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I never thought I'd be stampeded by an elephant or kiss a giraffe in my lifetime. But within a day of touching down in Kenya, I'd experienced both. I exaggerate slightly, the elephant was a baby who narrowly avoided me on its run to dinner. More about my giraffe kiss later. Located in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, is home to rescued orphaned-infant elephants. The elephant calves arrive at the nursery, flown in from all over Kenya, suffering severe trauma from losing their mothers and requiring 24-hour care. The keepers armed with unlimited love and tenderness, and a magic milk formula that took almost three decades to perfect by wildlife conservationist Daphne Sheldrick, nurture the orphans back to health and return them to the wild. It was an overwhelming experience meeting the babies and their devoted keepers. To encourage international awareness of the Orphans’ Project and ensure sustainable support, the Trust offers a digital fostering program, allowing people from all over the world to make a difference to the elephants of Kenya. I became the foster parent of little Boromoko. From elephants to another iconic African animal – I next visited the Giraffe Centre in Nairobi. It was there I was kissed by the beautiful animal. Standing high up on a veranda, giraffes Stacy and Ed stood four metres below. After gaining their trust with pellets of food, the giraffes were happy to take the pellets from my mouth with their 40cm tongues. The result was a rather slobbery ‘kiss’. Just a few hours north of the capital is Lake Nakuru Game Reserve and on my first ‘game drive’ I encountered zebra, buffalo, impala, waterbuck and baboons. Then came the first major sighting – white rhino. Our group was also lucky to spot two black rhinos. Only 37 exist in the entire reserve and just 600 across all of Kenya. A single kilo of black rhino horn fetches up to $65,000 – sold mainly in Asia. We stayed at Elementaita Serena Camp, set on the flamingo-fringed shores of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Lake Elementaita. As beautiful as it was, the big cats remained elusive and our group headed seven hours drive or just under 400km to Amboseli National Park, at the foot of Africa’s highest and the world’s tallest free-standing mountain, Mt Kilimanjaro. Standing at 5895m, the snow-capped peak of the famous African symbol seemed to float, contrasting against the blue sky. But there was little time to relax as suddenly our guide Kevin floored the Land Cruiser. He had got word of nearby lions and had us hurtling to the location. We watched a family of lions hunt a buffalo, but the resilient beast escaped to live another day. From Amboseli we took a short flight to the Masai Mara Game Reserve where we encountered something visitors rarely see. Just before the sun disappeared the discovery was made. Two lionesses were stretched out in a tree, while others lounged happily in the grass nearby. My whirlwind tour continued, and nearby Mara North Conservancy was calling. After checking in to the Karen Blixen Camp on the Mara River, complete with a giant family of hippos, it was time for another game drive. We travelled in an open safari truck, minus windows and the roof. I didn’t think too much of the lack of security until I spotted some movement. There, just metres away, four lionesses slept in a twisted group of legs. Seven cubs dozed nearby. The imposing animals bathed in the hot afternoon sun, as my cat does at home. Every few minutes a lioness stretched and opened its mouth, exposing huge teeth and striking a little fear inside me. Just as quickly, she would fall back to the ground with a loud thump to resume sleeping. With the sun setting, more animals emerged. Some looked to hunt and others to hide. Instead of heading straight back to camp our group enjoyed a spectacular African sunset. It was difficult to leave the savannah and the country. I felt a connection to Kenya, its people and animals, I’ve rarely experienced.