Kenya Under Canvas Safari

Arrive into Nairobi Airport, where you are met after passing through customs and immigration and transfer to the your lodge overnight. The Emakoko is a family-owned and run lodge artfully built into the side of a valley on the Mbagathi River, which borders the Nairobi National Park, a mere 20 minute transfer from both airports in Nairobi city.

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 lodge for the rest of the day at leisure. If you would like, you are welcome to join an afternoon game drive in Nairobi National Park with one of The Emakoko’s excellent camp guides.

After breakfast you will be met and transferred to Wilson Airport for your scheduled flight to Samburu Reserve. The flight will take you close to the spectacular snow-capped peaks of Mount Kenya. Upon arrival at Samburu, transfer to Samburu Intrepids Camp using the lodge’s own 4×4 vehicles on a shared basis. En route you will drive through one of the continent’s most spectacular wilderness areas – home to huge herds of elephant, buffalo and all the big cats. After lunch and a short siesta you head for the plains and a variety of close encounters with Samburu’s unique and endangered wildlife. You will often be able to see elephants and other big game from the privacy of your own balcony.

The complex formed by the Samburu, Buffalo Springs and Shaba reserves is one of the most interesting places in Kenya and can be ranked as unique for several reasons. They are the most remote and inaccessible in the country’s rough north, situated right at the edge of what was formerly called NFD or Northern Frontier District. Samburu and Buffalo Springs are adjacent reserves, separated solely by a river; there is a bridge across some 3 km upstream of Samburu Lodge. It is also the place to see some species which are rare in Kenya or difficult to spot in other parks, since they only dwell above the Equator. There are Grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe and Beisa Oryx, all northern species of game. Other animals include Somali ostrich with its blue legs, hippo, gerenuk, buffalo, lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena and you may spot crocodiles sunning themselves on the river banks. The mix of wood and grassland with riverine forest and swamp is home to a wide variety of birdlife. The Samburu park region is home to Samburu herdsmen, who can be seen driving their herds through the dust, dressed in striking red blankets and carrying spears. The consider themselves to be cousins of the Maasai tribes to the south but with their own distinct culture.

After breakfast, take a game drive to the airstrip for the flights via Nairobi to the Masai Mara, where you will be met by a lodge vehicle with a game drive en route to Mara Intrepids Camp.

Masai Mara is the ‘park of parks’ here in Kenya. Its grass-carpeted smooth hills, the chocolate Mara river waters with frolicking hippos, as well as the rich faunal diversity, fulfil the expectations of any visitor searching the African landscapes portrayed in motion pictures such as “Out of Africa” or “Mogambo”. Save particular tastes or special requirements, this is the park on top of the “must-do” list in the country. The reserve is located west of the Rift Valley and is a natural extension of the Serengeti plains in Tanzania. The Mara River, the reserve’s backbone, traverses north to south heading for its westbound way unto Lake Victoria, through the Tanzanian park. This course is the natural barrier crossed every year by what is the most impressive natural phenomenon – the annual migration of wildebeest, zebra and gazelle.

More than 1.5 million animals move in a quest for the best pastures and around July the herds cross from Tanzania’s Serengeti plains into Kenya to reach the Mara’s grasslands. Predators like lion, leopard, cheetah and hyena are stalking the herds while vultures circle in the sky as the dramatic journey unfolds. When the herds ford the crocodile-crowded river, many animals are taken by crocodiles or drown and leave their bones by the Mara banks. Their brave river crossings are a spectacle for tourists never to be forgotten. From July to October, Masai Mara is at its peak, with the seasonal visitors populating the vast grasslands.

Sadly on day 9 it’s time to depart. After a morning game drive and lunch, you’ll transfer to the airstrip for the flight to Nairobi. On arrival at Wilson Airport, you will be met and transferred to the Ol Sereni Hotel, where you have a dayroom reserved to relax and refresh before it’s time to head to the international Nairobi Airport to meet your departing flights. Breakfast included.