A snapshot

Born and raised in Kenya, Sofia has a love for wildlife that stems from a childhood spent taking clients all over Kenya’s great wildernesses: from the distant Tana Delta right through to the family camp in the Mara. Relief management and co-hosting roles at Sarara and El Karama furthered her love for the Laikipia area and the wonderful wildlife it has to offer.

Expert destinations

Kenya.

Recent travel experience

On a recent educational, Sofia traveled to Uganda: "Uganda was breathtaking. It is potentially one of the most underrated safari destinations I know of. From the thick, green banks of the Nile, paradise for birders, to the herds of Murchison Falls National Park, the tree-climbing lions of Queen Elizabeth, and, of course, the magnificent mountain gorillas. It's hard to describe trekking with gorillas, actually, I think it might be impossible, one has to do it for oneself. Ending the trip at Wild Waters in Jinja was a delightfully decadent finale!"

Most memorable experience

“One of the hardest questions to answer! I have been lucky in that so much of my childhood and life are littered with amazing experiences: from lions in camp, to cheetah kills, giraffes giving birth, being charged on horseback, helicopter trips up mountains and even a crocodile taking a flaming log off the campfire while we were sipping gin and tonics in Shaba (it ran back into the river with flames pouring out of its jaws - the most dragon-like sighting ever!). 

“If I were to choose just one, however, it would be watching an elephant cow give birth to the smallest and sweetest calf on Lolldaiga Ranch in Laikipia. We sat with her for about four hours and each moment was more remarkable than the last. The tenderness with which she dealt with the calf once it finally emerged, the different ways in which she tried to destroy the afterbirth to put off greedy predators (even eating some and trying to throw the rest up a tree). Elephants never cease to amaze me; from their elegance, to the varying gentleness and playfulness of their mannerisms...I don’t think I’ll ever forget this moment.”

Sofia's biography

Born into a safari family, Sofia grew up exploring Kenya from Landcruiser and horseback. Her parents instilled a love of wildlife in her from a young age, having themselves spent some thirty years hosting groups in East Africa and beyond. 

Sofia has hosted riding safaris in Laikipia with her partner and co-hosted photographic trips with her parents and siblings from a young age (taking her first solo game drive at sixteen!). She has worked at the prestigious Sarara and El Karama, two of her favourite lodges. Her particular love for elephants also led to a job at Reteti Elephant Sanctuary and Space for Giants - two remarkable Kenya-based NGOs that focus on elephant conservation and human-wildlife relations.  

From the age of six to thirteen Fia was at boarding school in the rift valley in Kenya. A semi-feral school experience included morning rides through the bush! School trips were always the height of adventure...from white-water rafting, climbing Mt Kenya and camel safaris in the arid north to name but a few.  

Secondary school in the Dublin mountains followed, swapping the savannah for the Irish wilderness. Sofia went on to read history at Trinity College Dublin, where she studied the history of Africa, environmentalism, and finally focused on the relationship between indigenous peoples and wildlife in East Africa prior to the colonial settlement of the country. While at university she also co-founded the Trinity Conservation Group and acted as conservation officer for the Trinity Zoological Society, organizing events to raise funds and awareness for conservation NGOs.  

Fia is now settled in the UK and has joined the Yellow Zebra team to share her huge knowledge and love of Kenya.