Itinerary

Day 1 - Shompole, Lake Natron

Once you have arrived to Jomo Kenyatta Airport, you will met by an Elevate representative who will whisk you briskly through customs and immigration and lead you straight to your helicopter where your pilot will be waiting for you. We have arranged for special permission to land our helicopter at the International airport rather than at the internal airport, as is usual practice.

The helicopter we use is the latest from Eurocopter with the most modern safety features and is the only one of its kind in Kenya. This is the quietest helicopter in the world, which minimizes disturbance to wildlife drastically: enhancing game viewing and flight enjoyment. It is also equipped with air conditioning, large leather seats, music and an intercom system that allows us to chat freely amongst ourselves. The pilot, Humphrey Carter, is a very old friend, ex British army and the most charming and entertaining companion with whom to explore Africa.

We will take off across Nairobi’s National Park and dip straight down in to the geological drama of the Great Rift Valley.This enormous fissure that runs from the Red Sea all the way down in to the Mozambique Channel dominates Africa and is the Cradle of Mankind. As you fly through it, you not only get an overwhelming sense of evolutionary history but you realize that you are actually watching it develop in the present. The violence of the geography dominates. Volcanoes are a major feature. Many are dormant or extinct and a few remain active. Mount Shompole, which we will pass over, is an extraordinary sugar dome mountain that rises out of the soda plains of Lake Magadi and Lake Natron. Both these lakes we will then skim low over. They are a hypnotising, technicolor swirl of alkaline currents. We will land in this Jurassic scene for a picnic breakfast.

After a rest we will take off again and head for the Nguruman Mountains where our destination, Shompole, sits snug in their foothills overlooking the Masai Plains. Shompole is a peaceful, rather eccentric retreat created along Zen lines. Gentle streams of water trickle through your personal pavilion and into your own private little swimming pool. Spaces are large; lines are simple and decoration minimal. It is the perfect place to relax on your first day, recover from your international flight and after the excitement of the morning, to allow you to settle in to the amazing environment that is Africa.

Day 2 - Makenna’s Hills, Ol Ari Nyiro

Once we have breakfasted, we will take off early-ish to make the most of the nuances of light and shadow over the land. We’ll fly up through the heart of the Rift, over Mount Suswa, an impressive volcano famed for its caves, the distinctive Mount Longonot and to Lake Naivasha where we will land. Lake Naivasha is one of Kenya’s fresh water lakes and its lushness makes it the principal area for flower farming. We will play it by ear, but we will probably explore the lake by boat. It has excellent bird life and healthy hippo populations. If you fancy you can even drop a fishing line to see if you can catch a black bass or a tiliapia. We’ll have a leisurely lunch. In the afternoon we’ll fly over Lakes Elementaita and Nakuru. We’ll see plenty of wild game as we pass and possibly even the chance of your first lion. Around tea time we will reach Kuki Gallman’s conservancy, Ol Ari Nyiro.

Perched 3,500 feet above the Rift’s floor on its eastern lip, her beautiful lodge, Makenna’s Hills, commands spectacular views. Lake Baringo glistens below whilst the impressive bulk of the Cherungani Hills provides awesome backdrops for incredible skies and sunsets.

The lodge is small, private and intimate with just six very spacious pavilions, decked in antiques and collector’s pieces from Africa and the Orient. The delicious food is all homegrown and organic. Kuki herself is of course an excellent hostess and she shall be with us for at least some of our safari.

Activity wise, there is much to do. Ol Ari Nyiro, the actual name of the conservancy, offers vital sanctuary to a great deal of flora and fauna. The ecosystem will be sensitively introduced to you, and can be viewed on foot, from the heights of a camel, or from a vehicle, by day or by night. The ranch can particularly pride itself on its large herds of elephant.

It is Kuki’s vision to set the benchmark for African conservation, and to provide a platform of hope for the preservation of our environment for future generations. As such, there are a series of projects, both cultural and ecological. All involve local people, and are well worth visiting.

Day 3- Makenna's Hills, Ol Ari Nyrio

In the morning we will topple back down in to the Rift Valley and fly to Lake Bogoria for a picnic breakfast. Lake Bogoria is another beautiful flamingo lake characterised by steam geysers and steep forested hillsides.

We will return mid morning to Kuki’s to continue exploring her conservancy.

Day 4 - Lobolo Camp, Lake Turkana

Today will be one of the most incredible and memorable days of your life. We will visit the seldom-frequented Northern Frontier. Upon take off we’ll swoop down and fly north through the Suguta valley. One of the most savagely beautiful regions on the planet and all but inhospitable, one feels as if one is witnessing the beginning of the world. Volcanoes and lava flows abound whilst huge undulating sand dunes dominate the landscape. As we fly in the early morning the delicate morning light casts fantastical colors and shadows across the scene. We’ll land on one of the dunes.

As we continue north, we’ll skim Lake Logipi where clouds of flamingos find refuge from the rest of the world. As they scatter we then climb up and over Teleki’s Volcano and the impressive Mount Nyabathom to see before us the vast jade expanse of Lake Turkana. Dipping down and over the lake we’ll see Turkana and Ol Molo fishermen at work amidst crocodiles as large as can be found anywhere. This is a very wild landscape and was responsible for making the photographer Peter Beard so famous.

We’ll finally land on the western shores of the lake at Lobolo Camp, just north of the Eliye springs. This wonderful camp is run with clockwork precision by Halewijn and Joyce Sheuerman. Halewijn is an explorer/scholar; his expertise and incredible tales make for fascinating company.

A powerful speedboat will be our tender and we will explore the lake and venture on to Central Island.

You can also try your hand at catching a leviathan Nile Perch – a gigantic lake fish that can exceed a couple of hundred pounds. As the sun goes down over the water and the local fishermen in their dhow sailing boats, this is a photographer’s paradise.

Day 5 - Kalache Oasis, Chalbe Desert

In the morning we’ll boat across the lake with Halewijn up to the northeastern shores of the lake to the Koobi Fora archaeological site. Made world famous by the discoveries of the celebrated palaeontologist Richard Leakey, the various fossil beds are up to an hour apart from each other by vehicle; we will have positioned the helicopter to allow us to flit from site to site.

On leaving Koobi Fora we helicopter eastwards to the desert lands of the Chalbe. This unbelievable tranche of Kenya is home to the nomadic Gabbra people. Their lives are dictated by the welfare of their camels, grazing for their livestock and the eternal search for water.

Much depends on the nature of the season but we may land at their encampments if they are there out in the desert. This is a very ancient land and in the lost history of the region there was once a powerful civilisation that inhabited these parts, a nation said to be of giants. Great burial cairns loom out of the desert as testament to their existence, about which very little is known. The mystery of these monuments just adds to the savage beauty of the environment.

We will land at the oasis of Kalache where we will stay in simple accommodation overlooking the watering hole. This remote location is like a scene from the bible as hundreds and hundreds of camels are brought here to be watered by the Gabbra, many of whom have travelled hundreds of miles to reach here.

Evening is particularly interesting as there are a number of caravans that will be returning up in to the Huri Hills, a range about 80 miles to the north of Kalache on the Ethiopian border. These camels are loaded with kalabashes and vessels carrying water that will be walked during the night up in to the hills to quench the thirsts of the Gabbra cattle that are being grazed there. The day after tomorrow the camels will then return to make the same trip again. Whilst this activity is going on, drove after drove of sandgrouse--numbering well in to the thousands--fly into the oasis with their distinctive chatter.

A candlit dinner beneath the infinite stars of the desert sky will be a wonderful memory of your safari.

Day 6-8 - Lewa Downs, Laikipia

Today we strike southeast over very different but no less spectacular scenery. – Cedar forested mountain ranges, spring fed valleys and enormous Dali-esque rock formations.

Our destination is Lewa Downs on the Laikipia region: a broad game rich swathe that reaches the foothills of Mount Kenya on one side and, in contrast, the wild deserts of the north on the other. Outside of the Maasai Mara, Laikipia can boast the greatest wildlife experiences in Kenya.

Lewa Downs is among East Africa’s finest conservancy and has been the home of the Craig family since the 1920’s. with the support of various benefactors, Royal and otherwise, they decided to concentrate on the conservation of game and are now one of the country’s great success stories. Having originally hunted out the rhino themselves, they now have over sixty, both black and white, on their property. They also have a thriving predator population and a plethora of plains game and smaller beasts.

We will stay at William Craig’s house in his private guest cottages. . Not only is the location exceptionally beautiful, the food is also excellent . Every last morsel is an organic product of the farm.

As we enjoy excellent relations with Lewa we have also made various special arrangements for you. You will go out on anti-poaching patrol with their rapid reaction unit; you will track for rhino on foot with one of their specialist trackers; you will be able to join the Grevy zebra research team and go out in to the field with them.

Most exciting of all is that we have permission for you to stay out the night with an armed ranger in a purpose designed “observation cage”. This cage has been constructed for researchers and is placed near a kill to observe all the nocturnal predators and scavengers that visit throughout the course of a night. Not only is this extremely exciting but it will be a fascinating, close up experience with the animals.

In addition to game viewing there are plenty of other things to keep you busy. As is the nature of an Elevate safari, you can play much by ear when you arrive.

Day 9-11 - Richards Camp, Maasai Mara

Humphrey will have left us by now and we will take a charter airplane down to the Maasai Mara.

One really has to visit the Maasai Mara, especially on a first visit to East Africa.

Though it is a tented camp, it is certainly not how you would imagine a tent would be. Your room is a permanent structure, very spacious and has a flush lavatory and hot shower. There is also a very romantic bath set out under the stars,and lit by candles that is the perfect place to soak before your evening meal.

Richard’s is ideally situated in a tranquil forest grove away from all the other camps on the Aitong Hills’ side of the Mara and we will almost certainly have it exclusively. When we go out on walks or drives to see the animals or explore the local Masai culture, it feels very much like one has the whole of the Mara all to oneself.

The wildlife is abundant and the swaying grasslands ensure that animals are never out of sight. Elephants browse amongst the large herds of wildebeest and topi, eland and buffalo, Thomson’s and Grant’s gazelle. The plains offer a rich variety of food for the dominant predators: Lion, Leopard, Hyena and Cheetah. In the Mara River, hippos submerge to snort and grumble while crocodiles sunbathe, mouths agape, on the riverbanks.

Another wonderful experience is to take a hot air balloon ride across the Mara early one morning as the sun is rising. It is devastatingly beautiful. We will have a champagne breakfast out in the middle of the savannah wherever we have landed.

Day 12-15 - Private Beach House, Shela

On flying up from the Maasai Mara, you will connect on to the schedule lunchtime flight to Lamu Island. On landing at the mainland airstrip you’ll take the twenty minute dhow ride across the bay and up the coast to Shela Town, a microcosm of Lamu Town that boasts a lot more intimacy.

You will have your own Swahili house on the beach. The cook will make sure that he finds the freshest seafood each day, lobster, mangrove crabs, giant prawns, leaving you to wander the cool streets of the village. The narrow pathways are enclosed by towering stone buildings whose thick, coral rag walls give Shela her distinct colour and texture. The beach at Shela is beautiful and you will be there at the very best time of year.

Day 16-18 - Kizingo

Kizingo is my new favourite place at the coast. Two very good friends of mine, Louis and Mary Jo Van Aardt, operate it. They have only just finished this exquisite camp on the Kipungani end of Lamu looking out over the reef and to the Indian Ocean beyond. It is an excellent contrast to Shela due to its remoteness and its unrivalled beaches. Louis is a real man of the sea and he will take you out to swim with wild dolphins, to snorkel the coral atolls and to fish for tuna and barracuda if you so wish. Otherwise there are beautiful walks and unbelievable sunsets to enjoy.

We may consider going with Louis to Kiwayu, an island to the north of the Lamu archipelago. It would be an overnight trip and you would camp out under the stars overlooking a deserted bay. One has the best snorkelling that I have seen in Kenya literally off the beach. Furthermore there is a large deep-sea drop off not far off shore that teems with fish and birds. Although it will be hot in the midday hours here, a snooze under a shady tree having eaten the tuna that you have caught yourself that morning is a wonderful experience.

I would also suggest that you stop off at the island of Pate to see the Saiyu fort and witness a coastal culture much more rustic than what you would find in Lamu.

Day 19 - Onward Bound

After a relaxed morning and lunch at Kizingo you will be taken to catch your plane back to Nairobi and to a dayroom at Ngong House or the Norfolk Hotel. In the evening, you will be taken out to supper and then put on your flight onward bound.

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