Cheli & Peacock Ltd is owned and operated by Stefano Cheli and Liz Peacock.  The company started in 1985, and have been running it hands-on ever since.

Both safari guides and having grown up in Kenya, Liz & Stefano created the business to share safari in the wilderness with others.  From 1985 Cheli & Peacock operated lavish private tented safaris with professional guides, often Stefano or Liz themselves.  Camps were sent ahead and pitched on virgin sites, so when clients arrived the fire was going and the gin and tonics ready.  The camps became more elaborate over the years from a Landrover and trailer for 6 people in the early days, to two 6ton lorries for 6 people!  The company soon developed a reputation for professional service, outstanding food, attention to detail and that well worn phrase – “holidays of a lifetime”.

Liz & Stefano were operating “eco-tourism” before it was a buzzword; employing from the local communities and supporting both National Reserves and community conservation initiatives.

In 1994 Stefano designed and built Tortilis Camp in Amboseli, a unique concept at the time – beautifully designed, small, upmarket, gourmet fresh food, and of course outstanding guides. Offering walking, sundowners, bush breakfasts – all the added extras that Stefano and Liz consider essential to a complete safari experience. The project won the “BA Tourism for Tomorrow Award” a year after opening.

In 1999 Stefano designed and built Elsa’s Kopje lodge in Meru National Park – still considered a flagship in luxurious safari accommodation. Following on came Joys Camp in Shaba National Reserve (2005) a stylish camp in the exquisite arid country bordering Samburu; and Elephant Pepper Camp in the Masai Mara. Elephant Pepper retains the Cheli & Peacock roots of private tented safari. Only 8 tents, it still operates in the old fashioned safari style of yester year.

Today, Cheli & Peacock has grown to become the leading ground handler in Kenya; continuing to operate upmarket bespoke safaris for clients that want the “real safari” experience.  Today, and throughout more than 20 years of operation, Liz & Stefano’s priorities have always been to:

• Operate the best safari for the client – taking into account their interests, ages, celebrations; so that they get the very best out of their safari experience.
• Responsibility and professionalism - so that attention to detail, compulsory Flying Doctors membership, vetted destinations and subcontractors, and responsible eco-tourism are an essential part of the safari planning.  An officer from Cheli & Peacock is always on call, and Liz & Stefano are always available.
• Emphasis on wildlife experience, complete safari experience and guiding - as well as enjoying the most dramatic and romantic bedrooms in the world!

Over 20 years of rapturous client feedback and support from all corners of the globe is testament that bespoke safaris offering the best of the best – is what “holidays of a lifetime” is really about.

Cheli & Peacock is committed to developing and promoting sustainable tourism hand-in-hand with beneficial conservation and wildlife management practice. In particular Cheli & Peacock manages all its camps with major attention and detail to eco-friendly systems and protection of the natual environment, working with local communities in order to foster better living conditions for the local people who share the wildlife habitat with the natural fauna and flora of Kenya.

Cheli & Peacock works closely with several of the organisations below in trying to preserve these exceptional wilderness areas for the benefit of future generations.

75% of Kenya’s spectacular wildlife is outside National Parks on private and community land. For 25 years, before “eco-tourism” became a buzzword, Cheli & Peacock has been an innovator and leader in community revenue sharing tourism projects. We believe in high income, low impact tourism, and will work with environmentally responsible lodges and camps.

We continue to lobby for sustainable tourism in Kenya, and actively participate in Wildlife Forums, Mara, Meru, Amboseli, Samburu Management Policy and Kenya Tourism Federation.

In our own lodges and camps we employ and train staff from the local area, do our best to operate environmental “best practice” (solar panels for water heating and inverter power, rubbish disposal, etc), and open up new areas for tourism therefore bringing revenue to struggling conservation areas and marginalized communities. We support local schools at the camps, make a vital contribution to AMREF’s work, and other small community projects.

We know that you, our clients, want to be assured that your participation on a Cheli & Peacock safari benefits the communities you visit and that the eco-systems you enjoy are that much more sustainable as a result of your visit. We give you that assurance.

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