Kenya Highlights Safari

Upon landing at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you will be welcomed and transferred to The Emakoko located on the Mbagathi River, bordering Nairobi National Park. This family-run, luxury lodge is artfully designed incorporating the beautiful fig trees growing on the cliff on which the lodge is built and allows you to begin game watching just 20 minutes after clearing customs. Each of the beautifully appointed rooms look out over the game park ensuring that you get a good night’s sleep with nothing but the sounds of the bush around you.

On day 2, enjoy breakfast at your hotel then head out for an exceptional wildlife experience at an elephant and rhino orphanage and sanctuary for endangered giraffes. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is the most unique elephant & rhino relocation program in the world. Based in Nairobi, The Sheldrick Trust opens its doors to the public to view the orphans between 11 am to 12 pm. You will have lunch at the Karen Blixen Estate and visit the museum there before visiting The Giraffe Center, home to the endangered Rothschild’s Giraffe. The center gives visitors a chance to interact with the giraffes. Both the Sheldrick Trust and Giraffe center allow visitors to get up close and personal with these incredible creatures, an absolute must for anyone passing through Nairobi. We have included lunch at Karen Blixen Coffee Gardens and this afternoon you will be transferred back to your hotel for the rest of the day at leisure.

After an early wakeup call and a quick breakfast you will be transferred to the nearby Wilson Airport in time for your scheduled flight to Meru National Park and the beauty of Elsa’s Kopje. Meru is one of Kenya’s lesser known national parks but is full of intrigue and game. Elsa’s Kopje sits on a hill overlooking the park, each of its carefully constructed cottages has been finished to the highest standard giving you the best possible start to your safari. After checking in and exploring the many ‘hidden gems’ of the Lodge, lunch is served on the grass by the pool with the whole of Meru spread out in front of you. An afternoon game drive presents the perfect opportunity to get a taste of the safari life you will be living over the coming days. Pre-dinner drinks at the lodge are included in a welcome rest before dinner is served under the stars.

Your second day in Meru brings with it an early wakeup call along with freshly brewed coffee and homemade cookies before you head off on a game drive for after which you will return later to the lodge for breakfast. After breakfast there is plenty of time to relax whether it’s by the pool or in the central mess area before lunch. The thought of a massage after lunch might be too tempting an offer to resist so enjoy one before heading out for your afternoon game drive.

It’s an early start today as you enjoy a last breakfast before being transferred to the airstrip in time for your scheduled flight north to the arid soils of Shaba National Reserve and Joy’s Camp. After a late lunch there is just enough time to escape the heat in the lodge’s pool before an afternoon game drive, and dinner. Samburu National Reserve is situated alongside the Ewaso Nyiro River which attracts plenty of animals from the surrounding plains and various other habitats such as acacia, river forest, thorn trees and grasslands. Large herds of elephants, reticulated giraffes, buffalo and gerenuks and frequent spotting of big cats form part of the reserve’s large and diverse wildlife population. You will also be privileged to see the red –robed Samburu tribesmen bringing their cattle down to the river to drink. The lives of the Samburu like the Masai are centered on their livestock, their traditional source of wealth. After initiation, boys become morans and it becomes their job to protect both the humans and the livestock for predators.

Shaba, like any other park in Kenya can get very hot during the middle of the day, to avoid the heat and see the animals at their most active we always suggest early morning game drives. Lazy afternoons by the pool are the norm here and there is no better way to spend the warm afternoons. Late afternoon game drives leave the camp at around 4pm returning in time for showers.

This morning after breakfast, you are transferred by road to Laikipa ,considered the gateway to Kenya’s wild northern frontier country, you will arrive in time for lunch at Lewa Safari Camp and in the afternoon, enjoy the camp’s schedules activities. The Lewa Wildlife Conservancy is situated within Lewa Downs, a 62,000 acre ranch and wildlife sanctuary. It is home to over 10% of Kenya’s entire black and white rhino population, and also the perfect choice for catching the big 5, in addition to a diverse array of plains game species all perfectly adapted for the semi desert environment. Additionally, the Grevy’s Zebra and the Reticulated Giraffe are common while the lance-like horned Beisa Oryx and the rare Greater Kudu are seasonal visitors. All year residents include the Guenther’s Dikdik, the giraffe-necked Gerenuk and the beautiful blue-legged Somali Ostrich. Birdlife is equally rich with numerous species of Bustard, Plover, Coursers and birds of prey. At night, leopard are frequently encountered along with bush-babies, aardvarks, bat-eared foxes, caracal and various mongooses, genets and civets – given all this a few days in Lewa will give you a unique combination of hospitality, spectacular scenery and abundant wildlife.

Today you fly to the Masai Mara Game Reserve on a scheduled flight; here you will spend the next three nights exploring this famous wildlife area fro  your home base, Kicheche Mara Camp. The Maasai Mara is one of Africa’s greatest wildlife eco-systems. Acacia dotted plains, tree-lined rivers and woodlands are abundant with wildlife and an array of birdlife. Game viewing is spectacular year round; you may see a pride of lions stalking their prey, observe a herd of elephant and their fascinating social structure, or see pods of hippo wallowing in the rivers. The great wildebeest migration is one of nature’s wonders; an estimated two million animals migrate in a year-round pattern through Tanzania and Kenya, following the rain. Around July each year the huge herds begin dramatic river crossings and the grasslands of the Mara are covered by a mass of moving wildebeest, offering easy opportunity for crocodile and predators that are never far away.

Mara North Conservancy is a beautiful private wilderness area of more than 30,000 hectares. It is a vital part of the Masai Mara ecosystem where professional wildlife and tourism management ensures guests of a truly exclusive and private safari experience with a very low vehicle density. To form the conservancy Mara North leased land from individual Maasai landowners. This marks the first time that these Maasai landowners have received substantial and direct income from wildlife.

Rigid daily schedules are not on our agenda, there are no hard and fast rules at Kicheche so guests can decide on their activities. The duration and frequency of game drives and walks is flexible. The Maasai Mara Ecosystem holds one of the highest lion densities in world and this is where over two million Wildebeest, Zebra and Thomsons Gazelle migrate annually. Its hosts over 95 species of mammals and 570 recorded species of birds. Overnight Kicheche Mara Camp. All meals, local drinks and laundry included.

On day 13, sadly it’s time to depart. After a leisurely breakfast, it’s time to pack up and head home. You will be transferred to the airstrip for your flight back to Nairobi, where you will be met and transferred to the Ole Sereni Hotel where you have day use of a superior room and lunch. This evening you will be transferred to the international airport in time for your flight home or on to your next destination.