This safari will showcase the unique areas of Mt. Kenya, the northern parts of Samburu District with its special species, the pinked lake due to large numbers of flamingo and other birds in Lake Nakuru and finally the most fascinating plains of Masai Mara Game Reserve
Day 1: Arrival in Nairobi
Jambo! Upon arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, You will be met and greeted by our representative and transfer you to a Pan Afric Hotel, Idyllically located 5 minutes drive from the CBD amidst beautifully landscaped gardens in a quiet suburb of Nairobi for overnight stay on Bed and Breakfast basis.
Day 2: Full day in Nairobi
Today, you will spend a full day with a city tour which covers the modern city centre, the Railway Museum and the National Museum where there are spellbinding displays of early man, tribal regalia including the adjacent Snake Park the flora and fauna of Kenya and the colorful markets. Later in the day we visit the Giraffe Center, a project set up to protect the endangered Rothschild giraffes. Here you have the chance to feed, touch and even kiss the giraffe, a fascinating experience. Return back to the hotel for overnight.
Day 3: Mt. Kenya Region
After breakfast, you will be picked by your guide and drive through the central part of Kenya rich with agricultural activities to Mountain Lodge, Sailing like an ark amid the primeval forests of Kenya’s highest mountain, Mt. Kenya. You will arrive in time for lunch; spend the afternoon at leisure with optional nature walk to view birds and other species of animals. View animals from your balcony over the waterhole and expect clear views of Mt. Kenya on a clear day.
Serena Mountain Lodge is a timbered tree hotel that offers champagne-clear mountain air, sweeping views across the tree-canopy, sparkling trout streams and gentle forest walks. Raised on stilts above the forest canopy, a timbered drawbridge leads from the forest and up on to the wooden ‘decks’ of the lodge. Inside, the impression of having boarded a ship is perpetuated by a combination of log paneled walls, timbered game-viewing decks and winding stairs leading to a selection of snugly comfortable, cabin-styled rooms.
Day 4 & 5: Samburu Game Reserve
Enjoy breakfast the check out. Further north is the Samburu Game Reserve, a land characterized by rugged terrains dominated by dramatic hills with acacia and Doum palm trees along the Ewaso Nyiro River, the lifeline of the beautiful arid land. Thorn scrub rises against a backdrop of distant hills and the great red table Ololokwe Mountain. It is within the lands of the colorful Samburu people, close relatives of the Maasai, and is home to a number of wildlife species rarely found elsewhere in Kenya: Gravy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, and Beisa oryx, all found only north of the equator. After lunch you will enjoy an afternoon game drive offering you the opportunity to view different animals and especially the gerenuk.
Samburu Sopa Lodge is built atop raised ground allowing panoramic views of distant Samburu hills to one side and El Ndonyo Keri (Samburu name for Mt. Kenya) on the other.
The lodge has thirty cottages forming buffalo horn pattern converge at the public facilities area, leaving the open end to free movement of the wildlife to access the waterhole. The architecture blends in with the area, to keep up with the style of the housing by the local Samburu people. Each cottage has two tastefully appointed bedrooms, each with two queen size beds, shower and private verandah. Local material has been used in the construction, furnishings and interior decoration. High ceilings and space ensure that the rooms are airy and comfortable.
Day 6: Lake Nakuru National Park
After breakfast, depart and drive into the Great Rift Valley, Continuing through the geological fault-line stretches at 2,000 feet deep and 30 miles wide. Its walls are sheer and high and along its length, there are many volcanoes, most now dormant with bubbling springs and geysers, the landscape is spectacular.
Arrive at Lake Nakuru National Park, a shallow alkaline lake that is world-renowned for its huge concentration of flamingos that give the lake a pink shimmering glow. The park boasts a variety of animals, including leopard which is often found snoozing on the branches of the magnificent yellow-barked acacias, lion, buffalo, hippo, waterbuck, warthog, baboon, the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe only found in this park in Kenya, white rhino and the rare black rhino which is protected and guarded here. For the bird-watching enthusiast there are over 450 species found in the park vicinity, with a vast concentration of water birds including Marabou Stork, pelican, and of course the world-famous flocks of flamingo. Your wildlife drives will allow ample wildlife viewing.
Lake Nakuru Lodge is in the south-east ecological niche of the park, with commanding views of the lake and the flamingos for which it is justly famous. Lush gardens surround the lodge and cottages. There is a good programme of activities and evening entertainment.
Day 7: Masai Mara Game Reserve
After an early morning breakfast, have an en route game drive as you drive through Mai Mahiu to Narok town proceeding on to Mara arriving in time for lunch at Mara Sopa Lodge. After lunch, depart for an afternoon game drive returning back to the lodge as the sun sets.
Located on the slopes of Oloongams Hills, Mara Sopa Lodge is one of the first lodges to be built in the Masai Mara Game Reserve. Guests are drawn to this lodge built in an ethnic design, surrounded by a rich landscape, covered in fauna, from huge desert cacti to sweet smelling jasmine flowers, all within the fabled Masai Mara game reserve.
Day 8: Masai Mara
Spend a full day with game drives across this beautiful dotted plains of the Mara in search of game that includes big cats, Topi, hartebeest, Oribi, Grant’s and Thomson gazelle, buffalo waterbuck, vervet monkey, olive baboon as well as many other species of reptiles and amphibians. Other options include the visit to Masai Village to learn their lifestyle and their history. All meals and overnight at your lodge.
Day 9: Return back to Nairobi
After breakfast, you will check out and enjoy a last en route game drive as you head back to Nairobi arriving early evening for dinner at the famous carnivore restaurant, later transfer to the Airport for your international flight.
