There are times that off-site venues such as zoos and aquariums just aren’t far enough away from the main event. That’s when it’s time for an off-site excursion. Some animal-oriented excursions are close to event headquarters, say a whale watching cruise out of Boston or an orca whale cruise on Puget Sound out of Seattle or Vancouver. These three land-based excursions, however, can make an unforgettable impression by getting attendees a little farther afield.
Safari West is a 400-acre wildlife preserve in the heart of Sonoma County Wine Country about 90 minutes north of San Francisco. The preserve is dedicated to the protection of endangered wildlife species, including two species of Saharan Desert antelope now extinct in the wild. The facility is also home to zebras, giraffes, cheetah, wildebeest, springbok, oryx, impala, cranes, ostrich and more. But there is no cell phone coverage.
“Google sends groups to us because we offer an unplugged environment,” says Corrine Bishop, group sales events manager. “As long as attendees are here, they are not connected to the devices in their hands, they are connected to the animals that wander what we call the Sonoma Serengeti—and to each other. Attendees connect come here because there is nothing to distract them except maybe the cheetah running faster than their safari jeep or the wildebeest staring straight at you. We give groups the privacy and the space to work with the help of a tremendous connection to nature.”
Group facilities include “camping” in 30 African safari-style tented lodges with polished hardwood floors, an indoor meeting room with space for 100 and an outdoor gazebo screened by aviaries and bamboo for privacy. Groups can book space, including animal safari tours, for the day or overnight, or buy out the entire facility.
Wild Earth Llama Adventures offers llama trekking in wilderness areas of New Mexico near Taos and Santa Fe. Most groups drive in for day trips that focus on adventure and team building, says owner Stuart Wilde, but overnight camping trips can be arranged as well. No safari jeeps, here, just llamas, guides and coworkers in thousands of square miles of mountain wilderness.
“We’ve had everybody from light bulb testers from GE to incentive groups with top sales winners,” Wilde says. “A facilitated wilderness experience offers an opportunity to learn and use skills like leadership, critical thinking and decision-making that groups desire and need. If you are out in the woods with your group and your llama, you are absolutely focused on your team. Most corporate groups seem to be looking for a conference at a fixed facility. The people who come to us are looking for something outside of those four walls.”
Coyote Canyon Adventures provides horseback riding adventures across mountain ranchlands outside San Miguel de Allende, one of Mexico’s most popular colonial cities. There are no overnight accommodations, says director and owner Rodrigo Landeros, an advantage for groups that want to escape the confines of hotel meeting space without giving up the luxury of San Miguel’s five-star accommodations.
“We usually work with incentive groups that are spending time in Mexico City, time at the beach and time in the colonial cities,” Landeros says. “Because corporate groups all come from city life, we give them a day on the ranch, starting with a visit to a very real schoolhouse, trail rides down into the canyons, driving cattle, a ranch rodeo, dinner under the stars, fireworks, even a private hot springs with massage and simple spa treatments. One of the most popular activities, except for the trail rides, is showing attendees how to milk a cow. If you weren’t born on a ranch, chances are you’ve never seen a cow that close up, never mind milking one That’s an experience, a connection, that your attendees won’t get anywhere else.”
