Itinerary

Days 1 & 2: Nairobi
Norfolk Hotel

Arrive Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. After clearing customs and immigration formalities you’ll be welcomed by an Elevate Destinations representative and transfer to Norfolk Hotel for check-in.

The Norfolk is probably East Africa’s most famous hotel. The hotel has recently celebrated its centenary with a full, face-lift and it is a fine place to freshen up after your flight and get a good night’s sleep before embarking on activities the following morning.

Day 3-5: Lewa Downs
Lewa Safari Camp

Early this morning you’ll be transferred to Wilson Airport to catch your scheduled flight up to the northern bush airstrip to Lewa Downs (0915/1030hrs).

The Laikipia region is a broad swathe of game rich grasslands and hills that reach Mount Kenya to one side and the wild deserts of the north to the other. Outside of the Maasai Mara, Laikipia can boast the greatest wildlife experiences in Kenya.

Lewa Downs are in the heart of the Laikipia region, a broad swathe of lava plateau that reaches the foothills of Mount Kenya on one side and in contrast, the wild deserts of the Northern Frontier District on the other. Outside of the Maasai Mara, Laikipia can boast the greatest wildlife experiences in Kenya.

Lewa Downs is probably East Africa’s finest conservancy and has been the home of the Craig family since the 1920’s. Delia, the grandmother, was awarded it in a post war colonial land lottery. She had qualified to enter the land hand out through her services as a nurse in the trenches. With a handsome chunk of Kenya to her name, she was soon married to David and they ran the area as a cattle ranch up in to the late 1980’s.

At this time and 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.

You will stay at Lewa Tented Camp and will be looked after in fine style. Each tent is spacious, discreetly spaced from one another and has running hot and cold water and a flush lavatory. Before you arrive next year the camp will also have undergone a complete refurbishment so you will be amongst the first to enjoy the benefits of this.

It is an ideal base from which to explore the area on foot or safari vehicle, by day or night. We can also arrange to for you to horse ride if you are keen. Not only is the location exceptionally beautiful but the food is also excellent and every last morsel is an organic product of the farm.

Although it is a dusty and hot three-hour drive up in to the northern thorn tree country, it may be worth visiting the Il Ngwesi community on one of the days. They are a Laikipiak Masai clan of pastoralists who live for grazing pastures and rain. They lead their lives very much in their traditional manner. A visit to one of their villages gives an excellent insight in to their culture.

Day 6-9: Laikipia
Tassia Lodge

After a decent breakfast drive across this scenic Laikipia plateau region to the beautiful lodge called Tassia for lunch.

Tassia Lodge, on Lekurruki Community Conservation Ranch which borders Il Ngwesi Ranch, is the latest local community venture, completed in 2001, to help safeguard the wildlife by allowing the Masai to reap the benefits of allowing the wildlife free haven on their land.

Tassia gently sprawls over a rocky bluff with a magnificent view over the surrounding Northern Kenya plains and hills. The six double bedrooms have bathrooms ensuite and there is a kid's bunkhouse with three bunk beds and shower room. The lounge/dining area overlooks a stunning swimming pool built into the rocks. No trees were felled to create Tassia which was built entirely with local materials by the Maasai with conservation and environment foremost in mind.

The area offers walking through unspoilt and uninhabited bush, climbing in the Tassia Lugga or wallowing in pools under waterfalls when the river flows following rain. The nearby Mokogodo forest is home to butterflies, birds and rare plans and for the really intrepid paragliding from the top of Ol Donyo Lossos is possible.

The local Maasai will make your stay memorable with their expert knowledge of the local fauna and flora, medicinal properties of plants, tracks and spoor and local legends.

These four days will be more of participating in the local community projects like school, clinics, ranger post and outbuildings etc.

This is an unrivalled opportunity to get to interact with the local nomadic morani (warriors) and to get an insight into the little understood, traditional Maasai and Samburu customs and it will be an incredible amount of fun for all.

Day 10-12: Maasai Mara
Private Mobile Camp

After breakfast a morning scheduled flight will fly you down to Maasai Mara Game Reserve. On arrival, met by your driver/guides and taken on a game drive en route to your private mobile camp, your home for the next three nights. You may be rewarded with sightings of elephant, buffalo, giraffe and a host of other plains’ game.

One really has to visit the Maasai Mara. This reserve is one of Africa’s greatest parks though it suffers a rather unfair reputation for being crowded with mini buses.

Don’t think for a minute that by being under canvas you need forfeit any creature comforts. Many of our guests consider these camps the most memorable and enjoyable feature of going on safari as they allow an intimacy with the bush that no lodge, however rustic, can ever emulate. It is also ecologically ideal as you leave no sign of intrusion on the environment after the camp is struck.

This is our way of providing you with a unique insight into an Africa few visitors have the opportunity to experience. The oldest and still the most exclusive way to take a safari, sleeping under canvas is reminiscent of the vintage days when every safari was a self-sufficient, private caravan traveling through glorious landscapes. Our mobile camp product has been designed for the traveler who is determined to enjoy the very best that East Africa has to offer. At your private camp, we are able to ensure the experience is intimate and the service provided is personalized and of the highest standards.

You will have a large spacious tent with crisp linen beds, campaign furniture and even an en suite bathroom – a naval bucket shower with hot water 24 hours a day and a full flush loo. A tent butler will be there to look after your every whim and make sure that your favourite iced cocktail has been mixed to your liking to settle the dust after a day in the bush.

Camp cuisine is exceptional, using only fresh ingredients, original recipes and with beautiful presentation our camp chefs never cease to amaze our guests. We cater to all dietary requirements however demanding. Meals can be served al fresco or in the traditional mess tent and served by our liveried waiters. This is safari at its best. Lunch will be at the camp.

The afternoon is free for an afternoon game drive or another activity of your choice.

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.

There are also options for a morning balloon safari [at an extra cost].
As the balloon is inflated against the first rays of sunrise your pilot will go through safety procedures. It’s then time to climb aboard. Once aloft, the balloon floats gently over the plains, giving a bird’s eye view of the game below as the sun creeps slowly over the horizon. Spread beneath you is a panorama of Africa – elephants looking improbably small; giraffe browsing amongst the treetops; antelope grazing; a pair of lionesses stalking a herd of wildebeest; an eagle guarding his eerie; and cheetah glancing up as the shadow of the huge balloon crosses their paths.

After around one hour the balloon lands and nearby breakfast is already being prepared. The smells of bacon, sausages and eggs drift on the breeze as you begin breakfast with platefuls of exotic Kenyan fruits and homemade pastries and, of course, glasses of bubbly to toast your flight in a tradition initiated by the Montgolfier brothers.

Day 13: Depart
Norfolk Dayrooms

This morning, the scheduled flight will carry you back up to Nairobi, where you will have dayrooms at the Norfolk Hotel and a vehicle and driver to help you do any last minute shopping or sight seeing.

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