Private Villas Brochure

Dear Traveller,

When Forbes called Micato “the Rolls-Royce of the safari world,” we were quite pleased. And when Travel+Leisure gave us our unprecedented tenth #1 World’s Best Safari Outfitter Award we were delighted. But I think we’re most proud of something else Travel +Leisure says: “The Pintos treat their guests like well-loved, out-of-town relatives.”

For more than half a century our family-founded-operated-and-owned company has refined the art of creating thoughtfully luxurious Custom Safaris to rare, gorgeous, exclusive-use villas and estates like those you’ll see on the following pages. We craft our safaris with an eye toward familial care, with a deep appreciation for Africa’s unique exhilarations, and with the sure knowledge that—now more than ever—safari is a joyful respite from the jangled world, a rare chance to feel, as Isak Dinesen and countless others have, “as if you had drunk half a bottle of champagne—bubbling over with gratitude for being alive.”

Sincerely,

Dennis Pinto Managing Director

e’ve chosen these elegant, exclusiveuse villas and estates because they showcase a variety of gracefully luxurious styles and beguiling locations in East and Southern Africa. They’re just a bright sample of the many private properties we’ve introduced our guests to for five decades. So if your sojourn in one of them is part of a longer safari—which is most often the case— we’ll talk with you about many other topnotch villas, lodges, estates, camps, and hotels for every step of your safari. And at every step from touchdown to takeoff, you’ll be accompanied by your own Safari Director, backed up by our 24-hour Concierge Team in Nairobi and Cape Town, and our large African and American staffs, all of us dedicated to serenely private, hassle-free, heart-sparking safari.

There, there is nothing else but grace and measure, Richness, quietness and pleasure.

Baudelaire, L’Invitation au Voyage

Laikipia Plateau,

Kenya

Ol Jogi Ranch

Forbes cautions guests at Ol Jogi Ranch to not get too “caught up in the exquisite details”—the “Murano glass globes over lamps, the sumptuous Hermès linens, the perfectly polished Buccellati silver”—but to savour the vast Ranch’s “enchanting, incredible and diverse” wildlife. For generations the home of the Wildenstein family, Ol Jogi is quietly luxurious, stunningly situated, and welcoming in the highest African tradition.

Accommodations at Ol Jogi Ranch

Wonderfully, almost invisibly set on a large kopje, a rocky island on the Laikipia Plateau, Ol Jogi is an exclusive-use lodge/home/fabulous African getaway. Which means you’ll have this magnificent property—its tennis courts, well-curated library, satellite-linked TV room, spa, heated outdoor pool (with a waterfall and flowery island), and large and cheery staff—utterly to yourselves.

Activities and Attractions

Wildlife viewing on the acacia-dotted plains of Ol Jogi’s 58,000-acre private conservancy is a quintessential safari experience. We roam with our Micato Safari Director in almost inevitably successful search of the Big Five (including more than 80 endangered eastern black rhinos), rare Grevy’s zebras and reticulated giraffes, fascinating wild dogs,

and oryxes, impalas, and elands aplenty (all of them resolutely protected by 130 security personnel). Also easily at hand: helicopter excursions into the vastness of Northern Kenya and on the slopes of regal Mount Kenya; horsebacking; all-terrain vehicle jaunts; melodious birdwatching along the lush and twisty Ewaso Nyiro River.

Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya Kifaru House

Kifaru House is perhaps the loveliest of the much-revered Lewa Conservancy’s many gems. At the cutting edge of conservation and sustainability, the Conservancy is famed for its rigorously protected white and black rhinos, along with its full repertoire of free-ranging African beasts. Serene and private, Kifaru House’s cottages, each a safari villa of its own, are splendid, intimate, and classically scenic places that exemplify Micato’s enduring goal: presenting Africa in thoughtful luxury and privacy while engaging with the triad that makes our home continent so uniquely exciting (and simultaneously serene): its magnificent wildlife, vast sceneries, and its vital people.

Accommodations

Kifaru’s five thatched-roof cottages reflect Lewa’s tradition of understated, warmly comfortable luxury. One of the cottages has two bedrooms, making it ideal for families, and all include the most modern of amenities and a spacious tiled lanai for dioramic views of Kenya’s eponymous mountain. Dining and sitting rooms, with a well-curated bar, fireplaces, and a large library—legacy of Lewa’s founding Craig family— make up the main house, and nearby, a heated infinity pool with sitting and dining areas and a massage room.

Activities and Attractions

Game drives led by our Micato Safari Director take us down from the House’s hilltop, into a wonderful medley of landscapes: highland forests, spring-fed copses, classic acacia-accented grasslands. The air is lively with 440 bird species, all of the Big Five are in residence, elegantly designed zebras flow on the landscape, and Lewa’s rhinos roam dinosaurically. Also: horsebacking and camel safaris, grandly arranged picnics in the Ngare Ndare Forest Conservancy, and visits to Lewa’s Community Development Programme.

Serengeti, Tanzania The Villas at Four Seasons

The Serengeti is the Africa of our dreams, amazing in its enormity, its almost infinite skies and long, golden reaches, its million-year quiet, “a paradise caressed by light and air in their most special forms,” as the great lover of safari Peter Beard said. And few places are better situated to revel and relax in that paradise than the Villas at Four Seasons. Set aside in sublime privacy from the larger Four Seasons Safari Lodge, the magnificently designed, astutely luxurious villas look out at the great Plain and its free-roaming animals through floor-to-ceiling windows and from large, view-besotted decks.

Accommodations at The Villas at Four Seasons

The three private villas each have their own kitchen and plunge pool and range from one romantic bedroom to the grand, three-storey Presidential Suite’s three. All the villas are graced with bespoke, African-chic furnishings and, as befits such an exclusive property, all needs are anticipated, and if something unanticipated pops up, your Micato Safari Director will quickly talk it over with the Villas’ top-notch staff, and…presto.

Activities and Attractions

Private game drives in the Serengeti with your Safari Director are revelatory: we quietly watch lions nap in trees; hippos galumph in muddy pools; mile-long streams of wildebeest and zebras trace migratory paths; crocodiles bask on river banks, dreaming of the Pleistocene; and elephants, as Isak Dinesen wrote,

“pace along as if they had an appointment at the end of the world.” We pay hearty, unscripted visits to local Maasai, exuberantly hot air balloon over the vast Plain, and revel in the pure air and monumental clouds that, as the great Elspeth Huxley wrote, “look like you could scoop them up with a spoon.”

Accommodations at Arijiju

Arijiju is an exclusive-use home enveloped in the calm, majestic style of a 12-century French monastery. Its vaulted archways and stone passageways give way to a landscaped courtyard flanked by three suites, with two more hidden in nearby olive groves. Cozy sun-trap hideaways, king-size beds, large mirrors, and indoor and outdoor showers are among the comforts here, and thought-

fully eclectic furnishings like copper bathtubs and Indian campaign desks are accented by chandeliers, walk-in fireplaces, and other grand touches. A terraced pool, game room, library, spa, gym, yoga studio, tennis and squash courts, and healthy, earth-totable, Moroccan-inspired cuisine prepared by Arijiju’s chef complete this serenely private oasis.

Activities and Attractions

The Laikipia Plateau is famed for the richness of its wildlife, and Arijiju’s location within the private Borana Conservancy allows us to game drive with our Micato Safari Director in carefree privacy. The Big Five are all to be marvelled at, along with scores of mammal and avian species. We enthusiastically arrange helicopter-supported fly-fishing

jaunts and rambles on Mount Kenya’s slopes; picnic excursions to the giant sand dunes of Suguta Valley or the traditional gathering place of the Samburu at Singing Wells; visits to the Reteti Elephant Orphanage, or to Lake Turkana, where Micato’s old family friends, paleontologists Louise and Meave Leakey, are presently exploring.

Vanity Fair praises Arijiju’s “sensuous genius,” and Condé Nast Traveler rhetorically asks, “Is this the most beautiful house in Africa?” Nestled in the private Borana Conservancy overlooking the game lands of the Laikipia Plateau, graced with views of lordly Mount Kenya, the grand estate and home is an epitome of thoughtful luxury, with five gorgeously appointed suites (and a rooftop “Constellation Suite” for sleeping under the stars). It has its own spa, gym, clay tennis courts, extensive sun-dappled gardens, a talented resident chef, and an amiable staff of 14.

Laikipia Plateau, Kenya

Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa Cheetah Plains

The three exclusive-use Cheetah Plains houses “ratchet up the luxury factor while committing to sustainability,” says The New York Times. Set in the private Cheetah Plains Private Reserve, part of the equally private Sabi Sand Game Reserve, Cheetah Plains glows with the pure patina of Africa, polished to a stylish, contemporary gleam, a beacon for those of us looking for well-imagined luxury and a dedication to sustainability. Just one of the personal passions of owner Japie van Niekerk is the property’s contemporary gallery space, a vivid showcase of some of Africa’s most celebrated artists.

Accommodations at Cheetah Plains

The Plains Houses accommodate up to eight guests per house. A sleek, heated swimming pool, day beds that overlook the waterhole, cool polished stone throughout, and muted palettes that invite the outside in, all make the Houses ideal for an exclusive family safari or a merry party of friends. Each house has its own staff and chef, and features graciously appointed, wide-windowed, free-standing private suites (two of which are interconnected, thus nicely suited to families), adjacent to elegant shared spaces that include an expansive living room, sun deck, lap pool, wine gallery, and dining room.

Activities and Attractions

We make our game drives in the Cheetah Plains and Sabi Sand reserves in prototype, zero-emission electric Land Cruiser safari vehicles, a sustainable, much-lauded innovation pioneered by Cheetah Plains’ visionary owner. The spacious and private Sabi Sand—it’s quite a bit larger than 10 Manhattans— is revered for prime Big Five viewing; an abundance of leopard, lion, rhino,

elephant, buffalo, cheetah, zebra, giraffe, antelope, and 500 bird species roar, bleat, meow, sing, and live in unbound freedom. Our (electric, hence soothingly silent) game drives with our Micato Travel Director, no stranger to these lovely parts, make for soul-expanding experiences much talked about by the pool, around the fire, at the splendidly laid dining table of this opulent lodge.

Stellenbosch,

South Africa

Delaire Graff Owner’s Villa

Famed for its sublime setting in the Cape Winelands, for its winery, superb artwork, exquisite cuisine, and luxury lodges, the Delaire Graff Estate is now graced with what it calls its “pinnacle,” the sumptuous Owner’s Villa. Micato is a longtime Delaire Graff Estate enthusiast, and agrees that the Owner’s Villa has taken it from the sublime to the sublimest. Featuring a 45-foot pool, four bedrooms decorated by artworks curated by diamond magnate and philanthropist Laurence Graff from his private collection, and just about every luxe amenity imaginable, the Owner’s Villa is a Winelands masterpiece.

Accommodations at Delaire Graff Owner’s Villa

The exclusive-use Villa’s four artful, spacious bedrooms feature a walk-in closet and private terraces looking out at the Winelands’ spectacular mountains and rolling vineyards. Spread across two floors, with two bedrooms on each floor, the Villa features a grand pair of living rooms, a dining room (graced by a Julian Schnabel showstopper), a jacuzzi terrace, family room, and a fully-equipped gym. All meals, it almost goes without saying, are bespoke, prepared by the Villa’s chef to match the high Delaire Graff standard.

Activities and Attractions

Our Custom Safaris staff will present a wide variety of activities available to you in the Winelands and in ever-jazzy Cape Town itself, only a 40-minute drive from the Villa. Just a few of them: private wine tastings; bicycle jaunts with catered picnics; culinary expeditions to some of the Winelands’ out-of-the-way bistros and

world-class restaurants; soaring balloon rides; walking tours of nearby Franschhoek; horsebacking in the vineyards; and a host of other adventures, many of them exclusive to Micato, thanks to our long relationship with Delaire Graff, and our many decades of experience in this salubrious part of the world.

Thornybush Private Game Reserve, South Africa

Kubili House

Set in the private Thornybush Game Reserve adjacent to Kruger National Park, Kubili House is an architecturally masterful, five-bedroom, exclusive-use villa created by South African-born New York financier Julian Koski. Lovingly built as a family residence—“We wanted to give our kids a different perspective of the world,” Koski says, “something environmental, ecological, human”—Kubili House is a tour de force, not only of design, but of spirit. As one visitor wrote, it’s “like an elephant: strong, overwhelming, sensitive, beautiful, faithful, highly intelligent, unforgettable….”

Accommodations at Kubili House

Kubili House’s five bedrooms and expansive common areas have an airy, open-plan, “New York loft-meets-French maison feel,” the Robb Report reports. Furnished with pieces from the Donna Karan Urban Zen Collection, antique wooden beams from France, original artworks, and every modern

convenience and luxury, the House has three swimming pools, a spa and steam room, and an animal-magnet waterhole serenely viewable from the House’s many decks. And a delightful footnote: the House has three specially equipped camping vehicles for overnight safaris into the little-touristed Thornybush Reserve.

Activities and Attractions

We game watch at Kubili from two vantage points. First, and more or less continually, from the House itself, which was designed to commune with its environment and abundant animals. And, second, from well-equipped safari vehicles, guided by our much-credentialed Micato Safari Director, into the Thornybush Reserve’s bushveld, immersing

ourselves in an ancient, little-changed natural history that almost makes human history seem like a confusing afterthought. Much else is in store, but one of our favourites: a private helicopter zoom over the dramatically plunging Blyde River Canyon, perhaps with a mountaintop picnic before flying back to your safari home at Kubili.

Kalahari Desert, South Africa Tarkuni Homestead

Once the home of the Oppenheimer family in Tswalu, their private game reserve, the largest in South Africa, Tarkuni’s understated elegance eloquently bespeaks the family’s deep African roots. Set between two mountain ranges in the soul-stirring, animal-rich vastness of the Kalahari, recently redesigned, exclusive-use Tarkuni is a sublime sanctuary from the too-often unmelodious world into a “a whole world,” as Elspeth Huxley wrote, “that revolves in balance with itself more perfect than the finest symphony.”

Accommodations at Tarkuni Homestead

Tarkuni’s five luxurious suites each have a magnificent ensuite bathroom that features outdoor showers, and, on their outside terrace, a starbed for sleeping under the brilliant Kalahari stars. Tarkuni guests are attended by a dedicated team that includes a host, a very crackerjack chef, and, of course, your Micato Safari Director. Moments of calm and action item-free contemplation are enjoyed in the shady cabanas that surround Tarkuni’s quiet pool. Starlit meals are served in the traditional boma, while two lounges with open fireplaces add to this exclusive homestead’s brilliantly familial serenity.

Activities and Attractions

Vast and gorgeous Tswalu is owned and operated by the country’s immensely prosperous and conservation-minded Oppenheimers (of De Beers diamonds and much else). Game drives here are wonderfully private; Cape buffalo, leopards, and rare black rhino, desert-adapted elephants and lions, aardvarks and pangolins, and a host of hardly less compelling mammals and

avians prosper in Tswalu’s diverse habitats. In addition to game drives, Tarkuni offers a variety of ways to soak up the Kalahari’s subtle beauties: horsebacking and walking safaris, helicoptering over the Kalahari; and excursions to see San petroglyphs, mysterious reminders of the successful hunter-gatherers who lived in the Kalahari centuries before our respectful visit.

Personalized Activities

Safari offers a wonderful mixture of peaceful repose and thrilling activity. And each of our private villas and estates abounds in both. We’ll help you choose the ideal villa or estate for your safari, and we’ll discuss—before and during your safari—a host of ways to bask in physical, philosophical, and very private exultation.

Top of the list, of course: safari drives with your Safari Director in Earth’s greatest game lands. And then: horsebacking and helicopter jaunting; private wine tastings; ballooning and hiking; camel-safariing; candlelight dinners in the bush; unrehearsed visits to traditional villages; and many other ways to put you in the presence of the marvelous, all made possible by our studious expertise and our long and close relationships with the owners, operators, and staff of these private villas and estates.

Arrangements

Your first phone call or email begins the process of creating a fully private Custom Safari…to one or more of the private villas and estates in this booklet, or to any of the scores of simpatico luxury lodges and camps we frequent and recommend. Our cheery Custom Safari experts will consult with you and plan a safari of any length and level of luxe.

About transportation: Arranging private jet safaris has been a Micato speciality for decades. We know the ins and outs, the permissions and strip lengths, FOBs and immigration requirements, and we’re masters at untangling and scissoring red tape. And mixing prop and helicopter charters into the bush with international and intranational jet travel is old hat for us.

Micato Safaris has been voted onto Travel+Leisure’s list of the World’s Best Safari Outfitters every year since the awards’ inception and for good reason. The family-run business has deep roots in Kenya, and its owners’ love for the country (and continent) is evident in the way they operate. Each itinerary is tailored to be the most luxurious, comfortable, and exciting adventure possible.

—Travel+Leisure

You expect first-class treatment from Micato and that’s exactly what you get. What makes Micato even more special is the attention to detail in the added touches, the welcoming dinners, the little gifts from Felix and Jane along the way, and the extra care taken with our children.

—Alex Trebek

Simply put, Micato Safaris is the best travel outfitter of any kind, in any genre, that I have ever traveled with, and I’ve traveled with many of the most acclaimed names in the industry.

—Forbes

Each Micato person you meet will treat you as if you are the only person on the planet. The lack of need to be concerned with anything while you are in their care will make any adventure with them the most carefree, peaceful and beautiful one you will ever take!

—Mary Ellen Wexler

Nobody offers a grander level of bush luxury than family-owned Micato Safaris…. ultra-luxe safaris with a heart.

—Fodor’s

The Micato team’s boundless energy and commitment to excellent service was extraordinary throughout our trip unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my four decades in the travel industry.

—Jim Sano

For more glowing reviews of Micato’s service and expertise, visit Micato.com and have a look at our Press and Testimonials pages.

The villas and estates in this booklet are only a sampling of the many more exclusive-use properties enjoyed over the years by our guests— not to mention three generations of Pintos, pictured here: Micato’s founders, Felix and Jane, with Anna behind them, and Dennis and Joy, and behind them, the third generation, Sasha and Tristan, ready to tackle the world.

To see more enchanting private villas and estates, go to: Micato.com/villa

And to have a safari chat with our experts, email us at Inquiries@Micato.com, or just give us a call at 800-642-2861. Talking safari is something we love to do.

Voted # 1 World ’s Best Safari Outfitter for a Record-Breaking 10th Time by Trave l + Leisure