This classic Kenya safari takes us across ancient Maasai tribal lands and the Great Rift Valley to the world’s finest game reserves. We track the ‘Big Five’ (elephant, buffalo, rhino, lion and leopard) and encounter a huge variety of other animal and birdlife. Each night we stay in the heart of the game parks to enhance this experience of the African wilderness.
Itinerary
[+] Detailed Itinerary
Day 1:
Join tour Nairobi
Arrive into Nairobi and check-in to our hotel
Overnight Comfortable Hotel (H++)
Day 2:
Drive to Lake Nakuru; game viewing
Today we head to Lake Nakuru National Park. Established as the first bird sanctuary in Africa in 1960, Lake Nakuru is 199 sq km. It is forested uplands and swamp and dry savannah surrounding the lake. The park is home to an abundant diversity of wildlife. This area has one of the densest concentrations of wildlife in Kenya. After lunch we’ll make a game drive around the lakeshore searching for the elusive leopard, as well as black and white rhino, and lion. The following morning we’ll make an early start to visit the flamingo population on the lake. Greater and Lesser flamingo are both in abundance here along with pelicans which are seasonal, and the spectacle of seeing hundreds of thousands of these birds is an impressive sight and not one you will forget easily!
Overnight Lodge (H++)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3:
Drive to Lake Naivasha, boat ride into Crescent Island
Before leaving Lake Nakuru this morning we take a morning game drive and then head back up Africa's most important physical feature, the Great Rift Valley, toward Lake Naivasha. Naivasha means “rippling waters” in Maasai, and the lake lies on the floor of the Rift Valley, dominated by nearby Mount Longonot. The Rift Valley is more than 9656km long, stretching from Jordan down to Mozambique. It was created by the rifting of the great continental masses of Africa and Arabia. The southernmost area of Kenya’s Rift Valley lakes is a fertile oasis with fresh water and the lake itself, is a picturesque setting with grazing hippos and floating islands of papyrus. This afternoon we will visit Crescent Island where we can explore this great bird and wildlife sanctuary on foot and hope to see giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and some of the 350 bird species that have been recorded here. It was also a location for some of the scenes in the film ‘Out of Africa’.
Overnight Comfortable Hotel (H++)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4:
Drive to Maasai Mara
The Maasai Mara Game Reserve, arguably Kenya’s finest wildlife park, is situated at the northern end of the Serengeti Ecosystem. There is almost every species of animal native to East Africa here and during our game drives in this park we may well find the ‘Big Five’ of elephant, lion, leopard, buffalo and rhino. There are also the herds of wildebeest, zebra, topi and gazelle that roam in large numbers across the grasslands. The forested banks of the Mara and Talek rivers are an excellent place to view hippos, crocs and waterfowl and the reserve is also home to some 450 species of bird, including Denham's Bustard, Black Coucal, Yellow Bellied Hyliota and Magpie Shrike.
Overnight Lodge (H++)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5:
Exploring Maasai Mara; game viewing
One of the most memorable and unique spectacles of this area is the annual migration of hundreds of thousands of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle as they move between the Maasai Mara and the Serengeti Plains. This annual trek costs the lives of many of the old and the sick who are picked off by the predators that thrive here, both on the plains and in the muddy waters of the Mara river. During our time in the reserve, we will venture out on several game drives experiencing a little of this natural struggle as it unfolds before our eyes. The area teems with herbivores, predators and over 450 species of birds including 57 species of birds of prey. Maasai Mara is not a park, it is a game reserve and as such the Maasai people have been able to retain their traditional way of life. It is unchanged through the centuries and tribesmen are often seen herding their cattle along the many cattle trails outside the reserve.
Overnight Lodge (H++)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 6:
Game Drives in the Maasai Mara; optional balloon ride
There is also the option of an early morning balloon safari to view the spectacle from the air. The rest of the day will be dedicated to game drives in different areas of the park
Overnight Comfortable Hotel (H++)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7:
Drive to Nairobi
Today we head back to Nairobi, where, we will have the rest of the day for any last minute shopping or for a final look around this vibrant city before we leave.
Included meals: Breakfast
