IN HOLIDAY MODE: The Murphy family hit Diani beach in Mombasa WATER THING TO SEE: 200- odd buffalo stop to quench their thirst