9 days / 8 nights Kenya Road Safari
HIGHLIGHTS
Nairobi – Samburu National Reserve – Sweetwaters / Ol Pejeta Game Conservancy – Lake Naivasha – Masai Mara National Reserve
DAY 1: ARRIVAL IN NAIROBI
Upon arrival at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, you will be met by our representative and transferred to the historic 5-star Sarova Stanley Hotel. One of Nairobi’s oldest and best renowned city hotels, it stands in the city centre within easy reach of both shops and tourist attractions, and offering a health club, roof-top swimming pool and a wide selection of restaurants and bars. Overnight at Sarova Stanley hotel on bed and breakfast basis.
DAY 2: NAIROBI TO SAMBURU (drive time: 380km / 5.5 hours)
After an early breakfast, drive north of Nairobi up the Great Rift Valley to the Samburu/Buffalo Springs National Reserve arriving in time for a late lunch at the Ashnil Samburu Camp which features 24 tents. The tents are widely spaced along the banks of the Uwaso Nyiro River, surrounded by doum palms and acacia trees. The main guest area, also shaded by a canopy of acacia trees, offers a comfortable reception and lounge, a spacious dining room, atmospheric bar and a broad deck, which offers unparalleled game-viewing across the wide reaches of the Uwaso Nyiro River, which is the lifeblood of this otherwise arid northern region. Dinner and overnight at Ashnil Samburu camp.
DAY 3: ON SAFARI IN SAMBURU
Enjoy a full day on safari in Samburu (morning and afternoon game drives). In the evening, there is an option of sundowners before dinner in the central dining room.
A place of endless skies, dust-red plains and palm-fringed rivers, Samburu National Reserve lies on the fringes of the vast and arid desert once known as the Northern Frontier District, whose heat-scorched scrublands extend all the way to the jade-green waters of Lake Turkana and beyond. Physically dramatic, the 104 sq km landscape of the Reserve features rocky battlements, craggy scarps, dry river beds and fallen boulders rising out of the thorn scrub against a backdrop of the far-distant hills and the great red table mountain known as Ololokwe.
DAY 4: SAMBURU TO OL PEJETA (drive time: 220km / 3 hours)
Leave the camp after breakfast and travel south to Nanyuki and check-in to Sweetwaters Tented Camp. A sheltered oasis, clustered around a water hole and set in the pristine calm of the private Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Sweetwaters offers a charming blend of under-canvas ambiance and safari luxury.
Located on the plains of Mount Kenya, the camp features thirty-nine luxury tents, each with its own private veranda overlooking the water hole. The central Rhino Restaurant is housed in the former manager’s house of this once colonial farm, and offers both regional and international cuisine. Also within the house is the Kashoggi Bar and lounge, which centers on a blazing log fire. The Waterhole Bar, built in the style of a game-viewing hide, overlooks the waterhole and offers unrivalled wildlife-watching.
About Ol Pejeta Game Conservancy
Situated between the foot hills of the Aberdares and the magnificent snow-capped peaks of Mount Kenya, the 110,000-acre private wilderness of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy boasts an astounding variety of wildlife, including all the members of the ‘Big Five’ (the endangered black and white rhino , leopard, elephant, buffalo and lion). Offering one of the highest wildlife densities in Kenya and a higher wildlife to acre ratio than any Kenyan national park, the conservancy offers sanctuary to a number of endangered species, most notably the rare Grevy’s zebra and the Jackson’s hartebeest. The largest black rhino sanctuary in East Africa, the conservancy also hosts the only sanctuary for chimpanzees in Kenya.
DAY 5: ON SAFARI IN OL PEJETA
Enjoy an entire day exploring the pristine calm of the private Ol Pejeta Conservancy with game drives, Rhino Sanctuary and Chimpanzee sanctuary visits, guided bush walks, bird watching, local community visits and so many more activities presented here.
DAY 6: OL PEJETA TO LAKE NAIVASHA (drive time: 240km / 3,5 hours)
After breakfast, drive south to Lake Naivasha in time for lunch at the charmingly located Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge. The lodge stands in 120 acres of lakeside land, most of which is covered in green riparian meadows, which sweep down to the shores of the lake, one of the most beautiful in the Great Rift Valley. A jetty has been built out onto the lake, from where guests can watch the antics of the hippos in the lake and experience 360 degree views, which include Crescent Island, Mount Longonot, the Mau Escarpment and the misty outline of the Aberdares. The grounds are alive with a colourful selection of birds, and the trees with monkeys. Afternoon crescent Island walk.
About Lake Naivasha
A freshwater lake, the highest of the string of lakes that glitter down the vast trench of the Great Rift Valley, Lake Naivasha is infamous for its rapidly shifting moods. Enigmatic, and dotted with floating islands of Nile cabbage (water hyacinth) and papyrus, Lake Naivasha has no known outlet, and legends abound regarding the vast tunnels that supposedly run beneath its surface. Towered over by the brooding bulk of Mount Longonot (2,776 m), and featuring a submerged volcanic crater known as Crescent Island, this beautiful lake is best known for its high numbers of water birds. Also for the haunting cry of the fish eagles, which feed on the black bass and tilapia of its waters.
DAY 7: LAKE NAIVASHA TO THE MASAI MARA (drive time: 365 km / 5.5 hours)
Leaving the lodge after breakfast, continue up the floor of Rift to arrive in the famous Masai Mara National Reserve, and at the Ashnil Mara Camp in time for a late lunch. In the afternoon, enjoy your first game-drive in the Mara. World renowned for the breathtaking spectacle of ‘the greatest wildlife show on earth’, the awe inspiring annual migration of the wildebeest, the Mara is Kenya’s most visited protected area. Technically an extension of Tanzania’s renowned Serengeti National Park, the Mara constitutes only 4% of the entire Serengeti ecosystem but its rolling grasslands, meandering rivers and towering escarpments offer one of the world’s most rewarding and evocative wildlife arenas. Returning to the camp, enjoy some relaxation on your private veranda, sundowners and dinner in the central restaurant.
DAY 8: ON SAFARI IN THE MARA
Spend all day on safari in the reserve with morning and afternoon game drives and breakfast, lunch and dinner at the lodge. When it comes to game-viewing, there is nowhere in Africa richer in wildlife or more eventful in encounters than the Mara. A pristine wilderness of haunting beauty, it promises its visitors a profusion of wildlife, prolific bird life and the unprecedented opportunity of catching up with all the members of the ‘Big Five’ in one morning.
DAY 9: THE MARA TO NAIROBI (drive time: 265 km / 4.5 hours)
After breakfast at the lodge, drive to Nairobi and take lunch at the world famous Carnivore Restaurant, rated among the top 500 restaurants in the world. Depart for your flight home.
GROUP SIZE:2–12 clients in two vehicles
ACCOMMODATION:Luxury tented camps and safari lodges
MEALS:All meals are undertaken at each luxury tented camp as per itinerary
TRANSPORTATION: By road in a 6 seater Minivan
STAFF:One dedicated professional driver / guide. He is selected for his experience of the African bush, thus ensuring your travel experience is enjoyable and successful. Detailed information on the history of the area, fauna and flora is given to participants during the safari. The safaris are conducted in English.
