Kenya Wildlife Safari by African Trails

Tour Itinerary

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

From Nairobi to Nairobi - Trip Highlights

Lake Naivasha & Elsamere

Lake Nakuru National Park

Hells Gate National Park

Masai Mara Game Reserve

Cooking:

We take turns with the cooking. Two meals a day are included while on the truck. We normally have lunch out at local cafes on the way, lots of fun. Meals out are not included.

Camping:

We have made a short note of the campsites we use at the end of each day. Those that are more basic tend to be more scenic; that is especially in the game parks where basic toilets and cold showers are the norm. After a night at such camps we do our best to follow with a hot shower bar campsite. Although in the Masai Mara are two basic nights, but the wild beauty and the animals in the park more than makes up for this.

Changes:

You should be aware that things change frequently in Africa; camps open and close, as do the roads. So there is a chance that the itinerary may have to be changed due to unforeseen circumstances.

Start & before the trip:

We leave the camp at 8am on the first day of the trip. We recommend you arrive in Nairobi the day before, however if you're there with a few days to spare there's lots to see and do around the city. Close to the camp is Karen Blixen's, Langata Giraffe Centre or even Nairobi National Park for a first glimpse of African wildlife.

Itinerary

Day 1: Saturday

We leave Nairobi and descend into the Great Rift Valley, pausing at the lookout with amazing views en route. We head for Nakuru town and the working farm of Kembu Camp. We spend the afternoon here. The camp has good facilities and a bar. We stay here for two nights.

Day 2: Sunday

Lake Nakuru National Park is only 60 kilometres across the valley floor. It has the largest herd of black rhino in East Africa, around a million pink flamingos; who are part time residents and more than 400 other bird species. Nakuru means place of the waterbuck in Swahili and these antelope abound in the park as well as impala, buffalo and warthog. The lions here sit in the branches of trees. We leave Lake Nakuru after a morning game drive and visiting Nakuru town to return to Kembu Camp.

Days 3 & 4: Monday & Tuesday

Across the floor of the Rift Valley we set up our tents under the trees of Fishermen's Camp, on the shores of Lake Naivasha. Lake Naivasha is well known for its hippo population that comes ashore every night to graze. The camp is protected by an electric fence which stops the hippos coming too close.

Nearby is Hell's Gate National Park where you can hire bikes to take you around the park and see the herds of zebra, buffalo, hartebeest and gazelle. There is spectacular scenery here; red cliffs, grassy plains and rock towers made of hardened lava, the remains of ancient volcanoes. It's a hard ride but well worth it. Or you can spend the day on the lakeshore, spotting the rich variety of African birds. There are more species of birds on this one lake that there are in the whole of the UK.

Also on the lake is Elsamere, once the home of Joy Adamson and Elsa the lion of 'Born Free' fame. Elsamere is now the centre of the Born Free Foundation and you can find out more about their work, see the rare Colobus monkeys and take afternoon tea in the gardens. You can visit Crescent Island the film location of 'Out of Africa', where you can wander with a guide amongst African wildlife in lion free surroundings. The camp has a good bar restaurant overlooking the lake and good facilities.

Day 5: Wednesday

We climb out of the Rift Valley and over the Mau escarpment passing through the Masai capital of Narok. We enter Masai Mara Game Reserve from the east. The Mara must be one of Africa's most famous Parks, and justifiably so. Here herds of elephants browse among rich, tree-studded grasslands. Thomson's gazelles, zebra, eland and many more species of savannah game offer a rich choice for the predatory lions, leopards and cheetahs that hunt in the reserve and the surrounding areas. The camp is a simple site on the edge of the park, among the animals.

Day 6: Thursday

We spend a day game driving in the vast, game-filled plains of the Masai Mara and either camp at acacia or return to Narok town to camp.

Day 7: Friday

We return to Naivasha and you have the chance to go bird watching on the lake shores, or to climb Mount Longonot, an extinct volcano. Or you can take a boat out on the Green Crater Lake.

Days 8: Saturday

We return to Nairobi where we have the opportunity to sample the nightlife of Kenya's capital or visit the Giraffe Sanctuary and Karen Blixen's house. The trip ends in Nairobi.

Local payment of GBP£180 payable on day 1

Side Trips you can do on this trip and Costs

Kenya Price

Lake Nakuru - half day in the park $60

Lake Naivasha - Hell's Gate Park; entry & bike hire to cycle through the park $30

Lake Naivasha - Elsamere Museum & afternoon tea $8

Lake Naivasha - Climb to Mount Longonot extinct volcano crater rim $50

Lake Naivasha - Green Crater Lake $10