Celebrating Sue Roberts: Our Safari Matriarch Honoured as a Living Legend
We are very proud to share that Sue Roberts has been honored with UNCHARTED’s Living Legend: Safari Matriarch Award for 2026, part of the UNCHARTED Global Safari Awards, which recognise outstanding safari properties, people, experiences and conservation efforts.
Photo credit from Unchartered.com
Every so often, an accolade comes along that feels perfectly aligned with the person it celebrates. This is one of those moments.
We are incredibly proud to share that Sue Roberts has been awarded UNCHARTED’s Living Legend: Safari Matriarch Award for 2026, part of the UNCHARTED Global Safari Awards — a platform that recognises the very best of the safari world: the people, places, experiences, and conservation efforts that shape it.
For many of you, Sue needs no introduction. You’ve sat with her on the Sirikoi lawns, wandered through her gardens, or simply felt her presence in the warmth and detail woven into every part of the Sirikoi experience. For others, her influence is something you’ve sensed instinctively — that unmistakable feeling of being welcomed into a home rather than a lodge.
UNCHARTED described her as “a great elephant mama, with earned wisdom, fierce devotion to place and people, and an unwavering commitment to what matters most, no matter what.” It’s a description that couldn’t be more fitting. To all of us at Sirikoi, this award honours the remarkable Mama we admire, respect, and hold so close to the heart of our story.
A Life Rooted in Purpose
Photo credit from Unchartered.com
Sue and her late husband, Willie Roberts, shaped Sirikoi from the ground up in 2003, drawing on decades of guiding, lodge-building, and living deeply connected to Kenya’s wild places. Their shared vision — one anchored in respect for land, wildlife, and community — is still the foundation of Sirikoi today.
Sue’s lifelong love of botany is everywhere you look: in the rare climbing plants softening stone chimneys, in the iconic gardens that have become a Sirikoi signature, and in the flourishing shamba that feeds guests and staff alike. Her touch is gentle but unmistakable — thoughtful, meticulous, and always rooted in care.
A Matriarch in the Truest Sense
In the wild, elephant matriarchs carry the memory of water, seasons, and safe passage. In Kenya’s safari world, Sue holds a similar role. She is one of the last of her generation — a quiet force whose wisdom, charm, and lived experience have shaped not only Sirikoi, but the independent safari ethos itself.
Even through profound personal loss — first Willie, a key figure in the creation of the Mara Conservancy, and later their son Richard — Sue chose continuity over retreat. She continued to lead Sirikoi with grace, strength, and a deep sense of purpose, preserving not just a family legacy but a way of being in the world: generous, grounded, and wholeheartedly connected to place.
This award is more than a recognition of a lifetime of work. It is a celebration of a woman who has quietly, steadfastly shaped the safari experience for so many — guests, guides, conservationists, and communities alike.
We couldn’t be prouder to see Sue recognised as the Living Legend she truly is.