KENYA SAFARI

Tour Description

The Aberdares National park provides a habitat for elephants, black rhinos, leopards, spotted hyenas, olive baboons, black and white colobus monkeys, buffalos, warthogs and bushbucks among others. Rare sightings include those of the Giant Forest hog, bongo, golden cat, serval cat, African wild cat, African civet cat and the blue duiker. Visitors can indulge in picnics, trout fishing in the rivers and camping in the moorlands. Bird viewing is rewarding, with over 250 species of birds in the park, including the Jackson’s Francolin, Sparrow hawks, goshawks, eagles, sunbirds

The Samburu National Reserve was one of the two areas in which conservationists George and Joy Adamson raised Elsa the Lioness, made famous in the best-selling book and award-winning movie Born Free. The Elephant Watch Camp, of which Saba Douglas-Hamilton is director, lies within the park.

The Samburu National Reserve is also the home of Kamunyak, a lioness famous for adopting oryx calves.

Lake Nakuru is mostly known for birdlife, reticulated giraffes and rhino sanctuary.

Masai Mara safari delivers many attractions, as the reserve is home to an excellent year-round concentration of game, including the more than two million wildebeest, zebras and other antelopes that make up the famous Great Migration. &Beyond owns 2 lodges in the Masai Mara; Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp and Bateleur Camp.

The reserve is a photographer’s and naturalist’s paradise, with abundant elephant, buffalo, giraffe, lion and cheetah alongside the migratory wildebeest and zebra. Leopards are frequently encountered, endangered black rhino hide in the dense thickets and large rafts of hippo and enormous crocodiles are found in the Mara River. The park is also home to over 450 bird species.

Tour Itinerary

DAY 1:

NAIROBI/ABERDARES

Arrival of your flight into Nairobi in the morning. Met by our SAFARI TYPIQUE team outside customs & immigration hall. Safari briefing and introduced to the driver guide. Proceed to theAberdares Region. Arrival at the Aberdares Golf & Country Club(Base Hotel) for lunch, where you will leave some of your baggage as only a night bag is required at the Tree Lodge.

Afternoon, transfer to Ark Lodgefor check-in.

Set in the heart of the Aberdares National Park, this unique game lodge overlooks a floodlit waterhole and salt lick which attracts a host of wildlife – elephant, rhino, leopard, bushbuck and occasionally an elusive bongo or giant forest hog. Resembling and named after Noah’s Ark, The Ark comprises three decks from which numerous balconies and lounges provide superb vantage points for game viewing. Dinner and overnight stay at the lodge.

Dinner and overnight stay.

ARK LODGE

DAY 2:

ABERDARES/SAMBURU

08h30: Breakfast at the lodge and transfer back to the Base Hotel where you will rejoin your driver guide and proceed to Shaba & Buffalo Springs Game Reserves via Isiolo town.

Arrival, check-in and lunch at Sarova Shaba Lodge.

Located in the Semi-desert Shaba Game Reserve in the Central Kenya the Lodge offers the guests a chance to see the bounty of unique wildlife made famous by the film “Born Free”. In March 1998, the Lodge played host to the cast and crew of the “Born Free”, true-life story of George and Joy Adamson and starred both Kenyan actors and International film stars. The majority of the filming took place in the Game Reserve but some of the scenes were actually shot in the lodge.

16h00: Proceed on your first game drive in the reserve.

Return to the lodge before sunset for dinner and overnight stay.

SAROVA SHABA LODGE

DAY 3:

SAMBURU

Full day spent in Shaba & Buffalo Springs Game Reserves, with morning and afternoon game drives.

Meals and overnight stay at the lodge.

To the North of verdant Mount Kenya lies an austere semi-desert of thornbush flats, dry grassland, open acacia woodland and rugged ranges that averages only 14″ (350 mm) of rain a year. At the southern edge of this arid region stands a trio of contiguous national reserves with varied lodging and good access by road from Nairobi, 200 miles (325 kilometers) to the south. Samburu National Reserve (40,800 acres/16,500 hectacres), Shaba National Reserve (59,058 acres/23,910 hectacres, and Buffalo Springs National Reserve (32,400 acres/13,100 hectacres) line the perennial UasoNyiro River, rimmed with towering river acacias and doum palms. The river and several springs attract much wildlife, especially in dry periods. Mammals restricted to the Somali-Masai arid zone are found here, such as Grevy’s zebra, the reticulated giraffe, the beisaoryx, Guenther’s dik-dik and the gerenuk. Also present are lesser kudus, elephants, Grant’s gazelles, lions, cheetahs, leopards and 350 bird species, including the blue-flushed Somali ostrich and the bristle-crowned starling.

SAROVA SHABA LODGE

DAY 4:

SAMBURU/MOUNT KENYA

07h30: Breakfast and depart for the Mount Kenya Region.

Arrive and check-in. Rest of the morning at leisure. Lunch.

Afternoon at leisure or embark on optional activities like Horse Riding, Fishing.

Dinner and overnight stay.

MOUNT KENYA SAFARI CLUB

DAY 5:

MOUNT KENYA/LAKE NAKURU

09h00: Breakfast and depart for Lake NakuruNational Park, situated in the Rift Valley Region. Visit of the Thomson Falls en route and continue.

Kenya straddles the center of the Great Rift Valley, the vast prehistoric fissure that stretches from Jordan to Mozambique. From the North to the South of Kenya, the valley is lined with a series of freshwater and soda based volcanic lakes.

Arrival and check-in at the lodge.

16h00: Afternoon game drive in the park and around the alkaline lake.

Lake Nakuru National Park, the world famous haunt for pink flamingos, is a shallow alkaline lake in Kenya’s Rift Valley and some 62 km2 in extent. The road from Nairobi to Nakuru passes down the Kikuyu escarpment with fine views of the Kedong Valley and Mounts Suswa and Longonot. The landscape is picturesque, areas of sedge, marsh and grasslands alternating with rocky cliffsand outcrop.In late 80’s the park also became Kenya’s first rhino sanctuary and is today home to both the White and Black Rhinos. Lions, leopards, hippos, giraffes, waterbucks are equally at home in this unique park.

Dinner and overnight.

SAROVA LION HILL LODGE

DAY 6:

LAKE NAKURU/MASAI MARA

07h30: After breakfast, depart for the world famous Masai Mara National Reserve. Arrival at theMara Sopa Lodgefor check-in and lunch.

Set in the Oloolaimutia Valley the lodge blends in perfectly with its surrounding hillside landscape. The accent here is on the Masai people and the fabulous wealth of wildlife, birdlife, and natural flora to be found in the fabled Masai Mara Game Reserve.

Afternoon game drive around the world famous reserve.

Dinner and overnight stay.

MARA SERENA LODGE

DAY 7:

MASAI MARA

Full day spent in the Mara with early morning, mid-morning and afternoon game drives. Meals and overnight stay at the lodge.

Masai Mara offers an absolutely unique variety of animals. The reason is that this hilly region is both humid and fertile, and is crossed by the rivers Mara and Talek, full of crocodiles and hippos, which carry water the whole year round. The banks of the rivers are covered in thick forest, which gradually makes way for bush and grassland. The abundance of water and excellent availability of food are the reasons why the Masai Mara, which in fact is a continuance of the Tanzanian Serengeti National Park, has the greatest population of wild animals in the whole of Africa. There is a particularly dramatic “spectacle” from July to November, the annual migration of huge herds of Gnus and Zebras. Predators such as Hyenas, Jackals, Leopards and Lions of course, closely follow these herds. Gigantic herds of over 200 buffaloes can also be observed. Plenty of food is available for elephants, giraffes, and the many species of antelopes.

MARA SAROVA LODGE

DAY 8:

MASAI MARA/NAIROBI
07h30: Breakfast at the lodge and proceed to Nairobi. Arrival and transfer to the Carnivore Restaurant for lunch.
Afternoon free for shopping.Evening transfer to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport or onward arrangements.