Tiffany and Tony Dierolf offer a safari experience in New Boston
By Phoebe Warren

Author and speaker Laurie Beth Jones once said, “Sometimes facing opportunity is like staring at the knees of a giraffe.” Tiffany and Tony Dierolf’s once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was just that.

When the Dierolfs purchased a game ranch in New Boston, Texas, the couple did not have in mind the life and business they would create there. “Tony bought [the ranch] for personal use to hunt,” Tiffany said. In meeting exotic animal dealers, Tony realized that they could pivot and make one of Tiffany’s long-time dreams come true.

Tiffany had always been enamored with giraffes. “It’s been on my vision board for years, like on my bucket list, to go to Africa and have breakfast with the giraffes and sleep with the giraffes,” she said. “As Tony met more people [involved with exotic animal dealing] he said to me, ‘I think I can get a giraffe.’”

At first, the Dierolfs only wanted to create a giraffe barn attached to the inn, allowing guests to feed giraffes from their windows during their stay. However, Tony’s ambition drove them to expand the facility and increase the number of animals living on the property.

“The transformation was insane,” Tiffany said. “We went from hunting lodge to safari within like six to eight weeks.”

Tony knew he wanted the giraffes to be the star of the show in terms of advertising; he wanted to ensure that, when people Googled “giraffe,” their getaway experience would show up in the results.

“At first, the name was going to be Giraffe Inn & Suites,” Tiffany explained. “Then [Tony] just got all these animals, so that there’s a petting zoo all the way down to the barn [giraffe enclosure], and there’s some free roaming animals.” The couple decided to change the name to Giraffe Inn & Safari to encapsulate everything the experience offered.

Tony and Tiffany are from Valley View, Texas. The current owner of AS Dierolf Concrete LLC, Tony was already familiar with risky business investments, but the safari is his “wildest” business venture yet. He moved onto the property this past November, while Tiffany just recently quit her job as a physical therapist to take the leap and move onto the property full-time as well. The couple built a tiny home on-site to live in while their full-time lodging preparations were being finalized. They are now all settled into their new home and celebrated the official opening of the Giraffe Inn & Safari at the beginning of June.

The giraffes may be the star of the show, but the safari also hosts a sloth, fennec foxes, alpacas, kangaroos, lemurs, a porcupine, capybaras, exotic birds, zebra, tortoises, and even a wildebeest. The free-roaming animals are the gentle deer and fuzzy Highland cows that meander along past the giant pond at the back of the property. They are content to lie under the shady trees and splash in the pond. The petting zoo has goats, miniature donkeys, a pony, a couple of camels, and an endearing brown-and-white cow named Valentine.

The Dierolfs know each animal on the property by name and personality, and it’s no surprise that the giraffes are the most dear to Tiffany. The giraffe is her long-time favorite animal, and being able to care for them is a dream come true.

“We chose to get three young [males] so that we can have them their whole life,” Tiffany explained. “It would have been easier to get an old retired giraffe from the zoo that already comes up to be fed, but we wanted them for their whole life.”

The giraffes have been patiently trained to get them comfortable with people feeding them. Tony had the honor of being the first to hand-feed them, driving a buggy into the enclosure and sitting on the bed with food. “They were surrounding him, just coming in for hay or grain,” Tiffany said. “I was outside their pen taking pictures, and I was so jealous. It was the coolest thing.”

The safari might be a dream come true, but it still requires a lot of hard work and expertise. Four zookeepers are employed full-time with the safari, and an exotic animal veterinarian comes to give each animal a check-up once a month. The giraffes are given special enrichment games within their enclosure, such as PVC pipe pieces that hide treats up high for the giraffes to discover.

Tony and Tiffany hope that visitors to the Giraffe Inn & Safari see their conscious efforts to transform this former game ranch into a lifelong home for the wildlife residing here. In addition to overnight stays, day passes are available for purchase, with special animal-encounter packages offered. Safari drive-thru adventures and petting-zoo interactions are also available for guests to book. The Giraffe Inn & Suites is available to host corporate events, parties, baby showers, and everything in between. Information about all of the amenities and adventures offered can be found at giraffeinnandsafari.com. A wild opportunity awaits.

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